NFL preseason and training camp live updates (2024)

The page has turned to Week 2 of the preseason as practices continue across the NFL this week.

Last week was all about the rookie quarterbacks and their preseason debuts. Washington Commanders QB Jayden Daniels went rouge, while Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams improvised, Minnesota Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy exceeded expectations and Denver Broncos QB Bo Nix showed poise.

Joint practices continue across the NFL as well, although the San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints won't meet in practice this week with the former dealing with too many injuries.

With joint practices come fights. There were more than enough skirmishes in joint practices between the Detroit Lions and New York Giants, to which the league fined both teams for. Sometimes, fights happen amongst teammates, like Seattle Seahawks WR DK Metcalf displayed.

Meanwhile, there is still no resolution in sight for a few holdouts and hold-ins around the league, although the San Francisco 49ers and WR Brandon Aiyuk are back at the negotiating table. The Dallas Cowboys and WR CeeDee Lamb remain apart on a deal apparently, though.

Stay tuned here for what unfolds this week with coverage from The Athletic's NFL beat writers.

Required reading

• Preseason Week 2 schedule
• How Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels performed in debuts
• Dolphins are flipping the script with Tua Tagovailoa
• 2024 fantasy football draft kit

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Just a few months after being dealt to the franchise, defensive end Haason Reddick has requested a trade from the New York Jets, a league source told The Athletic on Monday.

Later Monday, Jets general manager Joe Douglas said that New York will not trade Reddick.

“We have informed Haason that we will not trade him, that he is expected to be here with his teammates, and that he will continue to be fined per the CBA if he does not report,” Douglas said in a statement released by the franchise. “Since the trade discussions back in March have been clear, direct and consistent with our position.

“Our focus will remain on the guys we have here as we prepare for the regular season.”

Read more here.

Which wide receivers make the Commanders' roster in our latest projections?

Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson, Olamide Zaccheaus, Luke McCaffrey, Dyami Brown and Brycen Tremayne are in.

Others: Jamison Crowder, Mitchell Tinsley, Kazmeir Allen, Davion Davis, Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint

Dotson playing the most wide receiver snaps (32) in the preseason opener is weird, right? McLaurin exited after 11 snaps, or one more than Zaccheaus. Dotson isn’t going anywhere, but the coaches apparently wanted to give the 2022 first-round selection needed reps to even out his up-and-down summer. Zaccheaus and Brown have been steadier but with different responsibilities.

Back to Zaccheaus. Punt returning rules haven’t changed. Other than seeing what spice new coordinator Larry Izzo adds to the recipe, there are no real secrets to keep. Therefore, using Zaccheaus for the first two returns against the Jets is a sign that the staff hopes he can take the job (the initial fair catch on the run was a bit scary, but he gained 19 yards on the next attempt).

Crowder is steady as a receiver and returner, but someone else beating out the 31-year-old means room for Tremayne, one of the camp’s breakout performers, or the 2023 roster holdover Tinsley. Meanwhile, the kick returns are wildly different this year, and teams aren’t showing their grand plans. The use of fringe roster candidates (Allen, Pringle, Davis) may indicate Washington is withholding its actual depth chart, though Allen and Pringle have a shot.

Read more here.

Riq Woolen, Devon Witherspoon, Tre Brown, Artie Burns, D.J. James and Nehemiah Pritchett make the 53-man roster in our latest projections.

Cut: Michael Jackson, Carlton Johnson, Lance Boykin, Dee Williams, Willie Roberts

When healthy, Jackson and Boykin could challenge for roster spots, but that’s a much harder feat when they’re not on the field — neither of their injuries has been disclosed — and there are two cornerbacks in the draft class. James is slowly starting to come on, and he offers some valuable positional flexibility as an outside cornerback who can play nickel.

Read more here.

New England Patriots pass rusher Matthew Judon seeks a new contract from the team but has been practicing after a brief hold in.

Read more here.

Which offensive linemen make the cut in our latest Ravens roster projection? Ronnie Stanley, Andrew Vorhees, Tyler Linderbaum, Daniel Faalele, Patrick Mekari, Roger Rosengarten, Josh Jones, Ben Cleveland and Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu are in.

On the bubble: Tashawn Manning, Nick Samac

Long shots: Corey Bullock, Darrian Dalcourt, Julian Pearl, Darrell Simpson

Toughest call: The final one or two offensive line spots. The Ravens could keep 10 offensive linemen, which could save Aumavae-Laulu and give Samac, a seventh-round pick, a better chance to stick. At this point, it feels like the Ravens have eight roster locks with three or four linemen in the mix for one or two spots.

