NFL Training Camp Report: A.J. Brown Goes 7-for-7 + Fantasy Football Training Camp News for Every Team
July 31, 2026 · Updated August 20, 2026

Updated: August 20, 2026
This report refreshes every morning throughout training camp with the previous day's biggest fantasy football training camp news for all 32 NFL teams, collected around the clock from the nearly 300 beat writers and insiders we track across every camp in the league. Bookmark this page — the URL never changes, and we publish a new edition here before your first coffee every day of camp.
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Yesterday's Five Biggest Stories
1. A.J. Brown Caught All Seven of His Targets Against the Team That Traded Him
The matchup we set up in yesterday's edition delivered on the first day. In team drills at Wednesday's joint practice in Foxborough, A.J. Brown was targeted seven times and caught seven balls against his former team, a line Mark Daniels reported and Underdog circulated; Daniels' write-up called it the Pro Bowl receiver's best day of training camp (@ByMarkDaniels, @UnderdogNFL).
The quarterback throwing to him had the bigger day. Drake Maye finished 20-of-25 in the session (@ByMarkDaniels), and Chad Graff's read at The Athletic is that New England's passing attack shined against the Vic Fangio-led Eagles secondary (@ChadGraff). Taylor Kyles' takeaways add the other side of the ledger: New England's defense picked off five passes, and kicker Andy Borregales kept his bounceback going (@tkyles39).
Asked about the one rep he did not finish, Brown gave the cornerback credit for a little holding, then took the blame anyway: he won the rep, his right hand did not get to the ball quickly enough, and "that's on me" (@MikeReiss).
We treat a joint-practice line like this as evidence about a role, not a scoreline. Seven targets in team periods is the role signal worth having: New England ran its offense through Brown against a defense that is not its own, in front of a staff still deciding how much he carries. Evan Lazar spent his day watching the trenches instead and published 15 takeaways from the Patriots' first joint practice with the Eagles (@ezlazar), which is the other half of whether the passing game holds up.
2. A Court Order Could Send Signed NFL Players Back to College
Former Ole Miss starters Dae'Quan Wright, Zxavian Harris and Wydett Williams — all three of whom signed with NFL teams this summer — were among a group of athletes granted a temporary restraining order Wednesday that opens a path back to college for another season (@AdamSchefter). The condition is the part that decides whether any of this touches a camp roster: per ESPN, a player currently on an NFL roster may join a college roster under the order only if his NFL team releases him by Sept. 1. ESPN has Wright on the Browns and Williams on the Cardinals, with former Oregon State running back Anthony Hankerson on the Seahawks in the same group.
Greg Auman put the strangeness of the moment plainly: a player who suited up in an NFL preseason game on Friday and has $115,000 locked in on a pro contract this year is now a college-eligibility question, because "there are no NCAA rules anymore" (@gregauman). Those figures line up with the case Auman untangled ninety minutes later — Jack Pyburn, who ESPN lists among the plaintiffs, and whose NFL rights the Buccaneers hold from a signed contract that paid a $15,000 signing bonus. The roughly $100,000 in locked-in salary would likely be voided by leaving, and Tampa Bay would keep his NFL rights whenever he came back (@gregauman).
Sept. 1 is the date to circle, because it lands inside cutdown season. Three rosters — Cleveland's, Arizona's and Seattle's — now carry a player who has asked to be let go, and a release that late is a set of reps a team has to re-source from the practice squad, the waiver wire or someone already in the building. For fantasy purposes none of these three is a starter; the point is that the depth behind them moves.
3. The Steelers Are Giving Friday Night to Will Howard and Drew Allar
Pittsburgh will start Will Howard against the Jets on Friday night and follow him with 2026 fourth-round pick Drew Allar. Neither Aaron Rodgers nor Mason Rudolph will play in the second preseason game, per ESPN's story (@AdamSchefter).
