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ESPN staff
It’s the first day of September, which means training camp is nearing its end and real football is on the near horizon. On Tuesday, New York Giants coach Joe Judge got wet and wild during a fumble drill and Minnesota Vikings Pro Bowl safety Anthony Harris sang “Happy Birthday” to his mother.
Here’s what you need to know from camps across the NFL:
Jump to the best of the day:
Photos | Videos | Quotes
Top news of the day
Source: Joe Mixon, Bengals agree to 4-year extension
Joe Mixon and the Cincinnati Bengals have agreed to a four-year extension that will keep him under contract with Cincinnati for five more seasons, a source tells ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The language of the deal was still being finalized Tuesday afternoon, the source told Schefter. Mixon, a second-round pick in the 2017 draft, is entering the final year of his rookie deal. The former Oklahoma star told ESPN at the end of last season that he wants to be a “Bengal for life,” amid early speculation about his contract situation.
Source: Leonard Fournette files $4.167M grievance against Jags
Leonard Fournette officially has filed a grievance against the Jacksonville Jaguars to try to recoup the $4.167 million in base salary that the team voided, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The Jaguars waived Fournette on Monday. They didn’t pick up his fifth-year option during the offseason and actively pursued a trade without receiving any serious offers.
Source: Riley Reiff to stay with Vikings, starts working on restructured deal
Veteran left tackle Riley Reiff began the process of restructuring his deal Tuesday so he can stay in Minnesota, helping the Minnesota Vikings avoid a major shake-up late in the preseason with their offensive line, a league source told ESPN’s Field Yates. Terms of the restructure have not been released, but it will create ample salary cap space for the Vikings, who had less than $1 million to work with after signing defensive end Yannick Ngakoue to a one-year deal worth $12 million upon executing a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars for the recently franchised Pro Bowler.
Lions, lineman Taylor Decker reach six-year, $85M extension, agents say
The Detroit Lions have agreed to terms with left tackle Taylor Decker on a six-year, $85 million contract extension with $37.5 million fully guaranteed, his agents announced on Twitter on Tuesday. He was the 16th overall pick in the 2016 draft — the team’s first selection with general manager Bob Quinn. Decker started working with the first team during his first week with the Lions and has protected the blind side of Matthew Stafford since.
Raiders place WR Tyrell Williams on season-ending IR
The Las Vegas Raiders have placed wide receiver Tyrell Williams on season-ending injured reserve. Williams had been dealing with a torn labrum, and a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that he will have surgery on the shoulder that will sideline him for six months.
Best videos
Show ’em how it’s done Coach Judge ? pic.twitter.com/mzlanDhlgd
— New York Giants (@Giants) September 1, 2020
Happy birthday @HOOSDatDude‘s mom! pic.twitter.com/nes7ZJUogJ
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 1, 2020
Miami Dolphins but make it @SpongeBob
? @_TheDreamIsHere pic.twitter.com/KgMqRJjmeg
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) September 1, 2020
Droppin’ dimes. ?@JoshAllenQB | @StefonDiggs pic.twitter.com/ZlozA2bpSa
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) September 1, 2020
WE OUT HERE❗️@QOllison pic.twitter.com/lAisqtCptk
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) September 1, 2020
Watch your Jewells around @VonMiller. ? pic.twitter.com/WV7wYnSmUk
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) September 1, 2020
Thank goodness for the gold jerseys ? pic.twitter.com/OffIDwfpcA
— Washington Football Team (@WashingtonNFL) September 1, 2020
QB’s beware. ?? @JIHADWARD17 pic.twitter.com/RPAdgxaG0z
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) September 1, 2020
show ’em, case ‼️@show_case29 | #BoltUp pic.twitter.com/CGfGo0ZReC
— Los Angeles Chargers (@Chargers) September 1, 2020
.@JaredGoff16 ➡️ @J_Rey_11‼️ https://t.co/rJMkOwcOE1 pic.twitter.com/ZIVvahIln5
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) September 1, 2020
Best photos
Zoom in on Zeke’s visor ?#FeedZeke | @EzekielElliott pic.twitter.com/oNGrVweXjX
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) September 1, 2020
Another day closer ?
?: https://t.co/Nw5twC2V4D pic.twitter.com/OTQOYxq4YL
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) September 1, 2020
.@joehaden23 & @minkfitz_21 led the team with 5️⃣ interceptions each last season.
