Our 2025 NFL Training Camp News articles are intended to be a one-stop shop for the most important news from around the NFL during training camp. I’ll post a new Market Report every week during August to help our subscribers keep the pulse of what’s happening in the fantasy marketplace. I’ll update this article daily throughout the week, so be sure to check back for the latest training camp news.
This article will primarily focus on news, beat reports, and injuries emerging from team practices. Be sure to check out Graham Barfield’s Preseason Market Report for key takeaways on player performances and playing time implications from preseason action.
CATCH UP ON PREVIOUS TRAINING CAMP MARKET REPORTS
2025 NFL Training Camp News: Week of Aug. 4
2025 NFL Training Camp News: Week of July 28
ADP in this article is based on our ADP tool’s PPR setting, which pulls from Sleeper drafts over the last 14 days.
UPGRADES
Players I’m feeling more optimistic about based on training camp reports and injury news.
Quarterbacks
None of note.
Running Backs
James Cook (Buf) — Cook elevated his contract dispute to the hold-in level after repeatedly telling the media he missed an Aug. 3 practice for “business.” He returned to practice on Aug. 12, and Sean McDermott told the media that “things have changed” in Cook’s contract negotiations. Cook is currently set to make $5.7 million in 2025 and is seeking a contract extension before he hits free agency next year. He was seeking an annual average salary of $15 million per year, which would tie him with Derrick Henry as the third-highest paid RB behind Saquon Barkley ($20.6M) and Christian McCaffrey ($19M) in AAV. Kyren Williams signed a three-year, $33 million extension on Aug. 5, which included $23 million guaranteed, and his deal could help Cook and the Bills get their deal across the finish line. Cook is looking to cash in after finishing as the RB11 (16.7 FPG), but he’ll have to lower his asking price after leading a three-man committee with Ray Davis and Ty Johnson. Cook is the top candidate for touchdown regression despite playing in one of the league’s best offenses, and he’s overvalued at his current ADP (34, RB14). (Added Aug. 12)
Tony Pollard (Ten) — Tyjae Spears suffered a high ankle sprain in the preseason opener, and HC Brian Callahan said the injury will keep him out a few weeks. Spears will be in a race to be ready for the start of the season, and the injury could linger into the season. Pollard out-snapped Spears 11 to 3 with the first-team offense in the preseason opener before Spears injured his ankle playing with the backups. Pollard posted an 86.6% snap share, a 68.8% carry share, a 60.5% route share, and 15.9 FPG in the four contests Spears missed in the middle of last season. Pollard has been a strong value at his ADP (79, RB28) this summer, but his price is likely to rise into the sixth round by the end of August. (Added Aug. 11)
Jaylen Wright and Ollie Gordon (Mia) — Alexander Mattison was actually making some noise in Dolphins training camp, but he underwent season-ending neck surgery after picking up an injury during Miami’s first preseason game. Mattison won’t be stealing any short-yardage work and carries from Miami’s younger backs, Wright and Gordon. (Added Aug. 11)
Wide Receivers
Tory Horton (Sea) — Horton, a fifth-round pick, has been turning heads in training camp and is pushing for Marquez Valdes-Scantling for the #3 WR spot behind Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp. Horton fell in the draft because of a knee injury in his final season at Colorado State, which forced him to miss spring workouts, but he’s quickly climbing Seattle’s depth chart. ESPN’s Brady Henderson wrote that Horton is consistently making plays while MVS is off to a quiet start after making plays for Klint Kubiak in New Orleans last season. Horton has been rewarded with first-team reps, and MVS was demoted to second-team reps in an Aug. 5 practice. Horton remained ahead of MVS in practices after their first preseason game, and JSN called Horton “a baller.” Horton is off the redraft radar for now, but he’s a player to remember for later in the season off the waiver wire if he continues to earn more opportunities. (Added Aug. 11)
Tight Ends
George Kittle and Ricky Pearsall (SF) — GM John Lynch cryptically said on July 23 that Aiyuk isn’t “anywhere close to having a concrete timeline” for his recovery, which was a strong indication he could stay on the PUP list for at least the first four games of the season. Kyle Shanahan told the media the rough estimate for Aiyuk’s return is around Week 6, but he could return sooner or later. Aiyuk required two surgeries for a torn ACL and MCL, which has him in jeopardy of missing extended time to open the season. We’ve anticipated all off-season that Aiyuk would miss the first half of the season, and we’re projecting for 8.5 games played. There’s a good chance Aiyuk doesn’t take the field until November as he recovers from his knee injury. It could take a few weeks to work into a full workload, so he’s not worth an investment at his ADP (110, WR49).
