NFL Player News

Cephus (head) returned to practice Monday, Chris Burke of The Athletic reports.

Cephus was away from the field for more than a week due to a head injury suffered in practice Aug. 7. As a result, he missed Friday's exhibition opener against the Bills. In his return, Cephus caught a touchdown during a 7-on-7 drill in the red zone and will look to make an impression as part of a receiving corps that's currently down Breshad Perriman (hip) and Kalif Raymond (undisclosed).

Jefferson (shoulder) participated in some team drills at Monday's practice, Eric Smith of the Vikings' official site reports.

Jefferson appears to have been limited in his return to practice, but in any case it's encouraging to see him back on the field handling team reps. The second-year pro sprained the AC joint in his left shoulder Aug. 6, but coach Mike Zimmer downplayed the severity of Jefferson's injury from the beginning. The timing of Jefferson's return to practice will provide him just under a month's time to ramp up his workload before Week 1. Of course, if Jefferson isn't back at full speed by the time Saturday's exhibition matchup against the Colts kicks off, the Vikings could opt to delay his preseason debut.

Hodgins missed Monday's practice due to a knee injury suffered in Friday's preseason win over Detroit, Maddy Glab of the Bills' official site reports.

While we'll see if the second-year man can get some work in ahead of the second preseason game Saturday, any missed time could prove costly since there's a pretty close battle going on ahead of the season for the last 1-to-2 spots in the receiving corps.

Coach Sean Payton said Thomas (ankle) is ahead of schedule in his rehab from June surgery, Luke Johnson of The Times-Picayune reports.

Thomas attended the Saints' preseason opener Saturday in Baltimore, the first time reporters had seen him with the team since June minicamp. It's been an interesting summer between the delayed surgery, cryptic tweets and trade rumors, but Thomas does seem to be doing well with his rehab and at least has maintained a working relationship with the Saints for the time being. He'll still miss the early part of the regular season, with most reports earlier this summer putting his timeline at around four months.

The Chargers cut Bandy on Monday, Daniel Popper of The Athletic reports.

Bandy has yet to make his NFL debut since going undrafted back in 2019. Now that the Chargers have opted to move on, Bandy will need to look for an opportunity elsewhere in the league.

The Texans cut Coulter on Monday, NFL reporter Aaron Wilson reports.

Coulter, a 2020 fifth-round pick, only logged on appearance as a rookie, and it appears that the Texans have already given up on his development. In his sole career appearance, Coulter played just six offensive snaps. Another club may be willing to give the former University of Rhode Island standout an opportunity.

Wims is in a camp battle with Riley Ridley Rodney Adams and Chris Lacy for a roster spot, Adam Jahns of The Athletic reports.

Wims played just 17 snaps in the season opener and was targeted once, resulting in an incomplete pass, and he also was flagged for a false start penalty on a third-down play. During his three years with the Bears, he's had opportunities to be in the starting lineup, but he hasn't posted more than 186 yards and one touchdown in a season. To make the team, he'll likely need to show well on special teams, and if he makes the squad, he's unlikely to be higher than fifth on the team's depth chart at wide receiver.

Coach Matt Nagy said Monday that Goodwin (foot) will resume practicing, Larry Mayer of the Bears' official site reports.

Goodwin missed just under a week of practices and Chicago's first preseason game due to foot soreness. Now that he's returned to health and the practice field, Goodwin will resume working to carve out a consistent role behind Allen Robinson and Darnell Mooney.

Jennings' strong showing in the preseason opener (three touches for 49 yards) has put him in position to compete for a roster spot, Matt Barrows of The Athletic reports.

While Trent Sherfield stole the show with an 80-yard touchdown reception, it was Jennings who was the first backup to enter the game against the Chiefs on Saturday, also finishing with a position-high 38 offensive snaps. The team clearly wanted to get a look at the 24-year-old, and his success on the field puts him in the mix to compete for a backup job behind what looks to be a settled starting trio of Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and Mohamed Sanu.

Despite missing part of training camp and the preseason opener due to injury, Perriman (hip) is still expected to handle a starting role opposite Tyrell Williams, Kyle Meinke of MLive.com reports.

With Amon-Ra St. Brown the favorite to handle slot duties, there aren't any serious contenders for Perriman's job on the perimeter anyway, especially with Quintez Cephus (head) missing significant time as well. While it's not clear when Perriman will return to the field, he at least dressed for last week's preseason game against the Bills, per Chris Burke of The Athletic.