Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur thinks cornerback Eric Stokes (hamstring) is in a great place physically and mentally this offseason after he missed most of the last two years with injuries. LaFleur also said he thinks Stokes is "in the best shape" he's ever seen him in. "When you look at him physically, his body looks different. He's hitting some fast speeds out there at practice. I can tell mentally he feels like he's in a great place," LaFleur said. The former first-round pick in 2021 was great as a rookie but suffered foot and knee injuries in Week 9 in 2022 and missed the final eight games. The 25-year-old played in just three games in 2023 due to hamstring issues. It's no surprise the Packers declined their fifth-year option on Stokes, so he's now in a contract year in 2024 as he looks to stay healthy. If healthy, the speedster could start opposite Jaire Alexander.

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Denver Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham is embracing the team's three-man QB competition this offseason between himself, former first-round Zach Wilson and this year's first-rounder Bo Nix. "I'm not going to just sit down and let someone else walk on in here -- I'm going to work my butt off to get the job. I'm super excited about it," Stidham said. The 27-year-old signed a two-year, $10 million deal prior to last season and could now be considered a mentor who could be an upset winner of the starting job this summer. Stidham, Wilson and Nix will get an equal split of the work during the offseason program, but we probably won't have a better sense of who is in the lead in the competition until training camp. Stidham has the advantage of knowing the offense from a season ago, but even if he's the starter in Week 1, he'll be on a short leash and will be a low-upside, low-end QB2 in fantasy.

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Former Baltimore Ravens star safety Tony Jefferson is coming out of retirement and plans to play in 2024, according to a source. Jefferson has stayed in shape, has been training on his own, and wants to play again. He intends to start talking to teams in the near future after spending last year with the Baltimore Ravens as a scouting intern. In his last year in the NFL in 2022 with the New York Giants, Jefferson played in only nine games (one start) and had 23 tackles (16 solo). The 32-year-old former undrafted free agent entered the league in 2013 with the Arizona Cardinals and spent four years in the desert before joining the Ravens from 2017-21. Jefferson hasn't played in more than nine games in a single season since 2018 but could provide some nice veteran depth for a team in need of secondary help.

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Dynasty | Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase is absent for OTAs. Dynasty Analysis: Chase is waiting for a lucrative long-term deal that will likely make him the highest paid receiver in the league (at least temporarily). The Bengals don't seem to be worried at the moment and dynasty managers shouldn't be, either. Chase is in the top three overall in terms of position players and there's no sense getting too concerned until Chase starts missing real practice time.

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Dynasty | Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins is sitting out voluntary OTAs. Dynasty Analysis: While the Bengals are saying they aren't concerned publicly, this holdout is a little more significant than that of Ja'Marr Chase. Higgins has been franchise tagged and it seems the team has little interest in negotiating a long-term deal. Higgins was more likely to be traded during the NFL Draft than now, but this is a situation to monitor. At this point, dynasty managers need to just hold on tight and see what happens.

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Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields said he won't return kicks this season. "Nah, I think everybody kind of interpreted it wrong," said Fields when asked about the rumor. "It's funny how serious social media takes everything." The signal-caller was traded in March after spending the last three years in Chicago. He finished his most recent season in 2023-24 by throwing for 2,562 yards, 16 touchdowns, and nine picks while running for 657 yards and four touchdowns off 124 attempts. Fields hopes to compete with Russell Wilson for the No. 1 spot on the depth chart. However, unless he's starting come Week 1, he won't offer much to fantasy managers.

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New York Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton was present for Tuesday's OTAs. The wideout is coming off the best year of his career, catching 50 of his 79 targets for 770 yards and four touchdowns. As a result, he wants a new deal. While there's still time for both sides to work things out, there's also room for the situation to go in the wrong direction, especially as the offseason inches closer to training camp. Nonetheless, the 27-year-old wasn't a reliable fantasy producer throughout the 2023-24 campaign despite his increase in production. That isn't expected to change, considering the Giants added Malik Nabers out of LSU. The team also still has Daniel Jones (knee) under center, who hasn't been the most consistent fantasy signal-caller over the years.

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According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Texans and wide receiver Nico Collins agreed on a three-year, $72.75 million extension. The wideout, who will make $52 million in guaranteed cash on his new deal, had a breakout season in 2023-24, amassing 80 catches for 1,297 yards and eight touchdowns. While Houston added Stefon Diggs and Joe Mixon to the equation, two players who will command targets during the 2024-25 campaign, Collins remains a viable fantasy option in any format, considering the Texans could be one of the NFL's highest-scoring offenses.

