Team news: Dallas Cowboys | Page 11

RB Ronald Jones has been suspended the first two games of the regular season for violating the NFL policy on performance-enhancing substances, per a statement from an NFL spokesperson. Jones is eligible to participate in all preseason practices and games. He will be allowed to return to the Cowboys' active roster on Monday, Sept. 18, following the team’s Week 2 game against the New York Jets.

Related Players: Malik Davis, Deuce Vaughn

An already-thin Cowboys backfield becomes thinner. Per beat reporters, Jones was likely in the lead for backup duties behind Tony Pollard, but this puts a wrench in that. While Davis or Vaughn could now have an increased workload, the team also might start kicking the tires on Dalvin Cook or Leonard Fournette as well. A FA signing may help lower the draft cost for Pollard, which would make him even more valuable.

The Patriots are hosting free agent RB Ezekiel Elliott on a visit today. The team has also had Dalvin Cook on its radar as it examines backfield additions behind starter Rhamondre Stevenson.

Related Players: Rhamondre Stevenson, Pierre Strong Jr, Ty Montgomery

This would be a gigantic damper on Stevenson's early down role, but it looks like the team is determined to find a FA veteran RB in the mix. Hopefully a prospective signing will continue to put a damper on his ADP, as he should still have a majority role in the offense.

Running back Dalvin Cook is flying to New York today for a visit with the Jets this weekend, NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero reported Thursday, per sources informed of the situation.

Since Cook's release from Minnesota, the Jets have been one club rumored to be interested in the four-time Pro Bowl running back. It's a logical pairing, given that Gang Green's top back, Breece Hall, is coming off an ACL tear and on the physically unable to perform list, and the team's all in following the Rodgers trade.

Related Players: Breece Hall, Michael Carter

This signing would be a huge hit to Hall's fantasy outlook for 2023, even if he remains the clear "1" in the 1-2 punch. Michael Carter was once an interesting late-round dart, but those days would also be numbered. This visit is also on the heels of Aaron Rodgers restructuring his deal with the Jets to allow them more room to bolster the roster around him, further strengthening the odds that the team can make the signing work.

49ers GM John Lynch says Brock Purdy (elbow) has been cleared to practice. "The great news is Brock has worked his tail off and he's ready to go."

Kyle Shanahan says Purdy will throw two out of every three days initially, and he'll take the first rep the days he's out there.

Related Players: Trey Lance, Sam Darnold

This is incredible news, as a full-year QB option will be a giant positive to both himself and the skill position players in fantasy. This doesn't ensure that he is the Week 1 starter but it's clearly a step in the right direction.

Including the postseason, Purdy played 82% of the snaps in eight games. In those games, he averaged 232 yards, 8.43 yards per attempt, 2.0 touchdowns, and 0.38 interceptions. He added 0.25 rushing touchdown per game. The resulting 18.8 fantasy points per game would have been the seventh-highest last season.

Vikings are to officially release Dalvin Cook on Friday. One of the NFL’s most dynamic playmakers, Cook is coming off a fourth straight 1,000-yard season and has 52 career TDs. Now he’ll be a free agent at age 27 and will have multiple suitors.

Related Players: Alexander Mattison, Ty Chandler

The move has been long-rumored, so this doesn't come as much surprise. According to talks throughout the offseason, Mattison should be expected to takeover the lead-back role, with Chandler acting as the team's No. 2.

Vikings OC Wes Phillips on whether second-year RB Ty Chandler is ready for an increased role: "I think he's going to have to be."

Chandler probably has the advantage in the competition for the presumptive No. 2 RB spot behind presumptive No. 1 RB Alexander Mattison.

Related Players: Dalvin Cook

Yet more smoke to the fire that is Dalvin Cook playing the 2023 season outside of Minnesota. We're past June 1st, so the news on Cook moving on is presumably right around the corner.

Per Kevin Seifert, "All that remains is for the Vikings to formalize Dalvin Cook's exit, a denouement that seems likely if not completely certain."

Related Players: Alexander Mattison

We've seen the Vikings allow Alexander Mattison to fill in as a 1v1 replacement for Cook in the past but fantasy managers often overlook how Mattison has been thoroughly inefficient with those opportunities over the last two seasons.

Nonetheless, rumors leading up to an eventual trade (hello, Dolphins) will continue to boost Mattison's stock until it finally shoots him up to where we should probably avoid him. At this time, Mattison's ADP is in the 7th round as the RB25.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy resumed throwing this week after having surgery on his elbow roughly three months ago, general manager John Lynch told SiriusXM radio Wednesday.

Related Players: Trey Lance, Sam Darnold

The article would go on to quote Lynch as saying that the 49ers are "incredibly encouraged" by Purdy's recovery and that the hopes are that he is ready for training camp and, thus, the regular season.

“I mentioned Trey, I mentioned Sam, we feel good about that position holistically,” he said. “So we’re not going to do anything to put Brock in a situation where he’s not fully healed. That means not just getting back, but getting back, getting reps in under your belt — the whole deal. So we’ll take it as it comes, as we’re doing. He’s working incredibly hard, and the early returns are good.”

Purdy should be considered the heavy betting favorite to step into Week 1 as the 49ers' starting quarterback.

Per Tim, "Purdy is QB1. Nothing is guaranteed or permanent in football, but the entire premise of the 49ers’ QB situation, at this point, is that Purdy is first among equals because he earned it last December and January. Everything else — Lance’s practice time, Darnold’s arrival, the blurry timeline for Purdy’s return to full-go action — is about caution, not uncertainty."

Related Players: Trey Lance, Sam Darnold

Beat writer Kawakami repeated, in many different manners, that the only thing keeping Brock Purdy from a Week 1 starting job is the health of his elbow; Lance and Darnold are insurance policies, not hurdles. Purdy is scheduled to throw during the final week of May, which will give us a better idea of his standing for Week 1.

Kyle Shanahan said Trey Lance’s lower body is fine, and he’s throwing the ball very well at the start of the team’s offseason program because his finger is no longer an issue, either. Still, the 49ers consider Brock Purdy to be the top quarterback on the depth chart after winning eight consecutive games after taking over for Jimmy Garoppolo last season.

Related Players: Sam Darnold

We are assuredly going to be hearing news all over the place in regard to the 49ers QB situation from now until August, so it's important not to take one piece to heart. Purdy is still apparently four months out with his own injury issues, which puts his timeline basically right up against Week 1. If that's the case, we can only assume that Lance will get another chance to start the season, though Sam Darnold's helmet looms large in the background if the team opts to go in that direction.

We'll keep you posted.