Two quarterbacks splitting an entire preseason game is the closest thing to a controlled experiment camp offers. Nothing about it moves a Week 1 depth chart in Pittsburgh, but it is the cleanest extended live look the staff gets at either young quarterback before the roster is trimmed.
The receiver most worth tracking will not be out there. DK Metcalf is not playing in the second preseason game, though he told Brendan Howe he is close to a full recovery from his training camp injury — "100%" (@ASaunders_PGH). Alan Saunders also logged two new rookie injuries, which pushes the Steelers' injury list to 18 names (@ASaunders_PGH).
4. Tua Tagovailoa and the Falcons Offense Struggled in Westfield
Daniel Flick charted an Atlanta first-team drive that produced a Tua Tagovailoa sack, a Bijan Robinson carry for a loss and a fumbled snap, The same stretch had its high: on the next possession Tagovailoa put a jump ball up for Drake London, who went over the top of a Colts cornerback for an impressive grab. Flick's own read was highs and lows, not a wipeout (@ByDanielFlick). In between, Colts cornerback Justin Walley jumped a route for a pick-six off Tagovailoa (@RomeovilleKid).
Flick's full notebook for the AJC does not soften it: across 11-on-11, a stretch of 7-on-7 and position-versus-position work, the Colts appeared to have a leg up on the Falcons, with Nick Folk going 6-for-7 on field goals, connecting from 50 and missing wide right from 53 (@ByDanielFlick).
Kevin Knight's framing is the one that matters for anyone drafting London or Robinson: Atlanta has no incentive to hand the starting job over, and if Tagovailoa does not win it, the job goes to Michael Penix as soon as he is ready (@FalcoholicKevin). Penix spent part of the same practice connecting with Dylan Drummond on a deep shot (@willmcfadden).
What we are watching: whether Tagovailoa keeps the first-team snaps through Saturday's preseason game. A backfield with Robinson in it is close to quarterback-proof on volume, which is why our fantasy RB1 board has not moved on this; London's ceiling is the piece that swings.
5. Vita Vea's Hold-In Ended With a $30 Million Extension
Tampa Bay and two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Vita Vea agreed Wednesday on a one-year extension worth $30 million and tying him to the Buccaneers for two more seasons, with $6 million in new money this year (@AdamSchefter, @NFLSTROUD). Vea had requested a trade at the start of training camp; Tampa Bay never considered dealing him (@AdamSchefter).
The reported totals differ, so here are both. Greg Auman's structure has Vea at $24 million this season and $24 million in 2027 — two years and $48 million, fully locked in (@gregauman). Jordan Schultz puts the total contract at two years and $54 million, and adds that Chicago and Buffalo were among the teams that asked about a trade the Buccaneers never wanted to make (@Schultz_Report). ESPN's write-up frames it the same way we would: the deal ends the hold-in (@AdamSchefter).
An interior defensive lineman is not a fantasy asset in most formats, but the Buccaneers' own numbers explain why this was the transaction of the day: by the team's accounting, Vea leads all nose tackles in sacks since 2019 and Tampa Bay's run defense has allowed the fewest rushing yards in the league over that span (@Buccaneers). A defense that keeps its anchor is a defense that keeps forcing opponents to throw.
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Team-by-Team Camp Notes
Arizona Cardinals
Quiet day in Cardinals camp — nothing notable to report.
Atlanta Falcons
- The first-team offense's joint-practice trouble is the No. 4 story above. One counterweight from the same session: Atlanta's quarterbacks and receivers had considerable success against Colts defensive backs in one-on-ones (@ByDanielFlick).
- Kendal Daniels is getting a lot of run with the first-team defense even with Divine Deablo back, and the two were paired together in one package (@ByDanielFlick). Deablo returned to practice Wednesday, and new signing Beaux Collins was on hand (@ByDanielFlick).
- Running back Trey Sermon was placed on injured reserve (@tori_mcelhaney, @AdamSchefter).