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Houston Texans offensive guard Kenyon Green (shoulder) suffered a shoulder injury in the team's preseason win over the New Orleans Saints last fall and spent the entire 2023 campaign on Injured Reserve. It was an injury that Green had been dealing with since May. The 23-year-old has since made great progress and was participating at organized team activities last week. "Kenyon has done a really great job of putting himself in a position to compete," head coach DeMeco Ryans said. "He did a great job of working throughout the offseason. We know he had the surgery last season, so he was battling back, rehabbing." Green started 14 of 15 games as a rookie in 2022 and allowed 47 pressures, 31 hurries, 12 QB hits and five sacks at left guard while playing through a knee injury. Now healthy, the former first-rounder will have a chance this summer to reclaim his starting role.

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Carolina Panthers outside linebacker Amare Barno (knee) finished last year on Injured Reserve and missed the final two games of the regular season, but he's progressing nicely and was limited in organized team activities last week, according to head coach Dave Canales. "The reports we're getting are great, so he's trending in the right direction. I don't have a specific date, but he is out there working and he's got his cleats on doing stuff, so I'm looking forward to getting him back up to speed so we can get him back in a practice at some point," Canales said. Barno saw an 11% increase in defensive snaps in 2023 and even made his first career start, finishing with 21 tackles and one tackle for loss in 15 games played. The 25-year-old is likely to serve as depth at the linebacker position again this year for Carolina.

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The New England Patriots have agreed to terms with quarterback Drake Maye on his rookie deal on Tuesday, according to a source. The No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft is now under contract and ready to compete with veteran signal-caller Jacoby Brissett in training camp and the preseason for the starting job under center in New England. The 21-year-old former Tar Heel has plenty of high-end, long-term upside in fantasy at the QB position, but he wasn't quite seen as NFL-ready as much as Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels, who went one and two, respectively, in the draft to the Bears and Commanders. Maye had only 26 starts in college and could benefit from sitting and learning for a year, and he doesn't turn 22 until August. Especially given the lack of standout weapons on the Patriots offense, Maye is much more of a dynasty asset than a redraft one in 2024 fantasy circles.

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Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase wasn't present for voluntary organized team activities on Tuesday. Chase is heading into the fourth year of his rookie deal after the team picked up his fifth-year option for the 2025 season back in April. The 24-year-old is slated to make $5 million in 2024 and remains one of the best all-around receivers in the game. His absence during voluntary offseason workouts shouldn't raise too many eyebrows, although it would be nice to see him working with quarterback Joe Burrow after Burrow suffered a season-ending wrist injury in 2023. Chase is unlikely to stage a long holdout into mandatory minicamp next month and training camp this summer, and he and the Bengals should eventually work out something long term that should make him one of, if not the highest, paid receiver in the NFL.

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Cincinnati Bengals wide receivers Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase are both not present for voluntary organized team activities on Tuesday as they seek new deals this offseason. Higgins has yet to sign his franchise tender for this year, so until he does, he will not be allowed to participate in offseason workouts with the team. The 25-year-old requested a trade from the Bengals when the team put the franchise tag on him just before the start of free agency in March, but he remains in Cincinnati for now as he angles for a new long-term deal. It's an offseason storyline to follow for fantasy managers after Higgins had an extremely disappointing 2023 campaign. It didn't help that quarterback Joe Burrow suffered a season-ending wrist injury, but Higgins was also injured himself and finished with a career-low 42 catches for 656 yards and five touchdowns in 12 games.

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Vita Vea has lost weight this offseason while training with longtime NFL defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh. The 2018 first-round pick reportedly weighed a lot more than the 347 pounds he was listed out last season, and the team believes it hampered his play in 2023. Buccaneers defense line coach Kacy Rodgers said Vea "looks a lot different," and the team wants him to go from being "good" to "dominant." Over his first six NFL seasons, Vea has racked up 180 tackles (111 solo), 23.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, six pass deflections, and 23.5 run stuffs. He is a one-time Pro Bowler (2021).

