📝 News & Notes

• Terry McLaurin requests trade [Jordan Schultz]

  My take: The contract negotiations between Terry McLaurin and the Commanders must not be going well, as McLaurin’s camp ups the stakes. My guess is they are not happy with the $23M a year Courtland Sutton got and the Commanders feel 27-year old Metcalf’s $33M a year isn’t a proper fit. My guess is this eventually gets resolved but in the meantime, I’m docking both Jayden Daniels and McLaurin to the mid/late 4th.

• Noah Fant is expected to sign with the Bengals [Ian Rapoport]

  My take: I spent a while debating the impact of this signing with a friend but in the end, we came to an agreement on the following: any fantasy related rank on guys like Gesicki, Iosivas, etc. about the contingency value if there’s an injury to Ja’Marr Chase or Tee Higgins - otherwise we’re merely debating the difference between projecting for 5.1 or 5.4 points. I believe this signing doesn’t really impact how the Bengals would use Gesicki if either of the stud WRs got hurt, but moreso it may lead to more two-TE schemes that would hurt the peripheral WRs hoping for an uptick in volume.

• Jauan Jennings missed his 3rd straight practice [Matt Maiocco]

  My take: Kyle Shanahan said it's an aggravation of the same thing that bothered Jennings in the offseason. Which could honestly be either the calf or the lack of a new contract. Jennings has moved from a target of mine to someone I’ll take but only if he falls.

• DeVonta Smith missed his 3rd straight practice due to back soreness [Tim McManus]

  My take: Don’t love this but currently nothing more than breaking ties while drafting. Smith has never missed any professional games due to back issues so not expecting this to have an in-season impact. But we’ll continue to monitor.

⚕️ Injury Corner w/ Deepak Chona

• Justin Jefferson - Very likely ready Wk 1 w/o dip. Re-injury risk decreases to baseline if available thru full pre-season

• Malik Nabers - Shoulder. Comments reassuring. No details released yet but Wed = rest day for NYG. Monitoring Thurs for suspected return to practice.

• Xavier Worthy - Concussion protocol. Likely does not substantially increase in-season risk. 1st NFL concussion

• Luther Burden III - OTA hamstring. Practicing now. If no recurrence during camp or pre-season, data suggests no increase in risk compared to avg WR

• Joe Mixon - Not having healed from off-season ankle by now suggests high severity vs re-injury. Very high concern

• Justin Fields - Toe dislocation. Already practicing. +Mild re-injury risk, likely 100% by Wk 1

• Hollywood Brown - Ankle. Initial comments suggest mild severity, confirmation still pending. Prior injury history does not suggest injury prone pattern

• Isaiah Likely - Avg = 8 wks (Wk 1 = 6). Has been done in 6. Data suggests mild performance dip 1st 4 wks back. +Mild risk

• Matthew Stafford - Likely ready Wk 1. Suspect load management coming. Often played thru injuries in past. Low suspicion for missed time

• Tristan Wirfs - Suspect MCL. Avg = 3-4 months. Data = favorable for strong '25. TBD, lean towards PUP

Deepak Chona is an Orthopedic Sports Surgeon by day, data-driven injury analyst by night. You can follow more of his insights at @SportMDAnalysis.

📺️ TNF Takeaways

I joined a stream last night for an FFPC draft while watching the game and damn, it felt good to have football back!

• Trey Lance had a strong outing as a passer, going 13/20 for 120 yards and 2 TDs. Probably worth a pick-up in deep Superflex or Dynasty leagues. Also would consider him a solid last round target in superflex best ball drafts given his rushing ability if Herbert were to get hurt.

• KeAndre Lambert-Smith has already been getting training camp praise and his strong first half performance including a touchdown won’t slow that down. May be worth a flyer in very deep leagues. Also got unprompted praise from a teammate.

• Isaac TeSlaa, a 9.97 RAS athlete that the Lions drafted in the third round, had two impressive grabs in the first half. I’ll continue mixing him in as a last round dart throw with Jared Goff stacks.

📊 Poll of the Day

Yesterday’s poll: Which Dallas Cowboys RB are you most looking to draft at cost?

If these results are any indication, we can expect Jaydon Blue and Miles Sanders’ ADPs to continue to rise while Javonte Williams falls. I’m aligned with the readers at buying Blue at cost the most, some Sanders, and relatively zero Williams or Mafah.