NFL Player News

Despite Williams' modest role in training camp to date, coach Mike Vrabel says that the Patriots want to find ways to keep the 2025 third-rounder involved in the offense this season, Zack Cox of the Boston Herald reports.

"I really, really know that Kyle is going to help us," Vrabel noted Friday. "His speed is going to help us...we're going to find ways to get him the ball, and it may be outside of just the normal installation plays." As a rookie, Williams caught 10 of 21 targets for 209 yards and three touchdowns in 17 regular-season contests in 2025, but it's notable that those three scores all came on big plays. For now, Williams seems to be facing an uphill battles in terms of earning steady playing time in a crowded WR room, but if transactions or injuries change the composition of the unit, the Washington State product could make his mark as a complementary target alongside top options A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs.

During Friday's scrimmage, Tuten started the first drive with the Jaguars' offense with LeQuint Allen mixing in on third down, then Chris Rodriguez started the second drive before rotating with Tuten, John Shipley of SI.com reports.

Shipley notes that the Jaguars subsequently settled into a rotation where Tuten would open the drives, Rodriguez would come on the field when the team was within the 10-yard line, and then Allen would play all of the third downs. While this remains an ongoing job battle as Rodriguez works his way back from a foot injury, the scrimmage did at least provide some hints on how the Jaguars could approach their backfield workload come Week 1. For now, things seem to trending toward a committee approach that could result in Tuten and Rodriguez forming a 1A/1B combo, with Allen as a change-of-pace option.

Colts coach Shane Steichen said Thursday that Pierce (ankle) is "doing great" with his rehab but doesn't have a concrete timetable to resume practicing, James Boyd of The Athletic reports.

At the start of training camp, Colts GM Chris Ballard said Pierce was a "week or so away" from practicing. The team is now a week and a half into camp, with no sign of an imminent return for Pierce, who underwent ankle surgery this spring. He initially hoped a long-lingering injury would heal with rest over the winter, but he ended up needing surgery not long after signing a four-year, $114 million contract in March. The Colts are left with Ashton Dulin, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Deion Burks and others to compete for first-team reps alongside Josh Downs at wide receiver this summer.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Friday that Mahomes (knee) is unlikely to play in the Chiefs' preseason opener against the Rams on Saturday, Aug. 15, Sam McDowell of The Kansas City Star reports.

Reid isn't sure if Mahomes will play in the second or third preseason game, either. The Chiefs typically play their starters more than other teams in August, but it won't be shocking if they make an exception for a superstar QB coming back from an ACL tear. Mahomes' return has gone well, by all accounts, with no signs of limitation early at training camp. He may not run as often as he did last year, but he's on track for a Week 1 appearance.

Murray has taken around two-thirds of the first-team snaps at training camp, according to ESPN's Kevin Seifert.

Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell hasn't announced his timeline to name a Week 1 starter, but he is providing hints that Murray is a strong favorite over J.J. McCarthy, including earlier this week when O'Connell told reporters that Murray has "shown improvement every single day" during camp. Seifert's report notes that McCarthy has also shown progress, but not enough to truly challenge Murray in the supposed job battle.

Concepcion said Friday that his shoulder has felt fine since returning to practice earlier this week, Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Concepcion was diagnosed with an AC joint sprain after a hard fall at Monday's practice, but it was apparently only a minor sprain, considering he returned to team drills Wednesday. The report notes that he made a leaping catch at Thursday's practice without any visible aggravation of the injury. Concepcion is competing for a top-three role at WR and looks on track to make at least one appearance during the NFL preseason.

McCarthy has taken around one-third of the first-team snaps at training camp so far, according to ESPN's Kevin Seifert.

The Vikings have divided snaps, as promised, but with Kyler Murray getting significantly more work than McCarthy. That's no surprise given McCarthy's performance last year, but the team does still seem to have some interest in developing him. The report notes that McCarthy has spent much of the summer leading Minnesota's second-string offense against the first-string defense, with mixed results. Murray remains a strong favorite to start Week 1.

Austin looks to be the Giants' top slot receiver, according to Dan Duggan of The Athletic.

Duggan relays that Austin was a standout at the offseason program but hasn't carried his early momentum to the start of training camp. That might be expected for one of the smallest players in the league, but Austin nonetheless appears on track for a Week 1 role, regularly taking slot reps with the starters. The Giants will frequently use a fullback and/or multiple tight ends on early downs, so the No. 3 WR role might only amount to a few targets per week.

Worthy (shoulder) didn't practice Friday, Pete Sweeney of The Kansas City Star reports.

Meanwhile, fellow Chiefs wideout Cyrus Allen (shin) returned to practice Friday after missing the past few days. Worthy shouldn't be too far behind, as he's considered day-to-day with a shoulder sprain. That said, fantasy managers should keep an eye on the situation, given that Worthy had surgery on the same shoulder at the beginning of the offseason. The Chiefs don't seem worried, but it's still not the best sign.

Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley suggested Friday that Bell (knee) might have a chance to play this preseason, David Furones of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.

It doesn't seem likely, given that Bell remains on the Non-Football Injury list through the first week of August. He'll presumably ease into practice once he's activated, and there would still be some chance of opening the regular season on an injury list. Still, it's a good sign that Bell's head coach isn't ruling out the possibility of a preseason appearance. The rookie third-round pick should get playing time at some point this year, though perhaps not early on.