Carolina Panthers wide receiver Jalen Coker (illness) did not practice on Thursday due to an illness, according to head coach Dave Canales. The second-year wideout out of Holy Cross had a solid showing in the team's first preseason game of the year last week, snagging two receptions for 17 yards and a touchdown. In his rookie season, the 23-year-old tallied 32 receptions on 46 targets for 478 yards and two touchdowns. While rookie Tetairoa McMillan is expected to be the immediate WR1 for quarterback Bryce Young, Coker could be a sneaky fantasy football value pick if Carolina's offense takes a step forward. Luckily, Coker is not dealing with anything serious and should return to action soon.

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According to NFL.com and New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel, veteran safety Kyle Dugger has been demoted to the second-team defense. Dugger signed a four-year, $58 million contract last offseason, but Vrabel is not tied to decisions from previous coaching staffs. When asked how Dugger can win his starting job back, Vrabel said, "Just making sure that he's where he needs to be and understanding the coverage concepts and everything we do. A lot of this is that guys have earned the right to take a look with that first unit and, again, there will be different lineups and different things. Just focus on the reps that you get right now." It sounds like the 29-year-old has been outplayed by other safeties this offseason, and Vrabel is attempting to motivate him to work his way back. In 74 career games since being selected in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, Dugger has tallied 424 tackles, 3.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, nine interceptions, and 24 pass deflections.

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Veteran free-agent running back Matt Breida is retiring from the NFL, according to ESPN. The former undrafted free agent signing out of Georgia Southern by the San Francisco 49ers in 2017 compiled 575 rushing attempts for 2,652 rushing yards and caught 120 passes for 935 receiving yards in 98 career games with the 49ers, Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills, and New York Giants. He tallied 15 total touchdowns. Breida had his moments on the fantasy football radar, particularly in 2018 when he rushed for 814 yards and tallied 261 receiving yards as a sophomore in Kyle Shanahan's offense. The 30-year-old declined a workout request from the Miami Dolphins this offseason.

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Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton announced that the team's key starters, including quarterback Bo Nix, will not play in the preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday. The starters will play around 10 snaps next week against the New Orleans Saints. In Week 1 of the preseason, Nix completed six of 11 passing attempts for 31 yards and no touchdowns. The sophomore former first-round pick out of Oregon exceeded expectations in Year 1, helping lead Denver to its first playoff game since Super Bowl 50 against the Carolina Panthers. With an elite offensive line in front of him and a much-improved running back stable this season, Nix should be set up for success in Payton's offense.

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Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert will play in his first career preseason game on Saturday against the Los Angeles Rams. Head coach John Harbaugh said the plan is for offensive and defensive starters, and Herbert will play "a series or two." While Herbert is viewed by many as one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL, his fantasy floor and ceiling took hits last season in Greg Roman's run-first offense. After throwing for at least 4,336 yards in the first three seasons of his career, the Oregon product tallied just 3,870 passing yards in 17 games a season ago. While he has a ton of upside in shootout game conditions, Harbaugh and Roman are unlikely to transition into a high-flying passing attack.

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Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jayden Reed (foot) was seen out of his walking boot on Thursday, but the third-year wideout is still not participating in practice. Reed is dealing with a sprained foot, and it's unclear if it will affect his Week 1 availability. The Packers' wide receiver room is dealing with several injuries during training camp, as Romeo Doubs, Savion Williams, Dontayvion Wicks, and Christian Watson are all out of action. First-round rookie Matthew Golden stands to benefit from extra opportunities in their absences. Reed remains a viable flex option for fantasy football, but it appears he is trending toward being relegated to three-WR sets once again in 2025.

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Green Bay Packers wide receivers Romeo Doubs (back) and Dontayvion Wicks (calf) did not practice on Thursday due to back and calf injuries, respectively. Head coach Matt LaFleur said Doubs suffered a back injury in Tuesday's practice, but the ailment is not viewed as serious. Wicks has been out of action for a few weeks. Fellow Green Bay wideouts Savion Williams (concussion), Jayden Reed (foot), and Christian Watson (knee) are also banged up, leaving rookie Matthew Golden to soak up a ton of opportunities in training camp. Golden likely has the highest upside among all Packers' pass-catchers, but 2025 could be another year of the Packers lacking a true No. 1 target hog.