Outlook: This remains tough to handicap because the Ravens are still trying to figure out their five starters. It’s also possible a veteran gets added in the coming weeks. Cleveland’s emergence as a potential backup center should take him off the bubble. There’s a case to be made that he should be the front-runner to start at right guard. Aumavae-Laulu may need to beat out Manning, a second-year undrafted free agent, to secure a spot. That’s not a given. Manning has some fans in the building. That Samac has been behind Dalcourt, an undrafted free agent, at different points this summer feels a bit ominous for the rookie center.

Read more roster projection notes from the Ravens here.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Down to only one quarterback at Monday's practice, that being franchise player Josh Allen, the Bills moved swiftly to get another arm into training camp. The Bills have signed veteran quarterback Ben DiNucci, according to his agency.

The DiNucci news became necessary after the team found out third-string quarterback Shane Buechele suffered a neck injury that would keep him out for an extended period. Then during the last few hours up to Monday's practice, backup quarterback Mitchell Trubisky was excused by the Bills for a personal reason. That left Allen to take all the team drill reps.

The Bills gave Allen a few reps off here and there during the early stages of practice, calling on offensive quality control coach Kyle Shurmur to throw some passes to running backs, wide receivers and tight ends during positional drills. Shurmur, the son of longtime NFL coach Pat Shurmur, played quarterback for three seasons in the NFL.

DiNucci's addition will require some quick study by the new quarterback. The Bills have only two more practices before they take on the Steelers in Saturday night's preseason game. One of the practices will be the joint practice in Pittsburgh with the Steelers, where DiNucci began his college career and a 30-minute drive from his high school.

DiNucci, 27, was most recently with the Denver Broncos before being waived in May. He was out of the NFL for the 2022 season but used a successful stint with the XFL's Seattle Sea Dragons to land with the Broncos in 2023.

Seth Greenwald, a linebacker on a southern Minnesota high school team called Mankato West that won a state championship 25 years ago, glanced at his buzzing phone earlier this week. The caller ID flashed with a location: Paris.

Greenwald answered. A reporter introduced himself over the phone, then asked if he could interview Greenwald about one of his former coaches, a man named Tim Walz. Greenwald laughed. You’re in Paris to cover the Olympics, and you want to talk to me?

He would find out that this wasn’t an outlier. Last Tuesday, Walz was selected as a running mate to Vice President Kamala Harris for her 2024 presidential campaign. Since then, many members of the 1999 Class 4A title-winning Mankato West Scarlets are getting to relive old glory days. They’ve received calls from TMZ, The Daily Beast, CNN and Newsweek. Another former player, now an insurance salesman, chuckled when looking at his normally mundane email inbox, suddenly flooded with messages about a prospective vice presidential candidate they all knew. Many of them began texting and calling each other.

“It feels like we’re the ‘72 Dolphins or something,” said Eric Stenzel, the team’s star linebacker, referencing the only undefeated team in NFL history.

“I’m pouring my morning coffee, and I look at my email, and I’m, like, ‘Am I getting pranked?’” said Miles Haefner, a safety on that team.

“We’re talking about an assistant football coach who taught history,” said Mitch Salsbery, another former linebacker.

Before he was elected governor of Minnesota, before he represented the state’s first district in Congress and long before he became a candidate for vice president, Walz was a coach and social studies teacher in the Midwest, first in Nebraska and then in Minnesota. The night he introduced himself on the national stage in Philadelphia, many of his fellow coaches and former players at Mankato West thought back to sticky fall evenings as they listened to their old defensive coach, who used to light them up in the film room and challenge them on the practice field 25 years ago.

“I think if they had given him a helmet,” said Salsbery, “he probably would have played in practice.”

“I still hear the cadence,” said John Considine, an offensive lineman on those West teams at the turn of the century.

Read more here.

The Jets have been informed that Haason Reddick has requested a trade, per source. Reddick was trade to the Jets from the Eagles in April.

Read more here.

QB Daniel Jones appears to have shaken off the rust. He's no longer under-throwing deep balls like he did early in camp. Jones uncorked a beautiful deep ball to WR Jalin Hyatt for a long TD today. They also hooked up for a short TD pass on a slant when CB Nick McCloud seemed to expect help inside that didn't come.

S Tyler Nubin intercepted a short pass from Jones to TE Lawrence Cager in the end zone. It was an overall ugly play, with OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux having a clear sack. The whistle wasn't blown, so Jones tried to force it to Cager.

