NFL training camp news and preseason games (2024)

Check out scores and coverage from Thursday's preseason game as well as what's on tap for Friday night.

Thursday's games

Patriots 17, Panthers 3 — FINAL

• With Panthers starters sitting, some players help themselves, others don’t
• Patriots stock report

Giants 14, Lions 3 — FINAL

• Takeaways from Brian Daboll’s 2024 debut as play caller
• Lions stock report

Friday's schedule

Dolphins 20, Falcons 13 — FINAL

Texans 20, Steelers 12 — FINAL

Eagles at Ravens, 7:30 p.m. ET

FULL PRESEASON WEEK 1 SCHEDULE

Bills wide receivers projected to make the team: Khalil Shakir, Curtis Samuel, Keon Coleman, Mack Hollins, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Tyrell Shavers

Released: Chase Claypool, Andy Isabella

Waived: Justin Shorter, K.J. Hamler, Bryan Thompson, Xavier Johnson, Lawrence Keys III

The wide receiver movement from practice to practice has been one of the most exciting facets of camp. But after the dust settled from the 12 sessions, there’s only one significant change from our pre-camp projection: Tyrell Shavers is in, and Justin Shorter is out. Shavers has been excellent in camp, gives them the versatility to play all three receiver positions, offers more on special teams, and, to put it bluntly, has outplayed Shorter quite a bit. Shavers will need to keep going through the preseason to secure the spot. However, with ample options at Shorter’s position (X receiver) already on the roster, they can go with the player that gives them the most potential right now, and that’s Shavers.

As for the veteran players getting cut in this projection, Chase Claypool’s injury has taken him out of consideration for now, and he’ll need a strong preseason when he returns to get back into contention. KJ Hamler loses out on the return job because his competition showed some game on the defensive side. But Hamler should be a priority practice squad add if he passes through waivers.

Read more from the latest Bills roster projection.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The longer Ben Blackmon stared at the problem, the more obvious the solution became.

It was 2019 and the football coach at Spanish Fort High School in Alabama believed he had a talented roster. The passing attack was humming during 7-on-7 tournaments over the summer. Expectations grew as the season approached. This was a team capable of competing for a state championship.

Then, the season started, and the ball stopped moving.

“We get through the first two weeks of the season, and we just weren’t performing,” Blackmon said. “We were 0-2 and we had to have some changes. We made some changes across the whole roster and I just said, ‘Right now, Kris has to have the ball in his hands as many times as possible.'”

Kris is Kris Abrams-Draine, the rookie cornerback for the Denver Broncos. He was supposed to catch passes in 2019 as Spanish Fort’s top wide receiver. Instead, Blackmon moved him to quarterback, hopeful that a simple idea — give the team’s best playmaker the ball as many times as possible — could create a spark.

Read more here.

- Michael Penix Jr. (obviously)

- Rotation of DL with Jarrett, Onyemata out

- WRs other than Hodge, Washington who stand out

- Ross Dwelley role in run game

- Clark Phillips III (can he make splash play)

Offensive line (9)

Braxton Jones, Teven Jenkins, Coleman Shelton, Ryan Bates, Darnell Wright, Nate Davis, Kiran Amegadjie, Matt Pryor, Bill Murray

Adam Jahns: When you get publicly praised by the head coach, you get a roster spot — at least in this exercise. That’s where Murray fits in. He took the place of Ja’Tyre Carter from the initial projection. The Bears’ depth on the offensive line will look better once Amegadjie, the Bears’ third-round pick, returns to practice. That’s expected to happen at some point in camp. The team has been cautious with his return from surgery on his quad in October.

Kevin Fishbain: Whether or not Davis is the starting right guard against his former team in Week 1 is a conversation worth having, especially now that he’s considered “week to week.” It’s still hard to see the Bears going as far as cutting him because of his contract. The backup left tackle spot will determine how the back end of the roster shakes out. Larry Borom has experience and versatility but is making too much money for a reserve position if the Bears are more comfortable with Pryor, who can play four spots. Carter can also play left tackle, but can he do it at a level this preseason to stick for Year 3?

