NFL Player News

Jefferson says he's "way more confident" than he was last year, Lindsey Young of vikings.com reports.

Confident or not, the 2020 first-round pick was a smash hit as soon as he joined the starting lineup lineup Week 3. From that point forward, he averaged 5.9 catches for 95.0 yards on 8.5 targets per game, with seven touchdowns and a pair of two-point conversions in 14 contests. Adam Thielen scored 12 TDs in that same stretch, yet otherwise played second fiddle to the rookie, averaging 5.0 catches for 60.3 yards on 7.1 targets. Defensive coordinators now figure to treat Jefferson as the No. 1 receiver on a regular basis, though Thielen and RB Dalvin Cook certainly still merit plenty of attention. Vikings QB Kirk Cousins believes Jefferson is already among the elite at his position, with Cousins saying the "next step" for the young wideout is simply to do the same thing again and thus establish consistency in the NFL.

Waddle's surgically repaired right ankle is "still somewhat of an issue" nine months after the initial injury, according to PFN's Adam Beasley.

The sixth overall pick dislocated his ankle last October and had surgery the same night, later making it back for a brief appearance in the College Football Playoff National Championship, where he caught three passes for 34 yards just two and a half months after suffering the injury. Despite the unusually quick return to action and subsequent early draft slot, Waddle reportedly still walks with a slight limp at times and has been tightly wrapping his right ankle before every practice. Then again, he's at least been practicing, while fellow Miami wideouts DeVante Parker (PUP - undisclosed), Preston Williams (PUP - foot) and Will Fuller (undisclosed) all were absent from Thursday's session. Waddle's ankle may continue to require some maintenance, but he did say he's feeling good and has been handling full workloads in practice, thus beginning to build his case for a top-three role right out of the gate. The Dolphins do have a deep group at wide receiver, however, so they can afford to rest Waddle at some point -- or ease him in with a limited role -- if the ankle becomes more of a problem.

Reagor (lower body) failed a conditioning test at the beginning of training camp, Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The report suggests Reagor suffered a minor lower-body injury as a result of the test, also noting that the recent murder of a close friend has weighed heavily on the young wideout in recent weeks. The 2020 first-round pick has been a limited participant through the first two days of training camp, doing individual drills but not team work. DeVonta Smith and Travis Fulgham opened camp as the starting wideouts, though the latter is already day-to-day with a lower body injury of his own. Reagor remains on track for a starting spot and should ramp up his activity level soon enough.

The Cardinals placed Johnson (undisclosed) on the reserve/COVID-19 list Thursday, Darren Urban of the team's official site reports.

Currently, the Cardinals have four wide receivers on this reserve list, including Andy Isabella (undisclosed), Rico Gafford (undisclosed) and Isaac Whitney (undisclosed). It's unclear if any or all of them have tested positive for the virus, but their respective number of days away from the team will be indicative of their situations. Despite Larry Fitzgerald moving on this offseason, Johnson is even further down the depth chart, as Arizona added A.J. Green and Rondale Moore to a receiving corps that also includes DeAndre Hopkins (undisclosed) and Christian Kirk.

Samuel has been placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

Samuel, who had been dealing with a minor groin injury and was on the preseason PUP list, thus will miss some time, though for now there's not a clear timetable for when he'll gain clearance to return to the field.

Brown had "numerous catches" during Thursday's practice, looking healthy even as he wore a band over his right knee, Turron Davenport of ESPN.com reports.

Brown missed the offseason program while rehabbing from January surgeries on both knees. No matter, he was cleared for the start of training camp and seems to be off to a running start, with Jim Wyatt of titans.com supporting the notion that Brown has been highly active early on. New teammate Julio Jones hasn't been quite as busy, but that should come soon enough as he increases his comfort level in a new system.

Humphries has been Ryan Fitzpatrick's favorite target through the first two days of training camp, Rhiannon Walker of The Athletic reports.

Coming off an injury-plagued 2020 campaign in Tennessee, the 28-year-old slot receiver is battling for the No. 3 spot on Washington's depth chart. A busy start to camp is a step in the right direction, especially when Humphries is displaying chemistry with the likely starting quarterback. It's also a good sign that he's getting a lot of reps with the first-team offense, though that's at least partially related to No. 2 receiver Curtis Samuel (groin) being absent from practice.

Beckham (knee) will be held out of Thursday's practice as part of his rehab plan, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

A missed practice doesn't necessarily equate to any issue or setback, as the Browns have a number of players scheduled for rest days this summer. By all accounts, Beckham has been quick to recover from Nov. 10 surgery to repair an ACL tear, first participating in spring practices and now the start of training camp. He reportedly looked healthy Wednesday and said afterward that he's feeling great.

Marshall made some tough catches at Thursday's practice, earning praise from Panthers head coach Matt Rhule afterward, Joe Person of The Athletic reports. "Like any rookie, [Marshall]'s going to have some good days, some bad days," Rhule said. "I thought today looked like a good day."

The rookie second-round pick is off to a good start through two days of training camp, perhaps building his case for the No. 3 spot at wide receiver. The Panthers did sign David Moore away from Seattle this offseason, and it shouldn't come as any surprise if the veteran gets more work with the first-team offense this summer.

Coach Kliff Kingsbury said Thursday that Isabella (undisclosed) is on the reserve/COVID-19 list, Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com reports.

Isabella will need to fully clear all of the league's protocols related to COVID-19 before rejoining teammates at training camp. Considering that the 2019 second-round pick was a healthy scratch at times last season, and only once surpassed 50 receiving yards in his 13 appearances, it could be impactful if he's forced to miss a sizeable amount of time. The offseason additions of Rondale Moore and A.J. Green already have Isabella positioned to only handle a reserve role, at best.