NFL Player News

Dillon secured the third running back spot on Carolina's 53-man roster, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.

Dillon had been in a preseason battle with Trevor Etienne (ankle) for the third spot on the depth chart, but Etienne was placed on injured reserve Sunday with a designation to return, ruling Etienne out for the first four games of the regular season at minimum. Dillon is behind Chuba Hubbard (hamstring) and Jonathon Brooks (soreness) in the backfield pecking order, but Dillon would have a clear path to playing time early in the season if either of the top two running backs missed any game action.

Kraft (knee) appeared to be running without any limitations during Wednesday's practice, Matt Schneidman of The Athletic reports.

Though Kraft was held out of action during the Packers' entire preseason slate, he was able to clear a major hurdle in his recovery from the torn ACL he sustained Nov. 2, 2025 by taking contact in a joint practice with the Cardinals last week. Kraft appeared to be in full uniform and pads for Wednesday's session, suggesting that he's on track to be ready to go for the Packers' Week 1 matchup with the Vikings. Green Bay will release its first injury report of 2026 next Wednesday, and if Kraft is listed as a full participant or is off the report entirely, it would provide confirmation that he's been cleared to play in the season opener.

Hall (groin) is expected to be ready for Week 1 against the Titans on Sunday, Sept. 13, Jack Bell of the Jets' official site reports.

Hall is still nursing the groin injury he suffered 17 days ago, but he was originally given a return timetable of 2-to-3 weeks and was spotted running without any noticeable issues on a side field last week. Barring any setbacks, it sounds like Hall should be fine for the season opener. Whether he sees his normal workload is another question, as Braelon Allen has looked the part in practice and during limited preseason action, where he rushed seven times for 48 yards (6.9 YPC) and one touchdown.

Loveland is listed as a starting tight end along with Cole Kmet on the Bears' unofficial depth chart.

The 10th overall pick in the 2025 Draft, Loveland had a slow start to his rookie season, coming out of Week 8 with 11 catches total on the campaign and one DNP due to a hip injury. From Week 9 through the Bears' divisional-round loss to the Rams, though, he ran roughshod over opposing defenses, hauling in 59 of 89 targets for 790 yards and six touchdowns in 12 games. Loveland capped that stretch with four consecutive contests with double-digit targets, indicating he finished last season as QB Caleb Williams' top option in the passing game. While Loveland still has to contend with WRs Rome Odunze and Luther Burden (groin) for the attention of Williams, the tight end is poised to make a leap to the NFL's best at the position.

Achane is set to lead a Dolphins backfield in 2026 that will also include Jaylen Wright and Ollie Gordon (ribs), based on Miami's initial 53-man roster.

The Dolphins traded for Jarquez Hunter shortly before cutdown day, but he ultimately didn't make the 53-man roster, though Hunter remains in the organization as part of the practice squad. Fullback D.J. Herman is also listed as a running back, but the team's backfield is otherwise unchanged from 2025, when Achane produced a career-high 1,838 scrimmage yards. The team around Achane went through an offseason overhaul, including the addition of mobile QB Malik Willis, but Achane projects to maintain a prominent role as the centerpiece of an otherwise unproven offense.

Coach Ben Johnson said Tuesday that Odunze has had no issues this summer with the foot injury that plagued him last season, Larry Mayer of the Bears' official site reports.

Odunze was able to play through listed ankle and heel injuries through Week 13 last season, but a stress fracture in his foot sidelined him Weeks 14-18 before he returned for Chicago's two postseason contests. In 14 appearances including playoffs, he posted a 48-749-6 line on 102 targets, recording 13 receptions of 20-plus yards along the way. As the ninth overall pick in the 2024 Draft, Odunze has a 51.3 percent catch rate (98 for 191) in his two-year career, but he's made up for it with 14.2 YPC. If the aforementioned foot injury is a thing of the past, Odunze will remain a key target for QB Caleb Williams along with TE Colston Loveland and WR Luther Burden (groin) in 2026.

Johnson is one of three running backs on Chicago's initial 53-man roster, along with D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai (knee).

Johnson beat out Salvon Ahmed, Brittain Brown and Coleman Bennett for a spot on the 53-man roster. Head coach Ben Johnson described Monangai as "week-to-week" Tuesday, per Chris Emma of 670TheScore.com, so Monangai's status for Week 1 remains up in the air. If Monangai isn't ready to face the Panthers on Sept. 13, Johnson could be in line for change-of-pace work behind D'Andre Swift, with no alternatives currently on the roster at running back.

Coach Ben Johnson lauded Williams' approach Tuesday as the quarterback enters his third NFL campaign, Larry Mayer of the Bears' official site reports. "He's executing at a much higher clip than he ever has, and I think it's going to continue to grow," Johnson said. "He's going to continue to elevate everyone around him, coaches included."

Williams played just one possession during exhibition season, leading the Bears to a Cairo Santos field goal to kick off preseason Week 2 at Cincinnati. The performance (2-for-5 passing for 28 yards, no TDs and no interceptions) was nothing to write home about, but Williams is set to take another step forward in his development in 2026. There are two question marks within Chicago's skill positions as Week 1 approaches: RB Kyle Monangai is attempting to put a hyperextended knee behind him, while WR Luther Burden is continuing his recovery from an early August groin injury. Having said that, Williams still has the healthy trio of RB D'Andre Swift, WR Rome Odunze and TE Colston Loveland at his services, so the QB's first 4,000-yard season through the air may be on the horizon.

Browns is one of six wide receivers on the Cowboys' initial 53-man roster, Tommy Yarrish of the Cowboys' official site reports.

The Cowboys seem to have found a diamond in the rough with Brown, who signed with the team as an undrafted free agent in May after recording 1,079 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns at Georgia Southern in 2025. Prior to that, Brown played at Auburn for three years. Brown's two-touchdown performance in the Cowboys' preseason opener helped him earn a spot on the team, but Ryan Flournoy remains the favorite to join CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens in three-receiver sets.

Foster is among the five wide receivers that made Seattle's initial 53-man roster, John Boyle of the team's official site reports.

Foster earned his roster spot with a strong training camp that carried over into a productive preseason, which included a touchdown catch in Seattle's first preseason game. The 25-year-old wide receiver finished the previous season on Seattle's practice squad but has yet to appear in a regular-season game. Foster will likely be limited to a depth role barring injuries to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Rashid Shaheed, Cooper Kupp or Tory Horton (undisclosed), the last of whom isn't believed to have a long-term injury.