Baltimore Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely (foot) has avoided the Injured Reserve and will open the season on the team's 53-man roster. Likely underwent surgery on his foot after suffering a small fracture on July 29, but he has recovered quickly enough that he'll be available early in the season. The 25-year-old set career highs in receptions (42), yards (477), and touchdowns (six) last season, providing the Ravens a solid pass-catching option at the position behind Mark Andrews (undisclosed). While Andrews is dealing with an undisclosed injury, indications are that he'll be ready for the Ravens' Week 1 matchup against the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 7. Likely may not be a sure thing for that game, but he will make his 2025 debut sometime in September.

From RotoBaller

New York Jets wide receiver Xavier Gipson (shoulder) is expected to make the team's initial 53-man roster, according to Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic. Gipson missed New York's final preseason game with a shoulder injury and is questionable for Week 1. The 24-year-old's primary utility through his first two NFL seasons has been on special teams, as he has 27 career catches in 34 games played. New York is looking for wide receivers to step up behind top wideouts Garrett Wilson and Josh Reynolds, so Gipson could theoretically earn some playing time in the slot once he's able to get back on the field. Still, he should remain off the radar of fantasy managers.

From RotoBaller

The Seattle Seahawks have released veteran wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling, per Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic. Dugar writes that Valdes-Scantling opened training camp with the first-team offense, but was surpassed by rookie wide receiver Tory Horton over the course of the preseason. Horton (ankle) is dealing with a minor ankle issue, but is expected to be fine for Week 1, which apparently made Valdes-Scantling superfluous. The 30-year-old deep-ball specialist had one of the best stretches of his career to finish 2024, recording 17 catches for 385 yards and four touchdowns in eight games with the New Orleans Saints. Valdes-Scantling will likely be able to find a new home, but he should remain off the radar of fantasy managers.

From RotoBaller

Kansas City Chiefs rookie wide receiver Jalen Royals (knee) did not practice on Tuesday, per Charles Goldman of A to Z Sports. Royals has now been out for over a week as he battles knee tendinitis. A fourth-round pick out of Utah State, Royals was reportedly turning some heads in training camp before getting injured. He's likely to start the season in a reserve role, but he could eventually be called upon for more if Chiefs wideout Rashee Rice is hit with a suspension at some point this season. Royals is not worthy of a draft pick in the majority of redraft fantasy leagues, but he's a name to monitor on the waiver wire.

From RotoBaller

The San Francisco 49ers are releasing running back Jeff Wilson Jr., according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The 29-year-old signed with San Francisco just over two weeks ago, but will now be looking for a new home. The 49ers improved their running back depth quite substantially by acquiring Brian Robinson Jr. from the Washington Commanders on August 21, which likely sealed Wilson Jr.'s fate with the team. The release of Wilson Jr. could also be a positive sign for the health of second-year back Isaac Guerendo (shoulder), who has been battling a shoulder injury throughout the preseason. Assuming Guerendo is ready for the start of the season, San Francisco has two solid contenders for the RB2 role behind superstar Christian McCaffrey.

From RotoBaller

Chicago Bears running back Travis Homer (calf) has been placed on injured reserve with a return designation, per an announcement from the team. The return designation means Homer must miss the first four games of the season, but will have a chance to play in 2025. With or without Homer, the Bears are thin at running back behind D'Andre Swift. Chicago's top RB2 candidates, Roschon Johnson (foot) and Kyle Monangai (undisclosed), are both dealing with injuries of their own. The Bears are a logical candidate to bring in some help at the running back position before the regular season begins. If they do not, Swift could be in line for a heavy workload and may be a value for fantasy managers in the middle rounds of drafts.

From RotoBaller

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin (ankle) has passed his physical, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. That will clear Godwin to be activated from the physically unable to perform list and allow him to begin practicing within the first four weeks of the season. Godwin suffered a dislocated ankle in Week 7 of 2024 and has since undergone two surgeries. The 29-year-old still may not be ready for game action until October, so he's a risky late-round pick in fantasy but one with upside if he can rediscover his form from before he got injured last season. With Godwin sidelined, Buccaneers rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka should be heavily relied upon early in the season.

From RotoBaller

The Los Angeles Chargers have released quarterback Taylor Heinicke, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. Heinicke was outplayed in the preseason by Trey Lance, who has made the team and will serve as the backup to Justin Herbert in Los Angeles. The 32-year-old Heinicke has played seven seasons in the NFL and made 29 starts. He's been a capable backup for stretches of his career and should be able to find a new home rather quickly. For fantasy purposes, a Herbert injury would now make Lance a priority waiver-wire addition due to his dual-threat ability at the quarterback position.

From RotoBaller

The Carolina Panthers released veteran wide receiver Hunter Renfrow on roster cutdown day on Tuesday, according to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network. Renfrow's comeback will have to happen elsewhere unless he returns to Carolina on their practice squad. The 29-year-old former Pro Bowler dealt with health issues at the end of his tenure with the Las Vegas Raiders and spent 2024 out of football. Even if Renfrow had made the Panthers' 53-man roster, he would have been buried on the depth chart behind rookie Tetairoa McMillan, Xavier Legette, Adam Thielen and Jalen Coker. At this point, it's a long shot for Renfrow to regain his Pro Bowl form that saw him catch 103 passes for 1,038 yards and nine touchdowns in 17 games in Vegas in 2021.

