Denver Broncos Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Saints TE Adam Trautman avoided a "major injury" to his foot or ankle, according to insider Nick Underhill. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport adds that the Saints are still seeking additional medical opinions on Trautman's situation. So he's not out of the woods yet, but it's good news so far. We'll continue to keep you updated.

Saints TE Adam Trautman will get an MRI on the foot he injured in Monday night's preseason game vs. the Jaguars, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. X-rays on the foot came back clean. We'll continue to keep you updated on Trautman's status, but we'd avoid him in fantasy drafts until we know more.

Saints TE Adam Trautman went to the locker room on a cart during Monday night's preseason game. He had been getting checked for a foot or ankle injury in the sideline tent before riding to the locker room. We'll keep an eye on this situation. According to Pro Football Focus' Nathan Jahnke, TE Nick Vannett saw his playing time increase after Trautman's departure while TE Juwan Johnson's role appeared unchanged.

Saints WR Tre'Quan Smith (leg) returned to practice on Tuesday. He ended up missing about 2 weeks. WR Marquez Callaway impressed in Smith's absence, but we're curious to see how things shake out between those 2 now over the next few weeks.

Saints K Wil Lutz underwent core-muscle surgery and could miss 8+ weeks, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. We'll keep an eye on Lutz's rehab, but he's undraftable in fantasy now. New Orleans on Monday signed K Brett Maher, who now looks like the favorite to open the season as the starter.

A source tells Saints beat writer Mike Triplett that K Wil Lutz “could miss a little time at the start of the season.” He’s dealing with a groin injury. Given New Orleans’ questions on offense, Lutz is now an easy fade on draft day.

Update: Ian Rapoport tweeted that Lutz will "be evaluated for a potential core muscle surgery." If Lutz undergoes surgery, he'll be a lock to miss regular season games.

Saints TE Adam Trautman underwent a pair of operations a month before training camp started, per beat writer Nick Underhill. The 2nd-year TE had his appendix removed and a cyst removed in his lower back. Beat writer Mike Triplett tweeted Friday that Trautman is “up to speed now.” The Saints are counting on him to take a step forward, especially with Michael Thomas set to miss regular season games. Trautman remains an enticing draft day target.

Per beat writer Nick Underhill, Saints WR Tre’Quan Smith has been out of practice since Tuesday with an apparent leg injury. HC Sean Payton downplayed the injury, but Smith’s absence is a missed opportunity with Michael Thomas sidelined. In his absence, more reps have gone to guys like Deonte Harris, Marquez Callaway and Lil’Jordan Humphrey. Harris is likely to miss the first 2 games following a July DUI.

Broncos OC Pat Shurmur said Wednesday that RB Javonte Williams has been "terrific" early in camp. “His running ability is very obvious, but the things that we see are his instincts as a football player," Shurmur continued. "Some people just ‘get it’ and we’ve all been around people who just don’t quite ‘get it’ and they wake up every morning and start over. He gets it and it shows up in his pass protection, it shows up in being able to get lined up (and) his awareness. He’s got a really bright future.” The pass protection praise is especially noteworthy for a rookie RB. Melvin Gordon has reportedly been running as Denver's clear starter so far, but there's plenty of time for Williams to change that.

Broncos WR KJ Hamler missed practice today due to COVID-19 protocols, per team insider Mike Klis. Hamler told reporters last week that he was fully vaccinated — but not yet 14 days clear of his 2nd shot. Loaded with speed, the former Round 2 pick will likely need an injury to Courtland Sutton or Jerry Jeudy to emerge in fantasy. We'll let you know when he returns to practice.

Update: Hamler said Wednesday that he missed practice due to a false positive. He was back at practice on August 4.

Saints K Wil Lutz has opened training camp on the non-football injury list with what GM Mickey Loomis has described only as a "soft tissue" problem, according to NOLA.com. The team has indicated it expects Lutz to return soon, backing that up by making no plans to try out replacement kickers. If Lutz's issue persists closer to the season, then we might draft around him at this fungible fantasy position.

Broncos WR Courtland Sutton (knee) will be "managed" early on in training camp, HC Vic Fangio said Tuesday. Now a little over 10 months removed from his torn ACL, Sutton seems to be trending toward being ready for the season opener. “I feel very close to 100%," he said. "The last percent I need is football.” We'll continue to track his progress.

According to ESPN's Jeff Legwold, Broncos HC Vic Fangio said this month that he "fully" expects WR Courtland Sutton to be ready for the regular season. That follows in line with other positive offseason reports on the 4th-year wideout. Sutton, of course, is working back from a Week 1 ACL tear. The team will monitor him throughout summer workouts and likely keep him on some sort of pitch count for preseason games and training-camp practices. We'll certainly watch reports on Sutton throughout the summer. His current ADP just outside the top 30 at WR, though, makes him easy to take some chances on.

The Denver Post's Ryan O'Halloran predicts that RB Javonte Williams will lead the Broncos in carries this season. He adds that RB Melvin Gordon could open the season as the starter with Williams getting a bigger and bigger role each week. "The Broncos traded up in the second round for Williams and they weren’t high-fiving and fist-pumping in the draft room because he will watch this year," O'Halloran writes. This will be an important backfield to monitor in August. Williams has climbed into the 5th round in recent FFPC best-ball drafts, while Gordon has slid into the late 8th.

Broncos HC Vic Fangio said he doesn’t see “any limits” with rookie RB Javonte Williams. “We could work him and Melvin, just spelling each other as we go, and one could go in and predominately do third-down stuff,” Fangio said via the Denver Post. “(The rotation) will work itself out and we think (Javonte’s) capable in all downs and distances and all situations for us. And I also believe that him and Melvin will be a good combination back there, along with Boone.” We’re not buying Boone as a real piece of Denver’s backfield rotation. But it’s nice to hear the early confidence in Williams, who the Broncos traded up to select in Round 2. He’s a potential RB2 right out of the gate.

Broncos WR Courtland Sutton (knee) won't start training camp on the PUP list, HC Vic Fangio said. Sutton is still rehabbing last September's torn ACL and MCL. But he'll evidently at least be ready for some work at the start of camp and is on track to be on the field for the season opener. We'll continue to track his progress.