NFL Player News

Jesse Newell of The Athletic indicates Johnson has been fourth in the team's RB pecking order behind top option Kenneth Walker, as well as both Emari Demercado and Brashard Smith to this point in training camp.

While Newell indicates that the Chiefs were thrilled to land Johnson in the fifth round of April's draft and suggests that the rookie's long-term prospects with the team remain unchanged, it looks like he may have some ground to make up ahead of Week 1. Things could of course change as the summer progresses and Johnson continues to develop, but for now, his role behind Walker has yet to be determined, while the team's RB2 job remains up for grabs. The Chiefs' preseason opener is Aug. 15 against the Rams, with added context regarding backfield slotting presumably set to arrive via the release of the team's first unofficial depth chart prior to that contest.

Coach John Harbaugh said Skattebo's early exit from Friday's practice is "nothing serious at all," Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports.

According to Duggan, Skattebo went down in the middle of Friday's session and appeared to be stretching out his hamstring, after which he didn't mix into drills the rest of the way. Harbaugh also told Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News that Skattebo is merely working his way back from last season's dislocated right ankle. How Skattebo fares the rest of training camp and the preseason will determine his ultimate workload once Week 1 arrives, with Tyrone Tracy and, to a lesser extent, Devin Singletary also on hand for backfield reps.

Mims (undisclosed) left Friday's practice with an apparent injury, Nick Kosmider of The Athletic reports.

With Jaylen Waddle dealing with a muscle strain and Mims having left practice Friday, the Broncos' top healthy WRs at the moment are Courtland Sutton, Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant. Following the high-profile offseason addition of Waddle to work alongside Sutton, however, Mims' path to steady volume is murky as he competes with Franklin and Bryant for slotting behind the top duo.

Thornton (undisclosed) exited Friday's practice early, Sam Warren of The Athletic reports.

Thornton, who is coming off a 2025 season in which he caught 10 passes for 135 yards on 30 targets over 15 games, is competing with Jack Bech and Malik Benson for slotting in a Las Vegas WR corps that's led by Tre Tucker and Jalen Nailor. Any missed time won't help his cause, but in any case the team's No. 3 option at the position may not see heavy volume in 2026, with two-TE sets featuring Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer likely to be used frequently this season.

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.