From RotoBaller

The Dallas Cowboys placed wide receiver Jonathan Mingo (knee) on Injured Reserve on Tuesday but designated him for a return, which means that Mingo will be eligible to rejoin the active roster after missing the first four games. The 24-year-old wideout is still recovering from a PCL sprain in his right knee that he suffered in the middle of August in a preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens. The earliest that Mingo would be able to make his 2025 debut would be in Week 5 on Oct. 5 against the New York Jets. CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens are Dallas' top two receivers, and with Mingo now sidelined at least four games, Jalen Tolbert and KaVontae Turpin will battle it out for WR3 duties. Neither Tolbert nor Turpin will really be rosterable in 12-team fantasy leagues unless one of Lamb or Pickens miss time with an injury.

From RotoBaller

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Darnell Mooney (shoulder) has avoided landing on Injured Reserve to start the 2025 season, even though he has not practiced since the first day of training camp in late July, according to Marc Raimondi of ESPN. It means that the Falcons think Mooney could be available within the team's first four games of the season in September. Still, the 27-year-old can probably be considered more of a long shot to suit up in Week 1 against the division-rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, Sept. 7. When healthy, Mooney could serve as the team's No. 2 wideout behind Drake London in starting three-wide sets, although the uncertainty surrounding his injury makes him no better than a late-round dart throw in fantasy drafts as a WR4/5. In his first year in Atlanta in 2024, Mooney bounced back in a big way with a 64-992-5 line on 106 targets over 16 starts.

From RotoBaller

The New England Patriots announced their 53-man roster on Tuesday, and both rookie Efton Chism III (ankle, foot) and Kendrick Bourne (leg) were included despite dealing with injuries during training camp. The 23-year-old Chism was a nice story in training camp after going undrafted out of Eastern Washington. While he turned heads during practices this summer, Chism's most direct path to playing time in 2025 will most likely come on special teams. Bourne, 30, is a surprise addition to the 53-man roster after having not practiced or played since injuring his leg on Aug. 1. He had an outlier season in 2021 with 55 catches for 800 yards and five touchdowns, but since then he's totaled 1,145 yards and six touchdowns in three seasons. Bourne is buried in a crowded New England wideout room and should be avoided in the vast majority of fantasy leagues.

From RotoBaller

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Cedric Tillman (thumb) was back at practice on Tuesday, according to Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram. Tillman is back on the field after missing almost a full week with a minor thumb injury. Now that the 25-year-old is back at practice, he should be good to go for the Week 1 regular-season opener on Sunday, Sept. 7, against the division-rival Cincinnati Bengals. And with limited help in the receiver room behind Jerry Jeudy, Tillman figures to operate as Cleveland's WR2 to begin the season. It might not amount to much in terms of consistent weekly production with veteran quarterback Joe Flacco leading the offense, though, and RotoBaller currently has Tillman ranked as the WR63. Tillman's 2024 was cut short due to injury, and he finished with a 29-339-3 line in 11 games (six starts).

From RotoBaller

Dynasty | The Seahawks have released wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Dynasty Analysis: Seattle really wanted MVS to be part of things this year but Tory Horton outplayed him and sewed up the WR3 job behind Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp early in camp. Since he doesn't contribute on special teams, Seattle had to eat about $3 million and cut him loose. MVS should find work elsewhere as a situational deep threat but this was a disappointment.

Dynasty | The Browns have named Dillon Gabriel their QB2. Dynasty Analysis: Gabriel wasn't great this season but the Browns saw enough of him and Shedeur Sanders to apparently feel confident enough to ship Kenny Pickett to the Raiders. Should something happen to Joe Flacco, it seems now set in stone that Gabriel would be the next man up and Sanders may not even be active on game days outside of being an emergency replacement. Gabriel has been the better roster stash all along and this solidifies it, though he really hasn't looked like an NFL quarterback as of yet.

Dynasty | The Tampa Bay Bucs have released wide receiver Trey Palmer. Dynasty Analysis: Palmer has had some nice moments but also had no chance at playing time behind Mike Evans, Chris Godwin or Emeka Egbuka when they're all healthy, so this could be a good thing. A deep roster stash in many leagues, Palmer will look to latch on elsewhere later this week. He could still be kept in deep leagues as we see what happens with him in the coming days.

Dynasty | Quarterback Desmond Ridder was released by the Cincinnati Bengals. Dynasty Analysis: Ridder was a one-time starter in Atlanta but failed to live up to expectations. He was battling Jake Browning to be the backup to Joe Burrow but it didn't work out for him in the end. Ridder should find work elsewhere but he can be dropped in any league, including deep superflex formats.

Dynasty | The Dallas Cowboys have placed wide receiver Jonathan Mingo on IR with a designation to return. Dynasty Analysis: It sounds like he's going to be out 4-6 weeks. While still a bit of a deep league sleeper, Mingo just hasn't looked great over the past two seasons. The Cowboys will go with CeeDee Lamb, Jalen Tolbert and George Pickens to start the year and it's tough to see Mingo making much of a difference after catching just five passes for them after being traded mid-year from the Panthers. Mingo is a tough hold in dynasty leagues, despite being a second round pick not long ago.

Dynasty | The Saints have released running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Dynasty Analysis: It's another tough break for the one-time first round pick of the Kansas City Chiefs. CEH has been plagued by injuries, ineffectiveness and an unfortunate battle with PTSD that has simply derailed his career. The Saints could bring him back but he's clearly behind Alvin Kamara, Devin Neal and Kendre Miller, making him value-less in dynasty leagues.

Dynasty | The Giants have released quarterback Tommy DeVito. Dynasty Analysis: The Giants were always destined to keep Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston and Jaxson Dart in the end but DeVito gave it his best shot. He's shown some ability through the years but may need to find a practice squad to get a second shot. At this point, he has no business on dynasty rosters.