- Will McFadden spent his Falcons camp report entirely on the offense and the offensive line, with the defense coming Thursday (@willmcfadden). Zachariah Branch's footwork was the clip the Falcons' account chose from the day (@AtlantaFalcons).
Baltimore Ravens
- The usage note first: Jesse Minter said Baltimore targeted this second week of the preseason to increase center Ethan Pocic's workload as he comes back from an Achilles injury (@ryanmink, @jeffzrebiec).
- Center Danny Pinter was carted off the joint practice with the Vikings wearing a brace on his right leg, apparently headed for additional testing. He had been vying for the starting job after Tyler Linderbaum left in free agency (@MikeGarafolo, @jeffzrebiec).
- The offense struggled throughout against a blitz-heavy Minnesota defense and did not score on either two-minute possession (@jeffzrebiec). What did work was the quick game: Mark Andrews, Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman all contributed on fast throws (@giana_jade), Bateman had a solid day, and LaJohntay Wester turned an uncovered short catch into a big gain (@jeffzrebiec).
- The secondary was the story on the other side. Marlon Humphrey had two pass breakups in front of Justin Jefferson (@jeffzrebiec) and what Jeff Zrebiec called probably his best practice of the summer, with Keyon Martin, Bilhal Kone and T.J. Tampa also breaking up passes (@jeffzrebiec).
Buffalo Bills
- Buffalo was among the teams with interest in trading for Vita Vea before Tampa Bay extended him (@Schultz_Report).
- The team traveled to Cleveland for Thursday's joint practice (@BuffaloBills). Ashley Bastock previewed what she is watching at that session beyond the quarterback competition (@AshleyBastock42).
Carolina Panthers
- With Chuba Hubbard out (hamstring), Jonathon Brooks and AJ Dillon carried the backfield in the joint practice with Jacksonville. Dillon had a couple of nice runs plus a breakaway in move-the-ball work, Brooks looked good going downhill, and Trevor Etienne rotated in, per the team's joint-practice observations (@Panthers).
- Tetairoa McMillan had the best day of any Carolina pass catcher, catching two touchdowns from Bryce Young including a deep ball, with Dave Canales saying he made the hard catch look easy. Young started slowly and improved as the session went on.
- John Metchie III saw increased first-team reps on quick throws and catch-and-run work, and rookie tackle Monroe Freeling held up against Travon Walker and Josh Hines-Allen.
- Mike Kaye's ESPN camp notebook has Young and McMillan working the opposite field while Jacksonville's tight ends gave the Carolina defense trouble (@mike_e_kaye).
Chicago Bears
- Chicago was among the teams with interest in trading for Vita Vea, but Tampa Bay never wanted to move him (@Schultz_Report).
- The team left for its first road trip of the season (@ChicagoBears).
Cincinnati Bengals
Quiet day in Bengals camp — nothing notable to report.
Cleveland Browns
- The rep plan for the week is now public, and it is the most concrete thing this competition has produced. Per Scott Petrak, Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson will split first-team repetitions at Thursday's joint practice with Buffalo; Sanders then starts Saturday's preseason game and plays the first half, with Watson taking over for the third quarter. Todd Monken would love to name his Week 1 starter by Monday (@ScottPetrak).
- Sanders said he is not feeling "anxiety or any pressure" heading into that stretch (@ScottPetrak).
- Day 16 included an extensive red-zone session, 7-on-7 and 11-on-11. Sanders, Watson and Dillon Gabriel all threw touchdowns, and Watson was intercepted for the second time in the practice when Michael Coats Jr. undercut a sprint-out route intended for Gage Larvadain (@DanielOyefusi).
- Daryl Ruiter's verdict on all of it was blunt: the quarterback play leaves a lot to be desired regardless of who takes the snaps (@RuiterWrongFAN).
Dallas Cowboys
- The usage answer of the day came from offensive coordinator Klayton Adams, who said rookie receiver Camden Brown will not be bubble-wrapped against Arizona despite the question of limiting his reps in the last two preseason games (@VoiceOfTheStar).
