Buccaneers
- According to PFN’s Aaron Wilson, Buccaneers WR Chris Godwin is healthy enough to play, per league sources, but whether or not he actually suits up in Week 1 against the Cowboys is yet to be determined.
- Godwin tore his ACL last December but has returned to practice with almost no limitations and is ahead of schedule in his rehab. He hasn’t been cleared for contact but he has done just about everything else and shed his knee brace:
- Said a league source to Wilson: “He looks great out there, but it’s a judgment call. It’s just about making the best long-term decision for him and the team. He could go this week, and it wouldn’t be a problem. If they decided to wait until the second game, that would be fine, too. It’s not like they don’t have a lot of wide receivers for Tom Brady to throw to.”
- Godwin said he’s a game-time decision for Week 1. (Sara Walsh)
- Buccaneers veteran WR Julio Jones said he doesn’t have any lingering injuries going into this season after dealing with a hamstring issue last year: “Night and day. I feel amazing. I don’t have anything that’s lingering, anything that’s holding me back, anything I’m unsure about. I’m ready to go.” (Greg Auman)
Falcons
- Falcons DC Dean Pees said LB Mykal Walker will be their defensive play-caller and is confident that other players can handle the duty as well. (Michael Rothstein)
Panthers
Panthers first-round LT Ikem Ekwonu is the biggest addition Carolina made this offseason to fix a position that’s been a problem for them longer than their well-publicized quarterback issues. He doesn’t get to ease into things, however, with a Week 1 matchup against Browns DE Myles Garrett.
“When you’re as gifted as he is, in college a lot of times you’re going to just physically dominate guys the way you’re never going to do against Myles Garrett,” Panthers G Austin Corbett said via the Athletic’s Joe Person. “Ickey is smart, so he knows you have to be so precise with your technique in the NFL, especially against an elite rusher like Myles. If he doesn’t, Myles is going to expose him. There’s a game within the game as an NFL offensive lineman, and it’s not something rookies totally get right away. But it’s something he’s prepared for me because he works on the small details.”
- Panthers HC Matt Rhule commented on the addition of DL Henry Anderson, saying he impressed them during joint practices with the Patriots: “We’ve been looking for someone to play along with Yetur on first and second down. A big defensive end for us. We’ve got a lot of speed with Brian Burns, Marquis Haynes and Amare Barno.”
- It’s unclear if that will cut into snaps for former second-round DE Yetur Gross-Matos, who is hoping to take a big step in his third season: “I’ve always wanted to do what was best for the team and do whatever I could for the team. But it was frustrating not being able to go out there and play as much as I wanted to [last year]. But I think I’m now in a position to go out there and play and show what I can do. I want to make the most of it.”
- Panthers UDFA DT Marquan McCall was listed at 6-3 and 379 pounds in college at Kentucky, but says he weighed in at 343 on Monday: “They’ve been saying I was 370 for two years now. But I’ve been lost the weight. It’s been a long time coming from 380. Just glad I got it down and I’m maintaining now. So I’m good.”
- The Panthers worked out K Taylor Bertolet. (Aaron Wilson)
Saints
Saints WR Michael Thomas doesn’t think he has lost a step after dealing with injuries the last two years.
“How should I say it? I don’t want to give anything away, I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing,” Thomas said, via Luke Johnson of NOLA.com. “I believe in my talent, I believe in myself, I believe in my game, I believe in my craft. The good thing about this game is you can put it on display on Sunday, and I can’t wait to put it on display.”
Thomas believes he can return to his 2019 form when he set the NFL’s single-season receptions record and won the Offensive Player of the Year award.
“I’m trying to top that,” Thomas said. “I’m trying to top it for sure.”
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