San Francisco’s receiving corps is in shambles heading into the season. Jennings continues to sit out practices for his calf injury/new contract, and fourth-round pick Watkins is expected to miss about a month of action because of a high ankle injury. Demarcus Robinson is also facing a three-game suspension to open the season for a DUI charge, which leaves Pearsall and Kittle as the clear main targets for Brock Purdy to open the season. (Added Aug. 12)
DOWNGRADES
Players I’m feeling less optimistic about based on training camp reports and injury news.
Quarterbacks
None of note.
Running Backs
Tyjae Spears (Ten) — Spears suffered a high ankle sprain in the preseason opener, and HC Brian Callahan said the injury will keep him out a few weeks. Spears will be in a race to be ready for the start of the season, and the injury could linger into the season. Tony Pollard out-snapped Spears 11 to 3 with the first-team offense in the preseason opener before Spears injured his ankle playing with the backups. Pollard posted an 86.6% snap share, a 68.8% carry share, a 60.5% route share, and 15.9 FPG in the four contests Spears missed in the middle of last season. Pollard has been a strong value at his ADP (79, RB2x8) this summer, but his price is likely to rise into the sixth round by the end of August. (Added Aug. 11)
Alexander Mattison (Mia) — Mattison was actually making some noise in Dolphins training camp, but he underwent season-ending neck surgery after picking up an injury during Miami’s first preseason game. Mattison won’t be stealing any short-yardage work and carries from younger backs, Jaylen Wright and sixth-round pick Ollie Gordon. (Added Aug. 11)
Wide Receivers
Jayden Reed (GB) — Reed was spotted wearing a walking boot on his left foot for Green Bay’s preseason opener after injuring his foot earlier in the week. He started training camp on the NFI list for a toe injury, but Matt LaFleur said his most recent injury isn’t related to his toe injury. LaFleur also said they hope to have Reed back for the start of the season, but he could “potentially” miss Week 1. We initially targeted Reed to start the summer, but we’re backing off because of his foot injury. He was also having issues getting reps in two-WR sets behind first-round pick Matthew Golden and Romeo Doubs. (Added Aug. 11)
Brandon Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings, and Jordan Watkins (SF) — GM John Lynch cryptically said on July 23 that Aiyuk isn’t “anywhere close to having a concrete timeline” for his recovery, which was a strong indication he could stay on the PUP list for at least the first four games of the season. Kyle Shanahan told the media the rough estimate for Aiyuk’s return is around Week 6, but he could return sooner or later. Aiyuk required two surgeries for a torn ACL and MCL, which has him in jeopardy of missing extended time to open the season. We’ve anticipated all off-season that Aiyuk would miss the first half of the season, and we’re projecting for 8.5 games played. There’s a good chance Aiyuk doesn’t take the field until November as he recovers from his knee injury. It could take a few weeks to work into a full workload, so he’s not worth an investment at his ADP (110, WR49).
San Francisco’s receiving corps is in shambles heading into the season. Jennings continues to sit out practices for his calf injury/new contract, and fourth-round pick Watkins is expected to miss about a month of action because of a high ankle injury. Jennings was at least back to light running on Aug. 11. Demarcus Robinson is also facing a three-game suspension to open the season for a DUI charge, which leaves Ricky Pearsall and George Kittle as the clear main targets for Brock Purdy to open the season. (Added Aug. 12)
Tight Ends
None of note.
