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Fantasy Football NFL Training Camp Roundup: Still waiting on Matthew Stafford, Rashee Rice's value takes a hit

One of the biggest questions fantasy football managers are facing at the moment is this: When will Rams QB Matthew Stafford return to practice? He's been sidelined the past few weeks due to a back injury and Los Angeles is playing it safe with its 37-year-old starting QB. As a result, there's plenty of people questioning whether Stafford will be ready for the start of the regular season. He was supposed to be back at practice on Monday but didn't. The team is going to work him out on Saturday and see if he can return next week. Back injuries are never fun, especially for a position as taxing as quarterback.

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The real kicker here is the potential trickle-down impact it'll have on the Rams' offensive skill position players. The two big-name WRs — Puka Nacua and Davante Adams — are currently being drafted among the top-20 wideouts in fantasy on Yahoo. Jimmy Garoppolo is the backup QB in L.A. and if he were thrust into starting Week 1, it would put a dent in the value of those receivers. Subsequently, we'd have to consider Kyren Williams as more than just a fringe RB1 and potentially a very solid RB1 option around the 2-3 turn in drafts.

As always, continue to monitor the Stafford situation leading up to your draft. Nacua and Adams may be worth fading at their current ADPs if Jimmy G is going to have to play early. Those two WRs could also drop in your draft and actually become appealing values.

Anyway, let's get into the rest of the most notable news from this week coming out of NFL training camps and how those stories impact fantasy football.

Rashee Rice won't start the season suspended

We got some big news on the Rice front with his disciplinary hearing not taking place until Sept. 30, which would make him eligible to play in the first four games of the regular season. Now, that doesn't mean he won't be handed a suspension, it simply means that suspension would happen after the season begins. We're unsure how many games the Kansas City Chiefs WR will be suspended for but speculation is anywhere from 4-8.

While having Rice to start the season is great, missing him for a chunk of the middle of the schedule is less than ideal. The Chiefs play the Chargers, Eagles, Giants and Ravens to begin 2025. That early schedule is pretty tough. Rice's ADP is dropping rapidly on Yahoo and the only way he becomes appealing in drafts is if he plummets. Yahoo analyst Matt Harmon went into the Rice situation a bit deeper and believes it may be best to avoid the wideout.

Another top RB gets his contract

You can't tell me that the Bills didn't drag out the James Cook contract situation for good TV on Hard Knocks. I know, that's a bit out there but it does provide good fodder for an episode. Anyway, Cook got a four-year, $48 million deal, ending his hold-in at training camp. Now, Buffalo's top back can return to practice and get some playing time in preseason before trying to lead the NFL in rushing TDs for a second straight season.

There isn't much to see here in terms of fantasy football but it does give managers some solace in selecting the Bills back in drafts. Cook is the RB14 on Yahoo in terms of ADP right now after finishing inside the top 10 among backs last season (RB8). There's definitely some value in targeting Cook as your RB1 if you can grab him in the third or fourth round.

Injuries beginning to pile up on Packers offense

We've still got plenty of time before the start of the regular season but the Green Bay Packers are already going through it. This week, Packers QB Jordan Love underwent a procedure to repair a ligament in his non-throwing thumb. Last week in the preseason opener, WR Jayden Reed was seen in a walking boot. WR Romeo Doubs went down after a scary fall in practice but is said to be OK. Christian Watson is going to start the season on the PUP List. And Dontayvion Wicks has a calf injury. That's pretty much the entire Packers passing game.

Love is only out this week and is expected to return to practice next week. He likely won't play until the regular-season opener, however, which could set back the offense a tad. Rookie WR Matthew Golden gets a nice bump for fantasy football. He's being selected on average as the WR46 on Yahoo. Golden could be the team's No. 1 WR in Week 1 and that's simply because of opportunity. He was already an appealing sleeper given how he's looked at camp. TE Tucker Kraft also gets a bit of a bump if Reed, Wicks and Doubs are banged up to start the season.

The Detroit Lions are facing some of the most significant turnover in their coaching staff going into 2025. Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn are both gone and new head coaches elsewhere. So the Lions are going through some growing pains during the first few weeks of camp. Top WR Amon-Ra St. Brown commented on the struggles and it doesn't sound like he's too concerned.

"Things can get tough. But for us as an offense, we know the ability that we have, the playmakers we have, the quarterback we have, the O-line, so it's just a matter of time for us. Keep getting better and improving is the name of the game for us right now."

Losing an OC like Johnson, you're almost always going to take a step back. But how far of a step? This isn't a reason to panic and avoid drafting guys like St. Brown and RB Jahmyr Gibbs in fantasy. It is worth considering if you're faced with a tough decision at the top of your draft. If the offense and O-Line regresses, it may not impact Amon-Ra and Gibbs much. It could impact secondary pieces like Jameson Williams, Sam LaPorta and David Montgomery. Keep an eye on the Lions in preseason and more stories coming out of practice.

Chargers backfield morphing into a committee

For all of training camp and preseason, Chargers RB Najee Harris has been sidelined recovering from an offseason eye injury. It appears Harris is nearing a return and it could create more of a committee in the Los Angeles backfield with rookie RB Omarion Hampton. The first-round pick in 2025 was looking like he'd hit the ground running in his first NFL season, taking the lead-back role right away. Now, that picture is a bit murky if Harris can get back on track and be ready for Week 1.

Hampton has been being selected very high, as the RB13 on Yahoo. If Harris gets back on the field, expect that ADP to drop a bit. People could get scared off of Hampton to some degree with the presence of Harris. We could see the two split time early in the season or head coach Jim Harbaugh rides the hot hand. Either way, it may be wise to proceed with caution when drafting Hampton that high; he's going as early as the third round in some drafts lately.

Shedeur Sanders' bid to be starting QB takes hit

We'll do a quick note on the Cleveland Browns' rookie QB and his oblique injury. He's being considered day-to-day right now as the Browns head into Week 2 of the preseason vs. the Philadelphia Eagles. Sanders looked great in the preseason opener, throwing for 138 yards and two TDs (106.8 passer rating). It was looking like Sanders would have a decent shot at winning the starting QB job. Now, that's unclear.

For fantasy, the Browns appear volatile, especially if Sanders isn't going to start at QB in Week 1. It's looking like veteran Joe Flacco will start as QB1. That may not be bad for WR Jerry Jeudy and TE David Njoku but it's definitely not getting fantasy managers super excited. Hopefully Sanders can shake off this injury and make the Browns worth watching to begin 2025.

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