Two more sleeps until the regular season begins!

• there's still no movement on the Le'Veon Bell contract front. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin wouldn't offer a specific cutoff date by which Bell would have to report in order to suit up Week 1, but the team will begin prepping for the Browns in earnest Wednesday, so the clock is ticking. If the 26-year-old does end up missing Sunday's game, second-year back James Conner would get the start, and also get an early jump on proving he can be Pittsburgh's lead back in 2019 once the front office lets Bell walk in free agency -- which seems like a near certainly at this point.
• while the immediate FAAB action in the San Francisco backfield went towards Alfred Morris, officially he and Matt Breida will be co-starters for the 49ers -- at least for now. Coach Kyle Shanahan is very comfortable with that sort of arrangement, but unlike Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman, Morris and Breida offer very different skills sets, so who "starts" and who gets the majority of touches in any given week may not be the same person and could depend on the matchup, and whether Shanahan feels Morris' grinding, between-the-tackles style or Breida's scatback approach is the better tool for a particular job. Both RBs could end up being viable fantasy plays on a regular basis, at least in deeper formats.
• in a bit of a surprise, Mike Gillislee has jumped all the way to the No. 2 spot on the Saints' RB depth chart just a couple of days after signing with the team, leaving sixth-round pick Boston Scott in the No. 3 role. Before you dip into your FAAB dollars expecting Gillislee to simply inherit all of Mark Ingram's touches while he's suspended, though, keep in mind that Adrian Peterson got parachuted into this offense last offseason and was a total flop, and he had more time to learn it than Gillislee will. Scott may still end up providing more value in that four-week window until Ingram returns, or both could be relative non-factors while Alvin Kamara runs wild.
• Alshon Jeffery has been officially ruled out for Thursday's season-opening tilt against the Falcons. Coach Doug Pederson described him as "week-to-week" as he recovers from February shoulder surgery, and the initial estimate of a two-game absence could yet prove to be optimistic. Mike Wallace will move into the starting lineup while Jeffery is sidelined.
• another receiver potentially facing a two-game absence is DeVante Parker, who's recovery from a preseason finger injury has been slow. The Dolphins open their schedule with a couple of exploitable matchups in the Titans and Jets, too, so it's a doubly cruel blow for anyone who gave Parker another chance in drafts. Assuming Danny Amendola remains in the slot, Albert Wilson figures to see the biggest expansion of his role while Parker is out, although expecting Ryan Tannehill to turn anyone into a useful fantasy option might be asking a bit too much.
• Chad Williams, and not second-round pick Christian Kirk, wound up with the No. 2 spot on the Cardinals' depth chart. Williams is coming off a miserable rookie season that saw him play only six games, but he was a third-round pick in 2017 in his own right so the draft pedigree is there. Kirk's still the one with all the helium at the draft table, and the Arizona passing game may not be able to support anyone outside of Larry Fitzgerald and David Johnson anyway, but Williams could very easily out-produce his rookie counterpart this season if last season's struggles helped him mature.
• finally, in "who let this guy talk in public?" news, Bucs GM Jason Licht actually suggested that Jameis Winston wasn't guaranteed his starting spot when he returns from his three-game suspension. Yeah, because Ryan Fitzpatrick is such a threat to steal the job against a season-opening slate that features the Saints, Eagles and Steelers. I mean sure, if Fitzmagic somehow goes 3-0 against that group, I suppose Tampa will have a tough decision to make, but otherwise this doesn't even pass the sniff test as a motivational tactic -- for either QB. If you've got Winston stashed, there's no reason to panic.