Carolina Panthers Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Panthers WR Terrace Marshall returned for Friday night's preseason finale after missing the first 2 contests with a hamstring injury. He played 43 snaps but finished catch-less on 1 target. Marshall is off the redraft radar at this point.

Falcons LB Deion Jones returned to the practice field this week for the 1st time following offseason shoulder surgery. He worked with 3rd- and 4th-stringers, though, according to the team website. The highly paid also saw time on the punt team. "I'll give Deion credit, because he's going to come out here and he's going to compete," HC Arthur Smith said afterward. "He's going to work his way back in. It's going to be hard to get on the field in that room. And that's what you want with that competition. Rashaan [Evans] and Mykal Walker are doing a great job. We gotta see what Troy [Andersen] can do. [Nathan] Landman, Dorian [Etheridge]? They've had good preseasons. It's going to play itself out." Jones was the subject of trade/cut rumors before the shoulder surgery sidelined him. Atlanta would probably love to trade him for pretty much anything, which would offer salary-cap relief. Cutting Jones, on the other hand, would cost nearly $25 million in dead cap. The final year on his contract (2023) has much more cuttable terms. All of that is complicated by Jones coming off -- by far -- the poorest-graded season of his career. It seems likely that Rahsaan Evans and Mykal Walker start ahead of him, at least to open the season. Don't be afraid to just avoid the whole Falcons LB situation in your IDP drafts.

Panthers DT Derrick Brown left Friday night's preseason game with an oblique injury and will not return. We'll see how serious the issue is for a guy who should be Carolina's top DT.

Panthers WR Terrace Marshall missed Friday's preseason game against the Patriots with his hamstring issue, and it doesn't seem like HC Matt Rhule was very happy about it. "I was hoping he'd be ready for the game," Rhule said afterward, per Joseph Person of The Athletic. "But the medical staff and he worked on it; couldn't get ready for the game. We need Terrace to start practicing. We need him to step up." The former 2nd-round pick needs to get back on the field soon if he wants to start rebounding from the disappointing rookie campaign. Fellow 2nd-year WR Shi Smith stands to benefit if Marshall continues to struggle.

The Panthers have activated LB Shaq Thompson from the PUP. The veteran had a "little cleanout" on a knee in the offseason. Barring a setback, Thompson should have time to get ready in time for Week 1.

There's "optimism" that Eagles RB Miles Sanders will be ready for the start of the season, according to The Athletic's Bo Wulf and Zach Berman. The fact that there's only "optimism" is a bit surprising considering the team has downplayed the severity of the issue. "There’s much intrigue about Sanders’ status, considering he’s been bothered by this type of injury before," Wulf and Berman write. "It’s hard to speak in definitive terms about a hamstring injury to a running back, but with three weeks to go before a meaningful game, the early word is Sanders should be back on the field by then." We'll keep a close eye on Sanders' status.

Panthers WR Terrace Marshall did not play in Friday night's 2nd preseason game after aggravating a hamstring injury, according to insider Joe Person. It's just another stumbling block for a guy coming off an ugly rookie season. There's still a clear path to #3 WR duties for Marshall, but he's not worth a pick in fantasy drafts right now.

Eagles RB Miles Sanders has missed 4 straight practices with a hamstring injury. We’ll see if HC Nick Sirianni puts a timeline on the RB’s injury over the next day or so. For now, though, Sanders is tough to draft as anything more than an RB3.

Eagles RB Miles Sanders remains sidelined on Tuesday with what the team is now saying is a hamstring issue. It had previously been reported as "leg soreness." We've seen nothing to suggest that this is a serious injury, but we'll keep a close eye on Sanders over the next couple weeks. He notably checks in with the highest probability of injury of any RB this season.

It's been a quiet training camp for Vikings WR Adam Thielen. (Quiet is good for a 31-year-old veteran.). But The Athletic's Arif Hasan writes that Thielen "looks more like his previous self" after missing the end of last season and undergoing ankle surgery in December. "His play is reminiscent of his most productive stretch from 2016 to 2018," Hasan adds. "After some injury-shortened seasons and limited production when healthy, this might be big news." Thielen was sitting 8th among WRs in half-PPR points per game through Week 12 last year and is a nice value at his current 6th-round price tag.

