NFL Player News

Woods (knee) has been rehabbing from surgery with an eye toward returning for minicamp in May or June, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic reports.

Woods seems to be making good progress since tearing his ACL in mid-November, though the timing of the injury makes a return for minicamp rather ambitious. He's stuck around with the team throughout much of the Rams' playoff run, helping young wideout Van Jefferson and midseason addition Odell Beckham get more comfortable in the Los Angeles offense. On March 20, Woods will receive a $3.5 million roster bonus, at which point his $10 million base salary also becomes guaranteed, per Spotrac.com. With his place on the Rams thus secure for at least one more season, Woods will focus on rehab this offseason before eventually rejoining an offense led by head coach Sean McVay, quarterback Matthew Stafford and fellow wideout Cooper Kupp.

Lions wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle El spoke highly of Cephus (collarbone) when discussing Detroit's search for a true No. 1 option to handle the X role on the outside, Tim Twentyman of the team's official site reports. "I feel like Q was really taking some strides before he got hurt," Randle El said last week at the Senior Bowl. "You see flashes in Q for sure because Q just has this unbelievable - like he can get off the field and jump. Being able to just put it up (to him) and make a play. You see him go up one hand and be able to come down with it."

The Lions are well-stocked with short-range weaponry but are lacking in downfield targets, especially with Josh Reynolds and Kalif Raymond set to become unrestricted free agents. However, Cephus clearly impressed his coaches when healthy last season, and it seems like he could have a chance to claim a starting role in 2022. While it's possible that a large offseason investment via the draft or free agency could prevent that from happening, Cephus at least seems likely to be a key part of the rotation going forward.

Morgan (hamstring) remained limited at practice Friday, Tyler Dragon of USA Today reports.

Morgan was listed as a limited practice participant all week and if the Bengals were playing this Sunday, the wideout would have been listed as questionable. However, with the Super Bowl not until Feb. 13, Morgan has a chance to return to practice fully in advance of the contest. If that happens, he could head into next weekend minus an injury designation.

Watson signed a contract with the Chiefs on Friday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Watson underwent knee surgery in July, which cost him the start of the 2021 campaign. He was activated off the PUP list at the end of December and played 19 special-teams snaps for the Buccaneers against the Panthers in Week 16. However, he suffered a quadriceps injury during the contest that sidelined him for the rest of the regular season. Watson was then waived and rejoined Tampa Bay's practice squad in the middle of January. The 2018 fifth-round pick has caught 23 passes for 258 yards and two touchdowns in 40 appearances across four NFL seasons -- all with the Bucs.

Jefferson (knee) didn't practice Friday, Tyler Dragon of USA Today reports.

It might seem like a step back after he was limited Wednesday and Thursday, but the Rams were cautious at Friday's practice and held out seven players. Assuming he returns next week, Jefferson will enter the Super Bowl as the team's No. 3 receiver -- a role that hasn't yielded much since mid-December.

Morgan (hamstring) was limited at practice Thursday and Friday, Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic reports.

Morgan has missed all three of the Bengals' previous postseason matchups due to a lingering hamstring injury. However, the positive news is that the wideout has finally been able to return to practice, albeit in limited fashion. He's mostly operated on special teams this season, so his status shouldn't impact Cincinnati's offensive game plan.

General manager Eric DeCosta said Friday he expects the Ravens to pick up Brown's fifth-year option, Jonas Shaffer of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Baltimore will need to make a decision on Brown's fifth-year option by May, and picking up the deal would keep the speedy wideout in house through 2023. Though Brown did lose steam in terms of production down the stretch of the 2021 campaign, he spent much of that time operating with Tyler Huntley under center instead of Lamar Jackson (ankle), and also battled injuries of his own. A more optimistic view of Brown's third-year efforts, which included his first 1,000-yard season, is that the 24-year-old looked like a legitimate No. 1 option during the first half of the year. Through the first nine contests, Brown exceeded the century mark three times and caught six touchdowns.

Jefferson (knee) was limited at Thursday's walkthrough, Brady Henderson of ESPN.com reports.

Jefferson tended to a knee injury before and during the Rams' win in the NFC Championship Game versus the 49ers this past Sunday. The result in that contest was two catches (on five targets) for nine yards, and he's kicked off this week with back-to-back limited listings on the practice report. With more than a week to go ahead of a Super Bowl matchup against the Bengals on Sunday, Feb. 13, Jefferson doesn't appear to be in too much danger of ceding his spot as L.A.'s third wide receiver.

The Eagles signed Hightower to a future/reserve contract Thursday.

Hightower logged eleven total snaps in Week 9 for Philadelphia after spending most of the season on the team's practice squad. This is a severe drop-off compared to the wideout's 346 offensive snaps over 13 games played in his 2020 rookie campaign. The 25-year-old will have an opportunity to carve out a depth role on the team's active roster heading into the 2022 season.

Wilson secured 45 of 61 targets for 602 yards and six touchdowns while rushing twice for 11 yards across 16 appearances in 2021.

Wilson struggled to make much of an impact during his first two professional seasons, but he was much more involved in the team's offense with Michael Gallup (knee) out for a significant portion of the season. The 26-year-old's target share was somewhat inconsistent on a week-to-week basis, but he topped 100 yards twice across his final six appearances of the regular season. Whether he's able to maintain his production once Gallup returns to the field in 2022 remains to be seen, but it was encouraging to see Wilson generate more production this year after he recorded just 235 receiving yards across his first two professional seasons.