Mikel Leshoure has a torn Achilles' and is out for the season.
Perhaps the biggest post-lockout bummer so far. Leshoure was a good bet to lead the Lions in rushing stats this year, but suddenly Jahvid Best has basically no competition for snaps in an offense that should be very active this year.
DeSean Jackson ended his holdout.
The new CBA rules made this the likely case for Jackson, but it's also reassuring for his current or eventual fantasy owners that Jackson has said he'll practice and play in a fully cooperative fashion regardless of whether the Eagles give him a new contract. Given that he gave them that green light, it's tough to see why the Eagles would spend any time or cap space on a new deal for Jackson when they have his word that they'll get the same player on the current deal.
Ricky Williams signed with the Ravens.
It's tough to tell how much the 34-year-old has left in the tank, but he presumably can't be too far behind Willis McGahee, if at all. He'll presumably serve as Baltimore's short-yardage and maybe goal-line option, provided that he proves to be effective in those respective roles.
Knowshon Moreno is faster and in better shape during this training camp than any time in his career, the Denver Post reports.
Moreno may have disappointed to this point in his career, but John Fox runs the ball all day. And even when the Broncos don't run it, Moreno is easily the team's best passing-down running back. Even if his per-play numbers don't impress this year, Moreno's fantasy value should be good by default as a result of his workload. Either that or Willis McGahee is in for a fantasy football rebirth.
Danny Amendola had eight receptions for 70 yards and one touchdown during the Rams' inner-squad scrimmage Sunday.
It's tough to imagine how a guy who seems incapable of averaging 10 yards per catch could have such a steady role in a promising offense, but it looks like Amendola might approach 80 catches again in 2011. The Rams are absurdly deep at receiver, but he seems to be the likely reception leader among them, though Mike Sims-Walker and Danario Alexander (knee) could probably breeze past his yardage numbers with much lower reception totals.
Tashard Choice (calf) is in serious danger of losing his roster spot to Lonyae Miller.
This is surprising, but not surprising at the same time. Choice undoubtedly looked great as a rookie, but since then he has looked entirely unremarkable, and Jason Garrett has for whatever reason never seemed eager to get him on the field. Felix Jones is locked into Dallas' starting running back spot, and third-round pick DeMarco Murray is an instant improvement over Choice on passing downs. The reason Choice's roster spot isn't safe, however, is due to Miller, who has good size and great athleticism. He went undrafted because he was a backup at Fresno State, but he's impressing in Dallas' training camp.
The Bears and Dolphins implied that Devin Hester and Reggie Bush are starters for their respective teams.
Don't make much out of either assertion. There's no need to detail just how far Johnny Knox was ahead of Hester last year, and it's easy to argue that Earl Bennett and Roy Williams are better, too. And in Miami, Daniel Thomas is the feature running back. It's just preposterous to suggest otherwise--Every year that Bush received anything more than 70 carries, he failed to average any better than 3.8 yards per carry. His career average of 7.3 yards per catch is not impressive, either.
Mason Foster is listed as Tampa Bay's starting middle linebacker.
That's a depth chart move that's believable. Foster was a monster at Washington last year, ranking second in the nation with 162 tackles while totaling 6.5 sacks and 14.0 tackles for loss. Barrett Ruud was a top IDP option in Tampa Bay, and Foster should emerge as the same in good time.