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Around the (Training) Campfire

Around the (Training) Campfire

Injury and Transaction Roundup, Plus Some Nostalgia from Yesteryear

Jen of Deep Dive Fantasy
August 01, 2023

Welcome to the Deep Dive Fantasy Newsletter, a now twice-weekly fantasy football publication coming to your inbox all summer long.

After a full week of training camps around the league, there was plenty of action to report. Here’s a look at all the fantasy-relevant injuries and injury-related transactions that went down since the last newsletter. I’ll go team by team so it’s easily digestable.

🪺 Arizona Cardinals

Kyler Murray (ACL/PUP) is still with no return timetable. As time goes on, the likelier the QB starts the season on the reserve/PUP meaning he misses the first four games of the 2023 season.

🦬 Buffalo Bills

Waived by the Ravens earlier in the week, Andy Isabella found a home in Buffalo where he’ll compete for a roster spot. With the lack of depth in the Bills’ WR room, he has a shot to make his third NFL team since 2019.

🐯 Cincinnati Bengals

After leaving practice with a calf strain via cart on July 27th, it appears a Week 1 return “should be realistic” for Joe Burrow according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.

🐶 Cleveland Browns

WR Amari Cooper returned to practice on Friday after missing four days with a minor undisclosed tweak.

🤠 Dallas Cowboys

This is not injury related but I wanted to be sure to include that RB Ronald Jones was suspended for two games due to a violation of the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances. Jones can practice and participate in the preseason but will be sidelined for the first two regular-season contests.

🐴 Denver Broncos

WR Tim Patrick was carted off the field after a non-contact leg injury on Monday. The 29-year-old is coming off an ACL injury he sustained last season during training camp and was set up for a productive season as the WR3 in the Denver offense. He’s believed to have suffered a complete tear of his Achilles and is out for the season.
Speaking of WRs, Kendall Hinton was activated off the active/PUP list, the Broncos also signed Michael Bandy, and are planning to waive K.J. Hamler with a non-football illness designation with the intention of bringing him back in the coming weeks.

🦁 Detroit Lions

WR Marvin Jones was activated from the active/NFI list.

🐂 Houston Texans

Third-year WR Amari Rodgers was released, leaving Nico Collins, Robert Woods, John Metchie, Xavier Hutchinson, Noah Brown, Tank Dell, and a few others in the WR room at Texans’ training camp.

🧲 Indianapolis Colts

Rookie QB Anthony Richardson had a procedure on his nose to repair his septum but will not miss any significant time.
RB Zack Moss suffered a broken forearm on Monday and will undergo surgery.

🐏 Los Angeles Rams

The Rams signed RB Royce Freeman just one day after Sony Michel called it a career following five NFL seasons.

🧢 New York Giants

WR Sterling Shepard was activated off the active/PUP list and fellow wideout Jameson Crowder is now active off the non-football injury list.

🌧️ Seattle Seahawks

Both Ken Walker and Zach Charbonnet are dealing with injuries at this point. It’s a groin for Walker and a shoulder issue for the rookie Charbonnet, with both out indefinitely.
TE Noah Fant (knee) was activated off the active/PUP list.

There are still some fantasy-relevant free agents that have yet to find a home for the 2023 season and beyond. Here’s a look at the top 10 and the best landing spots, if applicable, for our purposes.

Dalvin Cook, RB, 27 (Dolphins, Jets)
Ezekiel Elliott, RB, 28 (Cowboys…I guess)
Kareem Hunt, RB, 28 (Rams, Broncos, Buccaneers)
Leonard Fournette, RB, 28 (Steelers, Buccaneers)
Teddy Bridgewater, QB, 30 (Bears)
Jarvis Landry, WR, 30 (Bills)
Kenny Golladay, WR, 29
Darrell Henderson, RB, 26
Kenyan Drake, RB, 29
N’Keal Harry, WR, 25

Barry Sanders rushed for more than 1,000 yards in each of his 10 seasons in the NFL and was the first RB to do it. He was also the third RB to hit 2,000 yards in one singular season which happened in 1997. Here’s Sanders at Lions training camp in June of that year, just days after inking what proved to be a somewhat controversial contract, making him the highest-paid RB in the NFL. Much to the chagrin of both real and fantasy football fans, Sanders retired just one season later and was elected to the Pro Hall of Fame in 2014.