NFL Player News

Taylor (foot) went through physicals on Saturday and was not placed on the PUP list, indicating that he is healthy heading into training camp, Matt Barrows of The Athletic reports.

Taylor missed the entire 2019 season due to multiple procedures on his ailing foot. With a clean bill of health, the 26-year-old will compete for the 49ers' slot receiver job with several other options including, but not limited to, Brandon Aiyuk, Jalen Hurd and Richie James during training camp.

James (wrist) was removed from the reserve/COVID-19 list Monday, Cam Inman of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

It's been a difficult past two months for James, who broke his wrist in June before either testing positive for COVID or being in contact with someone who did as he reported to the 49ers. With the addition of 2020 first-rounder Brandon Aiyuk and the return to health of Trent Taylor (foot) and Jalen Hurd (back), James may be on the outside looking in at a regular-season roster spot. Working in James' favor, though, is his work as a returner.

The Steelers have placed Washington on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

The report notes that the list was "created for a player who either tests positive for COVID-19 or who has been quarantined after having been in close contact with an infected person." Washington is expected to compete for targets in 2020 with Pittsburgh's No. 1 wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster, second-year man Diontae Johnson and second-round pick Chase Claypool.

Brown was claimed off waivers by the Giants on Saturday.

The 22-year-old will join his second team since April, finding his way to the Giants off waivers after the Browns let him go. Brown posted 707 receiving yards last season with Colorado before going undrafted in the 2020 NFL Draft.

The Buccaneers waived Schnell on Friday, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Schnell spent the majority of the 2019 season on the Bucs' practice squad before getting bumped up for the latter weeks of the season. It appears the team has seen enough and have opted to go in another direction. As a result, the 25-year-old will be have to look for a new potential landing spot.

Brown has been waived by the Browns, Jake Trotter of ESPN.com reports.

Brown signed with Cleveland after going undrafted in the 2020 NFL Draft. He started his college career at Texas Tech before spending his final two seasons at Colorado. He hauled in 56 receptions for 707 yards and five touchdowns during his 2019 campaign. He will now be forced to look for a new opportunity.

The Buccaneers waived Mickens on Friday, according to the NFL's transaction log.

Mickens saw the field Week 17 last season due to the battered nature of the Tampa Bay receiving corps. That said, his healthy offensive snap share (51 percent) didn't translate to any targets. He's now free to find employment with another team.

Aiyuk is a candidate to fill in for injured starter, Deebo Samuel (foot), to begin the regular season, Josh Schrock of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Samuel was lined up to serve as the 49ers' top wide receiver following his stellar 2019 rookie campaign, but an offseason foot injury has put his status for Week 1 in jeopardy. With GM John Lynch stating that his top wideout could miss multiple games to begin the season, Aiyuk could be in line to replace his production out of the gate. The first-round pick out of Arizona State was high on coach Kyle Shanahan's draft board in this year's receiver-heavy draft, even drawing comparison to Hall of Fame wideout, Isaac Bruce, from his new head coach. Aiyuk was originally expected to compete for snaps behind Samuel and veteran Kendrick Bourne, but this new development could thrust the rookie into a prominent role from the get go. Just as we saw with Samuel in 2019, if Aiyuk is able to impress early on, the versatile wideout could grab a hold of a key role and force his way into the starting lineup for the remainder of the year.

Watkins could pick up some of the slack after Marquise Goodwin opted out of the 2020 season, ESPN.com's Tim McManus reports.

The Eagles prioritized speed in late April, trading for an Olympic long jumper (Goodwin) after they'd used three draft picks on wideouts with sub-4.5 speed. Watkins, a 4.35 burner, was the last of those three selections as a sixth-rounder, arguably making him a candidate for the practice squad more so than the active roster. However, his chances to make the team now look much better, with Goodwin sitting out 2020 and Alshon Jeffery slow to recover from Lisfranc surgery. It's still a long shot for Watkins to have a significant role early in the season, but he could at least manage a spot at the bottom of the roster, potentially competing with John Hightower to log some snaps as a part-time deep threat.

Hightower and fellow rookies Jalen Reagor and Quez Watkins may have to pick up some of the slack after Marquise Goodwin opted out of the 2020 season, ESPN.com's Tim McManus reports.

All four wideouts have two things in common: 1) they were acquired by Philadelphia in late April; 2) they're known for their speed above all else. Reagor, a first-round pick, is a roster lock and potential Week 1 starter, whereas Hightower (fifth round) and Watkins (sixth) figure to compete for depth roles. At first glance, it was difficult to see how both Hightower and Watkins would fit on the regular-season roster, but the Eagles may have room for the two similar rookies now that Goodwin is out of the equation. There's also a decent chance Alshon Jeffery (foot) misses the early part of the year, so the Eagles may find room on their roster for all six of Reagor, Hightower, Watkins, DeSean Jackson, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside and Greg Ward. And even if only five make the cut, Hightower has a pretty good chance to survive.