WATCH LIST
Players I’m not ready to upgrade or downgrade, but whose situations demand monitoring based on training camp reports and injury news.
Quarterbacks
Matthew Stafford (LAR) — Stafford has yet to practice in training camp because of back soreness, but that was seemingly set to change this week. He was set to return to practice on Aug. 11 after throwing 68 passes before Los Angeles’ preseason opener, but he was seen in street clothes heading into a wellness chamber during practice. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Stafford was dealing with an aggravated disc in his back, and he received an epidural for the discomfort of the injury. Stafford has enough time to get ready for the season opener against the Texans, but his slow recovery is a bit concerning if the 37-year-old’s back injury were to flare up during the season. (Added Aug. 11)
Jordan Love (GB) — GM Brian Gutekunst told the media that Love is undergoing a procedure on his left thumb for a ligament injury, which is why his hand was taped at practice on Aug. 11. He banged his hand on a helmet against the Jets in the preseason opener, and he decided to get the issue fixed now after testing it out in practice. The Packers hope to have Love back at practice by next week, which means he should be ready to go for the season opener against the Lions. (Added Aug. 12)
Running Backs
Javonte Williams, Miles Sanders, and Jaydon Blue (Dal) — The Athletic’s Jon Machota wrote that Williams has seen most of the reps with the starters but no one has come close to running away with the No. 1 job. He noted that Williams has been helped by injuries from Sanders (knee) and Blue (ankle) during camp. Blue was generating positive buzz at the start of training camp before his injury, which came after former Cowboys coach Glenn Smith was told by people in the building that Blue was “borderline lazy.” I prefer to take my chances on Blue (141 ADP, RB42) and Sanders (234, RB65) at their ADPs, but this competition is far from over, and this backfield could be a bit of a nightmare throughout the season. (Added Aug. 11)
Isaac Guerendo and Jordan James (SF) — Guerendo suffered a shoulder injury that will cause him to miss “a few weeks,” per Kyle Shanahan. His availability for Week 1 is up in the air with the season less than a month away. Fifth-round pick Jordan James was in line to get more reps behind Christian McCaffrey, but he’ll also miss a few weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a broken finger. The 49ers already placed Ameer Abdullah (ribs) on injured reserve, but they signed Ke’Shawn Vaughn and Jeff Wilson to help with their depth at the position. Vaughn made three appearances with the 49ers last season, and Wilson previously played four-plus seasons under Shanahan. Guerendo will most likely be ready for the season opener to be the backup, but these injuries are creating a potentially volatile depth chart behind CMC. (Added Aug. 11)
Wide Receivers
Darnell Mooney (Chi) — Mooney suffered a shoulder injury diving for a sideline pass on July 24, and the team announced at the time that he’ll be out for several weeks. Raheem Morris gave a cryptic answer about Mooney on Aug. 12, stating that he was week-to-week but he felt good about getting him back healthy “this year.” Morris may have been flippant when he said he’ll return this year, but we still don’t have any reporting on what kind of injury Mooney suffered. It’s unclear if Mooney’s injury is related to the shoulder injury he suffered late last season, which forced him to sit out the season finale. He attended Falcons practice on July 26 without a shoulder brace, which was a positive sign that his injury wasn’t too bad. The Falcons signed D.J. Chark the day after Mooney’s injury to improve their WR depth chart, which is down to Ray-Ray McCloud, KhaDarel Hodge, and Casey Washington behind #1 Drake London. Mooney is missing out on practice reps with Michael Penix, who is entering his first season as the full-time starter. I’m still targeting Mooney at his slipping ADP (115, WR50), and his price could get more affordable over the next few weeks. (Added Aug. 12)
Tight Ends
None of note.
