Team news: Cleveland Browns | Page 13

Broncos listing WR Jerry Jeudy as a full participant in today’s practice, putting him on track to play Sunday vs. Washington.

Related Players: Courtland Sutton, Marvin Mims, Brandon Johnson, Lil'Jordan Humphrey

With the way the Broncos offense performed in Week 1, this should hopefully provide a shot in the arm. Jeudy should instantly be atop the target share in Week 2, which should allow him to return high-end WR3 value.

The Broncos elevated wide receivers Lil’Jordan Humphrey and Phillip Dorsett from the practice squad for Sunday’s game against the Raiders.

Teams can bring up a maximum of two players from the practice squad so the fact the Broncos used both spots on a wide receiver could be pretty telling regarding Jerry Jeudy’s chances to play Sunday. Jeudy is questionable with a hamstring injury. It feels like the Broncos will err on the side of caution here and play the long game with Jeudy, especially with a hamstring injury. We’ll know for sure a little before 3:00 Sunday with the Broncos in a 4:25 kickoff.

Judging from how the Chiefs utilized their receivers in training camp, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Skyy Moore and Justin Watson will get the most playing time. Kadarius Toney missed all of camp after having surgery for a torn meniscus, but is back at practice and should be available to play against the Lions.

It’s less clear how much the others might play. But they all bring something to the group. Richie James has the most single-season catches of the group, having caught 57 passes for the New York Giants last season. The Chiefs tried to get the ball to Rashee Rice on plays like screens and pop passes during the preseason to highlight his ability to run after the catch.

Justyn Ross is big at 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds. Veach suggested he could take the red zone role held last year by Jody Fortson, who is out for the season with a shoulder injury.

Rice, a second-round draft pick, is a rookie. Ross is playing his first season with the Chiefs. He joined last season as an undrafted rookie but didn’t play because of injuries.

The Chiefs claim they will use their WRs based on defenses and who they are playing, allowing them to attack in different ways. While a lot of the young WRs got attention over the summer at some point - either working with the first team or just standing out - the story said Rice and Ross, especially, could see their roles be limited early in the season or at least until the coaches are comfortable with giving them a bigger workload. The Chiefs receivers could be a frustrating group for fantasy purposes, at least early on in the season.

Chiefs WR Kadarius Toney (knee) is “good to go” for Week 1 against the Lions, head coach Andy Reid said Sunday.

Toney missed most of camp as the knee injury lingered but he looks good as the Chiefs are just days away from beginning defense of their Super Bowl title. Sunday was like a Wednesday of a regular game week for the Chiefs and Lions so this is good news for his availability. Toney has a chance to become a bigger part of the Chiefs offense after making noise once acquired last season from the Giants, including a key touchdown in the Super Bowl.

TE Zach Ertz about playing Week 1: “I don’t think it’s certain by any means.”
Has to keep working. Has to re-earn trust of teammates, coaches.

Related Players: Trey McBride, Geoff Swaim

We haven't heard a modicum of good news about the Cardinals offense through almost the entirety of the offseason. If Ertz is forced to miss time, we should see some extended playing time for sophomore Trey McBride, which will at least give us an idea of what he offers to this new-look offense with Joshua Dobbs or Clayton Tune at the helm.

Asked today if WR Jerry Jeudy (hamstring) will be moved to short-term injured reserve tomorrow, Broncos GM George Paton said: "He will not go on that.''

Related players: Courtland Sutton, Marvin Mims, Lil'Jordan Humphrey

As the post added, it would seem to indicate Broncos believe, at least right now, Jeudy will be back some point before the fourth game of the year. If Juedy does miss any games, Sutton and Mims would be the team's top two wideouts.

The Patriots have waived backup QB Bailey Zappe, source said. A surprise.

Related players: Mac Jones

Other reports say the team released Cunningham as well. Some say Zappe could draw interest from other teams, especially after looking good filling in for Jones last year. But if not, Zappe could find his way back to New England. Currently, the Patriots have no other QBs on their roster behind Jones.

On Monday, the Browns acquired Dustin Hopkins from the Los Angeles Chargers in exchange for a 2025 seventh-round pick, ending Cade York's tenure as Cleveland's kicker. The Browns plan to waive York, a source told ESPN.

Hopkins had been competing with Cameron Dicker for the Chargers' kicking job during training camp.

One receiver who could naturally see a bigger role in the immediate aftermath of Jerry Jeudy’s injury is Marvin Mims, who has seen his practice snaps increase over the past two weeks since fully returning from his injury absence. Payton said Mims would play more in Saturday’s third preseason game than he did in his debut against the 49ers when the second-round pick out of Oklahoma played 18 snaps on offense and three on special teams.

Related Players: Courtland Sutton

While Courtland Sutton should certainly see a higher target rate if/when Jeudy is out, that doesn't necessarily mean his role will change. He's locked into 2WR sets regardless. But, Mims —who was slated for the slot role— could be seeing the field more often when the team is only employing two wideouts. This doesn't lock him into fantasy success right out of the gate, but more playing time can't be interpreted as anything but a positive. Mims should be considered a WR4 option for those optimistic about a Broncos offensive bounceback.