NFL Player News

Head coach Ben Johnson said that Odunze (leg) won't practice Tuesday, but the wide receiver is considered "more day-to-day," and the Bears remain optimistic he'll play in Sunday's season opener versus the Panthers, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Johnson didn't provide many specifics regarding the right leg injury that Odunze sustained in a practice last Thursday, though the coach noted that the issue isn't an aggravation of the foot injury that kept the wideout sidelined for the final five games of the 2025 regular season, per Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com. Odunze will still have three more chances to fit in some practice activity before the Bears decide on his status for Sunday's contest, but at this stage, the third-year receiver seems likely to play.

Kansas City head coach Andy Reid said Tuesday that Mahomes (knee) has a "pretty good chance" to start next Monday's season opener versus the Broncos, Sam McDowell of The Kansas City Star reports.

Mahomes didn't play in any preseason games, but he was cleared for 11-on-11 work early in camp and steered clear of any setbacks in his recovery from Dec. 15 surgery to repair a torn ACL and LCL in his left knee. Kansas City will release its first injury report Thursday, and assuming the star QB is listed as a full participant, it would confirm that he's on track to start against Denver. Mahomes will likely be playing without one of his top protectors, however, as Reid said that starting left tackle Josh Simmons (back) has a "good chance" of sitting out Week 1, per Matt McMullen of the team's official site.

Flowers (lower body) was on the field for practice Tuesday and appears to be participating fully, Sam Cohn of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Baltimore won't release its first Week 1 injury report until Wednesday, but assuming Flowers doesn't appear on the report or is listed as a full practice participant, he'll be in the clear to suit up Sunday in Indianapolis. Rewarded with a four-year, $140 million extension earlier this summer, Flowers remains on track to serve as the Ravens' clear No. 1 pass catcher heading into his fourth NFL campaign.

Jets head coach Aaron Glenn said Tuesday that Hall (groin) is trending toward playing in Sunday's season opener versus the Titans, Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic reports.

Hall sustained a minor right groin strain during an Aug. 17 practice, and though he didn't return to full team drills before the end of the preseason, the running back looks like he'll be available for Week 1. Assuming Hall progresses to a full practice workload by the end of the week, he should be ready to handle a three-down workload Sunday.

Lemon is listed as a starting wide receiver for the Eagles and their top punt returner on the unofficial depth chart released Tuesday, Andrew DiCecco of InsideTheBirds.com reports.

The rookie joins DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks as the top three receivers on the depth chart, though Wicks may be prioritized ahead of Lemon in two-wide sets to begin the season. Wicks turned in a strong training camp, while Lemon spent considerable time on the sideline while tending to a hamstring injury. The first-round pick will likely need to impress early in the season before pushing past Wicks as the No. 2 receiver.

Fields appears on track to open the season as the Giants' No. 2 wide receiver after the team released Darius Slayton on Monday, Matt Iegros of USA Today reports.

Prior to his release, Slayton looked like the leading candidate to handle the perimeter role opposite Malik Nabers (knee). Those duties instead could fall to Fields, a third-round rookie out of Notre Dame. Listed at 6-foot-4 and 222 pounds, Fields drew positive buzz in training camp and the preseason for his physicality and ability to make plays downfield. The Giants still have veterans Darnell Mooney and Odell Beckham on hand to push for playing time, but Fields often took reps ahead of both players while Nabers was sidelined or limited to non-contact portions of practice for much of camp.

Gonzalez signed a four-year, $135 million extension, with $102 million guaranteed, with the Patriots on Monday, NFL reporter Jordan Schultz reports.

The deal makes Gonzalez the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history. The Patriots deemed Gonzalez worth the big contract after he made his first Pro Bowl last season and starred during the team's playoff run to the Super Bowl. Gonzalez now gets some peace of mind with the four-year deal, while New England has one of the league's top defenders in the secondary locked up for the foreseeable future.

Houston is signing Gronowski to its practice squad, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Gronowski initially signed with Miami as an undrafted free agent in May. He was cut in mid-August, then re-signed, then cut again all within the same month. Gronowski ultimately signed with the Dolphins' practice squad, but he was cut once more last Tuesday. He'll now get a chance to impress as part of the Texans' practice squad, though the organization is relatively set at QB on the active roster with C.J. Stroud and Davis Mills.

Kittle (Achilles) is in full uniform for the 49ers' practice session in Melbourne, Australia on Tuesday, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports.

Earlier in the day, 49ers offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak said of Kittle: "Super impressed with how he's looked considering the injury and how quick he got back on the field. It's cool to me to see how Kittle looks ... Workload will be determined," per Cam Inman of The San Jose Mercury News. While that doesn't fully confirm that the star tight end will be ready to play in the season opener against the Rams, the fact that the team seems to be focused on Kittle's gameday workload, rather than his general playing status, suggests that he's more likely than not to suit up. Kubiak did give the caveat that Kittle will need to get through San Francisco's final practices before a decision is ultimately made, and the club's injury reports this week should shed further light on Kittle's level of participation in practice as well as his outlook for the Friday (local time) NFC West clash.

McCaffrey (undisclosed) is in full uniform for the 49ers' practice session taking place Tuesday afternoon local time in Melbourne, Australia, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports.

McCaffrey wasn't spotted taking part in the early portion of practice Monday, so his presence on the field in full uniform Tuesday is a promising sign for his potential availability for the 49ers' season opener against the Rams. It's been a bit of a mysterious several weeks for McCaffrey, as he was described as dealing with "tightness" in early August and didn't play at all in the preseason while being an inconsistent participant in team drills. San Francisco's injury reports this week should shed some light on McCaffrey's status for the matchup against Los Angeles, but to this point he seems more likely than not to play in that contest.