Good morning. Tomorrow marks the start of Preseason Week 1, and in classic TNF fashion, we’ll be stuck watching Panthers vs Patriots and Lions vs Giants.🙃

But then again, it’s preseason… if you’ll actually watch (like me), you’re desperate enough to enjoy any NFL football.

LATEST NEWS

Aiyuk on the Move?

🔥 Trade talks for 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk are heating up. Christian McCaffrey called him his “former teammate,” and reports are circulating that New England, Cleveland, or Pittsburgh are possible suitors.

The Steelers are reportedly Aiyuk’s “preferred destination,” but staying in San Francisco would be best for his fantasy value. Meanwhile, Deebo and George Kittle get massive bumps if the star WR leaves.

💪 Giants WR Malik Nabers continues to dominate. After torching his own team’s secondary (which is pretty easy to do), he continued his strong camp by making plays in joint practices against the Lions (and starting fights).

📢 The buzz around Bengals RB Chase Brown keeps getting louder. HC Zac Taylor praised his consistency, dependability, and pass blocking chops (one of the major question marks around his game). While OT Orlando Brown Jr. claimed he would take Brown as his “first running back” if he played fantasy football, also adding “he’s going to have a year. I guarantee it. Special talent, special player.” Follow this drum beat and ignore the fact that some unpaid intern listed him as RB2 on the depth chart.

👀 Justin Fields “absolutely has an opportunity” to win the Steelers’ QB competition, per The Athletic’s Diana Russini. Russell Wilson is slowly working his way back from a calf strain, but talk out of Pittsburgh is that Fields really impressed in Wilson’s absence. Certainly a competition to monitor this preseason.

✍ Other Notes:

• Vikings WR Jordan Addison’s looming suspension for a DUI might not be till next season.

• Rookie QBs Drake Maye (NE), J.J. McCarthy (MIN) and Bo Nix (DEN) are all still backups on their teams’ depth charts. Nix is the most likely of the bunch to start Week 1.

• Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb was placed on the Reserve/Did Not Report list. His holdout from training camp continues as he seeks a contract extension.

🚑 Injury Report

• 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey strained his calf and is likely to be out for the preseason. There’s no reason to expect him to miss Week 1 at this point, but it’s an injury to monitor. Meanwhile, backup RB Elijah Mitchell is also out with a hamstring strain, forcing to the team to re-sign veteran Matt Breida.
  

• Rams WR Puka Nacua is “week-to-week” with a knee injury, but HC Sean McVay expects him to be ready for Week 1.
  

• Lions TE Sam LaPorta has been sitting out with a hamstring injury. While these can linger, it doesn’t sound serious at the moment.
  

• 49ers rookie WR Ricky Pearsall left practice with a shoulder injury (after also opening camp on the NFI list with a bad hammy). Might be time to call Aiyuk’s agent back…

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