NFL Player News

Davis will battle Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah in training camp for the top backup job at running back behind starter Javonte Williams, Todd Archer of ESPN.com reports.

Dallas added Blue and Mafah in the fifth and seventh rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft last spring, but Davis was able to hold off both players for the No. 2 role once Miles Sanders (knee) went down with a season-ending injury in late September. While handling limited reps behind Williams, Davis averaged 4.8 yards on 52 carries, but he lacks standout traits as a runner and offers little utility as a pass catcher. Though Davis' ability to contribute on special teams should put him in good position to win a roster spot, Archer suggests that the 27-year-old is a "forgotten man" in the backup running back competition, with Blue bringing a more explosive skill set to the table and coming off an excellent offseason program in which the coaching staff touted his dramatic improvement compared to a year ago. The 6-foot-1, 232-pound Mafah, meanwhile, could represent a more ideal candidate than the 5-foot-10, 205-pound Davis to handle reps on early downs if Williams were to miss time at any point.

Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said Wednesday in an appearance on "The Schrager Hour" podcast that he's "definitely expecting Tuten to have a big year" after the running back had "a really good spring."

Coen's comments only add to the buzz surrounding Tuten heading into training camp, as the second-year back had already been expected to see an enhanced profile in the Jacksonville offense in 2026 after the team let Travis Etienne walk in free agency. As a rookie, Tuten produced seven touchdowns on 93 touches while mainly serving as a short-yardage complement to Etienne, but the 23-year-old ran a 4.32-second 40-yard dash in the pre-draft process and put that explosiveness on display in the Jaguars' playoff loss to the Bills, reeling off three runs for 10-plus yards. The extent to which Tuten's role will evolve in Year 2 is still difficult to project. Jacksonville brought in bruiser Chris Rodriguez (foot) on a two-year deal this offseason, and while he could end up taking most of the snaps on early downs and in short-yardage situations, it might clear the way for Tuten to absorb some of the functions that Etienne had handled in 2025. The usage of Tuten, Rodriguez and to a lesser extent, LeQuint Allen, will all bear monitoring during the preseason to get a sense of how Coen plans to deploy his backs once the regular season gets underway.

Freeling will start the 2026 regular season at right tackle, Steve Reed of the Associated Press reports.

Freeling played left tackle primarily at Georgia before the Panthers selected him 19th overall in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, but he will switch to the opposite end of the offensive line to begin his NFL career. The 6-foot-7, 315 pound athlete certainly has the size to hold his own in the league, and he will get a shot to fill in for Taylor Moton (illness) at right tackle while Moton recovers from a blood clot. With Ikem Ekwonu (knee) still recovering from offseason surgery to repair a ruptured patellar tendon in his right knee, Carolina is expected to be without both of their starting offensive tackles to begin 2026.

Ekwonu (knee) was placed on the active/PUP list Wednesday, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official website reports.

Ekwonu suffered a ruptured patellar tendon in his right knee in the Panthers' 34-31 loss to the Rams in the wild-card round in January, so his placement on the PUP list comes as no surprise. General manager Dan Morgan said that the offensive lineman is "attacking" his rehab and that he's "really proud of him (Ekwonu) and where he's at right now." Ekwonu is fighting an uphill battle to play during the 2026 campaign, but Morgan expressed that there is some "optimism" that the 25-year-old will be able to return during the season.

Guilbeau (undisclosed) was waived by the Panthers on Wednesday with a non-football injury designation, Joe Person of The Athletic reports.

Guilbeau was placed on the non-football injury list by Carolina on Tuesday, but he will now potentially hit the open market. If the cornerback goes unclaimed, he'll be eligible to pass a physical and join another team at training camp.

Vokolek (neck) announced his retirement from the NFL on Wednesday, Tyler Drake of ArizonaSports.com reports.

Vokolek suffered a season-ending neck injury in Week 6 of the 2025 season while with the Cardinals, and he has now called it a career as a result of the issue. The tight end spent parts of three campaigns in Arizona, failing to garner a target on offense while recording two tackles as a special-teams asset over eight regular-season contests.

Brown (undisclosed) will begin training camp on Carolina's active/non-football injury list, Steve Reed of the Associated Press reports.

It's not immediately clear what type of injury Brown is dealing with, and there's no concrete timetable for his return. In the meantime, rookie second-rounder Lee Hunter figures to get more looks with the first team on the interior of the defensive line.

Emmanwori is expected to be ready for Week 1 after undergoing surgery on his right ankle ahead of training camp, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports.

It's anticipated that Emmanwori will miss some time during camp as he recovers from the procedure, but at this point, it seems like it won't keep him out of any regular-season game action. Until he can get back onto the practice field, free agent acquisition Noah Igbinoghene could see some work in the secondary with the first team.

Elliott is expected to again serve as Philadelphia's starting kicker in 2026, Jimmy Kempski of PhillyVoice.com reports.

Per the Eagles' official site, Elliott is the only kicker on Philadelphia's active roster less than a week out from training camp, so it looks like he won't face any competition for the job this year. He's coming off a down year by his standards in 2025, when he converted just 74.1 percent of his regular-season field-goal attempts, his lowest rate since the 2020 campaign (73.7 percent).

Arnold has an arraignment hearing set for August 13 on the felony charges of robbery and kidnapping he's facing after his June arrest, Greg Auman of Fox Sports reports.

Arnold is still a free agent after he was waived by Detroit in June and was meeting with other teams earlier this month. If any club is willing to sign him, he seems healthy enough to take the field after undergoing a procedure on his shoulder back in December.