1 month agoPittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin reached out to quarterback
Russell Wilson on Saturday night when the team was trading for
Justin Fields to let him know that he was still considered the team's starter going into the 2024 season. However, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that while that is Tomlin's plan, Fields is going to compete, regardless. The 35-year-old Wilson will open the regular season as Pittsburgh's starter after a bounce-back campaign in 2023 in his final season with the Denver Broncos, but the aging signal-caller is going to need to play well to hold off Fields, who has more fantasy upside because of his elite rushing abilities. With
George Pickens,
Van Jefferson and
Calvin Austin III currently the team's top-three receivers, Wilson will be a high-end QB2, at best, in fantasy for what will likely be a run-first offense.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: NFL Network - Ian Rapoport
1 month agoFree-agent linebacker Jerome Baker agreed to a one-year, $7 million contract with Seattle on Saturday. The 27-year-old finished last season by totaling 78 tackles, two picks, and 1.5 sacks in 13 games with Miami. However, after injuring his knee in December, he underwent wrist surgery in January and was released by the Dolphins in March due to a failed physical designation. Baker should have a clear path for snaps throughout the 2024-25 campaign. While he has had some solid years since entering the league in 2018, he must prove he can remain healthy moving ahead. That said, Baker still has a place on IDP rosters.
--Dennis Clausen - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
1 month agoFree-agent wide receiver
Donovan Peoples-Jones agreed to a one-year deal on Saturday to remain with the Lions. The wideout began his career by spending over three years with the Browns before being traded to Detroit ahead of the deadline last season. He appeared in eight regular-season games for the Lions, catching only five of his seven targets for 58 yards. Yet, Peoples-Jones did at least come in handy as a punt returner during the postseason after
Kalif Raymond went down with a knee injury. The organization still feels the 25-year-old has some untapped potential. However, it's too early to speculate where Peoples-Jones will land on the depth chart heading into the 2024-25 campaign, considering he'll compete with
Amon-Ra St. Brown,
Jameson Williams, and possibly
Josh Reynolds for snaps. The team may also add via the 2024 NFL Draft. With this in mind, he's someone to watch throughout training camp.
--Dennis Clausen - RotoBallerSource: Jordan Schultz
1 month agoFree-agent wide receiver
Chris Conley agreed to a one-year deal with the 49ers on Saturday. The journeyman wideout has played for five teams throughout his career, making stops in Kansas City, Jacksonville, Houston, and Tennessee before appearing in eight regular season games for San Francisco in 2023-24. He finished the year by catching just three passes (six targets) for 69 yards while failing to find the end zone. The 49ers still have
Deebo Samuel,
George Kittle, and
Brandon Aiyuk as their primary receivers, so Conley will continue to have a tough time getting looks from
Brock Purdy, meaning he won't see much attention from fantasy managers heading into the 2024-25 campaign.
--Dennis Clausen - RotoBallerSource: Charean Williams
1 month agoThe Chicago Bears traded quarterback
Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a conditional 2025 sixth-round pick. Based on playing time, the sixth-round pick can become a fourth-round selection. With Fields shipped to Pittsburgh, the Bears are set to select USC quarterback
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1 month agoThe Carolina Panthers are set to bring in former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver
Michael Gallup for a visit next week, according to a source. Even though the Panthers acquired receiver
Diontae Johnson from the Pittsburgh Steelers earlier this week, they continue to look to add weapons on offense after quarterback
Bryce Young struggled mightily in his rookie season in 2023. In addition to Gallup, the Panthers will visit with
Mike Williams (knee), who was recently released by the Los Angeles Chargers for salary cap purposes. The 28-year-old Gallup would join Johnson,
Adam Thielen and
Jonathan Mingo if he were to sign with the Panthers. Gallup had 1,000 yards in his sophomore season in 2019 in Dallas but has been on the decline since and hasn't had more than 445 receiving yards in each of the last three seasons.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: NFL Network - Ian Rapoport
1 month agoThe Arizona Cardinals have been open for business at the No. 4 overall pick in the upcoming NFL draft, and The Athletic's Jeff Howe speculates that they might be a match for a trade with the Minnesota Vikings, who are looking to trade up within the top-five picks for a new franchise quarterback after losing
Kirk Cousins to the Atlanta Falcons. The Washington Commanders (No. 2) and New England Patriots (No. 3) probably won't want to move all the way back to No. 11, miss out on a QB and likely be out of the mix for a top-tier receiver and left tackle. Arizona traded the No. 3 pick to the Texans just last year, and they are committed to QB
Kyler Murray, which means they could welcome another trade down the board to accumulate more first-rounders as they attempt to acquire difference-makers around Murray on offense.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: The Athletic - Jeff Howe
1 month agoThe Los Angeles Chargers signed free-agent defensive tackle Poona Ford to an undisclosed one-year deal this week, according to league sources. Ford will have an excellent chance for playing time with the Chargers in 2024 and will have a chance to hit the market again next offseason as an ascending player. Ford entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2018 out of Texas and spent the first five years of his NFL career playing for the Seattle Seahawks before playing in eight games with the Buffalo Bills last season. The 28-year-old had nine tackles (five solo) and a sack in his eight games with Buffalo in 2023 and has 190 tackles (109 solo), 8.5 sacks, 29 tackles for loss, 30 QB hits, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in 84 career games (64 starts) over his six NFL seasons.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: KPRC 2 Sports - Aaron Wilson
