NFL Player News

Pierce has mostly worked with the first-team offense in training camp, Zak Keefer of The Athletic reports.

Pierce and Parris Campbell are getting most of the reps alongside No. 1 receiver Michael Pittman, while Ashton Dulin reportedly has a solid lead for the No. 4 job. Keefer notes that Pierce has made a strong impression with his speed and contested catches, but the second-round pick also has shown his youth with frequent mistakes, which is probably to be expected in a complicated offense where the coach wants his wide receivers to know the routes and alignments for each of the three receiver spots. Given the current grouping, Pierce likely will take most of the Z receiver snaps, with Pittman the X and Campbell getting most of the slot work. Dulin is the potential spoiler, or at least a well-versed injury replacement.

Shepherd signed a contract with the Broncos on Thursday, Troy Renck of Denver 7 News reports.

Shepherd's signing comes a day after the Broncos placed Tim Patrick (knee) on IR. The former last saw NFL action in 2020 with the Packers, making five catches on eight targets for 46 yards in eight contests. Last season, he bounced around between the Steelers, Vikings, Cardinals and Chiefs' practice squads, then spent the summer playing with the New Jersey Generals of the USFL.

Pascal returned to practice Thursday after missing the first week of training camp with food poisoning, Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

A late start to camp shouldn't be the end of the world for a 27-year-old with 44 career starts, especially given that his new head coach was his offensive coordinator for three seasons in Indianapolis. On the other hand, Pascal has never done a ton with is playing time, and last year in particular he was one of the NFL's least productive starting WRs on a per-snap, per-route or per-target basis (384 yards, 5.6 YPT, 872 snaps). He's unlikely to get that much playing time in Philadelphia, where A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith are stone-cold locks to be the lead duo at wide receiver, while Quez Watkins, Jalen Reagor and Greg Ward are all legitimate candidates for the third and fourth spots. Pascal at least is in good shape to make the roster, in part because his one-year, $1.5 million contract is fully guaranteed, per overthecap.com.

Smith will be held out of Thursday's practice with a groin injury, Zach Berman of The Athletic reports.

Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the injury doesn't appear serious, as Smith joined his teammates on the field for pre-practice stretching. It's the first report of any injury issue for Smith this year, following a rookie campaign in which he played all 17 games and barely missed any practice time during the regular season. He did suffer an MCL sprain last August and a few minor injuries in college, but he's missed just two games total his last five seasons between Alabama and the NFL. The 23-year-old wideout has been surprisingly durable for someone unusually thin (6-0, 170) for his position, and he should continue growing as a player after a 916-yard rookie season. Target volume is a potential issue, however, as the Eagles had success with a run-heavy approach late last season and then traded for WR A.J. Brown in the offseason.

Anderson has done well improving his grasp of the Panthers offense during training camp, according to coach Matt Rhule, Augusta Stone of the team's official site reports.

Anderson has been acclimating to new quarterback Baker Mayfield, who is competing with Sam Darnold for Carolina's starting job, as well as new coordinator Ben McAdoo. Along with flashing speed for Mayfield downfield, the wideout's growing knowledge of McAdoo's scheme has drawn praise early on. Coming off a down season of just 53 catches on 110 targets for 519 yards and five scores in 17 games, Anderson will hope to bounce back this season with the help of some new faces around him.

Denver placed Patrick (knee) on injured reserve Wednesday, Aric DiLalla of the Broncos' official site reports.

As a result of the transaction, Patrick -- who suffered a torn ACL during Tuesday's practice -- isn't eligible to play during the 2022 season. In Patrick's absence, KJ Hamler, who is returning from a knee injury of his own, should have an opportunity to see an increased profile in the Broncos' offense behind the team's top wideout options, Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy.

Moore (hip) returned to practice Wednesday, Matt McMullen of the Chiefs' official site reports.

The quick return to practice suggests Moore escaped with little more than a bruise when he departed Tuesday's session early. The second-round pick is back on the field fighting for reps in a wideout corps that includes veterans JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Mecole Hardman.

Moore didn't practice Wednesday due to an unspecified soft-tissue injury, Jeff Miller of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Once fully healthy, the 27-year-old will continue to compete for a depth role within Los Angeles' receiving corps. Moore finished the 2021 campaign with just three catches for 56 yards in two games.

The Texans waived/injured Davis (hamstring) on Wednesday, Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com reports.

Davis suffered a pulled hamstring in practice and is now being waived/injured. If the wideout clears waivers, he will revert to injured reserve. Davis played in just two games with the Texans last season before suffering a fractured ankle that ended his season early. Though injuries continue to plague the 25-year-old, he'll now focus his attention on making a full recovery.

Brown (hamstring) was arrested Wednesday in Phoenix on criminal speeding charges, Jose M. Romero of The Arizona Republic reports.

Brown has been slowed by a hamstring issue during the first week-plus of training camp, kicking it off on the active/non-football injury list before returning to drills Tuesday. At that time, head coach Kliff Kingsbury noted that Brown was being "eased" back in, but he was expected to be a full participant by early next week. Per Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, Brown wasn't present to the portion of Wednesday's practice open to the media, and the reason for his absence has now been revealed. When he's back on the field at 100 percent is still in question, but a legal matter now is plaguing him as well.