NFL Player News

St. Brown (ankle) spent the entire 2019 season on injured reserve and did not appear in any games.

St. Brown had a chance to carve out a regular role in the Packers offense in his second season, but that changed when he suffered a high-ankle sprain during the preseason and was placed on season-ending injured reserve during final cuts. It's not exactly clear where St. Brown stands in his recovery, but as long as he's healthy when training camp rolls around, he'll find himself in the same spot he was heading into the 2019 campaign.

Godwin (hamstring) won't play in the Pro Bowl, Greg Auman of The Athletic reports.

Godwin's hamstring injury has lingered deep into January, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will still be an issue when the Bucs start their offseason program in mid-April. The team's quarterback situation is a bigger concern, with Jameis Winston set to become an unrestricted free agent if the Bucs don't use the franchise tag or sign him to a new contract before March 18.

Beckham underwent surgery Tuesday to repair a core muscle injury, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Plagued by a chronic groin/abdomen injury throughout the 2019 campaign, Beckham nonetheless played 87 percent or more of offensive snaps in each of his 16 games, catching 74 passes for 1,035 yards and four touchdowns on 133 targets. He's expected to make a full recovery from surgery before the 2020 campaign, but he could be absent or limited during the offseason program. With Kevin Stefanski replacing Freddie Kitchens as Cleveland's head coach, Beckham stands a good chance to rebound from his career-low marks for yards per game (64.7) and targets per game (8.3). Prior to 2019, he'd produced no less than 85.4 yards per game in any of the four seasons in which he made more than four appearances.

Hardman caught his lone target for an eight-yard gain in Sunday's 35-24 win over Tennessee, adding four kickoff returns for 86 yards, one punt return for seven yards and also drawing a 41-yard pass interference penalty.

The ticky-tack penalty was arguably Hardman's biggest contribution, converting a third-and-10 with just under four minutes remaining in the game. Although it didn't show up in the box score, Hardman's role on offense expanded from a 17 percent snap share the previous week (a 51-31 win over Houston) to a 40 percent share in Sunday's win over Tennessee. Accordingly, Demarcus Robinson dipped from 58 percent to 37 percent, catching two passes for 31 yards in the process. The exact split will be tough to get a read on ahead of time, but the most likely scenario features some form of split between Hardman and Robinson in the No. 3 receiver role during the Super Bowl.

Valdes-Scantling finished with 26 catches for 452 yards and two touchdowns over 16 regular-season games in 2019.

Valdes-Scantling started the season as the inherent No. 2 wide receiver behind Davante Adams, and the team expected big things out of the second-year pro after showing flashes of a deep threat in his rookie campaign. The 25-year-old was still good for a few deep balls, recording 17.4 yards per catch, but he slowly saw his playing time drop as the season went on. He posted just four catches for 32 yards over the final eight regular-season games, and he logged just six offensive snaps between two playoff contests. He ceded duties to Allen Lazard, Geronimo Allison and Jake Kumerow -- all undrafted free agents. Valdes-Scantling -- a 2018 fifth-round pick -- has two years remaining on his rookie contract, but he'll struggle to carve out a role in 2020. The Packers will likely have Equanimeous St. Brown (ankle) back in the fold, and they'll surely re-sign Lazard while Allison and Kumerow could be options as well. That's not to mention the likelihood they pick a receiver or two in the draft. MVS has the raw talent to retain a roster spot with a 4.37-second 40, but he'll need to show improvement this offseason.

Robinson caught both of his targets for 31 yards in Sunday's 35-24 win over the Titans in the AFC Championship Game.

Robinson played 37 percent of offensive snaps while splitting the No. 3 receiver job with Mecole Hardman (40 percent). The rookie was limited to one catch for eight yards, but he nonetheless provided a major contribution to the victory, drawing a 41-yard pass interference penalty late in the fourth quarter to convert a third-and-10 that sealed the game. In any case, the division of playing time marked a significant departure from the previous week, when Robinson had played 58 percent of snaps and Hardman just 17 percent in a 51-31 win over the Texans. It's anyone's guess how coach Andy Reid will divide the workload between Hardman and Robinson in the Super Bowl.

Bourne caught his lone target for a six-yard gain in Sunday's 37-20 win over Green Bay in the NFC Championship Game.

Bourne played a key role the previous week but was limited to a 25 percent snap share in Sunday's blowout victory. He's locked in as the 49ers' No. 3 wide receiver ahead of a Super Bowl matchup with the Chiefs.

Lazard brought in three of four targets for 36 yards during the Packers' 37-20 loss to the 49ers in Sunday's NFC Championship Game.

Lazard finished third on the team in receptions, receiving yards and targets for the night, turning in a serviceable but unremarkable performance to close out his second season. The speedster enjoyed a solid sophomore campaign, generating a 35-477-3 line in part-time duty and arguably ascending to the No. 2 spot in the pass-catching pecking order behind Davante Adams by season's end. Lazard saw 17 targets over the last two regular-season-games, and although the four looks he logged Sunday was a modest amount, it certainly was a better way to close out the season than a divisional-round win over the Seahawks in which he didn't see a pass thrown his way over 20 snaps. Looking ahead to 2020, Lazard will endeavor to become the steady full-time No. 2 receiver the Packers sorely need as a complement to Adams.

Samuel caught two passes (three targets) for 46 yards and rushed twice for 43 yards in Sunday's NFC Championship Game victory over Green Bay.

Samuel's two-catch performance led all San Francisco receivers in a game where the team threw the ball just eight times. The dynamic rookie was able to bolster his final stat line with a couple of big end around rushes as he has done at times this season. The 49ers may be forced to actually pass the ball with regularity if the Chiefs' aerial attack is able to put up some early points in the Super Bowl, which could make Samuel a nice value play after modest receiving outputs in the team's first two playoff wins.

Adams secured nine of 10 targets for 138 yards during the Packers' 37-20 loss to the 49ers in Sunday's NFC Championship Game.

A significant chunk of Adams' production came on a 65-yard grab in the fourth quarter, a play that saw him impressively beat Richard Sherman on a go route. Otherwise, Adams mostly generated his game-high reception total on short completions, averaging just 9.1 yards on his other eight catches. Adams finished with four 100-yard efforts over his last five games, including the postseason, a stretch during which he also recorded four receiving touchdowns. Adams is under contract for two more seasons at base salaries of $12 million per year, and he'll look to get back over the 1,000-yard threshold in 2020 after falling three yards short of the mark (over 12 games) this past regular season.