Read the latest Bears roster projection here.

LATROBE, Pa. — Mike Tomlin assumes a familiar, commanding position at midfield as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ second training camp practice gets underway.

Arms crossed, ballcap pulled low, Ray-Bans shielding his gaze, Tomlin observes as offensive players and coaches walk through a slate of plays they’ll later attempt to execute at full speed.

As the longest-tenured head coach in the NFL, entering Year 18 with the Steelers, Tomlin is the picture of stability. His Pittsburgh teams have never had a losing season, even when injuries and roster turnover probably should have doomed them.

Despite that remarkable feat, Tomlin’s Steelers haven’t exhibited true greatness in some time. Fifteen seasons have passed since Pittsburgh’s last Super Bowl victory, and seven have come and gone since its last AFC Championship Game appearance. The Steelers are 0-4 in the playoffs since that run to the AFC title game, which it lost to the New England Patriots. An offense that ranked in the bottom third of the league for five consecutive seasons factors greatly into that postseason futility.

The struggles triggered dramatic changes this offseason, and those changes have something to do with the attentive eye of Tomlin — a defensive-minded head coach — at this early juncture of camp.

In stark contrast to the resilient and well-respected Tomlin are the men he has placed in three of the most pivotal offensive positions.

Directing the unit: Arthur Smith, whom Tomlin hired as offensive coordinator less than a month after the Atlanta Falcons fired him as head coach. Under center: Justin Fields, the 2021 first-round pick, whom the Chicago Bears deemed a bust after just three seasons. Joining him is Russell Wilson, the 35-year-old quarterback considered washed up by the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos, but penciled in as Pittsburgh’s new starter despite being slowed by a calf strain for the first two weeks of camp.

This week, the Steelers also emerged as a contender to acquire San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who was given permission to seek a trade. Aiyuk was a first-round pick in 2020 who has 269 receptions for 3,931 yards and 25 touchdowns in four seasons.

Tomlin abandoned the Kenny Pickett quarterback experiment after just two seasons with the 2022 first-round pick, and his subsequent decision to hitch the Steelers’ offensive hopes to Smith, Wilson and Fields perplexed some outsiders.

Yet Tomlin, who signed a three-year extension in June, loves the strong redemption theme with the trio.

“I’m attracted to that,” Tomlin said after the July 26 practice. “If we talk about doing anything at the highest level, it is highly competitive and there’s going to be some failure. In those failures is usually growth, and when you’re working with committed people and sharp people, I like to be a part of the bounce-back.”

Read more here.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have not heard from the San Francisco 49ers in the last 24 hours. In the meantime, the 49ers have opened up contract conversations with Aiyuk and his agent, per sources.

Read more here.

Mike Hall Jr. was never much into the hometown hero angle during his pre-draft process. He wanted to focus on his own improvement and making the most of his meetings with NFL teams, regardless of their location. Hall acknowledges kind of downplaying any discussion about landing with the team he grew up rooting for, then blocking it out to the point that he woke up on the morning he was drafted convinced he’d go somewhere else.

“Deep down, I hoped for Cleveland,” Hall said. “But it was in God’s hands. I really didn’t know the Browns were gonna take me, and I just thought that wherever it was, I was gonna get on that plane and show up ready to be my best.”

Read more here.

The Vikings and Cowboys swapped cornerbacks Friday via trade. Minnesota received Nahshon Wright, while Dallas acquired Andrew Booth Jr. The trade is pending physicals, according to the Vikings.

Booth had reached the end of the road in Minnesota. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah drafted him in the second round in 2022. Booth, who had suffered multiple injuries in college at Clemson, arrived and immediately missed time due to soft-tissue injuries. He did not fit well in Ed Donatell's rules-heavy defense during his rookie season. He started one game in 2022 and played 105 total defensive snaps.

