Adrian Peterson didn't practice on Wednesday after suffering a minor thigh bruise during Tuesday's session. The Vikings will likely be very cautious throughout camp and it remains to be seen whether or not the 30-year old running back will even play at all during the preseason. After missing all but one game during the 2014 season due to a suspension, he will look to re-establish himself as one of the best running backs in the NFL in 2015. Peterson rushed for double-digit touchdowns in each of his first seven seasons prior to last year, and it could be scary to see what kind of numbers he can put up on fresh legs after a year of rest. He's made it very clear in the past that breaking the single-season rushing record is on his list of goals, and personally, I wouldn't bet against him.
Despite being held out of recent drills over the last week or so, Eagles' running back DeMarco Murray insists that he's 100-percent. He missed the first two practices of camp due to an illness, and he's been limited throughout practice ever since. While questions have begun to rise regarding his status, it could be safe to assume that the Eagles are just being cautious with a guy who received 449 touches last season which is the sixth highest number in NFL history. Murray rushed for 1,845 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2014, and it marked the first season of his career in which he played all 16 games. The 27-year old running back struggled with injuries during his first three years in the league, and when you pair that with the high volume of touches from last season, it's likely that the Eagles will take every precaution necessary to keep him healthy.
Jeremy Maclin returned to practice on Wednesday after sitting out the last two days with a neck strain. The injury was expected to be minor but the Chiefs just wanted to be cautious with their newly acquired star wide receiver who is no stranger to injuries. Maclin missed the entire 2013 season after he suffered a torn ACL during a preseason practice in July. He bounced back nicely in 2014, however, when he hauled in 85 passes for 1,318 yards and 10 touchdowns for the Eagles. It remains to be seen what his first year in Kansas City will bring, but the one thing we do know is that the Chiefs didn't complete a single touchdown pass to a receiver last season. The 27-year old speedster should certainly be an upgrade to the Chiefs' receiving corps and will likely break that trend in 2015, but it'd be hard to imagine a scenario in which Maclin puts up the same type of numbers he did last year.
Tom Brady missed practice on Tuesday and is not expected to play in Thursday's preseason game against the Packers. Jimmy Garoppolo will start in his absence and is likely to see the majority of the snaps throughout the game. The 23-year old quarterback is in line to start the first four games of the regular season while Brady serves his suspension for his involvement in "Deflategate." Garoppolo is a former standout at Eastern Illinois, where he threw for 13,156 yards and 118 touchdowns in four seasons. The second-year quarterback only registered 27 pass attempts during his rookie year; therefore the snaps throughout the preseason will be crucial in his development. It will be interesting to see how he builds chemistry during the first few games with guys like Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman, who've been very popular in the early fantasy drafts of 2015.
One of the most talked about and most mysterious competition battles of this offseason involves another signal-caller that used to backup Tom Brady, and that player would be Matt Cassel. After Brady went down in Week 1 of the 2008 season with a torn ACL, Cassel emerged onto the scene as he led the Patriots to an 11-5 regular season record while throwing for 3,693 yards and 21 touchdowns. The 33-year old quarterback then played four seasons in Kansas City and two in Minnesota before landing in Buffalo earlier this offseason. During Tuesday's practice, Cassel received about half of the snaps with the starters while teammates EJ Manuel and Tyrod Taylor split the other half. Cassel was named the starting quarterback for the upcoming preseason opener which would obviously suggest that he's the No. 1 guy at this point in the race. The Bills have an amazing talent in Sammy Watkins at wide receiver, and with the recent acquisitions of LeSean McCoy and Percy Harvin, the Bills' offense could be very dangerous. If Cassel ends up being the guy in Week 1, he could certainly be considered a solid late round fantasy quarterback in deeper leagues.