NFL Player News

Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said Tuesday at the start of mandatory minicamp that Lawrence (shoulder) is wearing a sleeve on his right arm due to "general soreness" related to the amount of throwing he did at voluntary OTAs last week, James Palmer of 104.3 The Fan reports.

Coen said Lawrence "feels good" and indicated that any limitations the quarterback faces at minicamp are maintenance related, as he continues to work his way back from last December's surgery on his left, non-throwing shoulder. Lawrence reportedly looked sharp at OTAs while building chemistry with his new-look wide receiver corps, which added 2025 second overall pick Travis Hunter and veteran free agent Dyami Brown in the offseason. Hunter and Brown join budding superstar Brian Thomas, who strung together an 87-1,282-10 line across 17 regular-season appearances as a rookie despite Lawrence starting just 10 of those games. All indications are that Lawrence remains on track to be fully cleared for the start of training camp,

Stroud (shoulder) is throwing at the start of mandatory minicamp Tuesday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Stroud took part in 7-on-7 drills with the first-team offense, per Jonathan M. Alexander of the Houston Chronicle, and a video recorded by Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston shows the third-year quarterback participating in padded throwing drills without any apparent discomfort. Coach DeMeco Ryans consistently downplayed Stroud's right shoulder soreness during voluntary OTAs, saying he had "no concerns," and the 2023 first-round pick is ready to build chemistry with new wide receivers Christian Kirk, Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel.

Cousins is slated to attend the Falcons' mandatory minicamp Tuesday and Wednesday. Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports.

Cousins attended Atlanta's voluntary workouts in April but not voluntary OTAs in late May and early June. The veteran quarterback has expressed his desire to be traded to a team where he could compete to start, rather than work as the backup to Michael Penix. The Browns, Steelers and Vikings had been named as potential suitors for Cousins this offseason, but Cleveland has since added rookie draft picks Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, while Pittsburgh's long-awaited one-year deal with Aaron Rodgers finally has materialized. Cousins is now heading into his age-37 season, carrying a cumbersome contract and fresh off a 2024 campaign in which he visibly petered out down the stretch before being benched. Unless a path to a starting gig elsewhere and trade somehow comes to pass, for fantasy purposes Cousins looks like a mere late-round stash in formats that start multiple QBs.

Rodgers signed his one-year, $13.65 million contract with the Steelers on Saturday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

The deal between Pittsburgh and the veteran quarterback came together late in the week and is now official. Per Schefter, Rodgers' contract includes $10 million in guaranteed money and has a maximum value of $19.5 million. It's a significant step down from what he could have made with the Jets, as Rodgers was slated to earn $37.5 million had he remained in New York.

Rodgers signed a one-year deal with the Steelers on Thursday.

News broke earlier in the day that Rodgers had informed the Steelers of his intention to sign with the team and report for mandatory minicamp next week. However, the deal is now official, and he'll ascend to the top of a previously uninspiring quarterback depth chart in Pittsburgh. Though Rodgers is well past his prime both in on-field and fantasy contributions, his arrival should be good news for the likes of DK Metcalf and Pat Freiermuth.

Rodgers informed Pittsburgh on Thursday that he plans to sign a contract with the team and attend mandatory minicamp, which kicks off June 10, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Rodgers' decision has been the largest domino waiting to fall of the Steelers' offseason, and the 41-year-old signal-caller now provides the team some much-desired clarity. With Rodgers planning to sign before the start of minicamp, the veteran will get the benefit of a mostly complete offseason to build chemistry with new top wideout DK Metcalf, and to adapt to offensive coordinator Arthur Smith's scheme. While suiting up for all 17 regular-season games with the Jets in 2024, Rodgers completed 368 of 584 pass attempts (63 percent) for 3,897 yards, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Despite looking less mobile than usual while coming off the Achilles tear that derailed his 2023 campaign, plus dealing with a lingering hamstring injury, Rodgers displayed competence under center and provides the Steelers with a substantial upgrade over Mason Rudolph. The days of Rodgers being a high-end fantasy option at quarterback seem well in the distance, but his arrival bodes well for the value of Metcalf and the rest of Pittsburgh's skill-position players, including TE Pat Freiermuth and RBs Jaylen Warren and Kaleb Johnson.