1 month agoCarolina Panthers linebacker Shaq Thompson had his contract restructured, reducing his base pay in 2024 to $3.1 million with $1.7 million guaranteed to help clear around $3 million in salary cap space for this season. The former 25th overall pick by the Panthers in 2015 out of Washington played in only two games last year before suffering a season-ending fractured fibula against the New Orleans Saints. The 29-year-old had a run of four straight seasons with 100-plus combined tackles before getting hurt in 2023. Thompson also restructured his contract with the Panthers last offseason, which gave him an extra year with the team. He'll be entering his 10th season in Carolina and he's started in 108 of his 119 career games, totaling 717 combined tackles, 12 sacks, three interceptions and four forced fumbles over nine NFL seasons.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: NFL Network - Tom Pelissero
1 month agoBefore the Los Angeles Chargers traded wide receiver
Keenan Allen to the Chicago Bears on Thursday evening in exchange for a fourth-round pick, the New York Jets and Houston Texans were interested in trading for him. After restructuring his contract last offseason, Allen declined to take a pay cut in 2024 and was traded to the Bears. Even though he missed the final four games in 2023 with a heel injury, Allen set the Chargers' single-season record for catches with 108 and also led the team with 1,243 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. The six-time Pro Bowler is coming off his fifth season with 100 catches, which is tied for third-most in NFL history. The 31-year-old has one year left on his four-year, $80.1 million extension he signed in 2020. He said he and the Bears are approaching the prospect of a new deal "one day at a time," and his hope is to remain with Chicago on a long-term basis.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: ESPN.com - Courtney Cronin
1 month agoThe Carolina Panthers plan to host former Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver
Mike Williams (knee) for a visit next week, according to a league source. Williams, who suffered a season-ending torn ACL in Week 3 of last year, was released earlier this week due to salary cap purposes. The 29-year-old they call Big Mike was set to make $20 million in the final year of his three-year extension in 2024. Now that most of the big free agents have already chosen new teams, Williams is one of the biggest names available on the open market and would give young quarterback
Bryce Young a big new target in the passing game after Carolina already traded for wideout
Diontae Johnson. The former seventh overall pick in 2017 by the Bolts out of Clemson has two 1,000-yard seasons in his seven NFL campaigns and scored nine touchdowns in 2021, but his lengthy injury history outweighs his upside at this point.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: The Charlotte Observer - Mike Kaye
1 month agoThe New York Jets are expected to sign former Dallas Cowboys All-Pro and Pro Bowl left tackle Tyron Smith, according to a source. Smith will become the team's new blind-side protector for quarterback
Aaron Rodgers, who will be returning in 2024 after tearing his Achilles in Week 1 of last season. The Jets have made it a point to upgrade their offensive line this offseason so they can do a better job of keeping Rodgers upright in the pocket, adding left guard John Simpson, right tackle Morgan Moses, and now Smith. The 33-year-old Smith, the former ninth overall selection by the Cowboys in 2011 out of USC, is an eight-time Pro Bowler, although he hasn't played a full season since 2015. But when he's been healthy, Smith has proven to be one of the better left tackles in the league, so the signing is a big plus for Rodgers and the Jets offense.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: NFL Network - Ian Rapoport
1 month agoThe Green Bay Packers officially re-signed running back
AJ Dillon on Friday. Dillon was originally selected by the Packers in the second round (62nd overall) in 2020 out of Boston College. He has played in 60 games (11 starts) for the team during the regular season and has compiled 2,428 yards on 597 carries (4.1 yards per carry) with 16 touchdowns while recording 86 receptions for 763 yards (8.9 yards per catch) with two touchdowns. The 25-year-old had a career-low 3.4 yards per carry in 15 regular-season games (six starts) in Green Bay in 2023 and failed to take advantage of
Aaron Jones missing some time with injuries. Dillon missed the final three games due to a neck stinger, but he should be fully healthy for the start of the 2024 season this fall, where he'll be back as the No. 2 RB behind newcomer
Josh Jacobs.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Packers.com
1 month agoThe Pittsburgh Steelers are signing free-agent wide receiver
Van Jefferson to an undisclosed one-year deal on Friday. After the trade of receiver
Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers this week, the move to sign Jefferson will give new quarterback
Russell Wilson a new weapon alongside
George Pickens and
Calvin Austin III. The 27-year-old former second-round pick of the Los Angeles Rams in 2020 spent time with new Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith with the Atlanta Falcons last year, catching 12 of 28 targets for 101 yards in 12 games (five starts) with the team. The move to Pittsburgh should be a boost for Jefferson's weak fantasy value, but the Steelers could also add to the position in the upcoming NFL draft. In four years in the NFL, Jefferson has 113 receptions for 1,600 yards and 10 touchdowns in 61 games (35 starts).
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: The 33rd Team - Ari Meirov
1 month agoAfter the Los Angeles Chargers traded wide receiver
Keenan Allen to the Chicago Bears on Thursday night and released
Mike Williams this week, they are fully expected to pursue receiving help in the upcoming NFL draft. Allen is the franchise's
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