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Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers will not play in the team's second preseason game this Saturday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, according to Brooke Pryor of ESPN. Rodgers will sit again and probably won't play in the preseason finale next week, either. The 41-year-old future Hall of Famer has seen it all at this point and needs to save the bullets he has left for the regular season. Backup Mason Rudolph will make another start this weekend at QB for Pittsburgh. Rodgers looked slow last year in his final season with the New York Jets while coming off an Achilles tear, and there's no guarantee he'll be any more athletic another year older. Rodgers still has the ability to sling it, but injuries will be a big concern, and it's hard to envision him lighting up box scores on a weekly basis in what is expected to be a run-first Steelers offense.

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Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. got a lot of run "from the jump" in the team's scrimmage on Thursday. Tank Bigsby and rookie Bhayshul Tuten had the second-most reps of RBs during the scrimmage, and Bigsby found the end zone. Etienne was also the team's lead back in the preseason opener on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Steelers, although he only carried the ball twice for six yards and caught one pas for a pickup of 10 yards. Bigsby and Tuten didn't see the field. Etienne's usage so far suggests that he should be a big part of Jacksonville's offense in 2025, unless he's traded before the start of the season. The 26-year-old is still RotoBaller's highest-ranked (No. 33) Jaguars RB in fantasy, but Bigsby is at No. 38, and Tuten sits at No. 51. It could be a three-headed monster for Jacksonville, making Etienne an RB3/flex, at best, in PPR leagues if he's not traded.

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Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said that quarterback Joe Milton III (elbow) will start the team's second preseason game on Saturday versus the Baltimore Ravens. Starter Dak Prescott will watch on the sidelines. Milton suffered a minor elbow injury during the preseason opener last Saturday against the Los Angeles Rams and was pulled early, but the 25-year-old will be able to play this weekend as he tries to win the backup job in Dallas over Will Grier. Before leaving the game against the Rams, Milton went 17-for-29 passing for 143 yards with a touchdown and interception, and he also carried the ball five times for 22 yards. Milton has some intriguing dual-threat abilities as a backup QB, but the Cowboys would be in rough shape if Prescott suffers another injury in 2025 that forces Milton into starting duties.

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San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings (calf) posted a photo on his social-media account of him getting treatment on Thursday morning from Las Vegas, where his teammates are scheduled to have a joint practice against the Las Vegas Raiders, according to Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area. Jennings has not practiced with the team since the first week of training camp after aggravating a calf injury that he also dealt with during spring workouts. The 28-year-old is also in the midst of contract-extension negotiations with the organization, so he's in no rush to push himself back onto the field and risk further injury. Still, he's losing valuable reps with the first-team offense in a year in which he has a huge opportunity to be one of the team's top-targeted wideouts with Brandon Aiyuk (knee) hurt and Deebo Samuel Sr. no longer in town. Jennings is on the WR3/4 borderline as a fantasy sleeper in 2025.

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New England Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson (undisclosed) remained sidelined at Thursday's training camp practice, according to Brian Hines of Pats Pulpit. Stevenson probably isn't in line to suit up for the second preseason game on Saturday against the Minnesota Vikings, but head coach Mike Vrabel said on Wednesday that Stevenson's injury is minor. The 27-year-old shouldn't be in danger of having to miss the start of the 2025 regular season in early September. When Stevenson is healthy and available, he's going to split touches in New England's backfield with rookie TreVeyon Henderson, although given his issues with ball security, this could easily become Henderson's backfield in 2025 when all is said and done. If that ends up happening, Stevenson's best bet for fantasy purposes might be as an RB3/flex touchdown vulture at the goal line.

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The Detroit Lions offense has had a learning curve this summer with the transition from former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to new OC John Morton, but the offense reportedly looked dominant in joint practice with the Miami Dolphins on Wednesday and could be finally hitting its stride with the regular season quickly approaching. Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown was the best player on both teams on Wednesday. "We feel like as an offense maybe this camp there has been some struggles for us as an offense. But I think that's normal. You got new coaches and different moving parts and you're going against a really good defense every day," St. Brown said. The 25-year-old caught 115 passes for 1,263 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2024 and is arguably the best slot receiver in the league. Jameson Williams could demand more targets this year, though, potentially making St. Brown a bust candidate as a top-five fantasy wideout.

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Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay said early in training camp that backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo would not play in the preseason this year, so it might be Stetson Bennett once again taking the majority of the snaps under center for the second week of the preseason on Saturday against the Los Angeles Chargers. Matthew Stafford (back) has still yet to practice during training camp, and Dresser Winn is the only other QB on th roster. The Rams are optimistic that Stafford will be ready for Week 1 of the regular season, but it makes sense for them to keep Jimmy G on ice during the preseason as an insurance policy in case Stafford isn't ready. The 31-year-old has reportedly looked strong running the first-team offense in Stafford's absence this summer, and he'd become a low-end QB2 option in superflex fantasy leagues if Stafford misses time to begin the 2025 season.

