Bucs WR Chris Godwin participated in 11 on 11s for the first time on Monday. He wore a non-contact jersey, but it’s still another step forward for the 26-year-old. Godwin remains a question mark for Week 1.

The Panthers officially named QB Baker Mayfield their starter. This was expected since Carolina swung a trade for Mayfield in early July. He started the preseason opener over QB Sam Darnold, going 4-of-7 for 45 yards on 1 series. Mayfield is just a lower-end QB2 for fantasy squads, but we expect him to be an upgrade over Darnold for RB Christian McCaffrey, WR D.J. Moore and the rest of the Panthers offense.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler tweeted Friday that Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold “are still in a QB battle” for the starting job. Mayfield is believed to be the heavy favorite, but HC Matt Rhule hasn’t announced who’ll get the Week 1 nod vs. Cleveland.

Bucs WRs Mike Evans and Russell Gage will be held out of practice this week with their hamstring injuries, HC Todd Bowles said Tuesday. We haven't seen any concern about either guy's status for the start of the season, but we'll see when they're able to get back on the field.

Bucs RB Gio Bernard was knocked out of Saturday's preseason opener with an ankle injury. With RB Leonard Fournette sitting, Bernard drew the start over RBs Rachaad White and Ke'Shawn Vaughn. We'll see about the severity of the ankle injury.

The Panthers have announced that QB Baker Mayfield will start Saturday's preseason opener. This doesn't necessarily mean he's THE starter, but it sure seems like a signal that Mayfield holds at least a slight lead over incumbent Sam Darnold. And it comes less than a week after Ian Rapoport reported that Mayfield has the "inside track" to the gig. Mayfield is certainly our bet in this competition, and he's still going late enough to be a value in best-ball and superflex drafts.

Bucs WR Russell Gage suffered an apparent leg injury in practice on Wednesday. Gage limped off with team trainers, per beat writer Rick Stroud. We’ll pass along an update when we learn more.

QB Baker Mayfield has the "inside track" for the Panthers' starting job, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Mayfield and QB Sam Darnold have been splitting reps in camp, and that's expected to continue in the preseason, per Rapoport. "Based on the understanding [Mayfield] has of this offense, based on the kind of plays he can make, the kind of command he's already getting inside this locker room, it certainly does seem like it's Baker Mayfield's job to win," Rapoport says. We've projected Mayfield as Carolina's starter since the trade was made back in early July. Mayfield is just a low-end QB2 but should be an upgrade for RB Christian McCaffrey, WR D.J. Moore and the rest of the Panthers' skill-position guys.

Insider Jordan Schultz hears that the hamstring injury Bucs WR Mike Evans suffered in Friday's practice is "minor." We'll see when he's able to get back on the field, but we haven't moved Evans in the WR rankings.

Bucs WR Mike Evans "tweaked" a hamstring in Friday's practice, HC Todd Bowles said. This doesn't sound like a serious injury, but we'll keep an eye on it. Evans has dealt with hamstring trouble in 2015, 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Bucs WR Chris Godwin participated in positional drills on Friday for the 1st time since tearing his ACL last December. Here's video. "Very positive sign, but as one source says, not surprising," ESPN's Jeff Darlington tweeted. "This is 'on schedule' in terms of Godwin’s own plan for himself." It's still unclear if he'll be ready for Week 1, but we're expecting to at least see Godwin at some point in September.

Joseph Person of The Athletic reports that the Panthers continue to alternate QB Baker Mayfield with QB Sam Darnold in 1st-team workouts at training camp. HC Matt Rhule says he'll let the competition play out rather than anointing anyone. Person writes, "My expectation is that it will be Mayfield -- and nothing from the first seven practices has changed my mind." He adds that Mayfield has looked more comfortable in the 2nd week of camp than he did the 1st, though he also says Darnold has "looked sharp." We'll continue assuming that Mayfield wins out but will watch for confirmation.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles complimented the play of TE Cade Otton. “Cade’s a very cerebral player. You won’t see all the speed and power, but you look up and he’s always doing the right things, always in the right place. He has great hands and he understands how to play the game,” Bowles said. “I think a lot of young players don’t have that. He has that coming in, so that’s going to benefit him going forward.” Bowles noted that Otten needs to improve his play strength — standard language for a rookie. The 4th-round pick figures to see limited action alongside Kyle Rudolph and Cameron Brate, but he’s a name to monitor in dynasty circles.

Buccaneers HC Todd Bowles on Friday highlighted WR Russell Gage as a consistently strong performer so far in training camp. "Gage has really been the one to stand out," he said, according to Greg Auman of The Athletic. The report also mentions WRs Tyler Johnson and Jaelon Darden as early leaders in competition for what might be the final 2 spots on the depth chart. Gage is locked into the top 4 with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Julio Jones. We'll continue watching camp reports and preseason signals for specific roles within 1 of the league's top pass offenses.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that the Buccaneers are signing WR Julio Jones to a 1-year deal. He joins a WR corps that added Russell Gage on a 3-year deal in free agency and is not putting Chris Godwin on the PUP to open training camp. We'll see about Godwin's status through camp and preseason. We'll also see how the team plans to sort out a crowded WR depth chart. The Jones signing is clearly bad news for the 2022 outlooks on players such as Tyler Johnson, Cyril Grayson, Jaelon Darden, Breshad Perriman and Scotty Miller.

Bucs WR Chris Godwin has been cleared to practice at training camp. He surprisingly avoids the PUP list despite being only ~7 months out from ACL surgery. While he won’t be a full practice participant, look for Godwin’s WR32 ADP to rise immediately. Also note: Tampa Bay just added Julio Jones on a 1-year deal.

The Bucs are "cautiously optimistic" that WR Chris Godwin (knee) will be ready for Week 1, insider Greg Auman said on SiriusXM radio Monday. "But the Bucs aren't set on him being ready just yet," Auman added. Godwin tore his right ACL and MCL on December 19 and had surgery on January 3. Week 1 is just a little more than 8 months after that surgery, which would be an extremely aggressive timeline. We'll continue to monitor Godwin's progress but still aren't projecting him to be ready for the opener. That said, there's still plenty of upside on him at his 6th-round ADP in recent FFPC drafts.

Bucs TE Cade Otton (ankle) has been cleared for the start of training camp, according to The Tampa Bay Times' Rick Stroud. The rookie missed OTAs and minicamp after undergoing ankle surgery in November, putting him a bit behind the 8-ball. We'll see if Otton can push TE Cam Brate and newly signed TE Kyle Rudolph for snaps.

The Buccaneers have agreed to a 1-year deal with TE Kyle Rudolph, according to multiple reports. The veteran managed just 26 catches for 257 yards and 1 TD across 16 games in his lone season with the Giants after Minnesota released him following the 2020 season. It marked the 3rd straight year in which Rudolph's receptions per game declined. Obviously not a threat for big numbers in a season that will find him turning 33 in November, Rudolph still clouds the TE target picture for an offense that (at least for now) must go without Rob Gronkowski. We weren't excited about Cameron Brate or Cade Otton in any format before this signing, which certainly doesn't help either player.

Panthers GM Scott Fitterer called the team’s QB situation “an open competition” on Tuesday. As such, Fitterer anticipates the reps being divvied up “fairly evenly” at the start of training camp. While competition might be a point of emphasis, Baker Mayfield enters camp as the clear favorite to start Week 1 over Sam Darnold. Current QB projections have the former Brown slated for 15 games.