NFL Player News

Johnson remains the Saints' top tight end after New Orleans added Noah Fant in free agency and selected Oscar Delp in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft, Luke Johnson of NOLA.com reports.

Johnson restructured his deal with the Saints in March to free up cap space and is coming off a career year, but the team's offseason investments at tight end gives him more competition for targets. Fant represents another proven receiving option, while Delp's athleticism could make him an upgrade over departees Jack Stoll and Foster Moreau. New Orleans also added a first-round wideout in rookie Jordyn Tyson (undisclosed), further muddying the target share picture. While Johnson's role in the passing game is secure, matching last year's volume of a career-high 103 targets and 77 receptions will likely be a tough ask.

Texans running backs coach Danny Barrett said Jordan is "playing faster than he was last year" as he competes for the No. 3 running back spot behind David Montgomery and Woody Marks, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Jordan flashed genuine juice in his regular-season debut last season, rushing for 101 yards on 15 carries in a Week 15 matchup against the Cardinals. His 50-yard breakaway in that game was the Texans' longest run of the season. The 26-year-old is competing against undrafted rookies Noah Whittington and Josh Pitsenberger, as well as former Colt and Saint Evan Hull, for a roster spot. British Brooks' special-teams acumen also complicates the backfield math, but improvement in Jordan's speed, third-down work and hands make the 2024 sixth-round pick the early favorite for the No. 3 gig.

Pocic (Achilles), who remains a free agent, has been cleared to participate in training camp, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Pocic's clean bill of health should aid his search for a new contract. The veteran center, who will turn 31 years old in early August, started all 13 of his regular-season appearances with the Browns in 2025 before suffering an Achilles tendon rupture.

In the wake of the offseason departure of Travis Etienne, John Shipley of SI.com notes that "all signs point" to the Jaguars employing a timeshare backfield led by Tuten and Chris Rodriguez (foot).

LeQuint Allen will also mix in to some degree, but there's likely to be a heated battle between Tuten - who's coming off a strong offseason program -- and Rodriguez (who is bouncing back from a foot procedure) for the top spot during training camp, and coach Liam Coen has referred to the situation as "truly wide open." Tuten's upside as a pass-catcher could give him a narrow edge over Rodriguez when it comes to touch and snap volume, but this is a looming committee situation from a fantasy perspective.

Fitzgerald is set to open the 2026 campaign as Carolina's kicker following a standout rookie season, Darin Gantt of the team's official site reports.

After entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent, Fitzgerald won Carolina's kicker job in training camp last year and held the role through the campaign, making 24 of 29 field-goal attempts and 27 of 30 extra-point tries over 17 regular-season games. Even more impressively, he tied for the league lead with four game-winning FGs and ranked third in opponents' average drive start, a measure of his effectiveness on kickoffs. Fitzgerald's rookie season also included two made field goals of 55-plus yards, so he's essentially checked all the boxes. He isn't expected to have any competition for the starting role heading into training camp.

Zvada and Ben Sauls are expected to compete during training camp for the Giants' primary kicker role, Dan Salomone of the team's official site reports.

Sauls emerged as the Giants' kicker down the stretch last season, when he made all eight of his field-goal tries and all seven of his PATs in Weeks 16-18. Meanwhile, Zvada went unselected during April's NFL Draft but signed with New York following a standout college career that included setting a Michigan record with seven field goals of 50-plus yards (on seven attempts) over 13 games in 2024. Zvada was less effective as a senior, but his big leg drew the attention of the Giants, and he'll at least have a chance to push Sauls for the starting job in training camp. It initially looked like it would be a three-man competition, but the Giants cut veteran kicker Jason Sanders -- who has since signed with the Jets -- in early June.

Sauls is set to compete during training camp with undrafted rookie Dominic Zvada for the Giants' kicker job, Dan Salomone of the team's official site reports.

Sauls was the Giants' kicker in Weeks 16-18 and went 8-for-8 on field-goal attempts and 7-for-7 on extra-point tries. He didn't show much of a leg to go with that accuracy, however, as his longest FG last year was from a modest 45 yards. New York parted ways with long-time kicker Graham Gano (neck) in late March, leaving Sauls as the most likely option to begin the 2026 campaign. However, Zvada could challenge for the role with a strong training camp after a decorated college career that included the most field goals (seven) made from 50-plus yards in Michigan history.

During an appearance Tuesday on Good Morning Football, Cook indicated that he's noticed a renewed spirit under the guidance of new head coach Joe Brady during the team's offseason, Bobby Kownack of NFL.com reports.

"It's just a new energy in the building," said Cook, who led the NFL last regular season with 1,621 rushing yards. "It's gonna always be like that, I feel like, when you have a new head coach coming in, a young one, too, at that. Joe [is] a young head coach coming in, his first year being a head coach. He's got new energy, that's how I feel like." While Cook didn't participate in any of the Bills' voluntary work open to the media earlier this offseason, he did participate in the team's mandatory minicamp and is poised to be full-go for training camp. Looking ahead, the 2022 second-rounder remains entrenched as the lead option in a Buffalo backfield that returns last year's top backups Ray Davis and Ty Johnson. In that context, Cook -- who logged 309 carries in 17 regular-season games in 2025 -- should continue to maintain steady volume and reliable fantasy lineup utility this coming season.

Smythe will enter training camp positioned to compete with Tanner Brown for the No. 1 kicker job, Luke Loffredo of USA Today reports.

Smythe started New Orleans' final six games of the 2025 season, going 12-for-16 on field-goal tries and making all 13 of his extra-point attempts. He first joined the Saints back in 2024 as part of the NFL's International Player Pathway. During training camp and the preseason Smythe will work to outperform Brown, who has spent time on various practice squads in the league (most recently the Rams and Falcons in 2024) but has yet to log a regular-season appearance.

Buffalo released Thompkins on Tuesday, Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN.com reports.

The Bills let go of Thompkins to make room for new depth wideout Quentin Skinner, who was claimed off waivers from the Jets on Tuesday. Thompkins suited up for seven regular-season games with the Falcons in 2025 and look to catch on in a depth role elsewhere.