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Miami Dolphins linebacker Chop Robinson (rib) returned to training camp practice on Thursday, according to head coach Mike McDaniel. It comes a day after Robinson was carted from joint practice with th Detroit Lions early with a rib injury. "It was a rib hit that we had to make sure we were responsible and didn't have any fractures or anything like that," McDaniel said. "He's definitely sore, but he'll be practicing today." The former first-rounder last year has drawn rave reviews for his performance this summer after recording six sacks in his first NFL season in 2024. Linebacker Jaelan Phillips (undisclosed) was unable to practice on Thursday due to an undisclosed injury. The 22-year-old Robinson will be looking to build on a solid rookie season ro the Dolphins defense in 2025.

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Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill (oblique) will not practice on Thursday despite a strong push to return to the field, according to ESPN's Daniel Oyefusi. Hill is dealing with an oblique injury that has kept him limited or out of training camp practices for the last two weeks. "If Tyreek didn't have to answer to anybody, he would have practiced yesterday -- and I fear we might be talking about an injury that's a lot longer term," McDaniel said. "I'm just happy that our training staff understood the magnitude of further or bigger aggravation of something and was proactive." The Dolphins are trying to protect the speedy wideout from himself so that he'll be 100% for the start of the regular season. The Cheetah had a down year by his standards in 2024 with an 81-959-6 line but also dealt with a wrist issue all season. A bounce-back is possible, but it also depends on whether quarterback Tua Tagovailoa can stay healthy.

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Buffalo Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman is drawing praise from quarterback Josh Allen in the wideout's second professional training camp. Coleman was hard on himself when evaluating his play during his rookie season, but Allen says he's dominating one-on-one situations in practices. The former second-round pick logged 29 receptions for 556 yards and four touchdowns last season. He appeared to be trending up before a wrist injury sidelined the then-rookie for four games. The Bills are currently without Khalil Shakir (ankle) and are relying on Coleman to transform into the team's top wideout. Deep threat Joshua Palmer is also projected to be a starter. Finding Allen's potential go-to receiver in the late rounds of a fantasy football draft makes Coleman an excellent sleeper selection.

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Cleveland Browns quarterback Kenny Pickett (hamstring) is still limited at the team's training camp practice on Thursday, according to Zac Jackson of The Athletic. Pickett injured his hamstring back on July 26 and has not practiced with the rest of the team since then. Although the Browns haven't made any final decisions on the QB battle, it's a near certainty that veteran Joe Flacco will be anointed the Week 1 starter eventually. In addition to Pickett, rookies Dillon Gabriel (hamstring) and Shedeur Sanders (oblique) are also dealing with injuries, although it's expected that Gabriel will start the second preseason game on Saturday against the Philadelphia Eagles. Pickett could be back with the rest of the team by the end of this week, as he has been participating in seven-on-seven drills. The 27-year-old appears ticketed for the backup role to Flacco to begin the 2025 regular season.

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Cleveland Browns running back Dylan Sampson was the first running back up in the rotation during Wednesday and Thursday's joint practices with the Philadelphia Eagles, according to The Athletic's Zac Jackson. The fourth-round rookie's stock has grown throughout training camp. Second-round pick Quinshon Judkins is involved in legal trouble and hasn't signed a contract with the Browns. That makes Jerome Ford and Pierre Strong Jr. the biggest competitors for touches. Ford took a pay cut to remain with Cleveland, and the coaching staff may be favoring the rookie over the fourth-year veteran. The Browns are projected to have one of the league's worst offenses, and running back touchdowns may be hard to come by. Both Ford and Sampson are double-digit fantasy football selections. The rookie is a sleeper for what could be a heavy workload this season.

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Cleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel (hamstring) is expected to start the team's second preseason game Saturday against the Philadelphia Eagles. The rookie third-round pick didn't play in the first exhibition game due to his hamstring issue. Head coach Kevin Stefanski said Gabriel will only miss the start if there's a setback or soreness after practices. Gabriel's absence last week opened the door for fellow rookie Shedeur Sanders (oblique) to start the first preseason game. Sanders was in line for an encore start before an oblique injury took him out of the running. Kenny Pickett (hamstring) is also nursing an injury. Cleveland is currently rostering six quarterbacks and may carry four into the regular season. Neither rookie is scheduled for immediate playing time with 40-year-old Joe Flacco widely expected to be the Week 1 starter.

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