NFL Player News

McCoy (lower leg) is expected to participate in June minicamp to some extent and should be fully ready in late July when training camp begins, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

McCoy is back with the team for OTAs and seems to be recovering well from his third surgery on a fractured right fibula. He was originally expected to miss all offseason work until training camp, but the timetable apparently has been moved up. Once healthy, McCoy will compete for the starting job with Case Keenum and first-round pick Dwayne Haskins. While experience in coach Jay Gruden's offense may help his cause, McCoy hasn't shown any real sign of being anything more than a competent game manager.

Christion was waived by the Seahawks on Monday, Curtis Crabtree of Sports Radio KJR reports.

Christion's stint in Seattle lasted less than a month, as the quarterback was waived to allegedly make room for veteran Geno Smith on the 90-man roster. The two-year starter in the FCS for South Dakota State will look to find another destination to land before the beginning of training camp this summer.

Smith is scheduled to visit with the Seahawks on Wednesday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com relayed earlier Monday that Smith was nearing agreement on a contract with Seattle, but the club will apparently sit down and meet with him first before drawing up terms on any deal. If Smith reaches agreement on a pact with Seattle, he would likely become the clear frontrunner to emerge as Russell Wilson's backup heading into 2019. Though he threw just four passes in 2018 as the backup to Philip Rivers in Los Angeles, Smith has logged 40 regular-season appearances in his career and sports a 29:36 TD:INT and 57.7 completion percentage over 906 attempts. Beyond Wilson, the only other quarterbacks on the Seahawks' roster are 2016 first-round bust Paxton Lynch and undrafted rookie Taryn Christion.

Coach Vic Fangio suggested Lock, Kevin Hogan and Brett Rypien will share second- and third-string reps during spring practices.

Fangio said Joe Flacco will take all the first-team snaps while Lock is busy competing with a pair of borderline NFL talents. The No. 42 overall pick has a decent shot to make starts during his rookie season, but it doesn't appear the Broncos will give him a fair shot to win the Week 1 job.

Coach Bill O'Brien expects Watson to take a big step forward in his third NFL season, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle reports. "I've always said with his work ethic and his intelligence and his hunger to be better, he'll always make a jump," O'Brien said. "I've always said that I don't think there's any ceiling on Deshaun Watson."

Watson was already quite effective in 2018, though his impressive averages of 8.2 yards per pass attempt and 5.6 per carry don't account for a league-high total of 62 sacks, which was partially a product of poor line play and partially a matter of holding on to the ball for too long. It didn't help that the Texans struggled to keep their wide receivers on the field, with Will Fuller (knee), Keke Coutee (hamstring), Demaryius Thomas (Achilles) and Bruce Ellington (undisclosed) each playing seven games or fewer. The offensive line still doesn't look particularly good on paper, but first-round pick Tytus Howard might help the matter, plus Houston is optimistic about having both Fuller and Coutee ready for Week 1. For all the sacks his playing style leads to, Watson also creates frequent long gains when he dodges pass rushers rather than throwing the ball away or settling for a dump-off. The 23-year-old should be able to refine his approach without straying too far from his aggressive instincts, assuming his supporting cast isn't just the DeAndre Hopkins Show and little else for a second straight season.

McCoy (lower leg) is expected to be sidelined until training camp, Les Carpenter of The Washington Post reports.

McCoy originally was going to be back on the field during the middle of OTAs, but he underwent a third surgery on his fractured right fibula in mid-April and now will be sidelined until much closer to the start of the regular season. Once healthy, he's expected to compete for snaps with Case Keenum, who could gain an edge for the starting job during McCoy's recovery. The Redskins also selected Ohio State product Dwayne Haskins in the first round of the draft, representing another competitor as head coach Jay Gruden tries to settle on a man to lead the offense once the season begins.

Falk was claimed off waivers by the Jets on Thursday, Field Yates of ESPN reports.

Barely a day after being waived by the Dolphins, Falk is reunited with head coach Adam Gase in New York. The Washington State product was inactive for four games in Miami last season before going on injured reserve with a wrist injury. Falk was waived Wednesday without an injury tag, which suggests that he is now healthy.

The Dolphins waived Falk on Wednesday, Joe Schad of The Palm Beach Post reports.

Drafted in the sixth round out of Washington State last spring, Falk spent the majority of the 2018 season on the Dolphins' practice squad with an undisclosed wrist injury. That he was waived without a reported injury tag suggests he's now healthy, but Falk's future in the league is nonetheless bleak after being deemed unworthy to stick around on a Miami team that likely has the shakiest quarterback room in the NFL.

Rypien officially signed with the Broncos as an undrafted free agent Monday, Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic reports.

Rypien's contract apparently features a six-figure guarantee, which is a significant amount for an undrafted player. Joe Flacco and second-round pick Drew Lock should begin the season as the team's top-two quarterbacks, while Rypien, out of Boise State, is likely to be in direct competition with Kevin Hogan and Garrett Grayson.

The Seahawks are expected to sign Christion as an undrafted free agent, Gregg Bell of The Tacoma News Tribune reports.

A two-year starter in the FCS for South Dakota State, Christion completed 57.9 percent of his passes for 3,020 yards and 32 touchdowns against eight interceptions in 13 games last season. With only Paxton Lynch on the roster behind Russell Wilson, Christion will certainly be a candidate to back up Wilson in 2019.