Brian Flores's hiring spurred some optimism prior to 2023, but still Booth struggled to see the field. The 23-year-old only started one game and only increased his snap count to 151. Even though the Vikings invested a premium draft pick in him in Adofo-Mensah's first draft, much of the staff was ready to move forward following the offseason. The Vikings did not allocate him many meaningful reps this spring or early summer, which paved a path toward this deal.

Wright is by no means a lock to contribute. In three seasons, the third-round pick from 2021 has played nearly the same amount of total NFL snaps as Booth (272 total). He is, at minimum, a perfect size fit with Flores. He stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 185 pounds. One AFC scout wrote: "He's long and can run." His overall ball skills may ultimately decide whether he can develop or not, but the flier makes sense for a defensive coordinator who in his heart of hearts wants athletic corners pressing and playing man coverage.

One more note: Wright, an East Palo Alto, Calif., native, is cousins with current Vikings cornerback Mekhi Blackmon. Blackmon tore his ACL during the first week of camp but he'll likely have a role in helping Wright assimilate into the Vikings' culture.

The Atlanta Falcons went to Miami this week hoping to get answers to depth chart and roster decision questions. The injury suffered by wide receiver Rondale Moore during Wednesday’s joint practice against the Dolphins only raises more questions.

Moore, acquired from the Arizona Cardinals this offseason in a trade for quarterback Desmond Ridder, was placed on season-ending injured reserve Thursday because of a knee injury suffered in Wednesday’s practice, and that complicates the decision about which receivers make the roster but also possibly the running backs.

Until Moore’s injury, it looked like Carlos Washington Jr., who was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2023 and spent last year on the practice squad, had a good shot to make the 53-man roster as the fourth running back ahead of Avery Williams.

However, Moore’s absence makes Williams more valuable because the fourth-year Falcon can handle the same kick return duties as Moore. Williams, a fifth-round draft pick in 2021, missed last season with a torn ACL after leading the NFL in punt return average (16.9 yards per return) in 2022.

Of course, the loss of Moore also raises a question in the wide receivers room. The Falcons will probably keep six receivers, and the first five — Drake London, Darnell Mooney, Ray-Ray McCloud, KhaDarel Hodge and Casey Washington — seem like easy picks. However, there is no obvious front-runner for the sixth spot, which makes that one to watch Friday when the Falcons open the preseason against the Dolphins on Friday night at Hard Rock Stadium.

The Falcons must make their final cuts by Aug. 27. Today, we’re going to make our first prediction about what the opening-day roster will look like with the regular caveat that Atlanta still could add veterans at cornerback and/or wide receiver.

The Broncos will start Jarrett Stidham at quarterback in the team’s preseason opener at the Colts on Sunday, coach Sean Payton announced after Friday’s practice.

Rookie Bo Nix and Zach Wilson will also get snaps in Sunday’s game, but Payton did not say how the reps for those two quarterbacks would be divided. He previously said starters would play roughly 15 to 20 snaps.

Payton also said Nix will get the start when the Broncos host the Green Bay Packers on Aug. 18.

Stidham, entering his seventh season in the NFL, signed a two-year deal with the Broncos in 2023. He served as Russell Wilson’s backup for the first 15 games of the season, then started the final two games after Payton benched Wilson. He entered camp this year in a three-way battle for the starting job with Nix and Wilson, who was acquired in a trade with the Jets days before Denver took Nix with the 12th overall selection in April’s draft. Wilson has since been relegated to third-team work in training camp, leaving Stidham and Nix to vie for the Week 1 job.

That Stidham gets the first crack with the first-team offense is no surprise given that he opened both OTAs and training camp at the front of the rotating line. The 28-year-old (his birthday was Thursday) has had a solid training camp. He has largely avoided mistakes and has shown command of the huddle. He is the only quarterback in the room with experience in Payton’s offense, and that familiarity has been apparent.

