NFL Player News

Stafford (back) is expected to participate in the Rams' first padded practice of training camp Monday, Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com reports.

Stafford reported to training camp earlier this week with a sore back, which has resulted in him working inside with team trainers in the meantime. After agreeing to a new two-year, $80 million contract with the Rams in the offseason, he's set to serve as the team's starting quarterback for a fifth consecutive season, and his top WR duo will be Puka Nacua and Davante Adams after L.A. moved on from Cooper Kupp.

The Falcons agreed to terms on a one-year contract with Chark on Friday, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports.

Chark had a tryout with the Bears on Monday and then met with the Falcons to cap the week before finding his next home. In his only season with the Chargers in 2024, he was beset by injuries and made just eight appearances, including a wild-card loss at Houston, en route to five catches (on 14 targets) for 41 yards and one touchdown. The 28-year-old likely will be vying with Casey Washington, Jamal Agnew and Chris Blair, among others, for one of Atlanta's final WR spots as training camp and the preseason proceed.

Smith (undisclosed) did limited individual drills at Friday's practice, Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com reports.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Thursday that Smith is considered day to day with an unspecified injury. Acquired in a late-June trade, Smith has only done light individual work during his first two practices in Pittsburgh. He and Pat Freiermuth give the Steelers an impressive pass-catching duo at tight end, but it remains to be seen if one of the two can take a large enough share of the targets to be worth starting in fantasy. Smith caught fire for Miami last October and stayed hot through the end of the year, ultimately catching more passes over the final eight games (53) than he'd caught in any of his previous seven NFL seasons (max. 50). His second-best receiving campaign was the year before, 2023 in Atlanta, where he put up 50-582-3 on 70 targets under current Steelers playcaller Arthur Smith.

Tillman left Friday's practice early, walking to the locker room with a member of the medical staff, Zac Jackson of The Athletic reports.

ESPN Cleveland reports that Tillman was holding his lower leg after going down in the back of the end zone at the end of a play. It could just be cramping or a bruise, but he ended up missing the rest of practice. The Browns have shaky WR depth even when everyone is healthy, and they already opened camp with David Bell (hip) and Michael Woods (hand) unavailable. Tillman is expected to start after he seemingly broke through in the middle of last season, only to then miss the final month in concussion protocol.

Coach Jonathan Gannon believes Benson "is going to take a step" in his second season as a pro, Bo Brack of GoPHNX.com reports.

There's no question about James Conner's standing as the top option out of the Cardinals backfield, as the eight-year veteran is coming off a career-best 1,508 yards from scrimmage during the 2024 season. The team invested a third-round pick in Benson two springs ago, but he managed only 69 touches for 350 total yards and one rushing TD in 13 regular-season games as a rookie. He wasn't known for his receiving ability in college, so Benson may need an injury to Conner to make a significant impact in the upcoming campaign.

Coach Kevin O'Connell said Friday that Jefferson is dealing with a mild left hamstring strain, and the Vikings will evaluate the wide receiver again next week, Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports.

Jefferson didn't participate in the last handful of drills at Thursday's practice due what initially was called tightness in his legs. With a diagnosis now honed in on, Minnesota will take a cautious approach with its top offensive weapon, and there's no worry at this time regarding his potential to play Week 1 at Chicago, which is more than six weeks in the future.

Hopkins (knee) returned to practice Friday, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic reports.

Hopkins' absence Thursday was precautionary. The 33-year-old wideout signed a one-year deal with the Ravens back in March after splitting time with the Titans and Chiefs in 2024. Hopkins is coming off a down year in which he amassed a 56-610-5 line on 80 targets across 16 regular-season contests. He was then nearly invisible in the playoffs, going for a combined 3-29-1 line on eight targets across three postseason games.

Ford (undisclosed) worked out with the athletic training staff Friday and is getting closer to practicing, Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reports.

Browns coach Kevin Stefanski has been consistently optimistic that Ford's absence at the start of training camp won't last long. With rookie second-round pick Quinshon Judkins unsigned and facing legal problems, the Browns are left with only fourth-round pick Dylan Sampson, Pierre Strong and UDFA Ahmani Marshall as the available running backs for the opening days of training camp. Ford likely will be the leader of the group once he's ready to return from his unspecified injury.

Williams is not practicing Friday due to a concussion, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com reports.

Williams was reportedly having a nice start to training camp, according to Demovsky, but he figures to miss some time with the head injury. Green Bay used a third-round pick, 87th overall, on Williams in the 2025 Draft, but there's not a clear path to meaningful playing time as a rookie, even with Christian Watson rehabbing a torn ACL suffered last Week 18. The Packers still have a loaded wideout room that features Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks and first-round rookie Matthew Golden.

Westbrook-Ikhine (undisclosed) is participating in the first week of training camp, Travis Wingfield of the Dolphins' official site reports.

He's back healthy after missing June minicamp with an undisclosed injury. Westbrook-Ikhine is on a two-year, $5.99 million contract that includes $3.2 million guaranteed, following an unusual 2024 in which he accounted for nine of Tennessee's 22 receiving TDs despite ranking fifth on the team in receptions (32). He and Malik Washington are the top candidates for Miami's WR snaps behind Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.