- Tyler Guyton is having the best camp of his young Cowboys career (@VoiceOfTheStar).
- Defensive coordinator Christian Parker said Shavon Revel has reached a new level and that Dallas is ready to put high expectations on him in 2026 (@VoiceOfTheStar). On Von Miller, Parker said the Cowboys are not putting a cap on what this year could be for him as an all-down player (@toddarcher).
- Dallas ran another joint practice (@dallascowboys), and Jon Machota collected the camp's best non-football answer: Adams campaigning for a hot dog fridge in the break room (@jonmachota).
Denver Broncos
- Jaylen Waddle produced the explosive-play moment of Day 14, running under a Bo Nix pass that traveled roughly 60 yards downfield and taking it to the end zone with Pat Surtain II in tight coverage. Surtain's read on him, per the team's camp observations: a unique skill set, with the ability to make a big play in one snap (@Broncos).
- That session was the final open practice of Broncos training camp.
Detroit Lions
- Derrick Moore is back from a groin injury and caused problems in Detroit's third-down rush package, per Justin Rogers' camp observations (@Justin_Rogers).
- Seattle still plans to sign former Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold, though he is also expected to spend time on the Commissioner Exempt List (@AdamSchefter).
Green Bay Packers
- Kamal Hadden took roughly half the first-team nickel snaps with Javon Bullard (foot) out, and he intercepted a pass — a year after breaking his tibia and fibula and dislocating his ankle in Week 17 last season, an injury he marked by asking for a photo with the trainers who got him back (@mattschneidman, @BillHuberNFL).
- The cornerback picture behind Brandon Cisse is still unsettled. Keisean Nixon, Carrington Valentine and Benjamin St-Juste all rotated through first-team reps, and Nixon also took third-team snaps, per Bill Huber's Practice 14 report (@BillHuberNFL).
- The No. 1 offense won the third-down period 4-2 for its second straight competition win, with Christian Watson catching first downs against the starting corners, Tucker Kraft making a one-handed grab and Jayden Reed converting a third-and-2 bootleg scramble.
- Back at practice: Bo Melton (stinger), Skyy Moore, Nyjalik Kelly (knee) and Dani Dennis-Sutton. Still out: Bullard (foot), Darian Kinnard (ankle), Micah Parsons (knee, PUP) and Luke Musgrave (neck, PUP). Wednesday's practice was closed to the public.
Houston Texans
- Cowboys team doctor Dan Cooper will perform the surgery on receiver Jayden Higgins' torn ACL (@AaronWilson_NFL). Jonathan Alexander's follow-up asks the question the depth chart now poses: Houston does not have much receiver depth behind him, and the roster has to look somewhere (@jonmalexander).
- Jaylin Noel is back this week from hamstring and right pinkie injuries, and the plan is to ramp him up toward where he was in the spring, when he caught several touchdowns (@AaronWilson_NFL).
Indianapolis Colts
- Tyler Warren went down on a route in 11-on-11 and got up clutching at his groin, then watched the rest of practice from the sideline in uniform without a helmet (@RomeovilleKid, @HolderStephen). Shane Steichen confirmed a groin injury suffered in practice (@AdamSchefter). Jordan Schultz's sources later called it an abductor strain and said Warren is going to be fine, with a return expected next week at the latest (@Schultz_Report, @Schultz_Report).
- Keenan Allen's signing, which we covered yesterday, is now formally done and the receiver is in the building (@AdamSchefter, @Colts, @KBowen1070). Where that leaves the room relative to the settled tiers is on our fantasy WR1 board.
- The first-team offense had its own rough patch against Atlanta's defense: Jonathan Taylor's first-snap run was blown up and Daniel Jones was sacked a few plays later after a missed block (@HolderStephen). Jones also hit Josh Downs on a long completion that drew an argument from Falcons defensive back Darren Hall, per Daniel Flick's AJC notebook (@ByDanielFlick).
