NFL Player News

Fant caught four of his eight targets for 33 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 31-30 overtime loss to the Lions.

Tyler Shough enjoyed targeting tight ends in Sunday's shootout, with the duo of Fant and Juwan Johnson totalling 87 yards and two touchdowns between them. If Shough's favoritism for the bigger-bodied targets with a higher catch radius continues, Fant could become a solid option in deeper leagues.

Bowers (knee) left the locker room after Sunday's 27-13 win over the Dolphins walking unaided with a sleeve on his left leg, Sam Warren of The Athletic reports.

Warren's encouraging postgame update on Bowers comes hours after Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that Bowers could be back as soon as Week 2 against the Chargers. The star tight end sat out Vegas' Week 1 win over the Dolphins after underdoing a meniscus trim Tuesday.

Raymond caught eight of his nine targets for 84 yards in Sunday's 59-37 win over the Panthers.

Raymond caught the most passes for the Bears in Week 1 while also being targeted nearly twice as much as the next closest target (Luther Burden with five). The Bears' rushing game was the star of the show, totaling 291 yards and six touchdowns, but Raymond was the centerpiece of the passing offense in Sunday's win and could maintain this level of attention in future weeks.

Gainwell rushed five times for 15 yards and brought in his lone target for three yards in the Buccaneers' 33-27 loss to the Bengals on Sunday. He also returned one kickoff for 22 yards.

Gainwell worked in the No. 2 role as expected, and with Sean Tucker (hamstring) unavailable Sunday, the former saw a sizable share of the Buccaneers' 13 running back touches. The ground attack took a back seat overall due to game script, but next Sunday's Week 2 home matchup against the Browns could certainly see pretty drastic change for the better in that regard, a development that would particularly benefit Gainwell if Tucker remains sidelined.

Smith caught three of six targets for 53 yards in a 24-22 Week 1 victory against the Commanders on Sunday.

Smith made a big 31-yard catch on a beautiful third-down throw from Jalen Hurts late in the third quarter to help set up a Philadelphia field goal. Beyond that reception, the veteran wideout was mostly held in check, and he finished behind both tight end Dallas Goedert (77 yards) and fellow WR Dontayvion Wicks (73 yards) for the team lead in receiving yardage. Smith enters 2026 as the Eagles' top wideout following the offseason departure of A.J. Brown (ankle), but that may not necessarily lead to a heavy increase in production, as Philadelphia has a variety of offensive weapons and Hurts could look to spread the ball around more -- in fact, his 14 completions Sunday went to six different pass catchers, none of whom had more than four receptions. Smith and the Eagles will be heavily favored in a Week 2 tilt against Tennessee next Sunday.

Johnson caught three of his seven targets for 54 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 31-30 overtime loss to the Lions.

Johnson had a strong Week 1, with Tyler Shough targeting the No. 1 tight end at the third-highest rate among Saints players. Only Chris Olave and Devaughn Vele saw more targets, but Johnson's 18.0 yards per reception were second only to Olave's 18.2.

Rush completed 12 of 22 passes for 143 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions in the Falcons' 20-13 loss to the Steelers on Sunday.

Rush drew the start with Tua Tagovailoa (oblique) and Michael Penix (knee) sidelined, and the journeyman signal-caller battled through his own back spasms to take the field. Rush predictably struggled, taking four sacks and barely completing over 50.0 percent of his passes against an aggressive Steelers defense. Rush's early fourth-quarter interception also resulted in a 35-yard pick-six that extended Pittsburgh's lead to 20-10 at the time. Rush primarily relied on Bijan Robinson -- who was on the receiving end of the quarterback's one touchdown pass from 23 yards out -- but the lackluster performance underscored the signal-caller's limitations. Rush may be reverting back to a reserve role for a Week 2 home matchup against the Panthers next Sunday, as one of either Tagovailoa or Penix might be ready for that contest.

Brooks notched four carries for 14 yards and one catch (on two targets) for 48 yards during Sunday's 59-37 loss to the Bears.

Brooks initially missed practice Sept. 1 due to general soreness before opening Week 1 prep with back-to-back limited practices due to a groin injury. A full practice Friday resulted in no designation for Sunday's game, but he played a distant second to Chuba Hubbard (13 touches, 87 yards from scrimmage and two total TDs) out of the Panthers backfield in the season opener. Perhaps by putting his recent health concern further in the rearview mirror, Brooks will be more involved in the offense next Sunday in Atlanta.

Williams gathered in just four of nine targets for 45 yards during Sunday's 31-30 overtime win against the Saints.

QB Jared Goff and Williams weren't on the same page often Week 1, as the fifth-year wide receiver's catch rate fell below 50 percent, and nearly half of Williams' yards (22) occurred on one reception. Williams is coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard campaigns, a span in which he averaged 17.2 yards per grab, so he's a good bet to bounce back in the near future, and perhaps as soon as Thursday's road showdown with the Bills.

Watson completed 16 of 22 passes for 205 yards with one touchdown and one interception while rushing six times for 38 yards in the Browns' 34-10 loss to the Jaguars on Sunday. He also fumbled once but recovered.

Watson put together a deceptively impressive 72.7 percent completion rate, but the numbers were largely empty in the context of a 24-point loss. Even Watson's one touchdown pass rang somewhat hollow, as it came with 1:52 remaining and the game well out of reach. While the 46-yard scoring strike to rookie Denzel Boston saw Watson flash some encouraging arm strength and accuracy, he and his offensive teammates could have another tough assignment on their hands in a Week 2 road matchup next Sunday against a Buccaneers defense that can be highly aggressive with its blitzes.