NFL Player News

Taylor is prepared to handle another massive workload in 2026, though the Colts are hoping to ease the load on their star running back, Stephen Holder of ESPN.com reports.

"We definitely need to find ways to take some of that workload off him," running backs coach DeAndre Smith said of Taylor during the team's spring workouts, but coach Shane Steichen added, "It's hard to take (Taylor) off the field when he's running so good," and therein lies the Colts' conundrum. Taylor handled a league-high 323 rushing attempts in 2025, topping 300 for the third time in his career, and he managed to play in all 17 regular-season games for only the second time in six NFL campaigns. The Colts would like to ease some of the wear and tear on their star running back, but they likely won't feel comfortable doing so unless either 2025 fifth-round pick DJ Giddens or 2026 seventh-rounder Seth McGowan emerges as a capable alternative in the backfield.

McDuffie agreed to a one-year extension with the Packers on Thursday, Zach Jacobson of 247Sports.com reports.

McDuffie inked a two-year, $8.0 million contract extension in March 2025, so this new deal will tie him to Green Bay through the 2027 campaign. The soon-to-be 27-year-old has been an important rotational linebacker and core special-teams player over his first five seasons, and he tallied 92 tackles, including 1.0 sacks, across 17 regular-season games last year. McDuffie should slot in behind returning starter Edgerrin Cooper and new addition Zaire Franklin at inside linebacker for Green Bay this year.

Taylor (undisclosed) announced his retirement on his personal social media account Sunday, Briana Jeannel of the 49ers' official site reports.

Taylor spent the first four seasons of his career in San Francisco before playing two seasons with the Bengals and one season with the Bears. The 32-year-old returned to the 49ers and appeared in two games in 2024, but he spent the entirety of the 2025 campaign on IR with an undisclosed injury. Taylor finishes his career with 88 receptions for 845 yards and three touchdowns, and his biggest contributions came as a returner, where he accumulated 1,051 yards on 112 punt returns as well as 106 yards on eight kickoff returns.

Bowers (knee) practiced "at full speed" during OTAs and minicamp, Ryan McFadden of ESPN reports.

Bowers was plagued by a knee injury during most of the 2025 campaign and was ultimately placed on IR for the final two weeks of the regular season. However, he's been able to get back to full health during the offseason and has several other factors working in his favor ahead of the 2026 campaign. First, he'll be working with a pair of new quarterbacks in Kirk Cousins and Fernando Mendoza, and Cousins was reportedly enthralled with Bowers during spring workouts. Second, the Raiders brought in Klint Kubiak -- "who has shown the ability to scheme the ball to his best pass catchers" -- as their new coach. Third, Las Vegas currently has an untested WR room, so Bowers is likely to feature at the team's top pass catcher.

Oladejo didn't participate in OTAs or minicamp because of a hamstring injury, but he's expected to be ready for the beginning of training camp in late July, Paul Kuharsky of PaulKuharsky.com reports.

Oladejo missed most of last season due to a right leg fracture he suffered in October, but that wasn't the cause of his absence from spring workouts; rather, the second-round 2025 draft pick was nursing a hamstring issue. Oladejo is slated for a rotational role during the upcoming campaign, and he's expected to work more frequently as a pass rusher than he did last season, per Kuharsky.

Lutz, who signed a contract extension with Denver last November, enters the 2026 campaign as the team's clear primary kicker, Bob Morris of SI.com reports.

Lutz has been very reliable since joining the Broncos in 2023, playing in all 51 of the team's regular-season games and making 89.0 percent of his field-goal tries. He's converted 12 of 18 attempts from 50-plus yards during that time and hasn't missed any extra points over the past two years. Morris notes Lutz's contract includes no guaranteed money in 2028, but with most of his salary guaranteed from 2026 to 2027, the veteran kicker is essentially locked in as Denver's starting kicker for at least the next two years.

Sutton could benefit from more one-on-one matchups during the upcoming season following Denver's acquisition of Jaylen Waddle, Susanna Weir of the team's official site reports.

Waddle has averaged 77.5 catches for 1,049 yards and 7.5 touchdowns over the past two seasons as the Broncos' No. 1 wideout, and the team gave its WR room a dramatic new look in mid-March by dealing for Waddle. While the trade on one hand means Sutton is more of a 1A in the pecking order alongside Waddle, it may also mean the former will have more open looks with opposing defenses needing to focus heavy attention on Waddle. It remains to be seen how exactly the Broncos' offense will adjust to Waddle's presence, but with QB Bo Nix (ankle) expected to be good to go for the start of training camp and coming off a 2025 regular season during which he threw the most passes in the NFL, there should be adequate targets for both Sutton and Waddle to put up lofty receiving numbers.

Gordon and Jaylen Wright are in line to compete for backup slotting behind De'Von Achane in training camp, Mike Masala of USA Today reports.

Achane is the Dolphins' clear-cut top back, which limits the fantasy lineup utility of his backups as long as he's available. However, if Achane misses time this season for any reason, there's streaming value to be had with the player who's next in line for carries. During the 2025 regular season, Gordon and Wright each logged 70 carries, though Wright (who averaged 4.1 yards per carry) did so in 10 contests while Gordon (2.8 yards per carry) was available for Miami's full slate.

The Bears have signed Roush to a four-year, $7.35 million contract, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

The Bears thought highly enough of Roush to take the Stanford product in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft, 69th overall. However, as a rookie, the 6-foot-6, 267 pounder's path to steady targets isn't apparent while working in an offense that returns TEs Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet.

Coach Sean Payton has been pleased with what he's seen from Waddle since the wideout was acquired in March in a trade with the Dolphins, Susanna Weir of the team's official site reports.

"He's someone who picks things up real quick," Payton said last month of Waddle, who put up a 64/910/6 receiving line (on 100 targets) in 16 regular-season games in 2025. "You can just feel his instincts, his quickness and his ability to not only run fast but stop fast. So, he's doing well." Looking ahead, Waddle and Courtland Sutton are slated to lead a Denver WR corps that also includes Pat Bryant, Marvin Mims and Troy Franklin. Assuming he builds solid chemistry with QB Bo Nix (ankle), who is excited about the explosiveness Waddle brings to the team's offense, the 2021 first-rounder -- who topped 1,000 receiving yards during his first three seasons (2021-2023) with Miami -- is a candidate to see an uptick in production in 2026, and in turn provide weekly fantasy utility in his new locale.