NFL Player News

Bateman has been given a 6-to-8-week recovery timetable following core-muscle surgery Thursday, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports.

Bateman limped off the practice field Tuesday, was diagnosed with a soft-tissue injury and initially was given a "week-to-week" prognosis. That all changed Thursday when he underwent the procedure. If the timeline to return is correct, Bateman seems to be a long shot to suit up Week 1 against the Saints, considering that game is four-and-a-half weeks in the future. More accurately, he may not see his first NFL action until late September or even October. The Ravens have a number of injured wide receivers at the moment, with Marquise Brown and Miles Boykin tending to hamstring issues. With the trio sidelined, Sammy Watkins, Devin Duvernay, Tylan Wallace and James Proche are the notable healthy members of the positional group.

Moore isn't likely to play in Sunday's preseason contest at Indianapolis, Alaina Getzenberg of The Charlotte Observer reports.

Coach Matt Rhule will rest most of the starters in the Panthers' exhibition opener but mentioned only Sam Darnold by name. Alas, Darnold's top skill-position teammates should join him, which includes Moore, Robby Anderson and Christian McCaffrey. Moore has produced the past two seasons no matter who was under center, to the tune of at least 1,100 yards and exactly four touchdowns in both campaigns. He'll look to keep it up with Darnold leading the way in 2021.

Anderson likely will be a DNP for Sunday's preseason game at Indianapolis, Alaina Getzenberg of The Charlotte Observer reports.

Coach Matt Rhule plans to sit most of the starters but specifically said only Sam Darnold by name. However, Rhule's list likely includes Anderson, DJ Moore and Christian McCaffrey as well. Anderson has been on the receiving end of passes from Darnold in the past when they were teammates on the Jets. The wide receiver fared modestly, putting up very similar stat lines in both 2018 (50-752-6 on 94 targets) and 2019 (52-779-5 on 96 targets). After moving on to Carolina in the 2020 offseason, he broke out with 95 catches for 1,096 yards and three scores working primarily with the departed Teddy Bridgewater, so the Panthers likely hope familiarity with Darnold will help Anderson carry over that success into the coming campaign.

The Saints could be open to trading Thomas (ankle), Larry Holder of The Athletic reports.

Reportedly, there is tension between Thomas and the team that may stem back to Week 1 of last season when the receiver injured his ankle while the Saints were comfortably ahead of the Buccaneers halfway through the fourth quarter. Thomas then allegedly "blew off" the New Orleans medical staff this offseason before finally agreeing to undergo ankle surgery in June, which head coach Sean Payton negatively commented on in public only for Thomas to seemingly fire back on social media. While Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports recently reported that Thomas and Payton may have met to reconcile their issues and that a trade is not coming, a divorce seems inevitable in Holder's opinion, noting the Saints' past willingness to move on from players who may be a distraction in the locker room even if they have to take a financial hit to do so.

Coach Pete Carroll said Friday that Eskridge (toe) will come off the PUP list next week, Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic reports.

The second-round pick was limited at June minicamp and still hasn't been cleared to practice at training camp. The Seahawks expect that clearance to happen within the next few days, and while Eskridge still has time to prepare for Week 1, the missed time could impact his standing on the depth chart. Then again, the Seahawks don't have much else behind DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, seemingly relying on Freddie Swain as their No. 3 at the moment.

McLaurin caught two of three targets for 25 yards in Thursday's 22-12 preseason loss to New England.

McLaurin had a 22-yard gain on the second play of the game and ultimately accounted for three of Ryan Fitzpatrick's eight targets. The star wideout will see plenty of looks in any scenario, but he could really be busy early in the season if Curtis Samuel's absence extends past August. Washington's big offseason acquisition has been on the PUP list since the start of training camp, bothered by the same groin injury that kept him out of offseason practices in early-to-mid June. Next up for McLaurin are exhibitions against Cincinnati (Aug. 20) and Baltimore (Aug. 28), followed by the season opener versus the Chargers on Sept. 12.

Smith-Schuster secured all three of his targets for 22 yards in Thursday's 24-16 preseason win over the Eagles.

Smith-Schuster didn't play in last week's Hall of Fame Game, but he recorded at least one catch during each of the Steelers' first two offensive drives Thursday. The 24-year-old returned to Pittsburgh on a one-year deal during the offseason and is hopeful that he'll see more perimeter work during the 2021 campaign after he lined up in the slot on 74.3 percent of his snaps last season.

Johnson brought in all three of his targets for 41 yards in Thursday's 24-16 preseason win over the Eagles.

Johnson was on the field for only 20 percent of the Steelers' offensive snaps Thursday, but he had a solid performance, highlighted by a 33-yard reception on the team's second drive of the game. The 2019 third-rounder has secured all five of his targets across the first two preseason games after he had 15 drops in 2020.

Brown caught two of four targets for 16 yards in Thursday's preseason loss to New England.

The rookie third-round pick had a seven-yard gain late in the first quarter on a completion from QB Taylor Heinicke, who then missed Brown on a deep pass on the very next snap. The two later hooked up for nine yards on a 3rd-and-3 shortly before halftime, setting up Washington's first TD of the night. It was a solid first showing for Brown, especially given that none of Washington's other wide receivers had big games. He might even get some reps as the No. 2 receiver if Curtis Samuel (groin) continues to miss time.

Watkins caught one of two targets for 79 yards and a touchdown in Thursday's 24-16 preseason loss to Pittsburgh.

Watkins has been standing out in camp for the Eagles and translated his strong practice form into on-field production by taking a Joe Flacco screen pass 79 yards to the house. Prior to that play, he came just short of getting under a deep ball from starting quarterback Jalen Hurts. With rookie first-round pick DeVonta Smith sidelined by a knee injury, Watkins is getting more opportunities to shine in practice, and he's making a case to surpass Jalen Reagor as Philadelphia's other starting wide receiver opposite Smith. Watkins will look to build on this performance when the Patriots come to town in Week 2 of preseason.