- Cornerback Justin Walley's pick-six was the play of the day for the Indianapolis defense (@RomeovilleKid, @Colts).
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Jacksonville is acquiring offensive lineman Daniel Faalele from the Giants for a 2027 sixth-round pick, pending a physical (@AdamSchefter, @Giants).
- John Shipley called it the Bhayshul Tuten day, and his write-up has the back at his best camp practice yet, including a jump cut that left a Panthers defender doing the splits (@_John_Shipley). That is the kind of rep Liam Coen has been asking for.
- The rookie pass catchers had a day too: tight ends Nate Boerkircher and Tanner Koziol both caught red-zone touchdowns, and receivers CJ Williams and Josh Cameron made plays on throws from Nick Mullens.
- The other side of the ledger: multiple false starts, a Boerkircher holding penalty that wiped out a touchdown run, and zero interceptions against Carolina's quarterbacks, which Coen was not happy about.
Kansas City Chiefs
- Receiver Cyrus Allen made an impressive one-handed grab against Mansoor Delane in 7-on-7 (@Jacobs71).
- Kansas City has one more day in St. Joseph before camp breaks (@Chiefs), and the team's account marked Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce being "officially outta the house" (@Chiefs).
Las Vegas Raiders
- Levi Edwards went through the previous joint practice, a preview of the Texans preseason game and what the Raiders depth chart could ultimately look like (@theleviedwards).
- Las Vegas plays at Houston in Preseason Week 2, per the team's broadcast details (@Raiders).
Los Angeles Chargers
- The Chargers signed receiver Liam Clifford and waived receiver Luke Grimm with an injury designation (@chargers).
Los Angeles Rams
- No beat reporting came through the wire from Los Angeles. The Rams' account posted how to watch their Preseason Week 2 game (@RamsNFL).
Miami Dolphins
- Miami released veteran kicker Zane Gonzalez (@AdamSchefter).
- The Giants traveled down for a joint practice in Miami (@Giants).
Minnesota Vikings
- The offense was uneven for most of the joint practice with Baltimore and then produced its best stretch at the end. In the two-minute drill, down five, Kyler Murray hit Addison, then Jennings, then lofted a perfect ball to Justin Jefferson for the touchdown (@WillRagatz, @alec_lewis). Kevin Seifert's detail is the one worth keeping: Murray, rarely emotional, ran all the way to the end zone to celebrate (@SeifertESPN).
- Before that, Murray and the first-team offense had a hard time against Baltimore's defense in 11-on-11, with Marlon Humphrey playing Jefferson physically (@WillRagatz).
- Jordan Mason continues to stand out (@alec_lewis), and Brian Flores sent pressure all afternoon with Dallas Turner very active (@WillRagatz).
- Kevin O'Connell addressed the backup quarterback question in Kevin Seifert's ESPN camp notebook, which also logs errant snaps from Blake Brandel (@SeifertESPN). Randy Moss shared some words with Murray after practice (@WillRagatz).
New England Patriots
- A.J. Brown's seven-for-seven day is the No. 1 story above. Drake Maye's 20-of-25 line came with it (@ByMarkDaniels).
- The defense picked off five passes in the session, and Andy Borregales kept his bounceback going (@tkyles39).
- Rookie Gabe Jacas was a standout, taking Mike Vrabel's hard coaching to heart (@DougKyed). For where Brown's target profile sits against the rest of the position, see our fantasy WR1 board.
- Evan Lazar's advice for anyone reading joint-practice scorecards: it is practice, there are good reps and bad reps, and the fanbase arguments about who won are exhausting (@ezlazar). Kayshon Boutte supplied the highlight the team's account chose (@Patriots).
New Orleans Saints
- The Saints' Estime will miss some time with an unspecified injury, though Ross Jackson wrote that it does not sound serious (@RossJacksonNOLA).
