NFL Player News

Panthers coach Dave Canales said Friday that Young and other starters will play in the first two preseason games, David Newton of ESPN.com reports.

Young made one appearance last preseason, throwing a TD pass on his lone drive but then getting off to a dreadful start in the regular season. He was better later in the year after he returned from a benching, especially over the final few weeks, setting up 2025 as essentially a make-or-break season. The good news for Young, apart from his progress late last year, is that he has a solid offensive line in front of him -- with all five starters seemingly healthy right now -- and an upgrade group of pass catchers. Rookie No. 8 overall pick Tetairoa McMillan highlights the group, but there's also optimism coming out of Panthers camp about WR Xavier Legette and TE Ja'Tavion Sanders making strides in Year 2. It sounds like we'll see most of them next Friday (Aug. 8) when the Panthers kick off their preseason with a home exhibition against the Browns.

Wicks (calf) isn't practicing Friday, Matt Schneidman of The Athletic reports.

Wicks returned Thursday from a brief absence to log partial participation in practice. He sat out full-team drills, however, and is now missing practice entirely again. It's unclear if this is indicative of a setback or just part of Green Bay's plan to avoid aggravating Wicks' calf injury. In any case, it sounds like rookie first-round pick Matthew Golden is well on his way to locking up a top-three role alongside Jayden Reed (toe) and Romeo Doubs.

Reed will miss Friday's practice with a toe injury, Matt Schneidman of The Athletic reports.

Reed left Thursday's practice early, with Packers coach Matt LaFleur explaining Friday morning that the wideout had an issue with his cleats. The problem apparently led to some discomfort or pain that can't be immediately solved by new cleats, but this doesn't sound like anything that will keep Reed out for long.

Skattebo left Friday's practice early and went inside with the training staff, Art Stapleton of The Bergen Record reports.

The rookie reportedly made a good impression during the first week of camp, especially with his pass catching, but he's been a limited participant during the second week while seemingly faced with a minor injury, per Evan Barnes of Newsday. It's unclear if Skattebo's early exit Friday is related to the issue that limited his practice participation the previous few days. Early reports out of camp suggest he's mostly worked with backups, while Tyrone Tracy and Devin Singletary have gotten most of the first-team reps.

McWilliams (quadriceps) did not practice Friday, Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

McWilliams was a fifth-round pick out of UCF back in April. He's expected to serve as cornerback depth behind starters Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean as a rookie.

VanSumeren (ankle) did not practice Friday, Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The 25-year-old linebacker has appeared in 20 regular-season games for the Eagles over the last two seasons, recording 16 tackles (seven solo) while primarily focusing on special teams.

After a slow start to training camp, per John Shipley of SI.com, Brown has put together back-to-back good practices.

Per Shipley, Brown made a pair of explosive plays during Tuesday's session and then kept up his momentum Thursday, while "having the best day of any of the wide receivers and showing good chemistry" with starting QB Trevor Lawrence. As the coming campaign approaches, Brown is slated to play a key role in a wideout corps that is led by ascending second-year pro Brian Thomas and also includes WR/CB Travis Hunter, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Beyond that high-profile 1-2 punch, Brown is projected to work as the team's No. 3 option at wide receiver, a context that could land him on the fantasy radar in deeper formats, particularly if Hunter is eased into the offense to any degree as a rookie.

Simpson (back) is expected to be sidelined for "a week or two," Brian Costello of the New York Post reports.

It doesn't sound like a long-term issue for the veteran left guard. Simpson signed a two-year deal with the Jets last offseason and started all 17 regular-season games for the team in 2024.

Sanders is "shining" at training camp, according to Alex Zietlow of The Charlotte Observer.

It sounds like Sanders has been especially impressive during red-zone drills, catching a bunch of TD passes from Bryce Young. The 2024 fourth-round pick finished his rookie season with a 33-342-1 receiving line, serving as Carolina's top pass-catching TE for much of last season while splitting snaps with Tommy Tremble, who currently resides on the PUP list with a back injury. A strong summer could help Sanders take more snaps away from Tremble come September.

The Commanders signed Sanders on Friday, Grant Paulsen of The Athletic reports.

Sanders hasn't appeared in a regular-season game since the 2022 season with the Dolphins, when he caught two passes for 17 yards on three targets across three contests. Now 26 years old, Sanders spent some time on the Patriots' practice squad in 2024.