NFL rumors: Davante Adams' recovery from minor leg injury
The Las Vegas Raiders have to prove a lot of people wrong this season. After all, they released quarterback Derek Carr, traded tight end Darren Waller to the New York Giants, and watched the AFC West only get tougher. Even so, the Raiders still had wide receiver Davante Adams on the roster, so there was that.
In the past week, Adams had to leave a joint practice with the San Francisco 49ers due to a right leg injury. Head coach Josh McDaniels downplayed the injury, saying that it wasn't "crazy serious." So, that had fans wondering how much time he would miss in the preseason, and if it would result in any missed time for the start of the year.
On Wednesday, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported that Adams is progressing from his minor right leg injury and is "trending in the right direction." Fowler notes that Adams should be on the practice field soon, but that it all depends on how the Raiders want to manage his return.
This is certainly promising news for Raiders fans. Given that two more preseason games are remaining, they will be wondering if the star wide receiver will make play some snaps, or if he will wait for the regular season.
In his first year with the Raiders (17 games), Adams recorded 100 receptions for 1,516 yards and a league-high 14 touchdowns on 180 targets.
NFL rumors: Lions WR Jameson Williams leaves practice with injury
The Detroit Lions are the favorites to win the NFC North this upcoming season now that Aaron Rodgers is no longer the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers. After all, the Lions did eliminate the Packers from playoff contention in the final game of the regular season, which then led to Aaron Rodgers requesting a trade to the New York Jets.
But this offseason, the wide receiving corps took a hit due to violations of the gambling policy. Second-year receiver Jameson Williams was among them, as he was suspended for the first six games of the season. So, Williams' chance to play football before his return from suspension is in the preseason.
On Wednesday, Williams had to leave practice early after grabbing at his right hamstring while running a route. The wide receiver eventually went to the locker room.
To make matters worse, top wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown also had to leave practice due to an injury.
Williams had already missed the start of training camp after suffering a leg injury in practice.
The wide receiver from Alabama is expected to be a difference-maker in the passing game, given his insane speed that he exhibited while playing for the Alabama Crimson Tide. But, he suffered a torn ACL in the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship Game, which sidelined him for most of his rookie season.
Williams did play in Detroit's preseason opener against the New York Giants. While being targeted seven times, Williams caught just two of them 18 yards. The wide receiver also dropped a would-be touchdown on a deep route.
It will be interesting to see if this hamstring ailment is going to keep Williams out of Detroit's preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday, Aug. 19.
NFL rumors: Aaron Rodgers, Jets have a big offensive line problem
The New York Jets were realistically a quarterback away from making the playoffs last year. So, they decided to trade for quarterback Aaron Rodgers to help bring the franchise their second Super Bowl title. The team did bring in help, signing wide receivers Allen Lazard, Mecole Hardman, and Randall Cobb and running back Dalvin Cook.
New York looks like a stacked team on paper. While that's all well and good, there is one concerning issue the Jets need to find some solutions to — the offensive line.
SNY's Connor Hughes noted that during drive-the-field drills on Wednesday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers sacked Rodgers three times on seven dropbacks. On the day, Hughes said that there were "six obvious" sacks during team drills all of Wednesday.
Despite the poor reviews coming out of practice on Wednesday, Rodgers told reporters that he feels the offensive line competed a lot better than they did last week when practicing with the Carolina Panthers. Rodgers did bring up that he would like to see more continuity along the offensive line.
The offensive line is a major area of concern for the Jets. That was highlighted during Episode 2 of HBO's "Hard Knocks," where head coach Robert Saleh called out his offensive linemen for their performance in a joint practice with the Panthers. While criticizing their showing, Saleh dropped a ton of swear words and noted that even with Rodgers, Cook, and Garrett Wilson, the offense can't succeed if the linemen are not doing their jobs.
"Offense? Guys, it was our first f*****g opportunity to change the stink that's been in this organization for a very long time on the offensive side of the ball," said Saleh, h/t The Big Lead. You can have a Hall of Fame quarterback. You can have two $10 million-plus receivers. You can have a reigning offensive rookie of the year. You can have all kinds of skill in the running back room. None of it f*****g matters until the big boys up front change who the f**k we are."
Considering the Jets are playing in a very tough AFC East division with the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, and New England Patriots, the offensive line is going to need to improve. After all, giving Rodgers time in the pocket to work some magic on the gridiron would be extremely beneficial.