New York Giants
- New York traded guard Daniel Faalele to Jacksonville for a 2027 sixth-round pick, pending a physical (@Giants, @AdamSchefter). Jordan Raanan called getting a sixth back quality work by Joe Schoen and John Harbaugh (@JordanRaanan).
- The Giants claimed defensive tackle Ben Barten on waivers from the Jets (@AdamSchefter) and traveled to Miami for a joint practice (@Giants).
New York Jets
- The Jets face Pittsburgh on Friday night, and the Steelers' quarterback plan is the No. 3 story above.
- New York lost defensive tackle Ben Barten to the Giants on waivers (@AdamSchefter).
Philadelphia Eagles
- Day 1 of the joint practices in Foxborough belonged to the home team. Philadelphia's secondary gave up A.J. Brown's seven-for-seven line and, per Chad Graff at The Athletic, got carved up by New England's passing game (@ChadGraff, @UnderdogNFL).
- Philadelphia quarterbacks threw five interceptions in the session (@tkyles39).
- The one Eagles receiver the team's own account singled out early was Wicks (@Eagles).
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Friday's quarterback plan is the No. 3 story above.
- DK Metcalf will not play in the second preseason game but told Brendan Howe he is "100%" close to full recovery from his camp injury (@ASaunders_PGH).
- Two new rookie injuries pushed Pittsburgh's injury list to 18 names (@ASaunders_PGH).
San Francisco 49ers
Quiet day in 49ers camp — nothing notable to report.
Seattle Seahawks
- Seattle signed cornerback Trevon Diggs, waiving receiver Julian Hicks to make room. Per the team's announcement, the 2020 second-round pick was a first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowler in his second season, when his 11 interceptions led the league and were the most in a season since 1981 (@Seahawks). ESPN reported it as a one-year deal (@AdamSchefter).
- Seattle still plans to sign former Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold as well, though he is expected to spend time on the Commissioner Exempt List (@AdamSchefter).
- Jordan Schultz flagged the Week 3 wrinkle: Seattle plays at Washington, where Trevon Diggs and Stefon Diggs would meet back home in the DMV (@Schultz_Report).
- Devon Witherspoon called his contract extension a long time coming after working through the offseason program and camp without it (@Seahawks).
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Vita Vea's extension is the No. 5 story above, and the ruling that could pull signed players back to college is the No. 2 story.
- General manager Jason Licht spoke on the Vea extension (@MikeGarafolo), and Ian Rapoport's framing was the practical one: Tampa Bay will now get Vea on the field after a big payday (@RapSheet).
- Greg Auman also detailed the Jack Pyburn situation, where the Buccaneers hold Pyburn's NFL rights from a signed contract that carried a $15,000 signing bonus and roughly $100,000 in locked-in salary (@gregauman).
Tennessee Titans
- Wan'Dale Robinson caught at least five passes in Wednesday's session and is being used heavily as the quick-timing safety valve — short throws treated as an extension of the run game, per Easton Freeze's camp notebook (@eastonfreeze). That is a target-volume profile, and it is the reason he keeps showing up in Freeze's notebooks — the kind of usage our NFL DFS strategy guide treats as the cheapest reliable floor on a slate.
- Rookie defensive end Keldric Faulk was being evaluated for a shoulder injury, with the staff hopeful it was a stinger.
- The offensive line competition is separating: rookie Fernando Carmona is trending toward the starting right guard job next to JC Latham, Jackson Slater is the primary interior backup, Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson is being tested as the swing tackle, and veteran Cordell Volson is trending the wrong way.
Washington Commanders
- Rachaad White's absence has an explanation: he tweaked his hamstring in the joint practice with the Dolphins, was held out this week and will likely miss the Lions game, though it is not considered long-term (@NickiJhabvala, @MikeGarafolo, @BenStandig). Garafolo adds the part that matters for a draft board: White has excelled in David Blough's offense through OTAs and camp, and he worked out before Friday's game. Our fantasy RB1 board tracks the tier he is chasing.
