NFL Player News

Conley (elbow) appeared in 15 games for the 49ers this season, finishing with six receptions on 12 targets for 76 yards.

Conley finished his second year in San Francisco with similar minimal results from a fantasy perspective. The veteran wideout injured his elbow in the team's final game of the regular season, but the severity of the injury wasn't disclosed. At age 32, Conley is set to become an unrestricted free agent this upcoming offseason.

Cowing finished his rookie season with four receptions for 80 yards and one rushing attempt for seven yards across 15 active games.

Cowing was primarily used on special teams in 2024, producing 277 return yards. The Arizona product flashed some big-play ability as a receiver, averaging 20.0 yards per reception in limited action. Cowing could see more work as a sophomore in 2025, but it would likely take an injury or two in order to open up enough playing time to warrant fantasy consideration next year.

Flowers (knee) is not participating in the portion of Friday's practice open to the media, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com reports.

Flowers did appear to be finishing up a separate workout prior to the start of Friday's session, per Giana Han of TheBaltimoreBanner.com, and he still was spotted wearing a right knee brace. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports that Flowers is trending in the wrong direction for Sunday's divisional-round road game against Buffalo, so his status will need to be closely monitored. If the Ravens leave the door open for Flowers to play, his status could come down to the wire as Sunday's 6:30 p.m. ET kickoff approaches.

Olszewski didn't see any NFL action in 2024, as he injured his groin during warmups in Week 1 and spent the remainder of the campaign on injured reserve.

Olszewski first hurt his groin during a training camp practice in mid-August but appeared to have recovered enough to play in Week 1. However, he aggravated the issue ahead of the season opener versus Minnesota and was never designated to return. Olszewski has only 15 career regular-season catches over 65 contests, but he's had ample NFL success as a returner. He's slated to be an unrestricted free agent and could draw interest from clubs looking to upgrade their special-teams unit.

Smith-Marsette didn't record any targets or touches on offense in 2024, but he logged 381 yards and one touchdown on 11 kick returns along with 228 yards on 29 punt returns.

The highlight of Smith-Marsette's season was a 100-yard kick return for a touchdown in Week 17 against Indianapolis. That was his second career TD as a returner -- the first came on a punt return for the Panthers in 2023. On offense, Smith-Marsette logged only six offensive snaps, and his path forward on an NFL roster may be tied to his skill set on special teams. He'll be an unrestricted free agent upon the start of the new league year.

Hyatt caught eight of 19 targets for 62 yards over 16 regular-season games in 2024.

Though he struggled to produce as a rookie in 2023, Hyatt at least showed some flashes of potential. That wasn't really the case in 2024, as more than half of his season yardage total came in a Week 10 game against Carolina in which he posted a modest 39 receiving yards, and he didn't reach double-digit yards in any of his other 15 appearances. While the Giants didn't have a prolific passing game, it's illogical to attribute Hyatt's lack of growth entirely to the team's QB situation, as rookie sensation Malik Nabers managed 109 catches for 1,204 yards in the same offense. New York will likely have a new starting signal-caller in 2025, and veteran wideout Darius Slayton may not be back, which could improve Hyatt's outlook to some extent. However, Nabers will likely command a huge target share again in his sophomore campaign while Wan'Dale Robinson is set to return as the team's No. 2 receiver, which would leave Hyatt -- who will be in the third year of his rookie contract -- battling for looks as the third or fourth option in the WR pecking order.

Hardman (knee) is listed as doubtful for Saturday's AFC divisional-round game against the Texans.

Hardman was placed on injured reserve Dec. 7 due to a knee injury, and it doesn't appear likely that he will be activated from IR ahead of Saturday's playoff bout. If the Chiefs beat the Texans, then Hardman would have an opportunity to be activated from IR for the AFC Championship Game.

Brown (knee/rest) practiced in a limited fashion Thursday.

As he predicted, Brown followed up Wednesday's absence from practice with a cap on his reps one day later as he continues to deal with a knee injury that has lingered since preparations for Week 16. He's played in three of four games in the meantime -- in the fourth, Week 18 against the Giants, most Eagles starters sat out -- and he's handled greater than a 90 percent snap share all three times. Ultimately, Friday's practice report will reveal whether or not Brown enters the weekend with a designation ahead of Sunday's divisional-round contest against the Rams.

The Cardinals signed Jackson to a reserve/future contract Thursday, Darren Urban of the team's official site reports.

Jackson earned a spot on the Vikings' 53-man roster at the end of training camp, though he played just 12 snaps (10 on offense, two on special teams) across two regular-season games. He was waived off the Vikings' 53-man roster Oct. 20, and while he opted to stay in Minnesota on the practice squad, he was not elevated to the active roster for the rest of the 2024 campaign. Under a futures contract, Jackson will be on the Cardinals' 90-man roster when the new league year starts March 12. He'll have the opportunity to work with the coaching staff during OTAs, minicamp and training camp in the hopes of earning a spot on the Cardinals' 53-man roster for the 2025 regular season.

Watkins signed a reserve/future contract with the Cardinals on Thursday, Darren Urban of the team's official site reports.

Watkins spent the first four years of his NFL career with the Eagles, who selected him in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Despite signing a one-year, $1.29 million contract with the Steelers this past March, Watkins wasn't able to earn a spot on Pittsburgh's 53-man roster at the conclusion of training camp. He signed with the Steelers' practice squad in late August but was not elevated to the active roster during the regular season or the playoffs. Watkins will be a part of the Cardinals' 90-man roster when the new league year starts March 12, and he'll participate in OTAs, minicamp and training camp in the hopes of earning a spot on Arizona's 53-man roster for the 2025 campaign.