NFL Player News

Offensive coordinator Brian Callahan believes that Higgins is going to "play a huge role" in the Bengals offense this season, Jay Morrison of The Athletic reports. "He's got every trait to be a top-level receiver in this league," Callahan said of the 2020 second-rounder.

Though plenty of offseason attention has been focused on No. 5 overall pick Ja'Marr Chase, Higgins is poised to maintain a high-profile role in the Bengals offense. He'll pair with Chase on the outside while Tyler Boyd handles slot duties, giving QB Joe Burrow -- who's bouncing back from a torn ACL and MCL -- a strong pass-catching nucleus to work with this coming season. Higgins paced the team with 908 receiving yards last year, but there's room for growth in his game and, according to Callahan, the 6-foot-4, 215-pounder "looks great physically" and appears "more explosive" as training camp approaches.

Johnson was listed as one of the Chargers' surprising training-camp names to monitor, ESPN's Shelley Smith reports.

The Chargers haven't released an official depth chart heading into this season's training camp, but it wouldn't be surprising to see the undrafted wide receiver from 2019 open as the No. 3 wide receiver instead of Jalen Guyton, whose speed-decoy role may be obsolete in new offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi's system. Johnson was easily the the team's most explosive pass catcher last season, totaling seven receptions of 20-plus yards and four grabs of 40 yards or more yards despite seeing fewer than 40 snaps in all but three games in 2020. Expect the 25-year-old to compete with Guyton and 2021 third-round pick Josh Palmer for the aforementioned job throughout the preseason.

Bateman impressed during mandatory minicamp, and there's a belief that he will be a Day 1 contributor as a rookie, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic reports.

The first-rounder reportedly did not look "like a rookie" during Baltimore's recent minicamp and has drawn praise from teammates and coaches alike. Bateman's path to immediate impact was in some question when the Ravens selected him, given that the team already has Marquise Brown in one spot and signed Sammy Watkins during the offseason. However, it looks like Bateman is playing his way into a role. His development will be among the biggest storylines out of training camp next month.

The Browns are hoping to develop Schwartz (hamstring) into a kick returner, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

Cleveland already planned on giving Schwartz a look on punt returns, and it looks like it will also try him out in the kick return game. However, he is currently nursing a hamstring injury, but that is not expected to linger into training camp. The rookie third-round pick recorded the fastest 40-yard dash of any receiver at 4.25 seconds.

Shepherd has been signed by the Chiefs, Nate Taylor of The Athletic reports.

Shepherd was a tryout participant during Kansas City's minicamp and has ultimately earned a spot on the roster. He spent the previous two seasons in Green Bay, where he was primarily utilized as a kick returner.

Proehl drew praise from head coach Mike Zimmer during spring workouts, who noted it's "really hard to tell" who will win the third receiver role, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Proehl, an undrafted free agent, had a strong season with East Carolina in 2020, racking up 47 catches for 577 yards and four touchdowns across nine games. He'll compete with Chad Beebe, Ihmir Smith-Marsette, Bisi Johnson, Whop Philyor and several others in what looks to be a wide open competition for the No. 3 and No. 4 receiver roles. However, the No. 3 receiver has had little impact in the offense during the Zimmer era.

Treadwell signed with the Jaguars on Friday, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports.

Treadwell joined the team's minicamp for a tryout and impressed enough to earn a contract. He was the 23rd overall pick back in the 2016 draft but has so far failed to live up to that pedigree, catching a total of 71 passes for 750 yards and four touchdowns over five years in the league. He spent last year with the Falcons' organization but didn't join the active roster until late in the year, catching a total of six passes in five games.

Beasley, who played through a leg fracture at the end of last season, did not join team drills during this week's minicamp practices but participated in individual drills and appeared to be running at full speed, Mark Gaughan of The Buffalo News reports.

It sounds like Beasley has a good chance at being close to full-go by the time training camp rolls around in July, though we'll keep tabs on his progress. Beasley posted career highs in catches (82) and yards (967) in 2020 and probably is the most important factor in the Bills' high-powered offense after Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs.

Terry (hip) participated in practice Thursday, Joe Fann of NBC Sports Northwest reports.

Terry injured his hip during rookie minicamp in mid-May, but he appears to be back to full health after hauling in a touchdown from reserve quarterback Danny Etling to wrap up mandatory minicamp Thursday. An undrafted free agent, Terry has a prime chance to earn a roster spot in a Seahawks receiving corps with question marks behind DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett.

Hodgins has shed his red non-contact jersey during this week's practices after shoulder surgery caused him to miss his entire 2020 season, Chris Brown of the Bills' official site reports.

The Bills had high hopes for the Oregon State product after selecting him in the sixth round last season, but he never set foot on the field and is finally ready to begin what will essentially be his first real NFL season. "He's surprisingly quick and I'm not talking long speed, he's got that too, but just a short game quickness and getting off of jam and make it a good release," said quarterback Josh Allen this week. High praise from Allen aside, Hodgins has a fight on his hands just to make the final roster for the start of the season, as the Bills have almost everyone back from last year's high-powered offense, while veteran Emmanuel Sanders replaces the departed John Brown.