- Defensive tackle Johnny Newton underwent surgery in New York for a torn pectoral muscle and is expected to miss significant time (@Schultz_Report, @NickiJhabvala).
- Kaytron Allen supplied the clip the team's account led with from practice (@Commanders).
Camp Battles Tracker
Where the NFL camp battles stand this morning, with the receipts.
| Battle | Team | Latest | Fantasy stakes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterback | Browns | Sanders and Watson split first-team reps at Thursday's Bills joint practice; Sanders starts Saturday and plays the first half, Watson takes the third quarter; Monken would love to name a Week 1 starter by Monday (@ScottPetrak) | Whether Cleveland's pass catchers have a defined trigger man before cutdowns |
| Quarterback | Falcons | Tagovailoa's first-team drive produced a sack, a run for a loss and a fumbled snap, and Justin Walley took a pick-six off him; Kevin Knight's read is that Atlanta has no incentive to hand him the job (@ByDanielFlick, @FalcoholicKevin) | Drake London's and Bijan Robinson's efficiency ride on who throws it |
| Center | Ravens | Danny Pinter was carted off the Vikings joint practice with a brace on his right leg after closing in on the job Linderbaum vacated; Ethan Pocic's Achilles ramp-up was targeted for this week (@MikeGarafolo, @ryanmink) | Snap operation and interior protection for Lamar Jackson |
| Cornerback | Packers | Brandon Cisse is set; Nixon, Valentine and St-Juste rotated first-team reps, and Kamal Hadden took about half the first-team nickel snaps with Bullard out, plus an interception (@mattschneidman, @BillHuberNFL) | Which side of the field opponents attack in Green Bay |
| Right guard | Titans | Rookie Fernando Carmona is trending toward the start next to JC Latham; veteran Cordell Volson is trending the wrong way (@eastonfreeze) | Run lanes and protection for the Tennessee offense |
| Preseason QB reps | Steelers | Will Howard starts Friday against the Jets with Drew Allar following; Rodgers and Rudolph sit (@AdamSchefter) | The only extended live look at Pittsburgh's young quarterbacks |
| Backfield | Panthers | With Chuba Hubbard out, Jonathon Brooks and AJ Dillon carried the joint-practice load and Trevor Etienne rotated in (@Panthers) | Early-down and goal-line touches in Carolina |
| Cornerback | Seahawks | Trevon Diggs signed a one-year deal and Julian Hicks was waived to make room; Terrion Arnold is still expected to sign but to spend time on the Commissioner Exempt List (@Seahawks, @AdamSchefter) | Which Seattle corner opposing quarterbacks target |
| Backfield | Commanders | Rachaad White's hamstring likely keeps him out of the Lions game, with no long-term concern (@NickiJhabvala) | Who takes the first-team backfield reps while White sits |
Cleveland Browns Quarterback Battle: How to Read the Reps
Cleveland's quarterback competition finally has a schedule attached to it, and the schedule is more informative than any practice report from the last two weeks. Per Scott Petrak, Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson will split first-team repetitions in Thursday's joint practice with Buffalo. Sanders then starts Saturday's preseason game and plays the entire first half; Watson takes over for the third quarter. Todd Monken would love to name his Week 1 starter by Monday (@ScottPetrak).
Read the rep allocation, not the highlight reel. A split of first-team reps against an outside defense strips out the variables that make camp tape hard to read: both quarterbacks see the same opponent, the same install and the same personnel on the same afternoon. Everything that happened on Day 16 in Berea was intra-squad: Sanders, Watson and Dillon Gabriel all threw touchdowns in an extensive red-zone session, and Watson was intercepted for the second time in the practice when Michael Coats Jr. undercut a sprint-out route (@DanielOyefusi). Useful, but the defense already knows the routes.
The order of appearance in Saturday's game is the tell. A starter who plays the first half is being evaluated as a starter; a quarterback entering in the third quarter is being evaluated against the opponent's backups. That gives Sanders the cleaner evaluation window, though Petrak's piece also notes that popular opinion still has Watson as the favorite, which is why he frames this as a key stretch rather than a coronation. Sanders' own read on it was flat: he does not feel anxiety or pressure going into it anymore.