The offense had a situational two-minute drive with a tie score at the end of practice. The offense started around their 30-yard line and drove to the other 41 on short passes to WR Wan'Dale Robinson (2), WR Darius Slayton and TE Theo Johnson. The drive stalled there and K Graham Gano came out for a 59-yard field goal with three seconds remaining ... and then didn't kick it. That was a letdown.

Other notes from Giants camp:

-There were shades of last year's camp with musical chairs being played on the offensive line. The rotation went from C Van Roten/RG Stinnie to C Schlottman/RG Van Roten to C Schlottmann/RG Stinnie every two plays. Van Roten was at center and Stinnie was at right guard for the two-minute drill.

Van Roten had one snap over Jones' head. G Jake Kubas had a high snap on his first rep at center with the second-team offense.

-Thibodeaux had a strong practice. He had the "sack" on Nubin's interception. He was in the backfield on other plays as well, including a blown up Jones keeper deep in the red zone for a big loss.

-Isaiah Simmons was the primary slot corner with Dru Phillips (ankle) not practicing. David Long played slot in the dime package with Simmons moving to LB.

-Elijah Chatman, who had a sack against the backups, was the DT with Dexter Lawrence in the first-team dime package. The undrafted rookie could have a role as the second pass-rushing DT.

-The Giants are down to four healthy safeties with Gervarrius Owens (knee), Elijah Riley (concussion) and Jalen Mills (NFI) not practicing. That means starters Jason Pinnock and Dane Belton had to pull double duty and get some third-team reps. The Giants can't have starters getting overtaxed because so many backups are sidelined.

-Injury roundup: WR Malik Nabers (ankle), LB Dyontae Johnson (ankle) and CB Dru Phillips (ankle) weren't spotted at practice.

QB Drew Lock (hip), WR Dennis Houston (hand), LB Carter Coughlin (lower body), CB Cor'Dale Flott (quad) and the three safeties mentioned above worked on the side with trainers.

OL John Michael Schmitz (shoulder) and OL Evan Neal (ankle) only participated in individual drills again as they ramp up from extended absences. Neither are expected to play in Saturday's preseason game at Houston.

TE Lawrence Cager, TE Tyree Jackson, OL Jon Runyan and OL Jake Kubas left practice with apparent injuries. Their statuses aren't yet known.

CINCINNATI — Bengals’ first-round pick Amarius Mims, who shined in camp as the starting right tackle, sustained a strained pectoral muscle, according to head coach Zac Taylor on Monday.

The rookie had taken every snap with the first team since being selected 18th overall and free agent Trent Brown away from the team or working back from the Non-Football Injury List.

Taylor said the injury will keep him out “several” weeks and wouldn’t speculate on a specific timeline, merely admitting he won’t be able to play in the final two preseason games.

It will not require surgery and Taylor said he expects Mims to make a “full recovery and be ready to roll.”

His availability for the opener against New England is in jeopardy but him starting there is not out of the question, according to Taylor.

“I wouldn’t take anything off the table,” Taylor said. “I think he’s had a really good training camp. Obviously, it’s tough that he’s not going to get some opportunities. It’s unlikely he’ll play against Chicago and Indy, obviously, was looking forward to that. The guy has addressed everything we have thrown at him head on and done a great job. He’s still got the same energetic personality and this doesn’t set him back at all. I’m excited to see how he responds this when he gets healthy and gets back on the field.”

All attention now turns to Brown who, coincidentally, worked back into team drills for the first time since signing with the Bengals in March. The 10-year veteran, who battled injury but started eight games for the Patriots last season, was originally slotted into a competition with Mims for the starting job at right tackle. Brown has played both right and left tackle effectively over his career and will start ramping up to protect Burrow on the right side over the next month.

The number of players at running back can change, but this was always the issue for the Chiefs entering training camp: Isiah Pacheco and Clyde Edwards-Helaire are their only running backs with legitimate experience.

Deneric Prince still has a strong chance to make the roster. The second-year man had 16 rushing yards on four attempts on Saturday night. But Prince needs to be more consistent as a pass protector and on special teams. Prince cost the Chiefs a safety on a kickoff. As part of the league’s new format, a ball that lands in the end zone but bounces back onto the field of play is a live ball, essentially becoming a fumble. Instead of letting the ball land behind him in the end zone, Prince should have caught the ball and then taken a knee for a touchback to ensure the Chiefs started their possession at the 30-yard line.

Read more from the latest Chiefs roster projection here.