Minshew (collarbone) has been pictured throwing at Kansas City's voluntary OTAs, Charlie Riedel of the Citrus County Chronicle reports.

Minshew appears fully recovered from the season-ending broken collarbone that limited him to 10 regular-season appearances (nine starts) with the Raiders in 2024. The veteran journeyman is secure as the No. 2 quarterback behind superstar Patrick Mahomes after signing a one-year deal with the Chiefs in March, with Bailey Zappe and Chris Oladokun battling it out for third-string duties. In the event that Minshew were to see any significant action in relief of Mahomes in 2025, his experience and the presence of pass-catchers Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, Hollywood Brown and TE Travis Kelce should allow him to pilot coach Andy Reid's offensive scheme to productive ends.

Colts head coach Shane Steichen said Thursday that Anthony Richardson (shoulder) is dealing with an injury and will not participate in mandatory minicamp June 10-12, leaving Jones in position to dominate first-team reps.

Jones and Richardson have been positioned to split first-team reps in what looks like a truly open competition for the No. 1 quarterback gig, but the latter signal-caller is now sidelined due to an injury to his throwing shoulder and without a return timetable other than hopefully being back "at some point" in training camp, per James Boyd of The Athletic. That leaves Jones, who inked a one-year, $14 million deal with Indianapolis in March, staring down an opportunity to impress while handling the lion's share of first-team reps in mandatory minicamp, and potentially longer depending on Richardson's recovery. Boyd reports that Richardson's shoulder injury is related to the AC joint issue that ended his 2023 rookie campaign early. While Boyd notes that Richardson's current injury isn't expected to require surgery, this appears to be a situation that could fluctuate. For at least mandatory minicamp, Jones will work to take advantage of the opportunity before him and establish quick chemistry with top wideouts Michael Pittman and Josh Downs, as well as rookie 14th overall pick TE Tyler Warren.

Colts head coach Shane Steichen said Thursday that Richardson (shoulder) is dealing with an injury and will not participate in mandatory minicamp June 10-12.

Steichen said Richardson injured his right throwing shoulder during the start of OTAs last week, per James Boyd of The Athletic, specifying the same AC joint that previously required the young quarterback to undergo season-ending surgery as a rookie in 2023. Per Boyd, Steichen said it doesn't currently look like Richardson will require another surgery, also saying that the signal-caller currently has no return timetable but will hopefully be back "at some point" during training camp. As long as Richardson remains sidelined, free-agency signee Daniel Jones will be positioned to dominate Indianapolis' first-team reps, giving him significant additional opportunities to prove himself capable as the team's Week 1 starter.

Lawrence (shoulder) has impressed coaches throughout OTAs and has been a quick adapter of new head coach Liam Coen's offensive scheme, John Oehser of the Jaguars' official site reports.

Coen singled out Lawrence's "quick decisions" in 11-on-11 red-zone work as praiseworthy, also noting that the fifth-year pro "has done a nice job with his footwork," an area of emphasis for the new offensive scheme. As Oehser notes, the 2021 first overall pick is currently learning his third offensive system in five seasons, but there's reason to be confident in Coen's scheme being the best fit of the bunch for Lawrence, given his track record as offensive coordinator for the Rams and Buccaneers. Lawrence is over six months removed from surgery undergone to address an AC joint sprain in his left, non-throwing shoulder, and he remains on track to be fully cleared for the start of training camp. Rookie No. 2 overall pick Travis Hunter has begun the offseason focusing on the offensive side of the ball, providing Lawrence another potential star wideout to join 2024 first-round phenom Brian Thomas. Jacksonville also inked Dyami Brown to a one-year deal back in March, with returnees Parker Washington and TE Brenton Strange closing out a pass-catching corps that saw Christian Kirk, Evan Engram (shoulder) and Gabe Davis (knee) all depart.