Team news: Minnesota Vikings | Page 31

Justin Jefferson (shoulder) already back in pads today.

The tweet said Jefferson got minimal 11-on-11 work, which is great news. He even caught a swing pass the tweet added.

Kylin Hill, running back: The rookie seventh-rounder has a little burst to him, and he’s also the front-runner to return kickoffs. Being able to contribute on special teams will be a requirement of the third running back.

Related players: Aaron Jones, A.J. Dillon

Maybe the biggest note to take away is the author speculated Hill could get 15-20% of the snaps as the team's RB3. The author said last year as the RB3, Dillon got a little less than 10% of the snaps, so the additional snaps will have to come from somewhere if Hill gets that kind of percentage.

Justin Jefferson should be back 'soon,' HC Mike Zimmer said.

Zimmer added "it's not a tweak" as far as Jefferson's shoulder injury goes. The tweet also said Zimmer wouldn't confirm the reported AC joint sprain. Whatever the issue is, it sounds like Jefferson avoided something major and will be back sooner than later.

Vikings WR left Friday's practice with a sprained AC joint according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.

The injury is not considered serious according to Schefter's source, but video from practice did not give fantasy players a good feeling. This could have been worse (think broken collarbone) so this is "good news." More on this injury as it becomes available.

Darrell Henderson Jr. is penciled in as the Rams’ starting running back after Cam Akers tore his Achilles before training camp. That much we know.

What isn’t as clear is who will back up Henderson.

The Rams have Xavier Jones, Jake Funk, Raymond Calais and Otis Anderson on the 90-man roster right now, but they’ve combined to play zero offensive snaps in their NFL careers. So needless to say, there isn’t much experience at running back behind Henderson.

The story said Jones is the favorite to back him up after sticking with the Rams last season as an undrafted rookie. He’s getting more work in camp this year due to Akers’ absence and though it’s early, Sean McVay is encouraged by what he’s seen from Jones, as well as the Rams’ other backup running backs.

#Rams RB Cam Akers suffered a torn Achilles while training, per source.

Brutal blow for L.A., which loses its leading rusher from last season a week before camp begins.

With Cam Akers out, the next man up is Darrell Henderson. Henderson served as the Rams’ lead back from Week 2 to Week 7, racking up 86 total yards (4.84 YPC) and 0.67 touchdowns on 15.5 touches per game. Those are low-end RB1 numbers, which is the sort of production that we can expect from Henderson now that he finds himself in the lead role once again. With Malcolm Brown moving on to Miami, the Rams' depth chart behind Henderson now consists of 2020 7th-rounder Raymond Calais, 2021 7th-rounder Jake Funk, undrafted second-year player Xavier Jones and undrafted rookie Otis Anderson. The Rams' RB2 role will be a camp battle to monitor. The team is now a candidate to bring another veteran in (Todd Gurley?).

Filed to ESPN: Jets trading QB Sam Darnold to the Carolina Panthers for a 2021 sixth-round pick and second- and fourth-round picks in 2022, per sources.

Sam Darnold will compete with Teddy Bridgewater in Carolina. There is plenty of fantasy-relevant talent on the Panthers' offense for either guy to throw to. Darnold's best season came in 2019 when he threw for 3,024 yards, 19 touchdowns and 13 interceptions with a receiving corps consisting of Jamison Crowder, Robby Anderson and an over-the-hill Demaryius Thomas, though Adam Gase was running the offense. Darnold be reunited with Anderson in Carolina and D.J. Moore will be the best receiver that Darnold has thrown to since entering the NFL. We have seen Ryan Tannehill thrive after parting ways with Gase--is Darnold the next reclamation project?

Aaron Jones has reached agreement with the Packers on a 4-year deal worth $48 million, including a $13 million signing bonus,
@DrewJRosenhaus tells ESPN.

Not quite shocking, but certainly surprising, the Packers managed to re-sign Jones to keep him in Green Bay through his age 29 season. Through the last two seasons, Jones has racked up 3,017 total yards and 30 touchdowns in 30 games, or an average of 100.6 total yards and 1.0 touchdown per game. I've moved him from RB12 in our Never-Too-Early Rankings up to the RB5 spot, since he'll return to the high-scoring offense that helped to make him famous. A.J. Dillon will likely assume Jamaal Williams' role as the thunder to Jones's lightning. Williams averaged 52.0 yards and 0.32 touchdowns per game, so he'll still be draft-worthy in the middle rounds as a Zero RB target with significant upside. The Jones news is also good for Myles Gaskin in Miami, since the Dolphins were considered the favorites to land Jones in free agency. Miami could still draft a running back or sign another free agent (like James Conner), but this is one hurdle that Gaskin had to overcome in order to be the Dolphins' RB1 in 2021.

Packers did not place their franchise tag on RB Aaron Jones, per source. Jones is headed to free agency, though Green Bay is attempting to re-sign him before he gets there.

#Jets GM Joe Douglas said he “will answer the call” when teams call about trading for Sam Darnold.

Several teams are reportedly interested in acquiring Sam Darnold via trade, while the Jets are expected to draft a QB with the second overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft. Darnold is currently ranked dead-last in 4for4's never-too-early rankings.