NFL Player News

The Titans plan to reduce Simmons' (elbow) workload in 2026 to keep him fresh for high-leverage situations, Kevin Patra of NFL.com reports.

Coach Robert Saleh said during minicamp in June that Tennessee wants Simmons rested for crucial third downs and two-minute situations. Fewer snaps could slightly lower Simmons' tackle volume, but Saleh's aggressive scheme should also create more opportunities for disruption. Simmons totaled a career-high 11.0 sacks last season while earning All-Pro honors, and he's fresh off signing a three-year, $105.8 million contract extension. Considering his talent level, a planned rotation shouldn't significantly damage Simmons' IDP ceiling.

Titans head coach Robert Saleh has praised Helm's physical development this offseason and named the tight end as a player who "hopefully" will "take a big jump" during the 2026 season, Jim Wyatt of the team's official site reports.

Helm set a franchise rookie tight end record with 44 catches for 357 yards and two touchdowns while suiting up for 16 regular-season games in 2025. Added competition may limit his fantasy ceiling, but a strong offseason would give Helm a chance to earn a larger role in Tennessee's offense, and the departure of Chig Okonkwo for the Commanders opens up notable receiving opportunities. Helm appears the favorite to win the No. 1 tight end job during training camp, with Daniel Bellinger and Kylen Granson fitting into complementary roles.

Gray is expected to reprise his complementary No. 2 tight end role behind Travis Kelce during the 2026 season, Matt McMullen of the Chiefs' official site reports.

Gray caught 21 of 37 targets for 178 yards without a touchdown while suiting up for 16 regular-season games in 2025, a notable step back from the 40-437-5 line he totaled in 2024. He remains a versatile contributor on offense and special teams, but Gray's limited receiving production will likely keep him of the fantasy radar. There's a chance Gray will carry greater relevance if Kelce is forced to miss time.

McPherson will again work as Cincinnati's primary kicker during the upcoming season following a bounce-back performance last year, John Sheeran of A to Z Sports reports.

McPherson struggled mightily in 2024, making just 16 of 22 FG attempts over 12 regular-season contests. However, he was much better last season, converting a career-high 89 percent of his field-goal tries (25-for-28), though he did miss three PATs. McPherson went 5-for-8 from 50-plus yards and 10-for-10 from 40 to 49 yards last year, giving the Bengals a reliable leg when they opted to kick from distance. Cincinnati has much higher aspirations after winning just six games last year, and McPherson figures to play a key role if the team is to rebound from a rough campaign.

Santos currently doesn't have any viable competition for the role of Chicago's primary placekicker, Alyssa Barbieri and Brendan Sugrue of Bears Wire report.

Santos had an uneven 2025 season, making just 25 of 30 field-goal attempts, including going 4-for-6 from 50-plus yards. However, he made all 39 of point-after tries and hit several clutch FGs, including a game-winning 48-yard kick as time expired against Minnesota in Week 11. With that said, the 12-year veteran doesn't have anywhere near the strongest leg in the league, and he missed a pair of contests last year due to a thigh injury. The Bears don't currently have another kicker on the roster, so Santos looks set to open 2026 as the team's primary option at that position. However, Barbieri and Sugrue suggest Chicago could move on at some point given Santos' lack of a big leg, which puts him behind most top kickers in the league.

Little is set to reprise his role as Jacksonville's primary kicker during the upcoming season and will look to further cement his place as one of the NFL's top players at his position, Casandra Chesser of Jaguars Wire reports.

Little made history last year when he kicked the longest field goal in league history -- a 68-yarder in Week 9. For good measure, he booted a 67-yarder in Week 18 and outdid both of those kicks in the preseason with a 70-yarder. Overall, Little made 30 of 34 FG attempts and 50 of 51 extra-point tries, leaving little margin for him to improve. Still, he had a rough patch between Weeks 3 and 7 when he went just 4-for-8 on field-goal tries, so a reasonable goal could be to avoid any similar uneven stretches in 2026. Regardless, Little will enter the campaign as one of fantasy's most desirable kickers, especially in formats that award more points for long-distance makes.

Dicker is entering his fifth NFL campaign, his fourth as the Chargers' undisputed starting kicker.

Dicker is coming off of a 2025 campaign during which he converted 38 of 41 field-goal attempts, notching his first Pro Bowl appearance. Dicker now owns four of the five best single-season field-goal percentage campaigns in franchise history, per Omar Navarro of the Chargers' official website. The kicker will look to build off the historic start to his career in 2026, capping off the possessions of the highly-anticipated Los Angeles offense under new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel.

During an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show, coach Kevin O'Connell declined to shed much light on the upcoming QB competition between Murray and J.J. McCarthy, Nick Shook of NFL.com reports.

As training camp approaches, O'Connell has yet to declare a QB pecking order, though he did offer brief assessments of the team's top three signal callers, as well as his general approach to evaluating the position. "Kyler has come in and done a great job," O'Connell noted of the team's offseason free-agent acquisition. "J.J., I think, has benefit[ed] from it; he's had a really good spring. Carson Wentz is the veteran quarterback in the room. As a guy who's played seven or eight quarterbacks in four years, the two years we had our starter play the whole season, we won 13 and 14 games. So we want to try to get back to the standard of having the quarterback position be a driving force behind us winning by doing their job, by hopefully activating the great players they get to play with." Valuable context regarding this looming job battle is slated to arrive once training camp commences later this month, but at this stage Murray profiles as the favorite to draw Minnesota's Week 1 start.

John Shipley of SI.com considers Boerkircher the favorite to secure the Jaguars' No. 2 TE role behind Brenton Strange.

Strange inked a lucrative extension with the team last month and remains Jacksonville's clear-cut No. 1 TE on the heels of a 46-catch effort in 12 regular-season games in 2025. Boerkircher -- whom the Jaguars took 56th overall in the 2026 NFL Draft -- is thus slated to compete with fellow rookie Tanner Koziol, as well as returnees Quintin Morris and Hunter Long for slotting behind Strange ahead of Week 1. After logging a total of 38 career catches through five collegiate seasons, Boerkircher figures to make his initial mark as a pro in the blocking game, with the 24-year-old's long-term fantasy upside hinging on whether he's able to make strides as a pass catcher down the road.

Though Hunter (knee) is on track to participate in training camp, Ryan O'Halloran of The Florida Times-Union relays that the CB/WR's snaps will likely be managed early on.

As O'Halloran notes, Hunter will be seeing his first team work since Oct. 30, 2025, so the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft figures to be eased back into the mix as he rebounds from an LCL injury. As the coming campaign approaches, the Jaguars plan to utilize Hunter as both a cornerback and wideout, with the 23 year-old's fantasy lineup utility in formats that don't factor in IDP stats hinging on what sort of workload he's able to carve out in a crowded Jaguars pass-catching corps that also includes fellow WRs Brian Thomas, Jakobi Meyers and Parker Washington, as well as TE Brenton Strange.