NFL Player News

Head coach Kevin Stefanski said Friday that Atlanta's starters will likely see action in the team's first and third preseason games, but it remains to be seen whether Penix (knee) will be ready to take the field by then, Tori McElhaney of the Falcons' official site reports.

Penix has progressed to taking part in 7-on-7 drills, though he has yet to be cleared for full-team drills. While the 2024 first-round pick recovers from November surgery to repair a torn ACL, Tua Tagovailoa (back) has had a chance to get a leg up in Atlanta's quarterback competition by working with the starters earlier in the offseason. Atlanta's QB room also includes Jack Strand and Cooper Rush.

Maye was sharp at Friday's practice, which he started off with a long touchdown pass to A.J. Brown on the first play of the 11-on-11 period, Paul Perillo of the Patriots' official site reports.

Maye enjoyed a breakout sophomore season while facing a historically easy regular-season schedule, but the 2024 first-round pick came crashing back down to earth in the playoffs. The Patriots made the Super Bowl despite Maye posting the worst playoff performance of all time by expected points added, which finally caught up to New England in a 29-13 Super Bowl loss to the Seahawks. Maye will get a chance to try to avenge that loss to Seattle in the first game of the 2026 regular season Sept. 9, and he'll have a new top target for that rematch in Brown, with whom Maye has started to build a rapport as training camp progresses.

After the connection between Brown and QB Drake Maye got off to a slow start in training camp, Paul Perillo of the Patriots' official site notes that "there have been some serious signs of life since the pads came on Thursday morning."

With that in mind, Maye said Friday,"I feel the connectivity building now," adding "that's the biggest thing. You are just seeing it get better every day." As the two players' chemistry continues to grow while Brown acclimates to his new team's offense, the wideout is firmly on track to yield fantasy utility as New England's top option at his position alongside fellow newcomer Romeo Doubs, with Kayshon Boutte, Mack Hollins, DeMario Douglas, Kyle Williams and Efton Chism battling for targets that don't go to the aforementioned duo.

San Francisco assistant head coach Chris Foerster said Friday that the team is "continuing to evaluate" Pearsall (knee) after the wide receiver aggravated the PCL issue in his right knee during early training camp practices, Matt Barrows of The Athletic reports.

Pearsall's injury has reportedly caused "concern" for the 49ers, per Nick Wagoner of ESPN, and the team is "exploring all options." As Barrows reports, surgery is being weighed among those options, though undergoing a procedure now could cost Pearsall the entire 2026 season. In the wake of Pearsall's ongoing evaluation, San Francisco signed veteran wideout Deebo Samuel to a one-year contract Tuesday. Christian Kirk (calf) is also managing an injury that has hampered his ability to practice during the early stages of camp.

The Panthers placed Brazzell (knee) on injured reserve Friday.

Brazzell will officially miss his entire rookie season due to the LCL tear he suffered during Wednesday's training camp practice. The rookie third-round pick will undergo surgery and set his full attention on making a recovery for the 2027 campaign. In the wake of this transaction, Xavier Legette and John Metchie are the top candidates to secure the No. 3 wide receiver role in Carolina behind Tetairoa McMillan and Jalen Coker.

Shrader went 5-for-6 on field-goal attempts at Friday's training camp practice while Blake Grupe made all six of his attempts, Abby Halpin of the Colts' official site reports.

Shrader has recovered from a torn ACL that he suffered in Week 5 of the 2025 season. He was the Colts' starting kicker prior to that point but will need to earn that role back by beating out Grupe in a training-camp competition. "I think it'll be a really good competition," special-teams coordinator Brian Mason said Thursday. "We're going to try to get those guys the exact same number of kicks as similar as we possibly can."

Grupe made all six of his field-goal attempts Friday while Spencer Shrader went 5-for-6, Abby Halpin of the Colts' official site reports.

Grupe and Shrader are battling it out in a training camp competition to determine the Colts' kicker for the upcoming season. "I think it'll be a really good competition," special-teams coordinator Brian Mason said Thursday. "We're going to try to get those guys the exact same number of kicks as similar as we possibly can." Grupe had the slight edge Friday with his perfect performance.

Rice (knee) is being eased back into the mix during training camp, Jesse Newell of The Athletic reports.

As Rice works his way back from an offseason knee procedure with a ramp-up period, Pete Sweeney of the Kansas City Star relays that the wideout hasn't been logging reps in team drills. That context has enabled rookie fifth-rounder Cyrus Allen to open some eyes early on in training camp, but once Rice upgrades his practice participation level, he'll step back into a prominent role in a WR corps that also features fellow returnees Xavier Worthy and Tyquan Thornton.

Sanders continues to rotate first-team reps with Deshaun Watson, and the former is lined up to work with the starters in Cleveland's first padded practice Monday, Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN.com reports.

Sanders and Watson have been alternating first-team reps in the early days of camp. Watson got the first-team spot for Friday's training camp practice, so Sanders is set to take his next turn Monday, when the team puts on pads for the first time. Cleveland's quarterback competition is unlikely to be decided until after Sanders and Watson play in the preseason.

Tagovailoa (back) did not take part in team drills Friday due to a "precautionary thing" related to back tightness and said he is unsure when he will be fully cleared for on-field activities, Marc Raimondi of ESPN reports.

Tagovailoa said that if the Falcons were preparing for an actual regular-season game he would likely be ready to play, but it remains to be seen whether he will be cleared to handle more than individual drills at training camp. With Michael Penix (ACL) also capped at 7-on-7 work for the moment, Jack Strand and Cooper Rush will continue piloting Atlanta's offense during the early stages of training camp. Tagovailoa and Penix are competing for the Falcons' starting quarterback job, even as both signal-callers currently deal with their respective health-related hurdles.