What we are watching: whether the first-team split on Thursday is genuinely even, and whether Monken's Monday deadline holds. If the Browns name a starter before the preseason finale, the passing game gets first-team continuity before Week 1. If the decision slides, nobody in that receiver room has a projectable target share.
Daryl Ruiter's summary of Day 16 was that the quarterback play leaves a lot to be desired regardless of who takes the snaps (@RuiterWrongFAN), and our projections reflect exactly that: the Cleveland pass catchers sit in a wide band until the job is settled, because a receiver's value in a two-quarterback camp is a guess about which arm he plays with. For the settled tiers this position feeds, our fantasy QB1 board tracks the level above this one.
Injury Watch
- Tyler Warren, TE, Colts (groin/abductor): Left practice clutching his groin and did not return; Steichen confirmed the injury, and Schultz's sources called it an abductor strain with a return expected next week at the latest (@AdamSchefter, @Schultz_Report).
- Rachaad White, RB, Commanders (hamstring): Tweaked in the Dolphins joint practice; held out this week and likely to miss the Lions game, not considered long-term (@NickiJhabvala, @MikeGarafolo).
- Jayden Higgins, WR, Texans (torn ACL): Cowboys team doctor Dan Cooper will perform the surgery (@AaronWilson_NFL).
- DK Metcalf, WR, Steelers: Out for the second preseason game, but says he is "100%" close to full recovery (@ASaunders_PGH).
- Trey Sermon, RB, Falcons: Placed on injured reserve (@tori_mcelhaney, @AdamSchefter).
- Chuba Hubbard, RB, Panthers (hamstring): Out for the joint practice with Jacksonville; Jonathon Brooks and AJ Dillon handled the work (@Panthers).
- Estime, Saints (unspecified): Will miss some time, but it does not sound serious (@RossJacksonNOLA).
- Jaylin Noel, WR, Texans (hamstring, right pinkie): Back this week, with a plan to ramp him up to his spring form (@AaronWilson_NFL).
- Javon Bullard, S, Packers (foot): Missed practice, which opened the first-team nickel snaps Kamal Hadden took (@BillHuberNFL).
- Bo Melton, WR, Packers (stinger) and Skyy Moore, WR: Both back at practice, along with edge rushers Nyjalik Kelly (knee) and Dani Dennis-Sutton (@BillHuberNFL).
- Micah Parsons, DE, Packers (knee) and Luke Musgrave, TE (neck): Both still on PUP; Darian Kinnard (ankle) is also out (@BillHuberNFL).
- Danny Pinter, C, Ravens (right leg): Carted off the joint practice in a brace, apparently headed for additional testing (@MikeGarafolo, @jeffzrebiec).
- Ethan Pocic, C, Ravens (Achilles): Baltimore targeted this week to increase his workload (@ryanmink).
- Johnny Newton, DT, Commanders (torn pectoral): Had surgery and is expected to miss significant time (@Schultz_Report).
- Keldric Faulk, DE, Titans (shoulder): Being evaluated, with the staff hopeful it is a stinger (@eastonfreeze).
- Divine Deablo, LB, Falcons: Back at practice (@ByDanielFlick).
- Derrick Moore, DE, Lions (groin): Back and disruptive in the third-down rush package (@Justin_Rogers).
- Luke Grimm, WR, Chargers: Waived with an injury designation (@chargers).
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Keep Building Your 2026 Draft Board
Wednesday produced three numbers worth carrying into a draft room: seven targets and seven catches for A.J. Brown against the defense that used to game-plan for him, a Tua Tagovailoa drive that produced a sack, a run for a loss and a fumbled snap before a pick-six followed, and two backfields — Carolina's and Washington's — that practiced without their lead man. These are the tiers those moves feed into.
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