Team news: Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Page 13

Thought this comment from Brian Daboll definitely stood out.

“Collin Johnson, David Sills, they’ve stepped their game up. I mean they’re right in the mix. Not just to make a team but to play.”

Related players: Kenny Golladay, Kadarius Toney, Wan'Dale Robinson, Sterling Shepard, Darius Slayton

You'll have to search pretty far down the depth chart at WR to find Johnson and Sills. This very well could be coach-speak and a wake-up call for those bigger names ahead of them. The Giants are deep in terms of names at WR, but you can certainly find fault with most of the names too.

Chris Godwin is also in a non-contact jersey today. The most he’s done so far in camp have been 7-on-7s. This may be the sign he’s ready for 11-on-11s.

Godwin has progressed quickly but there are still some questions about his availability for Week 1. However, he certainly seems to be on the fast track. Mike Evans also returned today so the Bucs look to be getting healthy right before Week 1. We have Godwin as the WR31 but at this pace he's potentially a huge value if he's ready by the start of the season.

Mike Evans is back practicing today.

Laine said Evans did do some jogging and the hamstring looked to be holding up. Evans has been out about two weeks so the hope is he starts to really progress from here.

Panthers officially announced Baker Mayfield as their opening-day starting quarterback vs. the Cleveland Browns.

Related players: Sam Darnold, D.J. Moore, Christian McCaffrey

Mayfield gets a fresh start in Carolina. We expect him to post serviceable numbers for the Panthers. He was the QB18 in 2020 prior to a QB23 finish last season, though he dealt with some injuries. The weapons in Carolina are pretty solid. Moore is a solid WR1 and McCaffrey is arguably the best receiving back in the league.

Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin has taken another significant step in his recovery from last year’s torn ACL.

Godwin did seven-on-seven work for the first time in training camp today. Reporters on the scene said Godwin looked good running and cutting.

The story went on to say: Godwin tore his ACL on December 19, so he’s not yet eight months removed from the injury, and his recovery seems to be on schedule, perhaps ahead of schedule. The Bucs haven’t put a timeline on Godwin’s return, but it appears likely that he’ll be on the field when the Bucs take on the Cowboys in Week 1.

Panthers QB Baker Mayfield received most of the work with the first-team offense.

Related players: Sam Darnold

The Panthers are having joint practices with the Patriots this week. Kyed went on to say in his tweet he wouldn’t say Mayfield or Darnold stood out today. Both QBs made some good throws near the end of practice while Darnold was picked late. We're expecting Mayfield to win this job and would have some talent around him. He was the QB18 in 2020 and QB23 in 2021.

Unsurprisingly after Sam Darnold's lackluster 2021 and the trade for Mayfield, it looks like the latter is in the driver seat as the team's QB1.

Related Players: D.J. Moore, Robbie Anderson

Per the article, “He’s definitely improving,” Panthers coach Matt Rhule said of Mayfield. “He gets more and more of a feel of what he can do at the line of scrimmage. What he’s done in 10 days is pretty impressive — or 10, 11 practices. He’s making really good jumps.” Mayfield would add stability to the skill position group like Darnold would not. This is good news for the WR group.

Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles told reporters Saturday that WR Mike Evans, who left Friday's practice early with a hamstring injury, "is fine" and is day-to-day.

Certainly good news for Evans. He'll have plenty of time to rest. We're still a month away from the Buccaneers' first game on September 11 against the Cowboys and it was always very unlikely Evans, or many other Buccaneers starters, would play much, if at all, in the preseason. Evans is being selected, on average, in the top 20 picks overall as a top-8 wide receiver in what should be another Super-Bowl-or-bust season and what could be Tom Brady's final season.

This was Godwin's first practice since his ACL tear.

Related Players: Mike Evans, Julio Jones, Russell Gage

If Godwin is truly ready to go by Week 1, we have a bonafide wide receiver logjam in Tampa Bay, which will be a great problem to have for Tom Brady. There for a brief moment, it was looking like Russell Gage was going to operate as the team's WR2 for at least a small portion of the 2022 season, but with the return of Godwin and the addition of Julio Jones, he may be relegated back to a rotational role.

The Giants plan this summer with WR Kadarius Toney: “Let him go out there and practice,” coach Brian Daboll said.

Related players: Kenny Golladay, Sterling Shepard, Darius Slayton, Wan'Dale Robinson

Daboll said in another report Toney is ready to practice and Raanan's tweet added the team will make modifications off that if necessary. Toney shined if only for a brief moment last season before injuries derailed him. The team is deep at WR in name but is looking for a lot more production from the position.