NFL Player News

With the Patriots having selected two wide receivers in the 2024 NFL Draft, Thornton's standing on the team's depth chart is unclear ahead of training camp, per Chad Graff of the Athletic.

In his post-draft roster assessment, Graff suggests that Thornton, who is presumably past the ankle issue that sidelined him in the Patriots' 2023 regular-season finale, isn't a roster lock ahead of Week 1. Over the first two years of his pro career, the 2022 second-rounder has had trouble staying on the field and has been limited to 35 catches in 22 contests in that span. While Thornton's speed could help him stick around if he has a strong summer, for now he currently has Kendrick Bourne, Ja'Lynn Polk, Demario Douglas, Javon Baker, K.J. Osborn, Jalen Reagor, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Kayshon Boutte to contend with for depth chart slotting.

Boyd and the Titans agreed to terms Tuesday on a one-year contract worth up to $4.5 million, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports.

Boyd becomes the newest member of a revamped Tennessee wide receiver corps that added Calvin Ridley atop the depth chart in free agency, joining DeAndre Hopkins and Treylon Burks. Ridley and Hopkins figure to operate as Will Levis' clear top targets, as both exceeded 1,000 receiving yards last season. Boyd's experience as a slot option could make him the favorite to secure the No. 3 role over Burks, who lined up in the slot over 60 percent of the time last year. In both 2018 and 2019, Boyd himself topped 1,000 yards, but in four seasons since took a clear backseat to Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins with the Bengals.

Texans Chief Executive Officer Cal McNair indicated Monday that Dell (leg) is expected to make a "full recovery" from what the team has described as a minor wound that occurred during an April 27th shooting, the Associated Press reports.

Though McNair didn't provide details on the nature of the wideout's injury, he noted "it looks like Tank will make a full recovery. We saw him in the office the other day and he looked good, in good spirits. But he'll have to rehab and get back to where he was." Per the report, Dell has recovered from a fibula injury that he sustained last December, but it remains to be seen if the 2023 third-rounder's participation in the Texans' upcoming OTAs will be impacted by the wound he sustained last month. Once Dell has recovered, he'll be in line to reclaim his role in a Houston wide receiver corps that also returns Nico Collins, Robert Woods, Noah Brown and John Metchie, and has been bolstered by high-profile trade acquisition Stefon Diggs. In 11 regular-season games in 2023, Dell made his mark as a rookie by recording a 47-709-7 receiving line, while serving as a key pass-catching option for ascending signal-caller C.J. Stroud.

Stanley signed with the Packers as an undrafted free agent Monday.

The wide receiver spent his last two collegiate seasons with Iowa State, starting nine games and recording 48 catches for 559 yards and a touchdown. Stanley also caught 70 balls for 820 yards and four touchdowns across four seasons at Colorado. The rookie joins a crowded Green Bay WR depth chart ahead of OTAs.

Hicks signed with the Packers as an undrafted free agent Monday.

The wide receiver caught 72 passes for 1,139 yards and 17 touchdowns over his final two college seasons with the University of Albany. Hicks also played collegiate ball for Central Michigan and Akron. The rookie joins a deep Green Bay WR depth chart ahead of OTAs.

The Raiders signed Guyton to a contract Monday, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports.

Guyton is coming off a 2023 season in which a leg injury forced him to spend the first eight games on the PUP list, and he ended the next eight contests with a disappointing total of 10 catches (on 21 targets) for 89 yards and a touchdown. In the past, Guyton has been a serviceable deep threat, having put up a career-best 31-448-3 line on 48 targets back in 2021. He'll compete for a depth role behind Davante Adams, Jakobi Meyers and Michael Gallup in Las Vegas.

Robinson could challenge for the team lead in targets even though the Giants took Malik Nabers with the sixth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, according to Dan Salomone and Matt Citak of the team's official site.

The three writers surveyed from Giants.com all agreed Nabers is a favorite to lead the team in targets, with two of the three mentioning Robinson as a candidate to give the rookie a run for his money. A 2022 second-round pick, Robinson got 31 targets on 164 routes (18.9 percent) his rookie year before he suffered an ACL tear, then had 78 looks on 490 routes (15.9 percent) last season. While he's never drawn targets at a particularly high rate, he did have a decent run of production after New York's Week 13 bye last season, averaging 4.8 catches for 52.0 yards over the final five games while taking three carries for 60 yards and a TD. A healthy offseason without rehab from major surgery should help the 23-year-old improve in 2024, though he may still be largely limited to the slot and is both smaller and slower than Nabers. The Giants' other wide receivers -- Darius Slayton, Jalin Hyatt, Isaiah Hodgins, Isaiah McKenzie, etc. -- are all guys that wouldn't be likely to see too many targets even if they got a lot of playing time. Nabers and Robinson mostly figure to work with QB Drew Lock this offseason, as Daniel Jones is still rehabbing from an ACL tear.

Olave once again is in line to serve as the focal point of New Orleans' passing attack after the team added just one wide receiver in the 2024 NFL Draft, selecting Bub Means at No. 170 overall.

Olave is coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons to begin his career. The 2022 first-round pick has provided much-needed juice to an otherwise stale Saints offense. In fact, he's the only receiver to put up more than 720 yards in either of the past two seasons, as the team relied largely on aging veterans like Michael Thomas and Jarvis Landry to buoy the passing game. New Orleans then moved on from Landry during the 2023 offseason before cutting Thomas in March. Meanwhile, the team went cheap with its additions at the position, signing free agents Cedrick Wilson and Equanimeous St. Brown and waiting until the fifth round to draft Means. As a result, the Saints will more than likely enter the 2024 campaign with three pass catchers who have recorded more than 500 yards in a single season: Olave, No.2 wide receiver Rashid Shaheed and tight end Juwan Johnson. A.T. Perry, a 2023 sixth-round pick, will likely round out this receiving room, which Olave should clearly lead this season.

49ers GM John Lynch recently told ESPN's Pat McAfee Show that he doesn't want to trade Aiyuk or Deebo Samuel despite taking Ricky Pearsall in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

Trade rumors earlier in the offseason centered on Aiyuk, who is scheduled to play out 2024 under the fifth-year option on his rookie contract. After the Niners drafted Pearsall, a few reporters suggested Samuel was actually more likely to be moved, in which case the Niners presumably would place greater emphasis on signing Aiyuk to a long-term deal. It now appears both will stay with the team this season, as will returning No. 3 receiver Jauan Jennings. That's not a guarantee, but it at least seems more likely that spring 2025 will be the break-up date for San Francisco's veteran WR corps. Aiyuk and Jennings are only under contract through 2024, while Samuel has two more years on his deal but no guaranteed money after this season.

The Chiefs waived Gathings on Saturday, Matt Derrick of ChiefsDigest.com reports.

Gathings inked a reserve/future deal with Kansas City back in February after being part of the team's practice squad for nearly two months to close out the 2023 campaign. He's yet to play in a regular-season game.