According to ESPN's Michael DiRocco, Washington Commanders kicker Brandon McManus is being sued for sexual assault by two women. The alleged incidents took place while McManus was with the Jacksonville Jaguars, with both women, who were working as flight attendants, stating he "grinded up" against them during an overseas flight to London. There were other accusations, including one of the women reporting the 32-year-old trying to kiss her. McManus, who signed with the Commanders this offseason after being released by Jacksonville, finished the 2023-24 campaign by draining 30 of his 37 field goal attempts while making all 35 extra-point tries. At any rate, there will likely be more updates surrounding this situation. However, if the accusations are true, McManus could find himself without a team.

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Buffalo Bills wide receiver Chase Claypool has seen his stock steadily decline since his 11-touchdown rookie season in 2020 with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Last year with the Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins, he caught just eight passes for 77 yards. He signed with the Bills on a one-year, $1.1 million deal this offseason, giving him another chance to revive his career. So far at Bills' OTAs, he's making a good impression. "Very impressed with Chase. Really just starting with his approach, here's a veteran receiver, former high pick, that has been on a journey, right, through the course of recently in his career," head coach Sean McDermott said. "I applaud Chase for coming here to see where things go. And so he's very focused, he's working extremely hard day in and day out." The former Notre Dame wideout has an uphill battle to re-enter the fantasy radar in 2024, but a wide receiver group consisting of Khalil Shakir, Curtis Samuel, and rookie Keon Coleman isn't the most daunting group to compete with. Still, he's likely to be a non-factor if he makes the team's 53-man roster, barring a surprise.

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Detroit Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker was rumored to be a first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft in the middle of his stellar final season at Tennessee in 2022. However, he suffered a late-season ACL tear and was ultimately a third-round selection by Detroit. Teddy Bridgewater was Jared Goff's primary backup last season, while Hooker spent most of his debut campaign on the Injured Reserve list. With Bridgewater announcing his retirement this offseason, the 26-year-old is set to move into the QB2 role in 2024. So far at OTAs, the reviews have been promising. "It was fun watching Hendon Hooker sling it in a team setting for the very first time," Colton Pouncy of The Athletic wrote. "Really nice touch on his deep ball. Good velocity. One of his best plays of the day was a deep ball down the right sideline to Daurice Fountain, which drew "oooohs" and "aaahhs" from the team." After Goff signed a four-year extension to remain with the organization, Hooker's narrow path to the starting job closed. However, he can be stashed in deep Superflex or two-QB leagues. If Goff had to miss any time due to injury, the 26-year-old sophomore would have intriguing upside thanks to his rushing ability and pass-catching group headlined by Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta.

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Two women are suing kicker Brandon McManus and the Jacksonville Jaguars, alleging that McManus sexually assaulted them during the team's overseas flight to London last year, according to court documents. The lawsuit was filed on Friday and accuses McManus of rubbing himself against them and grinding against them. The two women are also accusing the Jaguars of failing to supervise McManus and failing to create a safe environment for staff serving the team. They are seeking over $1 million and are demanding a jury trial. The 32-year-old veteran signed a one-year, $3.6 million deal with the Washington Commanders this offseason, but he could now be facing a suspension to begin the 2024 season. In 17 games for the Jaguars in 2023, McManus made 81.1% of his 37 field-goal attempts and was successful on all 35 of his extra-point tries.

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Washington Commanders defensive tackle Jonathan Allen (knee) has been participating in the team's organized team activities this spring and has been extremely happy with the team's new regime change in the front office and on the sidelines. Allen said months ago that he didn't want to be part of another rebuild, but the long-time defensive captain is thrilled with how things are unfolding under new general manager Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn. Following Pro Bowl nods in 2021 and 2022, Allen had 53 tackles (30 solo), 5.5 sacks, 10 tackles for loss and 19 QB hits in 16 starts. The 29-year-old former 17th overall pick in 2017 out of Alabama has no more guaranteed money left on his deal, which has two years remaining. It's unclear how Allen's role on defense might change in 2024 under Quinn.

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Detroit Lions tight end Shane Zylstra (knee), who was out with a knee injury last year, was back at practice at organized team activities last week and looked great. Zylstra picked up right where he left off and was catching everything thrown his way. He showed good chemistry with quarterback Hendon Hooker and the second-team offense. The 27-year-old tight end spent all of the 2023 campaign on Injured Reserve due to a knee injury that he suffered in training camp last summer. Now that he's back and looking good, Zylstra will give the team extra depth at the tight end position behind Sam LaPorta, Brock Wright and James Mitchell. The former undrafted free agent isn't anywhere close to the fantasy radar and has only 14 receptions for 94 yards and four touchdowns since entering the league in 2021.

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