NFL Player News

Nacua (knee) returned to practice Monday, Adam Grosbard of The Orange County Register reports.

Nacua may not be a full participant immediately, but he'll now have almost two full weeks to gear up before a Sept. 8 season opener at Detroit. Monday marks his first practice appearance since Aug. 4, when he suffered a bursa sac injury in his knee. Coach Sean McVay said Aug. 6 that he wasn't worried about Nacua's availability for Week 1.

Baker logged 27 snaps on offense in Sunday's preseason finale against the Commanders en route to catching two of his seven targets for 33 yards in the contest, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports.

Baker's roster spot is in no danger ahead of cut downs, but the 2024 fourth-rounder's role in the offense early on this season may not be substantial. For now, DeMario Douglas, Ja'Lynn Polk, K.J. Osborn and Tyquan Thornton are the team's healthy wideouts who will likely slot in ahead of Baker as New England's Week 1 matchup against Cincinnati approaches.

Coach Doug Pederson said Monday that Kirk (calf) will resume practicing this week, John Shipley of SI.com reports.

Kirk has missed roughly two weeks of practice due to a calf injury described as mild, so it will be encouraging to see him back on the field in at least a limited capacity. The 27-year-old still has just under two weeks remaining to get fully healthy for Jacksonville's regular-season opener against the Dolphins on Sunday, Sept. 8, so he figures to be ready to rock by the time Week 1 kicks off.

Waddle (undisclosed) is wearing a non-contact jersey Monday at practice, Alain Poupart of SI.com reports.

Waddle's participation in any fashion is a good sign for the Dolphins, 13 days ahead of their regular-season opener against Jacksonville. The WR room has been hit by injury after injury this summer, but it seems Waddle and Tyreek Hill (hand) are on track to be ready for Week 1, leaving the lower portion of the depth chart as the bigger question mark.

Crowder didn't play in Sunday's 20-10 preseason win over New England.

It's a good sign for his odds of having a spot on the initial 53-man roster, and Crowder might even get some early season snaps on offense after the Commanders traded Jahan Dotson to the Eagles and left themselves with an extremely thin WR room. Crowder mostly seems to be around for punt returns at this point in his career, but he could get a look in the slot as well, especially if the Commanders want to play Olamide Zaccheaus on the perimeter.

Brown didn't play in Sunday's 20-10 preseason win over New England.

Neither did Olamide Zaccheaus, who seems to be Brown's primary competition for the No. 2 receiver spot after Jahan Dotson was traded to the Eagles last week. Dotson mostly worked the slot during Washington's first two preseason games while Zaccheaus and Brown split perimeter snaps with the first-team offense. One possibility is moving Zaccheaus to the slot and keeping Brown on the perimeter, although that wouldn't necessarily give Brown all the playing time in two-wide sets. Jamison Crowder and rookie third-round pick Luke McCaffrey also could enter the mix despite not getting playing time with the starting offense this preseason. Regardless of how the snaps shake out, it'll be surprising if any of the team's WRs besides Terry McLaurin see more than a handful of targets per game.

Zaccheaus didn't play in Sunday's 20-10 preseason win over New England.

Zaccheaus, Terry McLaurin, Dyami Brown, Luke McCaffrey and Jamison Crowder all were held out of the game with no injury reported, suggesting they're in good position for spots on the initial 53-man roster. The question is how snaps will be divided after McLaurin, with the No. 2 and 3 roles seemingly up for grabs after Jahan Dotson was traded to Philadelphia last week. Zaccheaus and Brown split perimeter snaps with the first-team offense during the first two preseason games while Dotson mostly manned the slot.

Tolbert didn't suit up for any of Dallas' preseason contests this year.

Dak Prescott and the rest of the team's first-string players were kept out of the preseason entirely, with Tolbert counting among that group. The 2022 third-round pick could be poised for a big role to begin the season with CeeDee Lamb still holding out and Brandin Cooks (knee) not 100 percent, as Tolbert looks to build on the 22-268-2 line on 36 targets he compiled over 17 regular-season games last year.

Turpin didn't see action in any of Dallas' three preseason games this year.

That's good news for the TCU product, as Turpin is locked in as the Cowboys' top kick returner and had nothing to prove during the exhibition schedule. Teams avoided putting the ball in Turpin's hands last year, and his total return yards dropped from 811 in his rookie campaign to 371 in 2023, but the NFL's new kickoff rules should give the 28-year-old more opportunities to break away for his first career kick return touchdown. With CeeDee Lamb still holding out and Brandin Cooks (knee) not 100 percent at the end of training camp, Turpin could also see more snaps on offense early in the season after he scored four TDs on only 23 offensive touches last year.

Flournoy caught all three of his targets for 30 yards and a touchdown in Saturday's preseason loss to the Chargers.

The 2024 sixth-round pick hauled in a TD in both of the last two preseason games, which may have been enough to lock him into a spot on the 53-man roster. Flournoy isn't likely to see much volume in the regular season, but with CeeDee Lamb still holding out and Brandin Cooks (knee) banged up, Dallas' depth at wideout could be tested early in the year.