NFL Player News

Johnson secured both of his targets for 16 yards in the Buccaneers' 23-16 preseason win over the Texans on Saturday night.

The second-year wideout posted his second straight two-reception tally of the preseason and finished with five catches overall across three exhibition games. Johnson appears to be on solid footing to start making inroads into some No. 4 receiver snaps as the coming season unfolds, reps he'd presumably be sharing with Scotty Miller and, perhaps to a lesser extent, rookie Jaelon Darden. Johnson's first chance to start carving out a bigger role comes in the Week 1 battle against the Cowboys on Thursday, Sept. 9.

Davis (suspension) caught five of a team-high 10 targets for 53 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 19-10 win over the Falcons in preseason Week 3.

Davis was slapped with a two-game suspension that doesn't apply until the regular season, but the 24-year-old wideout managed to raise his profile during the preseason. He caught at least three passes all three preseason games while leading the team with 154 receiving yards. Unfortunately, it's probably not enough to win a spot on the regular-season roster.

Johnson didn't catch either of his two targets during Sunday's preseason win over the Cowboys.

Johnson encouragingly saw some action with Trevor Lawrence and the first-team offense Sunday, though he also played with the third-stringers during the second half with Jake Luton at quarterback. The 23-year-old receiver seemingly has been unable to separate himself throughout camp while competing for the No. 4 spot on the depth chart, while Marvin Jones (shoulder) and Laviska Shenault clearly entrenched themselves as Jacksonville's top available wideouts with DJ Chark (finger) sitting out. Johnson finished the preseason catching only two of five targets for 24 yards and a touchdown. The 2020 fifth-round pick may not be at risk of being cut at the roster deadline, but his outlook is certainly trending down ahead of Week 1 at Houston.

Hodge caught two of three targets for 42 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 19-10 win over the Falcons in preseason Week 3.

Hodge is perceived to be on the bubble, but he scored touchdowns in each of the final two preseason games. Last week, he made a contested catch on fourth down in the red zone from backup quarterback Case Keenum, then Sunday he and starting quarterback Baker Mayfield hooked up on a 22-yarder on the team's second drive. Hodge's special-teams credentials are hard to ignore, but there are five receivers ahead of him in the wideout mix. Rashard Higgins (leg) remains dinged up, and rookie Anthony Schwartz had just five practices during preseason, so there could be an opportunity for him to start the regular season on the 53-man roster.

The Lions will release Perriman on Monday, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Perriman was a free-agent acquisition who seemed destined for a key role with the Lions, but after missing time in training camp with a hip injury and making a limited impact in the preseason, he'll look to catch on elsewhere. With Perriman no longer in the mix, Tyrell Williams, Quintez Cephus, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Kalif Raymond now look poised to lead the team's wideout corps, with the likes of Geronimo Allison, Tom Kennedy, Victor Bolden and Javon McKinley battling for depth slotting.

Peoples-Jones caught one pass (three targets) for eight yards in Sunday's 19-10 preseason win over the Falcons.

Peoples-Jones got another start with Odell Beckham (knee) and Jarvis Landry (rest) sitting out for the third straight week. The 22-year-old got his first work with Baker Mayfield this preseason after the quarterback made his exhibition debut Sunday. Peoples-Jones projects to be the Browns' third wideout when everyone is healthy, which means he could start alongside Landry if Beckham's knee isn't fully healed heading into a huge Week 1 matchup against the Chiefs.

Pascal will likely see the largest increase in playing time among the receiving corps while T.Y. Hilton is out multiple weeks with a neck injury, Stephen Holder of The Athletic reports. Pascal is likely to start at receiver opposite Michael Pittman.

Pascal is likely to start outside opposite Pittman with Parris Campbell in the slot. However, both Campbell and Pascal were used in the slot last season, and Pascal was used in multiple roles. It may take a week or two to figure out how a passing game without Hilton and with new quarterback Carson Wentz may distribute targets. Mike Strachan could be a factor at wide receiver after a strong preseason, but the offense also has three viable pass catching tight ends that could help take over the targets that Hilton would have commanded. Either way, Pascal looks set to play a prominent role.

Darden brought in three of five targets for 35 yards, returned one kickoff for 16 yards and ran back one punt for 17 yards in the Buccaneers' 23-16 preseason win over the Texans on Saturday night.

The rookie recorded multiple receptions for the third time in as many exhibitions while once again making an impact on special teams. Darden also totaled 51 yards on four punt returns this preseason, an impressive showing that could well have vaulted him over Jaydon Mickens for the job.

Miller, who failed to bring in his only target in the Buccaneers' 23-16 preseason win over the Texans on Saturday night, also suffered a minor injury to his elbow, Jenna Laine of ESPN.com reports.

Miller ended up with another empty stat line Saturday to wrap up preseason, but his elbow issue played a part by briefly knocking him out of the contest. While it doesn't seem like the injury is anything other than minor considering the third-year wideout returned to the game, a healthy Miller still is facing the very real possibility of losing snaps and targets this season to Tyler Johnson and even rookie Jaelon Darden if he doesn't perform any better than he showed this preseason. Miller's first opportunity to reverse this summer's downward trend comes in the Week 1 showdown against the Cowboys on Thursday, Sept. 9.

Erickson caught two of three targets for 25 yards in Saturday's 23-16 loss to the Buccaneers in preseason Week 3.

Erickson, primarily a slot receiver, had a pair of grabs in each of the final two preseason games. The former Bengal played a significant amount of snaps with projected starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor during camp and in preseason games. That was largely possible due to Anthony Miller, also primarily a slot receiver, missing time the last two weeks due to a shoulder injury. Erickson currently sits outside most 53-man roster projections, but he could be brought back if Houston rosters Miller then places him on injured reserve.