NFL Player News

Monangai (knee) returned to practice Monday, Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com reports.

It marked Monangai's first practice action since he hyperextended his knee Aug. 16. It's unclear if Monangai will be able to play in Sunday's regular-season opener against the Panthers, but he's obviously nearing 100 percent. D'Andre Swift (abdomen) was also back at practice Monday after dealing with cramps last week.

Swift (abdomen) returned to practice Monday, Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com reports.

Swift left practice last Thursday with abdominal cramps, but his ability to mix into drills after a weekend off generally is a good sign ahead of Sunday's season opener against the Panthers. In addition to Swift, Kyle Monangai (knee) returned to practice Monday for the first time since hyperextending his knee Aug. 16. Swift is a locked-in fantasy RB2 to open the 2026 campaign, while Monangai makes for an ideal bench stash in Chicago's elite offense. Roschon Johnson will bring up the rear of the depth chart as the Bears' RB3.

Bond cleared concussion protocol and resumed practicing Monday, Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reports.

Bond suffered the brain injury in Cleveland's second preseason game but has since cleared all five steps of the protocol, putting him on track to be ready to go for Sunday's season opener in Jacksonville. He's expected to fill the No. 4 receiver role for the Browns behind KC Concepcion, Denzel Boston and veteran Jerry Jeudy. As an undrafted rookie last season, Bond caught just 18 of 44 targets for 338 yards and zero touchdowns in 16 games.

Waller said Monday that he's practicing as if he's going to play in Sunday's game against the Bears, Steve Reed of the Associated Press reports.

Waller signed with Carolina less than a month ago and has slowly been working his way into game-ready shape. He ran with the first-team offense in practice last week and appears ready to go for the Week 1 opener. The Panthers have a host of quality tight ends, but Waller has the most fantasy appeal of the bunch as a weapon in the red zone and on third downs. He's likely a better best-ball pick than reliable weekly play in redraft fantasy formats.

Coach Todd Bowles said Monday that Tucker (undisclosed) will likely be a game-time decision for Sunday's game against the Bengals, Greg Auman of Fox Sports reports.

Tucker did not practice Monday, and the exact nature of his injury isn't known, though the Bucs will be required to provide more clarity with Wednesday's first official injury report of the season. If Tucker is unable to go against Cincinnati, Bucky Irving and Kenny Gainwell should handle most, if not all, of the backfield snaps.

McMillan (knee) was on the field running routes at Monday's practice, PewterReport.com reports.

Both McMillan and Emeka Egbuka (toe) were participating in Monday's session, putting both in good position to play Sunday against the Bengals. McMillan missed most of training camp, but his injury never sounded serious. He's expected to compete with rookie Ted Hurst for WR3 duties behind Egbuka and Chris Godwin this season. McMillan is the favorite to open the campaign in three-wide sets.

Coach Dan Campbell said Monday that neither Vaki nor Jacob Saylors is viewed as the Lions' strict RB2, and Detroit will use a committee approach behind Jahmyr Gibbs, Nolan Bianchi of The Detroit News reports.

Isiah Pacheco was signed over the offseason to serve as the Lions' RB2 behind Gibbs, but he injured his back and is opening the regular season on injured reserve. Pacheco remains without a firm timetable for return, so it's Vaki and Saylors who will see elevated roles on game days. The inexperienced duo has combined for nine career regular-season carries. Gibbs is expected to have a heavy 2026 workload due to David Montgomery being out of town and now with the Texans.

Higgins (heel) is in uniform for Monday's practice, Charlie Goldsmith of Charlie's Chalkboard reports.

Coach Zac Taylor relayed last Tuesday that Higgins was tending to a bruised heel, which sidelined the wide receiver since then, so his ability to suit up Monday generally is a step in the right direction. Cincinnati will be posting its first injury report of the season Wednesday, after which Higgins' activity level will become clearer as the team preps for Sunday's Week 1 matchup with the Buccaneers.

Chase (knee) is in uniform for Monday's practice, Charlie Goldsmith of Charlie's Chalkboard reports.

Chase limped off the practice field Aug. 25 and was diagnosed with a hyperextended left knee. Prior to Monday, he hasn't logged any visible on-field work in the meantime, so his ability to suit up indicates he'll at least be able to get involved in individual drills. The Bengals will be posting their first Week 1 injury report Wednesday, at which point his activity level will became known as the team prepares for Sunday's game against the Buccaneers.

Egbuka (toe) is "participating in warmups and running routes" at Monday's practice, according to Pewter Report.

Egbuka was limited to work on the side last week, and although it's not yet clear how much he will do Monday, it appears he has taken a step forward in his recovery from a toe issue. There has been hope that Egbuka will be available for Week 1, and there remains reason to believe he will be available for Tampa Bay's opener.