“He’s so decisive,” tight end Adam Trautman said of Stidham. “There’s a confidence that goes into that as an offense, when you step in the huddle with someone who’s like, ‘Hey, this is what we’re doing.’ ‘Hey listen up.’ Someone who’s really in control of it. ... He’s always been able to make the throws and everything, but he’s very tuned into ‘Hey, this isn’t going to be here let’s get to the next progression.’ He looks great.”

Though Stidham will get the start, Sunday also marks the anticipated debut of Nix, who the Broncos hope can become the long-term answer at quarterback the team has been unable to find since Peyton Manning retired following the 2015 season.

“I’m excited to get out there and play against another defense, and just go out there and execute.”

Devin Leary, QB: Josh Johnson is expected to start against Philadelphia, but Leary will likely get a look. The rookie sixth-round pick has been as advertised coming out of the draft. He has obvious arm talent and can make all the throws. But consistency has been elusive. The new rule that allows teams to designate a quarterback from the practice squad as the emergency No. 3 on game days changes the dynamic for Leary. If he plays really well this preseason, the Ravens will likely have to carry him on the 53-man roster rather than risk losing him on waivers. If he plays poorly, they probably will be OK passing him through waivers and, if he clears, continuing to develop him on the practice squad.

Read more here.

The 49ers, suddenly light on edge rushers, on Friday signed Jonathan Garvin, who appeared in 38 games as a backup for the Green Bay Packers over the last three seasons.

The 49ers made room for Garvin and punter Pressley Harvin III by placing edge rusher Austin Bryant on injured reserve and releasing tight end Logan Thomas. Thomas, 33, hadn’t practiced much this summer due to a hamstring strain. The 49ers need Harvin to punt Saturday in Tennessee because regular punter Mitch Wishnowsky is dealing with a minor knee injury.

Garvin is needed because of Bryant’s injury, which he suffered in Thursday’s practice, and because another backup defensive end, Sam Okuayinonu, has been out with an injury in recent practices. The 49ers also recently placed Drake Jackson (knee) on the reserve/PUP list, ending his season.

With Nick Bosa unlikely to play in the preseason, the team’s available defensive ends are Leonard Floyd, Yetur Gross-Matos, Robert Beal Jr., Alex Barrett and Garvin.

OXNARD, Calif. — Dak Prescott was not at Friday’s practice. The Dallas Cowboys franchise quarterback is dealing with ankle soreness. The Cowboys say the decision for him to not practice is “completely precautionary.”

Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy wasn’t concerned as he left the practice field, saying that Prescott is still scheduled to practice on Saturday before the team travels to Los Angeles for their first preseason game on Sunday.

Prescott, who is unlikely to play in any preseason games, looked sharp in the team’s joint practice with the Rams on Thursday. He said after the practice that he’d be ready to play in a game if the season started today.

“Part of me wishes that (Thursday’s practice) was a game,” Prescott said. “I’m ready to play and get after it.”

Last month, Prescott downplayed a photo of him on vacation wearing a walking boot on his right foot.

“I’m great. Honestly, I’m getting older,” he said last month. “(It’s) the same ankle that I snapped and had surgery on four years ago. So a couple of hard days of training and you get a little sore. And then you go on a fishing trip and you want to protect it and make sure things don’t get worse.

“Literally, it’s absolutely nothing. People are reaching, trying to make things that they aren’t. I’m getting older and having to take care of my body and be smart. If I have to take precautions and lessen something by putting on a boot, I’ll do it.”

Trey Lance is expected to get the majority of the quarterback snaps in Dallas’ preseason opener. It’ll be the first time seeing him in a game since the Cowboys traded a fourth-round pick for him last August.

“I’m just looking forward to playing ball again,” Lance said Friday. “I’m going in this game the same as I’ve gone into every game my whole entire life, college, high school, whatever. I don’t put too much extra (pressure) into it. I’m going to play. It’s not like I’m going to play any harder than I have in the past or not as hard. It’s a big game for me, big game for us. I’m excited to go out and play well.”