The Eagles held RB Miles Sanders out of practice Sunday because of "leg soreness," according to Martin Frank of The Delaware News Journal. That certainly doesn't sound like a serious issue. But it also doesn't seem great if Sanders actually needed the break in the 1st practice after Philly's Friday night preseason opener. Sanders, of course, also sits tied with Dalvin Cook for the highest probability of injury among RBs heading into the season -- with more projected missed games despite a smaller projected workload. Sanders is still going late enough in drafts, at least, to mitigate the health risk. We'll watch his status for upcoming workouts.

Steelers WR Diontae Johnson is dealing with a hip flexor injury, HC Mike Tomlin said Monday. Johnson, of course, had just returned to full-team work after getting his extension last Thursday. This injury doesn't sound significant, but we'll keep an eye on him.

The Broncos have LB Josey Jewell relaying plays in the defensive huddle, according to the Denver Post. It's a role Jewell filled last year, and it's not surprising given they brought him back on a sizable 2-year deal this offseason. The role puts Jewell in the green-dot helmet and should mean 3-down duty. That's obviously good for the IDP upside on a player who should stay on the board late into fantasy football drafts.

Panthers HC Matt Rhule said RB Chuba Hubbard has “really improved” his pass protection. It’s only relevant if Christian McCaffrey misses more time, but it’s a nice development for the 23-year-old after a lackluster rookie season. Currently, Hubbard is battling free-agent addition D’Onta Foreman for scraps behind CMC.

Panthers WR Terrace Marshall sat out practice on Friday with a lower leg strain. HC Matt Rhule downplayed the injury, and we’d expect the 2nd-year WR back before long. Marshall projects as the #3 WR behind D.J. Moore and Robby Anderson.

The Steelers have agreed to a 2-year, $36.71 million extension with WR Diontae Johnson. The deal locks in the team targets leader through 2024, allowing him to hit the open market ahead of his age-29 season. It's noteworthy that Pittsburgh invested in Johnson after allowing JuJu Smith-Schuster to hit the open market each of the past 2 years, including this year's departure to Kansas City.

The Steelers have opened contract talks with WR Diontae Johnson, per team insider Gerry Dulac. That lines up with the words from GM Omar Kahn, who said today that he’s been in touch with Johnson’s reps. “We want Diontae,” Kahn said. “We’re excited for him this season. We hope he’ll be a Steeler for a long time.” Johnson’s been a limited practice participant to date. We’ll see if both sides can agree on the financials ahead of Week 1.

Following a day that saw Eagles RB Miles Sanders handle some 2nd-team reps, HC Nick Sirianni dismissed the notion that he’s shaking up the backfield. "Miles is our guy," Sirianni said. "It just so happened to be the way the numbers worked, but Miles was in with the [No.] 1s as well. There's no secret. Miles is our guy, and we like to rotate our backs.” Carry on.

We passed along reports of Eagles RB Miles Sanders working with the 2nd team Friday, and Kenneth Gainwell running ahead of him with the starters. Mike Kaye of Pro Football Network -- and formerly an Eagles beat writer -- said, "The guess here is that Sanders was used with the twos to give the first-team defense better looks in the running game." That possibility makes for a good reminder that we shouldn't overrate individual camp reports. We'll certainly be tracking the situation for fantasy purposes right up to the start of the season (and maybe beyond). For now, there's value to both Sanders and Gainwell at ADP.

Eagles RB Miles Sanders has taken reps with the 2nd-team offense at training camp, per reporter Brandon Lee Gowton. He hasn’t been exclusively with the 2s in camp, and we’re not going to rush to any conclusions here. Still, it’s something to monitor, especially with Philly rostering an exciting 2nd-year RB in Kenneth Gainwell.