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Coach Kyle Shanahan said Thursday that Kittle (Achilles) is aiming to be ready for the 49ers' Week 1 game against the Rams, David Lombardi of SFStandard.com reports.

This has been the sentiment all offseason after Kittle suffered a "clean" tear near the soleus muscle higher up on the Achilles in the 49ers' wild-card win over Philadelphia back in January, which typically results in a quicker rehab process. Working against Kittle, however, is his advanced age (32 years old) and just eight months between the injury and Week 1. The 49ers are surely going to be careful with Kittle and not rush him back just to have him at less than 100 percent for the first game of the 2026 season. Jake Tonges (foot) would be next in line at tight end if Kittle isn't ready to face Los Angeles in four months.

Sports Illustrated's John Shipley projects Rodriguez to open the season as the Jaguars' lead running back.

"Though I am not sure there will be enough of a difference between [Rodriguez's] workload and Bhayshul Tuten's worth talking about," Shipley wrote Thursday. After Travis Etienne left for the Saints in free agency, Jacksonville signed Rodriguez to a two-year, $10 million deal. Rodriguez played for coach Liam Coen in college at Kentucky, and the Jaguars have pointed out how they like Rodriguez's ability to earn the tough yards after contact after he finished eighth out of 58 qualifying running backs in yards after contact per attempt (3.46) last season. The coaching staff certainly has an affinity for Rodriguez, and Tuten is going to have to show more than he did as a rookie (3.7 yards per carry) to earn more playing time.

Slayton (abdomen) recently underwent surgery on a core-muscle injury and will miss spring workouts, but he's expected to be available for training camp in July, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports.

Slayton is expected to face a multi-month recovery timeline, but he would have plenty of time to ramp up ahead of the regular season in September if the veteran wide receiver is indeed cleared by the start of training camp. The Giants lost 2025 target leader Wan'Dale Robinson in free agency but are expected to get top wide receiver Malik Nabers (knee) back in 2026 and bolstered their wide receiver room by signing Darnell Mooney and Calvin Austin, in addition to drafting Malachi Fields in the third round, providing competition for Slayton's starting job.

Ekeler (Achilles) recently received full medical clearance for football activities and intends to continue his playing career in 2026, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Ekeler's 2025 season with the Commanders came to an end in Week 2, when he tore his right Achilles tendon on a non-contact play. The veteran running back underwent surgery soon thereafter and has apparently made a smooth recovery. While he's set to turn 31 years old in May, Ekeler isn't far removed from being one of the NFL's top pass-catching backs and could offer some utility in a depth role. Ekeler remains a free agent, but now that he's been given a clean bill of health, his market could pick up as teams look to fill out their running-back rooms prior to training camp.

Seattle signed Bryant on Wednesday, Ari Horton of the Seahawks' official site reports.

The details of the deal are unknown at this point, but Bryant fits with the Seahawks' recent approach of seeking out hard-nosed tight ends. As for his competition, 2024 fourth-rounder AJ Barner, 2025 second-rounder Elijah Arroyo and veteran Eric Saubert are all likely to make Seattle's 53-man roster to start the 2026 season, but there's a decent chance the team keeps four tight ends, meaning one of Bryant or Nick Kallerup could potentially make the opening roster too.

The Bills signed VanSumeren (knee) to a one-year contract Wednesday, Alec White of the Bills' official site reports.

Philadelphia opted not to tender VanSumeren after his third season with the team back in March, but it didn't take long for him to get another shot with a new squad. His 2025 season ended prematurely due to him tearing his patella tendon during the opening kickoff of Week 1, but in the two years prior, his elite speed, strength and explosiveness allowed him to earn opportunities on special teams.

Kansas City waived Powell on Wednesday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

After signing Emari Demercado in March and using a fifth-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft on Emmett Johnson on Saturday, the Chiefs found that they didn't have room for Powell anymore. The undersized running back will now have to look for another opportunity with a different team.

Pickens has officially signed his franchise tag with the Cowboys, Todd Archer of ESPN.com reports.

Pickens signing the tag was expected, and now the wideout is guaranteed $27.3 million for the 2026 season. As things stand, the Cowboys have a clear-cut 1-2 punch atop their WR depth chart in CeeDee Lamb and Pickens. Regarding speculation that the team could consider moving Pickens, Jon Machota of The Athletic notes that Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones made it clear after Day 1 of last week's draft that the team has no interest in trading the 2022 second-rounder. In his first season with Dallas, Pickens recorded a fantasy-friendly 93/1,429/9 receiving line across 17 regular-season contests.

The Panthers have officially exercised the fifth-year option on Young's rookie contract, Darin Gantt of the team's official site reports.

The anticipated move will keep the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft under contract with Carolina through the 2027 season. The 24-year-old is coming off a career year in 2025, during which he set new highs in passing yards (3,011), TDs (23), completion percentage (63.6) and passer rating (87.8), among other other categories, over the course of 16 regular-season contests. Since then, the Panthers signed Kenny Pickett to back up Young and added deep threat Chris Brazzell in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft, providing Young a player with upside to fortify a WR corps that returns Tetairoa McMillan, Jalen Coker and Xavier Legette.

Coach Todd Monken hopes to identify the Browns' starting QB by the end of the team's minicamp June 9-11, according to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Sanders and Deshaun Watson are considered the top two candidates to land the job.

Per Cabot, Watson reportedly emerged from the team's voluntary minicamp last week with an edge over Sanders, which may give the veteran signal caller the inside track to the assignment, but Sanders does have time to make up ground before Monken makes the call. Also in Cleveland's QB mix are 2025 third-rounder Dillon Gabriel and 2026 sixth-rounder Taylen Green, but Cabot suggests that they will largely be vying for the developmental third spot on the roster. In any case, this is a job competition worth closely monitoring in the coming weeks/months, with the Browns slated to approach the coming campaign with an intriguing group of pass-catchers that includes returning WRs Jerry Jeudy, Cedric Tillman and Isaiah Bond, along with TE Harold Fannin,as well as a pair of talented rookie wideouts in KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston.