All 32 teams are gearing up for their first preseason game, with the Hall of Fame Game slated to kick-off the season this Thursday. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the important news coming from training camps around the league.
In Miami, Dolphins head coach Brian Flores told reporters Ryan Fitzpatrick has pulled ahead of Josh Rosen in the team’s quarterback competition. The 14-year veteran set the NFL on fire at the onset of 2018, but struggled after his hot start, going 0-5 in his final five starts.
Rosen was acquired by Miami in a trade following the draft. The 10th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Rosen was successful on just 36 percent of his passes during his rookie season, ranking ahead of only three other qualified passers.
Meanwhile, Andrew Luck has been shut down for the remainder of the week by the Colts medical staff due to an injured calf. Head coach Frank Reich noted he wasn’t planning on having his franchise quarterback play in the Colts’ preseason opener and Luck was adamant his Achilles is not at risk for a tear.
This injury first popped up in OTAs and despite the Colts claiming they aren’t worried, it certainly isn’t ideal that Luck has been dealing with this injury for three months.
Speaking of injured calves, Titans running back Derrick Henry is currently wearing a walking boot due to the same injury. Although the injury is not considered too serious right now, it could be an issue for Tennessee if Henry isn’t ready to start the season or this injury flares up down the road.
The Titans ran the ball 48 percent of the time in 2018, second-most in the NFL. Henry led the NFL in carries during the final three weeks of the season and his 57 percent success rate was tops in the league as well. It’s smart for the Titans to take caution because their offensive strategy will hinge on Henry’s availability.
The Seattle Seahawks’ first-round pick LJ Collier was carted off the field and evaluated for an ankle injury. Seattle already lost its top sacker from a season ago, Frank Clark, and Jarran Reed is suspended for the first six games of the season.
Collier was expected to play a huge role in his rookie season and the loss of the first-round pick would be detrimental to the Seattle defense. The Seahawks are playing Ben Roethlisberger, Drew Brees, Jared Goff and Baker Mayfield during Reed’s suspension. The latest reports suggest the injury is just a sprained ankle, but that could still keep him out of the preseason.
Jared Cook has been turning heads during his first training camp with the Saints. The 32-year-old had his best season in 2018, making the Pro Bowl and setting career-highs in catches, receiving yards and touchdowns with the Oakland Raiders.
Brees struggled to get the ball to his tight ends in the red zone last year, completing just two touchdowns to them inside the 10-yard-line. The addition of Cook gives the veteran quarterback a real threat over the middle of the field and the tight end could be looking at another big season, perhaps at the expense of some of the Saints’ other weapons.
