NFL Player News

Nacua has been the star of Rams training camp through four practices, Nate Atkins of The Athletic reports.

Nacua has made some questionable off-field decisions at times, but his on-field effectiveness isn't in question, and the NFL's 2025 regular-season receptions leader has been piling up plenty of catches in practice as Matthew Stafford's favorite target. As long as Nacua stays on the field, he'll likely be a dominant force in the final season of his rookie contract with the Rams.

Boutte is aware of the trade rumors surrounding him but hopes to remain with the Patriots, Zack Cox of the Boston Herald reports.

The Patriots signed Romeo Doubs and traded for A.J. Brown in the offseason, creating a logjam in a wide receiver room that also includes Boutte, Mack Hollins, DeMario Douglas, Kyle Williams and Efton Chism. Boutte is reportedly off to a strong start at training camp, so he hasn't allowed the trade rumors to affect his performance so far. The 2023 sixth-round pick is entering the final season of his rookie contract.

Whittington looks like the early leader in the competition for the Rams' No. 3 receiver job, according to Cameron DaSilva of Rams Wire.

We've heard this before at a similar time of the year, and while Whittington has seen a few opportunities as the No. 3 receiver, it's rarely amounted to much in terms of routes and targets. The job bounced around between a slew of players last year, including Xavier Smith and Konata Mumpfield, both of whom are still on the team. The Rams also have rookie sixth-round pick CJ Daniels as a dark horse candidate for the job. In any case, the offense likely will use a lot of multi-TE formations, limiting the WR3's snap and route shares.

Legette is expected to compete with John Metchie and David Moore for the No. 3 receiver job after teammate Chris Brazzell suffered a season-ending LCL tear, Joseph Person of The Athletic reports.

A 2024 first-round pick, Legette will need to prove himself even if the competition looks weak. He struggled through his first two NFL seasons and fell decisively behind Jalen Coker on the depth chart last year. Ona positive note, Legette told reporters in June that he was down to 221 pounds after playing at around 230 last year.

Brazzell (knee) will soon have season-ending surgery on the LCL tear he suffered Wednesday, Joe Person of The Athletic reports.

Initial reports suggested Brazzell would miss around two months, but that was assuming he could recover without surgery. After getting a second opinion, Brazzell will undergo surgery and presumably spend the entirety of his rookie season on injured reserve. With the 2026 third-round pick out of the equation, Xavier Legette and John Metchie are the strongest candidates for the No. 3 WR role behind locked-in starters Tetairoa McMillan and Jalen Coker. The timing of Brazzell's injury (July 29) should allow him to come back at full health for Carolina's offseason program in 2027.

Reed is healthy for the start of training camp, Mark Oldacres of Packers Wire reports.

Reed played through a fractured foot at the beginning of last season and then missed 10 games after breaking his collarbone in Week 2. He returned for the stretch run and scored a touchdown on a season-high seven targets during the playoff loss at Chicago. With Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks out of the picture, each of Reed, Christian Watson and Matthew Golden has a solid case for career-high volume this year. There is still some doubt about Reed's playing time in two-wide packages, as he's largely been confined to 11 personnel through the first three years of his NFL career.

Burks missed Thursday's practice with foot soreness, Ben Standig of Big 100 Washington D.C. reports.

The 2022 first-round pick is part of what seems to be an open competition for WR roles behind locked-in No. 1 Terry McLaurin. Rumors connect Washington with multiple veteran wideouts, but the current depth chart gives Burks a real shot at a top-three role, competing against the likes of Antonio Williams, Luke McCaffrey, Dyami Brown, Jaylin Lane and Van Jefferson.

Odunze said Thursday that his foot "feels great" at the beginning of training camp, Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com reports.

Odunze also used the word 'amazing' to describe how he feels, perhaps looking to set the record straight after his June comments about a "new normal" led to some panic from Bears fans and fantasy managers. He suffered a stress fracture in his foot last season, derailing what had the look of a breakout year through September and the first half of October. Odunze returned for the playoffs and avoided surgery in the offseason, with no hint of any trouble (besides the one quote) during OTAs and minicamp. He, Luther Burden and TE Colston Loveland are locked in as Caleb Williams' top three targets, in some unknown order.

Ridley (illness) returned to practice Thursday, Ben Arthur of FoxSports.com reports.

Ridley missed just one day of practice and is now expected to be a full participant. He'll likely get plenty of first-team snaps, but Carnell Tate and Wan'Dale Robinson are the favorites to see the most targets, while Chimere Dike and Elic Ayomanor loom as threats to push Ridley for playing time. Ridley was a limited participant in spring practices after breaking his fibula in Week 11 last year.

Slayton (core muscle) took part in the first practice of the Giants' training camp Wednesday, Pat Leonard of the NY Daily News reports.

Slayton's return from offseason core muscle surgery was understandably overshadowed by Malik Nabers' presence on the practice field. With Nabers likely absent or limited for at least a few more weeks, the top candidates for first-team reps at WR are Slayton, Darnell Mooney and Calvin Austin. The Giants also have third-round pick Malachi Fields and veterans Odell Beckham and JuJu Smith-Schuster.