NFL Player News

Coach Andy Reid said Tuesday that Rice (knee) is "on track to be ready" for training camp in July, Sam McDowell of The Kansas City Star reports.

Rice's recovery from right knee surgery to address a season-ending injury sustained Week 4 continues to proceed well. All signs point to the 2023 second-round pick reaching full health well ahead of the start of the 2025 regular season, though he could still face a potential suspension related to his involvement in a hit-and-run car crash that occurred last March. In the three games he played fully last season, Rice emerged as Kansas City's clear top receiving option, racking up 24 catches for 288 yards and two scores. It will be interesting to see what role Rice now finds himself in with Travis Kelce returning for a 13th season, Xavier Worthy heading into Year 2, and Hollywood Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster both having re-signed with the Chiefs.

Commanders GM Adam Peters said Monday that he'd like to sign McLaurin to an extension before Week 1, Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post reports.

McLaurin has one season remaining on the three-year, $68.2 million extension he signed in 2022, with $19 million to $20 million in real-money compensation for 2025. That might be enough to prevent a holdout, but the Commanders would rather lock him in for multiple years after McLaurin finished 2024 with career highs for touchdowns (13), catch rate (70.2 percent) and PPR points per game (15.9). Tough as it may be to avoid TD regression, McLaurin figures to remain highly efficient and may even get a slight boost to his target volume, entering his second season in an offense led by QB Jayden Daniels and OC Kliff Kingsbury. Offseason acquisition Deebo Samuel should mostly get touches/targets that went to Olamide Zaccheaus, Dyami Brown and Noah Brown last year, including many of the screens that were a frequent feature of Kingsbury's offense. McLaurin remains unchallenged as the team's top threat to catch deep and intermediate passes.

Polk is recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports.

A second-round pick last spring, Polk got some chances in a top-three role as a rookie but caught just 12 of 33 targets (for 87 yards and two TDs) before suffering a shoulder injury Week 17. It apparently was serious enough to require surgery but shouldn't threaten his availability for Week 1 of 2025. New Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said he's excited about how Polk has approached his rehabilitation and focused on lower-body strength in the meantime. Once he's healthy, Polk will compete for playing time with new additions Stefon Diggs (ACL tear) and Mack Hollins, as well as 2025 holdovers DeMario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte, Kendrick Bourne and Javon Baker.

Titans coach Brian Callahan said Monday that Burks' return from an ACL tear should occur closer to the regular season, Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site reports.

Reading between the lines, Burks is unlikely to be ready for the start of training camp and in danger of missing Week 1. He suffered an ACL tear Week 6 of 2024, causing an early end to what was shaping up as another disappointing season. The 2022 first-round pick failed to earn a top-three role under a new coaching staff and now finds himself rehabbing a major injury for the final year of his rookie contract. The only positive development for Burks' fantasy value is that Tennessee's lack of receiving weapons could afford him another opportunity to compete for playing time. Still, there are many better ways to use a late-round fantasy pick.

The Lions likely will exercise their fifth-year option on Williams this spring, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports.

The Lions have until May 1 to exercise an option that would guarantee Williams a salary around $15.49 million for 2026. That's well below market rate for a quality No. 2 receiver -- something Williams became in 2024 with a 58-1,001-7 line on 91 targets in 15 regular-season games. While unlikely to average more than 6-to-7 targets per game in an offense loaded with other talented playmakers, Williams should have a similar role this upcoming season under new play caller John Morton, who previously worked for the Lions in 2022 and then served as Denver's pass-game coordinator the past two years. Lions GM Brad Holmes said he'll likely pick up Williams' fifth-year option, but Holmes didn't mention a contract extension the way he did when discussing fellow 2022 first-round pick Aidan Hutchinson.

GM John Lynch relayed Monday that Aiyuk, who tore the ACL and MCL in his right knee in October, met with Dr. Neal ElAttrache last week and got "good reviews" in terms of the progress he's made in his recovery, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports.

That said, there is still no concrete timetable for Aiyuk's return to action. Either way, Lynch noted that despite recent trade speculation, he expects the 2020 first-rounder -- who the 49ers signed to a four-year, $120 million extension last August -- to remain with the team this coming season. Due a $22.85 million bonus Tuesday, Aiyuk recorded 25 catches (on 47 targets) for 374 yards in seven games prior to his injury, and, once he's fully healthy, he'll be in line to headline a San Francisco WR corps that no longer includes Deebo Samuel. For now, the top available options behind Aiyuk are Jauan Jennings, Ricky Pearsall and Demarcus Robinson.

Jets general manager Darren Mougey said Sunday that the team is working on a contract restructure with Lazard and hopes to keep him on the roster this offseason, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports.

Lazard was granted permission to seek a trade in early March. The 29-year-old wideout put up relatively mediocre production since joining the Jets on a four-year, $44 million contract two years ago, posting 60 catches (on 109 targets) for 861 yards and seven touchdowns across 26 appearances. It's unlikely that many teams will be interested in trading for Lazard given the size of his contract; therefore, he'll likely be forced to restructure and/or take a smaller salary whether he is traded or remains on the Jets roster. It's also possible, and perhaps more likely, that he will be released if a contract restructure does not materialize.

Charles (knee) re-signed with the Jets on Friday, Howard Balzer of USA Today reports.

Charles entered the offseason as an exclusive-rights free agent and was tendered by the Jets in early March, so Friday's signing was essentially a formality. Charles tore his ACL in Week 14 of last season and finished the year on IR, and it's not clear if he'll be ready to play by the start of the 2025 campaign. He did most of his work last season on special teams, logging 212 snaps with that unit versus just nine on offense over 13 games.

The Jets signed Reynolds on Thursday.

Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Reynolds' agreement with the Jets is a one-year deal worth up to $5 million. The 30-year-old is coming off a 2024 regular season in which he combined for 13 catches for 194 yards and a TD over the course of nine games (five with Denver and four with Jacksonville). With New York, Reynolds will have an opportunity to compete for targets behind top option Garrett Wilson in a wideout corps that also includes Allen Lazard, Xavier Gipson, Malachi Corley and Tyler Johnson. A fantasy bounce-back could be in store for Reynolds this coming season should he secure steady snaps, which for now -- based on his new team's current roster -- is a plausible outcome.

The Titans signed Proche to a contract Wednesday.

Proche spent the last two seasons contributing as a special-teams specialist in Cleveland, suiting up for 19 regular-season games in that span. He'll compete to secure a similar role in Tennessee. Proche's ability to contribute on return duties will boost his chances of sticking with the Titans' regular-season roster.