NFL Player News

Coach Andy Reid is downplaying Hill's hamstring injury, Adam Teicher of ESPN.com reports. "It's not a big tear or anything like that," Reid noted after Hill missed practice Friday.

In any case, Reid expects Hill back at practice within a few days and if that holds true, then the speedy pass-catcher will have plenty of time to ready himself for Kansas City's' Sept. 10 season-opener against the Texans.

Godwin has been consistently making plays throughout early training camp practices and demonstrating his trademark run-after-catch ability, Carmen Vitali of the team's official site reports.

The fourth-year wideout has stood out as a frequent quick-strike target for Tom Brady during practices over the last few days, with some nifty moves that facilitated a few extra yards after a short grab in Thursday's session drawing some ire for the linebackers from position coach Larry Foote. Godwin was part of the skill-position group that regularly met with Brady for workouts at Berkeley Preparatory School for multiple weeks earlier this summer, and the work they put in has seemed to pay dividends in the form of frequent connections at varying depths downfield in the early portion of training camp.

Johnson, who didn't participate in his first training camp practice until Wednesday due to what was described as a "soft=tissue" injury, has started to make an impression with his route running, Scott Smith of the team's official site reports.

The rookie fifth-round pick is naturally way behind the curve, with coach Bruce Arians noting Johnson has "missed a ton." However, the fact he's now been able practice three days in a row certainly helps ignite the process of making up ground, and Johnson apparently caught Arians' eye in Thursday's session with a good grab on an inside-out route. In addition to the catching up he needs to do on mastering the Buccaneers' complex offensive scheme, Johnson also has his work cut out for him in terms of tunneling up the depth chart, considering both Scotty Miller and Justin Watson have reportedly been turning heads thus far.

Jefferson has made some big plays at training camp but is still working as the No. 3 receiver behind Adam Thielen and Bisi Johnson, Chad Graff of The Athletic reports.

Johnson is a 2019 seventh-round pick who produced a 31-294-3 line on 45 targets last season, so it's often been assumed Jefferson will step right in as the No. 2 option. The rookie first-round pick still has time to win that job, but it's also possible he's limited to three-wide formations at the beginning of the season. The distinction between the second and third receiver is particularly important in the Minnesota offense, considering TE Kyle Rudolph, TE Irv Smith and FB C.J. Ham combined for 1,759 offensive snaps last year. The Vikings used 11 personnel (three-wide) on an NFL-low 22 percent of snaps in 2019, and while that number could rise if Jefferson and Johnson impress, it should still remain far below league-average (60 percent).

Despite being the third receiver the Broncos took in the 2020 draft, Cleveland has managed to impress in camp, Benjamin Allbright of KOA News Radio reports.

Cleveland's claim to fame is hauling in a 63-yard Hail Mary to top Tennessee in 2017. Still, after averaging just 319 yards per year in four seasons at Florida, it was a slight surprise for the Broncos to spend a seventh-round pick on him after drafting Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler in the first two rounds of the draft. The top of the receiving corps has shaken out, so it should be Cleveland, DaeSean Hamilton, Fred Brown, and Juwann Winfree competing for just one or two spots. If he comes up short, Cleveland could be a developmental project who could be stashed on the practice squad and make strides in 2021.

Rookie speedster KJ Hamler (hamstring) is set to miss several weeks, Zac Stevens of TheDNVR.com reports. Hamler's absence provides less competition for Patrick, who has been working with the first team in camp.

Reports out of camp have been that Patrick has consistently played opposite Courtland Sutton on the first-team offense with rookie first-rounder Jerry Jeudy in the slot. Hamler has made some highlights on the second team, but any chance he had at competing for an enlarged role early in the season are likely out the window. Patrick is a big target, but don't expect huge results even if he locks up the second outside receiver gig. Even as the WR2, Patrick is likely no better than the fourth option in the passing game behind Sutton, Jeudy, and sophomore tight end Noah Fant. His production will likely vary week to week depending on how opponents defend Sutton and Jeudy.

The Steelers have agreed to terms with McCloud, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.

McCloud has almost exclusively been a returner in his two-year career, averaging 7.3 yards on 14 punt returns and 21.3 yards on nine kick returns. That said, dropping the rock has been an issue, as he's fumbled five times in 16 appearances between the Bills and Panthers. He may have to display much-improved ball control to land a spot on Pittsburgh's regular-season roster.

Hill is dealing with a minor hamstring strain, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports.

Hill was forced to exit Thursday's practice early due to the issue, but it doesn't look as though his availability for Week 1 is in any sort of danger. If the Chiefs opt to take a cautious approach to Hill's recovery and hold him out of practices for an extended period, however, Sammy Watkins -- when healthy -- and Mecole Hardman would stand to benefit from increased first-team reps.

Head coach Pete Carroll said Dorsett is "the fastest guy we've ever had here," Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times reports.

It's not surprising that Dorsett's speed hasn't faded since 2015 when he ran a 4.33-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine. Carroll went as far to estimate that the 27-year-old was sub-4.30, and while that's probably a bit hyperbolic, Dorsett's wheels certainly passed the eye test with the Patriots last year. Even as one of the league's fastest players, though, Dorsett has never recorded more than 528 receiving yards in a season, and his speed advantage over David Moore (ankle) -- 4.43 speed -- may not be enough to fully secure the No. 3 job. As long as both Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf are healthy, whoever earns that job will likely be more of an over-the-top decoy with boom-or-bust fantasy potential rather than a consistent contributor.

Coach Kyle Shanahan doesn't expect James (wrist) to play Week 1 against the Cardinals, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports.

In the next breath, Shanahan said the 49ers "know" James won't be available for the first six weeks of the season, per David Lombardi of The Athletic. Currently on the active/non-football injury list due to a broken wrist sustained in June, James seems poised to move to the reserve/PUP list before the campaign kicks off, if Shanahan is to be believed.