NFL Player News

Coutee signed a contract with the Saints on Thursday, Field Yates of ESPN reports.

Coutee played in 10 games over the last two seasons in Indianapolis after spending the first three seasons of his career in Houston. The veteran wideout will likely face an uphill battle making the Saints roster, but his versatility as a receiver and return man could increase his chances of securing a roster spot.

Bowden signed with the Saints on Thursday, Field Yates of ESPN reports.

Bowden has struggled to gain his footing in the NFL since getting selected in the third round of the 2020 Draft by the Raiders. He was traded to the Dolphins before his rookie campaign began and made 28 receptions on 37 targets for 211 yards during his initial season. A hamstring injury ruined his 2021 and he spent all but one game on the Patriots practice squad in 2022. He'll now work to gain that footing with the Saints this season.

Wims was released by the Cardinals on Thursday, Jess Root of USA Today reports.

Wims signed a reserve/future contract with the Cardinals this past January after working with their 2022 practice squad for the majority of the season. Since entering the NFL, the 2018 seventh-rounder has totaled 266 yards on 28 catches with two touchdowns over the course of 34 games.

Crawford is slated to sign with the Chiefs, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

The 25-year-old was waived by Indianapolis last July before ending up in Kansas City. During his last college season at California in 2021, Crawford totaled 40 receptions for 513 yards in 11 games. He has yet to play an NFL snap after going undrafted in 2022 and will most likely be competing for a practice squad spot ahead of the coming season.

Shakir has been impressive at spring practices, making his case for a regular role in three-wide formations, Mark Gaughan of The Buffalo News reports.

The 2022 fifth-round pick had only 10 receptions during the regular season last year, mostly operating as Buffalo's No. 4 receiver, before coming on strong in the playoffs with five catches for 91 yards over two games. Shakir enters his second season with a nice chance to claim the third receiver spot, albeit in an offense that rarely took WRs Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis off the field last year and may now use more multi-TE formations after adding first-round pick Dalton Kincaid. The Bills also added veteran WRs Deonte Harty and Trent Sherfield this spring to give Shakir some competition for playing time that previously went to the departed Isaiah McKenzie, who drew 63 targets last year while taking nearly three-fourths of his snaps in the slot.

Skowronek missed time during the Rams' recent minicamp while "working through some foot stuff," per coach Sean McVay, Cameron DaSilva of the USA Today reports.

Skowronek has moved past the calf strain that he dealt with at the end of last season, but he's now tending to a foot issue in advance of training camp. Assuming it's nothing that lingers, Skowronek will look to cement a steady role in a Rams' wide receiver corps that will be led by Cooper Kupp and also includes Van Jefferson, Demarcus Robinson, Tutu Atwell and Puka Nacua. In 14 games during the 2022 campaign, the 2021 seventh-rounder logged 39 catches on 61 targets for 376 yards and no touchdowns.

Olave (Achilles) didn't practice Thursday, Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football reports.

Per Mike Triplett of NewOrleans.Football, coach Dennis Allen suggested that Olave's injury is nothing to worry about, while indicating the wideout is dealing with some minor Achilles inflammation. With that in mind, we'd expect that Olave -- who was spotted Thursday with tape on his right ankle -- should be past the issue by the time training camp rolls around.

Metchie, who sustained a strained hamstring during the initial phase of the Texans' offseason program, is on track to participate in training camp, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

"Everything is on target," Texans coach DeMeco Ryans noted of the wideout at the close of a full-team minicamp. "I think Metchie will be good to go for training camp." The 2022 second-rounder spent his rookie season on the reserve/non-football illness list after being diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia last July, with Wilson noting that by all accounts, Metchie's recovery since then has progressed well. Once the 5-foot-11, 187-pounder moves past his hamstring issue and is able to take the field in training camp, Metchie is in line to compete for snaps in Houston's WR corps with Robert Woods, Nico Collins, Noah Brown and Nathaniel Dell.

Rams coach Sean McVay said Tuesday that Atwell has been "outstanding" and a "real bright spot" in spring practices, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic reports.

Atwell is getting first-team looks at multiple receiver spots and apparently has been one of Matthew Stafford's favorite targets this spring with fellow WRs Cooper Kupp (ankle), Van Jefferson (undisclosed) and Ben Skowronek (foot) all limited in practice or absent. The 2021 second-round pick has a real shot at a top-three spot on the depth chart given the lack of talent behind Kupp, but it's still an uphill battle toward fantasy relevance and consistent production for one of the smallest players in the league (5-9, 165). Atwell is also getting practice reps on special teams as a returner, competing with RB Kyren Williams and WR Austin Trammell.

Williams (back) participated in minicamp and said Wednesday that he's been healthy for months, Jeff Miller of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Williams suffered a minor back fracture Week 18 last season and sat out the Chargers' wild-card round loss to Jacksonville six days later, finishing a once-promising season on a low note. He averaged 5.3 catches for 70.7 yards on 8.4 targets over the first seven weeks and 5.0 catches for 77 yards on 6.6 targets over the final five weeks, with an ankle injury limiting him to six snaps in the five games in between. The per-route and per-snap production wasn't much different from his 2021 breakout campaign, apart from a lack of touchdowns (four). The 28-year-old has tougher competition for deep and intermediate targets after the Chargers drafted Quentin Johnston in the first round in April's draft, but there may be more looks to go around overall under new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.