NFL Player News

Davis (hamstring) returned to practice as a limited participant Monday, Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald reports

After injuring his hamstring on July 28, Davis returned to the New England practice field Monday on a limited basis, making it likely that he avoided a severe tear. The 29-year-old is once again in line to be one of the starting outside cornerbacks for a top-performing Patriots defense alongside Christian Gonzalez. Davis will look to continue his solid defensive play from 2025, when he recorded 69 tackles and 10 pass deflections across 17 regular-season games.

Dobbins exited Monday's practice alongside the training staff with an undisclosed injury, Zac Stevens of TheDNVR.com reports.

The good news is Dobbins jogged into the locker room, but other than that there isn't any news on what the running back is dealing with health-wise. RJ Harvey and rookie Jonah Coleman figure to handle the bulk of the first-team reps while Dobbins is tending to his issue.

Coach Kevin Stefanski said Monday that the Falcons don't have a timeline to name a starting quarterback for the team's Week 1 game at Pittsburgh, Josh Kendall of The Athletic reports.

Tagovailoa seemingly is the leader in the clubhouse to land the gig for the season opener over Michael Penix, who has yet to join in on team drills in training camp due to his ongoing recovery from the torn ACL that ended his season Week 11 last year. While Stefanski wouldn't commit to a Week 1 starter, he added that he'll make a decision on whether or not Tagovailoa will play in Friday's preseason opener against the Broncos by Wednesday.

Coach Todd Monken noted Monday that he hasn't decided whether Watson or Shedeur Sanders will start Saturday's preseason opener against the Bears, Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN.com reports.

Whichever of the duo doesn't start Saturday's preseason opener is expected to get the starting nod in the Browns' second preseason game, meaning this battle under center is far from settled. "As long as we're still sharing reps, it's a competition," Monken said. Throughout the summer, it has sounded like neither quarterback has been particularly sharp. After Watson handled most of the first-team reps in practice Saturday, Sanders is working with the ones Monday.

Coach Todd Monken said Monday that Boston will start working with the first-team offense in practice this week, Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN.com reports.

Specifically, Monken said Boston will work as the "boundary" receiver on the outside, allowing Jerry Jeudy to move around the formation more. By all accounts, Boston has been a standout at Browns camp and has earned the increased reps with the starters. His insertion with the ones is likely to hurt Cedric Tillman the most, as Tillman is a holdover from the previous coaching staff and has been mentioned in trade rumors this offseason. Boston appears to be a riser up fantasy draft boards headed into the preseason.

Coach Todd Monken noted Monday that he hasn't decided whether Sanders or Deshaun Watson will start Saturday's preseason opener against the Bears, Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Monken did indicate that whichever of the two doesn't start against Chicago will get the nod against the Bills in Cleveland's second preseason tilt. After Watson took starters reps during Saturday's practice, Sanders is slated to work with the first-team offense Monday. On the topic of the ongoing job battle between the two signal-callers, Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN.com relays that Monken said Monday, "As long as we're still sharing reps, it's a competition."

Kraft (knee) ran routes on air in full pads while catching passes from QB Jordan Love at Monday's practice, Ryan Wood of USA Today reports.

Most notably for Kraft, he wasn't wearing the sleeve he'd been wearing on his right knee from the first nearly two weeks of training camp. He suffered an ACL tear in that knee Week 9 of last season, and while he sat out Friday's Family Night practice, he was back on the field as of Monday and continues to increase his reps as a Week 1 matchup at Minnesota on Sunday, Sept. 13 draws closer. It doesn't appear likely Kraft will play during the preseason, and the question remains whether or not he and the Packers will agree to a contract extension.

Waddle, who left this past Wednesday's practice with muscle tightness, didn't practice Monday, Parker Gabriel of The Denver Post reports.

That's not surprising given that coach Sean Payton said Thursday of Waddle that he thought the wideout would be back in "the next 4-to-5 days," per Aric DiLalla of the Broncos' official site. With that in mind, consider Waddle day-to-day ahead of Friday's preseason opener against the Falcons.

Mims (undisclosed) returned to practice Monday, Parker Gabriel of The Denver Post reports.

After leaving Friday's practice with an apparent injury, Mims didn't work Saturday, but the wideout is back in pads Monday and will continue to vie for slotting in a WR corps led by Courtland Sutton and Jaylen Waddle (undisclosed). Mims' primary competition this season for snaps/targets that don't go to the top duo are Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant.

Cooper (foot) took part in Monday's practice, Mike Spofford of the Packers' official site reports.

Cooper was held out of Sunday's session with a foot issue, but he was back out there a day later. As such, consider him back in the mix moving forward.