NFL Player News

Schwartz (hamstring) isn't expected to play in Cleveland's preseason finale, Doc Louallen of the team's official site reports.

Cleveland will most likely continue to hold Schwartz out with a hamstring injury after he missed practice earlier in the week. The young wideout is entering his third season after being selected by the Browns in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Schwartz has only 14 career receptions, so expect the 22-year-old to serve as a depth piece in Cleveland's wide receiver room ahead of the coming season.

Thornton (undisclosed) isn't slated to play in Friday's preseason contest at Tennessee, Evan Lazar of the Patriots' official site reports.

Thornton hasn't practiced since Aug. 17, when he suffered an undisclosed injury that will sideline him for the Patriots' final two exhibitions. With Thornton sidelined, the team's potentially available wide receivers Friday are JuJu Smith-Schuster, DeVante Parker, Kendrick Bourne and Demario Douglas, among others. Thornton's next opportunity for game action is a Week 1 matchup with the Eagles on Sunday, Sept. 10.

Goodwin (illness) will not play the preseason finale against the Chiefs on Saturday, Doc Louallen of the Browns' official site reports.

Goodwin remains on the active/non-football injury list due to blood cots, and his status for Week 1 against the Bengals is unknown. The Browns may be leaning toward keeping six receivers, and Goodwin would be among those six if he were healthy. The four locks are Amari Cooper, Elijah Moore, Donovan Peoples-Jones and Cedric Tillman. Beyond that, wide receivers in the mix for the final spots are David Bell, Jaelon Darden, Jakeem Grant, Anthony Schwartz (hamstring) and Austin Watkins.

Chark (hamstring) isn't expected to play in Friday's preseason game against the Lions, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.

Chark was sidelined at Wednesday's practice due to a hamstring injury, which will keep him out of Carolina's exhibition finale. Along with Chark, fellow wide receivers Terrace Marshall (back) and Laviska Shenault (concussion) also won't suit up, meaning the likes of Adam Thielen, rookie Jonathan Mingo and Shi Smith will be among Bryce Young's top WR targets Friday. Chark will turn his focus to being healthy for the Panthers' Week 1 road matchup with the Falcons on Sunday, Sept. 10.

The Bears placed Pettis (undisclosed) on injured reserve Friday, Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com reports.

The Bears have not provided any clarity on the nature of Pettis' injury. The 27-year-old pass catcher is now in line to spend the remainder of the 2023 season on the sideline. He recorded 19 receptions on 41 targets for 245 yards and three touchdowns for Chicago in 2022.

Boyd is aiming for 1,000 yards this season, though he also said teammates Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are better than ever, Charlie Godsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

One of the issues for Boyd is that the Bengals have moved Chase and Higgins into the slot more and more often as they and QB Joe Burrow (calf) have increasingly mastered coach Zac Taylor's offense over the years. The grey cloud hanging over Cincinnati is Burrow's preseason injury, potentially leaving things in the hands of Trevor Siemian or Jake Browning for Week 1 at Cleveland. Either way, Boyd is Option C in a prolific offense and should remain one of the league's better No. 3 receivers in his age-28/29 season.

Offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said the team has been "real impressed" with Sutton during training camp and added that the Broncos will rely on him a lot in the upcoming campaign, Zac Stevens of TheDNVR.com reports.

After what was a disappointing year for Sutton in 2022, it appears the Broncos are committed to utilizing the veteran receiver in a significant role this season. An increased reliance on Sutton in the passing game could become a matter of necessity to start the season as fellow wideout Jerry Jeudy (hamstring) is set to miss several weeks after an injury suffered during practice Thursday. The 27-year-old is set to headline Denver's receiving corps while Jeudy is on the mend, with rookie Marvin Mims potentially stepping into the No. 2 role for the time being. If the Broncos' offense can turn things around in 2023, Sutton could be headed toward a bounce-back year for fantasy purposes.

McKenzie caught his only target for eight yards in Thursday's 27-13 preseason win over the Eagles.

McKenzie appeared to only play with the backups, while rookie Josh Downs (no catches on two targets) took a vast majority of snaps with the first-team offense alongside Michael Pittman and Alec Pierce. If it's the same alignment Week 1 against Jacksonville, it might mean McKenzie is limited to work on returns and perhaps the occasional trick play or jet sweep.

Downs had two targets and no catches in Thursday's 27-13 preseason win over the Eagles.

Downs played a vast majority of the first-team snaps with Indianapolis largely operating from three-wide formations. He let a ball slip between his hands in tight coverage on a 3rd-and-7 and otherwise did little of note. Multiple recent reports suggested the rookie has been much busier at training camp, and it seems either he or Alec Pierce are most likely to emerge as Anthony Richardson's second-favorite target behind clear No. 1 Michael Pittman. The Colts open their season Sept. 10 with a home game against the Jaguars.

Pierce was held without a catch on three targets in Thursday's 27-13 preseason win over the Eagles.

Pierce made the mistake in the first week of the preseason, dropping what would've been a 30-plus yard completion on his lone target. His second game playing with Anthony Richardson didn't go much better, though this time the blame fell on the rookie quarterback for throwing to Pierce when he was blanketed in coverage. Michael Pittman remains the Colts' clear top WR option, but Pierce should be choice B or C ahead of Indy's regular-season opener against Jacksonville on Sept. 10.