Courtesy of Footballguys.com
CLE - QB Josh McCown likes his situation
Source: NFL.com - Kevin Patra
Cleveland Browns QB Josh McCown said the lack of quarterback competition helps the team overall. 'More than anything, for me, I just believe it takes away from any kind of distraction that you can have and the team can just move in one direction, regardless of who that guy is,'' McCown said. 'It's helpful to just say, 'this is our guy until something happens and he's not our guy.''
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McCown is pretty much locked in as the starter right now, but we'll see if Johnny Manziel can change that during training camp and preseason. The seasoned veteran will be running what likely will be a run-heavy offense for the Browns. We're not expecting anyone from the Browns' passing game to be much of a fantasy factor in 2015.
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DET - RB Joique Bell not taking role for granted
Source: NFL.com - Kevin Patra
Detroit Lions RB Joique Bell said he is not assuming he is going to be the starting back in 2015. 'I don't plan out the roles,' Bell said during OTAs. 'I go out to do what the team needs.'
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Fantasy owners can make that assumption right now. However, Bell will be challenged by rookie Ameer Abdullah (Lions). At this time, Bell is coming off the board at RB21 (4.12) in 12-team PPR leagues. Abdullah is getting drafted at RB41 (9.04) in those leagues. Bell should begin the season as the starter, but Abdullah might finish the season as the top back for the Lions. Stay tuned.
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BAL - Gillmore the starting tight end?
Source: Jamison Hensley - ESPN.com
Jamison Hensley, from ESPN.com, makes an educated guess that second-year pro Crockett Gillmore will be the Baltimore Ravens starting tight end to begin the regular season.
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Gillmore is going to compete with rookie tight end Maxx Williams for the starting job. The second-round pick reminds us of a young Jason Witten (Cowboys) because of his soft hands and run-after-the-catch ability. Gillmore is a decent all-purpose tight end, but he's nowhere near the athlete that Williams is. We'll see these two battle it out in training camp.
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BUF - QB EJ Manuel adds weight
Source: The Buffalo News - Vic Carucci
Buffalo Bills QB EJ Manuel said he added around 10 pounds of muscle this offseason in the hopes of staying healthy during the regular season. Manuel said he believes he still has his quickness and the ability to move around.
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Adding weight may not be the answer for Manuel staying healthy. He needs to learn when to slide after he crosses the line of scrimmage as a runner. We like that Manuel wants to fight for extra yards, but he needs to be safer when he scrambles.
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CAR - Extra snaps for WR Devin Funchess
Source: Panthers.com - Bryan Strickland
Carolina Panthers WR Devin Funchess has been seeing extra snaps while WR Kelvin Benjamin (hamstring) is sidelined, and head coach Ron Rivera said the extra work for Funchess has been an unintended plus.
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Funchess is a big target like Benjamin, and the Panthers are hopeful the rookie can develop into a quality starter. He's got the ability to be a factor in the red zone, but Funchess needs to catch passes with more consistency. Funchess too often lets passes into his body and fights passes that should be easy to snare.
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STL - A return for Quick in Week 1 is realistic
Source: Nick Wagoneer - ESPN.com
Nick Wagoneer, from ESPN.com, reports that a return of St. Louis Rams wide receiver Brian Quick in Week 1 of the regular season is a realistic possibility.
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Quick suffered a torn rotator cuff and separated shoulder last October. This injury is projected to keep him out of most, if not all, of the team's OTAs. We'll know more about his recovery when the team starts training camp later this year.
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MIA - Improved Red Zone offense this year?
Source: James Walker - ESPN.com
James Walker, from ESPN.com, reports the Dolphins have worked hard this offseason to improve their red-zone offense. Last year, Miami only scored on 51.5 percent of their trips into the red zone. That rate ranked 21 of 32 in the NFL, so the Dolphins went out of their way to add big targets like tight end Jordan Cameron (6'5") and rookie wide receiver DeVante Parker (6'3").
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The targets added (and subracted, Mike Wallace) should greatly help quarterback Ryan Tannehill. The Dolphins will still use Lamar Miller to pick up the tough yards on the ground, but they could try to connect on some jump passes when they get close to pay dirt. A more efficient red-zone offense will boost Tannehill's fantasy numbers....and consistency. Add Tannehill as a QB2 (current ADP of QB13, 9.10) with QB1 upside.
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CLE - QB Johnny Manziel Incident
Source: Mark Kay Cabot - Cleveland Plain Dealer
Mary Kay Cabot, from the Cleveland Plain Dealer, reports Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel was harassed by a fan at the Byron Nelson Classic on Saturday, but he handled it appropriately, his agent Erik Burkhardt told Northeast Ohio Media Group.
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Apparently, Manziel was getting harassed by an 18-year old "fan" and allegedly the Browns quarterback threw a water bottle at the kid. There was no sign of alcohol according to some reports. Manziel has been staying out of trouble this offseason after getting released from rehab earlier this year. We have a feeling that nothing will come of this.
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BUF - BUF not interested in RB Ray Rice
Source: ESPN.com - Mike Rodak
Free-agent RB Ray Rice (Ravens) is not a player the Buffalo Bills are interested in signing, according to a source.
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BREAKING: the team with one of the best running backs in the league (LeSean McCoy) and incredible depth at the position (Fred Jackson, Bryce Brown, Karlos Williams, Anthony Dixon) are unlikely to have interest in a back who is no longer what he used to be and didn't play football last year. It would be truly shocking if a team with a stacked depth chart at running back like the Bills would have interest in Rice.
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Source: footballguys.com