The Dallas Cowboys are in a pickle with Dak Prescott. They are either going to A) Pay him an astronomical sum of money to be a very, very good — but probably not elite — NFL quarterback; or B) Let him walk, save all that money but wander deep into the quarterback wilderness.

There’s no easy choice here, and a major reason why is that the NFL quarterback market is broken. The easiest way to know: In a sensible economy, the best player on the best team would make the most money. So, this should be simple.

The Kansas City Chiefs are the best team in the NFL. They also employ the world’s best quarterback in Patrick Mahomes. It would seem fairly obvious then that Mahomes should be the highest-paid player in football. And yet after Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and Green Bay Packers QB Jordan Love signed their megadeals recently, Mahomes ranks 11th in average annual salary at $45 million.

This is a problem.

Not for Mahomes, who doesn’t have an issue with his compensation, and certainly not for the Chiefs, but for the rest of the NFL and, in particular, the teams paying their lesser-talented quarterbacks more money than Mahomes — or are preparing to (ahem, Cowboys).

Read more here.

FOXBORO, Mass. – After Drake Maye played only one possession in the Patriots’ preseason opener, which lasted seven snaps, coach Jerod Mayo said the No. 3 overall pick will get an increased workload this week.

The Pats are welcoming the Philadelphia Eagles here Tuesday for a joint practice before taking them on in the second of three exhibition games Thursday night. In both of those, the Patriots are planning to give Maye an extended look.

So far, he’s been the team’s backup quarterback throughout training camp and has mostly been outplayed by Jacoby Brissett. But Brissett has had the luxury of playing with the better offensive line and better receivers, so it’ll be interesting to see whether Maye gets any playing time with the top unit against the Eagles.

“It’s a huge week for those guys to really show development,” Mayo said. “Drake will play more this week, for sure. But don’t forget, anytime you practice against a team, they’ll get a lot of good reps against someone else and based on that. We’ll see how they’ll play in a game. That’s all positions, though.”

The Green Bay Packers won their preseason opener against the Cleveland Browns on Saturday, 23-10, taking the lead when Jordan Love hit Dontayvion Wicks for a 65-yard touchdown on the third play from scrimmage and never looking back.

With two preseason games left against the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens, and a roster cutdown day two weeks from Tuesday, let’s take a shot at the first of three 53-man roster projections.

Read more here.

The Miami Dolphins have activated linebacker Jaelan Phillips from the PUP list allowing the standout pass rusher to being practicing, the team announced Monday.

Phillips is recovering from a torn Achilles he suffered in the Dolphins’ Black Friday win over the New York Jets last November.

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — The driveway at the end of this cul-de-sac in suburban Charlotte was widened a few years back, a project deemed necessary by Dad. He was sick of seeing his four boys put dents in the garage during pickup basketball.

On clear summer nights, the kind where the heat sticks to you even as the sun sets, the driveway used to be packed. Certainly by the boys. Maybe some friends too. Open door policy. Come when you want, leave when you must.

“King of the Court” was the house game. One-on-one, stay until you lose, rotate who defends. Fouls weren’t called unless they were egregious. They played until their shadows were long. Plenty of games were settled in front of the headlights on Dad’s truck.

Over time, the participants changed. The oldest went off to win a national championship for the beloved blue blood a couple of hours away. The second went off to play baseball at Florida, where he helped pitch the school to its second national title.

The two youngest remained. They were the feistiest of the bunch, often ending driveway games with elbows swinging. Eventually, Dad needed to referee, settling disputes and trying to end things before noses were bloodied and eyes were blackened. The boys called him “Buzzkill” for stepping in, but he insisted.

The hoop atop the driveway is still now. The parents are empty nesters. Earlier this summer, the youngest boy packed up his belongings in his old, white truck and headed out on his own.

Drake Maye, 21, signed a four-year deal with the New England Patriots worth more than $36 million, the benefits of being the NFL’s No. 3 draft pick this offseason. It’s certainly enough money to ship his truck north. Maybe even buy a new one. But he wanted to take his truck up himself. So he backed out of the driveway and began the task of resurrecting a franchise whose glory days feel like they’re in the rearview mirror.

After New England selected Maye, Patriots owner Robert Kraft sent his jet down to Carolina to pick up the team’s new quarterback. Drake insisted on bringing his three brothers. He brought Luke, 27, and Cole, 26, and Beau, 23, on stage that afternoon, too, when he was officially introduced at Gillette Stadium.

“If you’re getting me,” Drake said on the podium that day, “you’re getting them.”

Read more on Maye here.