NFL Player News

Taylor is listed as a starting tight end on the Jets' initial depth chart ahead of a Week 1 game against the Titans.

New York listed both Taylor and Jeremy Ruckert as starters at tight end, notably omitting first-round rookie Kenyon Sadiq (abdomen) after he missed most of the summer recovering from hernia surgery. Sadiq is on track to play Week 1 against Tennessee, but he's going to have to earn his spot over Taylor and Ruckert. Taylor fits the mold more as a traditional in-line Y tight end, while Sadiq profiles more as an F tight end, functioning as a big slot receiver. Taylor could be a factor in the red zone this season.

Mitchell is listed as a starting wide receiver on the Jets' initial depth chart ahead of a Week 1 matchup against the Titans.

It's no surprise after Mitchell showed playmaking ability with New York following his midseason trade from the Colts last season. In eight games with the Jets, Mitchell caught 24 of 58 targets for 301 yards and two touchdowns. That 41.4 percent catch rate ranked second worst in the NFL out of 197 qualified pass catchers, but better quarterback play this season in the form of veteran pickup Geno Smith should help improve that number. Mitchell has big-play upside and is dripping with talent; he just needs to get out of his own way sometimes. He's worth a late-round flier in fantasy and makes for an intriguing best-ball selection.

Wright is listed as the Dolphins' No. 2 running back on the team's initial depth chart ahead of a Week 1 matchup against the Raiders.

The 23-year-old is entering his third NFL season after being selected in the fourth round of the 2024 Draft by then-coach Mike McDaniel. Now playing under a new coaching staff, Wright appears to be ahead of Ollie Gordon and special-teams player Carlos Washington for backup duties behind De'Von Achane. Wright carried the ball 70 times for 288 yards (4.1 YPC) and two touchdowns last season but hasn't been asked to catch the ball in the pros, with just eight grabs for 52 yards across 25 career regular-season contests.

Douglas is listed as a starting wide receiver on Miami's initial depth chart headed into a Week 1 matchup against the Raiders.

Douglas is slotted in as the X receiver, alongside Jalen Tolbert at the Z and Malik Washington as the slot man for Miami. A third-round pick out of Texas Tech back in April, Douglas has been running with the first-team offense most of the summer. He logged 17 offensive snaps during the preseason, catching one of his two targets for 28 yards, before being rested for the third exhibition. This Dolphins offense projects to be a low-scoring one, and it remains to be seen if Malik Willis will be able to carry any of his pass catchers to fantasy relevance.

Fagnano is included on the Ravens' initial 53-man roster, Ryan Mink of the team's official site reports.

Baltimore doesn't typically carry three QBs on the roster, but Fagnano essentially forced his way onto the club with a standout preseason. During exhibition play, he completed 74.7 percent of his 75 pass attempts for a league-high 509 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. Fagnano isn't likely to threaten for playing time unless there are injuries ahead of him on the depth chart, however, as Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley are firmly in place as the Ravens' top two QBs.

Strand is one of four quarterbacks who made Atlanta's 53-man roster, Will McFadden of the team's official site reports.

The three QBs to make the roster along with Strand are Tua Tagovailoa, Michael Penix Jr. (knee) and Cooper Rush. Strand is listed as last on the team's initial depth chart, so he's unlikely to see much action, if any, barring injuries to multiple signal-callers ahead of him. Falcons GM Ian Cunningham called the team's decision to carry four quarterbacks "a little bit of an insurance policy," per the Associated Press, in acknowledgement of Tagovailoa's injury history and the knee issue Penix is still working his way back from. Still, Strand -- who signed with Atlanta as an undrafted free agent in May -- could ultimately end up on the practice squad when/if the team needs to provide more depth at other positions.

McLaughlin is slated to be Tampa Bay's primary placekicker for the fourth consecutive campaign in 2026.

McLaughlin got limited opportunities early in his career, but he's played in 16 or 17 contests each of the past five years, the last three of which have been with the Bucs. He was incredibly accurate in making 94 percent of his field-goal attempts over his first two regular seasons with the club, and though that rate dropped a bit to 84 percent last year, McLaughlin also hit a career-high 11 field goals from 50-plus yards (on 12 attempts). He'll be in the final year of the three-year contract he inked in 2024, which could give McLaughlin additional incentive to make a big impact with his leg.

Freiermuth capped the Steelers' preseason schedule with one catch (on one target) for two yards in two contests.

Through five campaigns as a pro, Freiermuth has played at least 16 regular-season games on four occasions, and his tally of 486 receiving yards from 2025 marked his lowest among them. He was on the receiving end of passes from QB Aaron Rodgers for the first time, and with Rodgers returning for his age-43 season, Freiermuth likely isn't in store for much more production, even if the addition of WR Michael Pittman frees up more space for the tight end to operate.

The Raiders signed Neal to their practice squad Thursday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Neal seemed to have a promising NFL future when he was drafted by the Giants seventh overall in the 2022 Draft, but he's struggled both with his health and his play to this point. After starting 13 regular-season games as a rookie, Neal played a total of just 16 contests (14 starts) across the ensuing two campaigns and didn't see action in any games last year due both to performance and injuries. Latching on with the Raiders represents a fresh start for Neal, but there's no guarantee he'll ascend beyond the practice squad with his new club.

Rodgers is expected to have WRs DK Metcalf (undisclosed) and Michael Pittman (hamstring) available Week 1 against the Falcons on Sunday, Sept. 13, Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com reports.

Rodgers didn't suit up in the preseason, and coach Mike McCarthy tied his decision to do so to the fact that Metcalf and Pittman weren't healthy enough to play. Even if one or both of Metcalf and Pittman aren't available for the regular-season opener, Rodgers wouldn't be a consideration to be inactive, but it appears the duo will be able to suit up, barring any setbacks in the meantime. Rodgers led a Steelers offense in 2025 that didn't have much talent at WR aside from Metcalf, but the quarterback still completed 65.7 percent of his passes for 3,322 yards, 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 16 regular-season games.