How many picks will they get in 2020? pic.twitter.com/831u7IR2a4
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 1, 2020
We have something to prove, we have nothing to lose ?
?: https://t.co/PLQSd75BR7 pic.twitter.com/Ng8U88cqda
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) September 1, 2020
September ball. ? pic.twitter.com/E7qkOCLq3q
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) September 1, 2020
Quotes of the day
“I’m not saying that you have to have four games or three games or two but you’d like to at least have a dry run on it.” Andy Reid, ruing the lack of preseason games this year.
“Judge, Judge, Judge!” New York Giants players, encouraging Joe Judge during their “slip-and-slide” fumble drill.
What our NFL Nation reporters saw Tuesday
It’s 13 days before the season opener and the Patriots had their second straight practice without two key players on the offensive line — center David Andrews and left tackle Isaiah Wynn. The best-case scenario for the team is that it’s just maintenance-based. But their absences have shined a spotlight on how the Patriots are young and unproven at their depth spots. — Mike Reiss
The Dolphins quarterback battle isn’t officially closed but Ryan Fitzpatrick has been the expected starter all summer and nothing has changed there. The more intriguing battle is between Tua Tagovailoa and Josh Rosen for the No. 2 role and the right to be active on game days. Coach Brian Flores notes it has been 10 months since Tagovailoa’s hip injury, which he deemed “pretty serious,” and though he looks healthy it is a factor in that battle. They seem willing to be cautious with Tagovailoa, who had begun to get a lot more reps than Rosen over the past week. — Cameron Wolfe
Finally, some good injury news for the Jets: Nickelback Brian Poole, sidelined since the first day of training camp, returned to team drills. Poole suffered an extreme reaction to dehydration, which he called “pretty scary.” The cramps were so bad that he spent a couple of hours in the hospital. But now he’s back and should be ready for Week 1. Rookie RB La’Mical Perine, initially feared to have suffered a bad ankle injury on Sunday, has a low-ankle sprain. They “got lucky,” coach Adam Gase said. — Rich Cimini
Mark Ingram II remains the starting running back for the Ravens, but coach John Harbaugh said rookie J.K. Dobbins is probably going to have “a significant role.” Dobbins has been the most impressive rookie in Baltimore’s training camp, running with explosiveness and providing highlight-reel catches. “Confidence plus coachability plus talent, that’s a pretty good combination and he’s got all of that,” Harbaugh said of the second-round pick. — Jamison Hensley
Washington’s training camp portion ended Monday and players had the day off Tuesday. But one thing was clear during the two weeks open to the media: Safety Troy Apke was a different player than he was in the past two summers. He’s consistently worked with the starters ahead of free-agent acquisition Sean Davis. Coaches and teammates liked his awareness in the deep middle and say his angles have improved. The key for him will be carrying that improvement into games. “He’s putting the time into them, and that’s why he’s putting himself in the position to make plays,” Rivera said of his angles. “I think he’s improved his angles and he’s playing with a little more confidence and a little bit more tempo.” — John Keim
The Saints had a scheduled day off Tuesday, so we aren’t sure yet if Alvin Kamara plans to return to practice. But it’s possible that Joe Mixon’s new deal with the Bengals could help shape the value for a Kamara contract extension. It’s unclear how far apart the two sides are in their negotiations. But the Saints are willing to make a long-term commitment to Kamara despite their salary-cap limitations, because he brings so much value as both a runner and receiver. — Mike Triplett
It might be no big deal, but it was at least noteworthy that Julio Jones wore a compression sock on his left leg during Tuesday’s practice. Jones rubbed the back of the leg before one drill. Coach Dan Quinn didn’t indicate any injury with Jones, although the star receiver was not a part of the team’s “mock game” last Friday. Jones did catch passes in the drills leading up to the mock game. Jones seems to get dinged every now and then and typically plays through it. … The bigger concern for the Falcons could be the status of top pass-rusher Dante Fowler Jr. and rookie left guard Matt Hennessy, both missing from practice again. Fowler started wearing a large knee brace last week, but Quinn called it an ankle injury, while Hennessy banged his right knee and doesn’t look ready to run full speed with the opener against Seattle around the corner. — Vaughn McClure
Because there are no preseason games, Broncos coach Vic Fangio has elected to go without a script on offense at times during practices. It allows offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur to call plays live to quarterback Drew Lock based on down and distance, as well as field position and end-of-half or end-of-game situations. “We’ve done it a pretty good bit. We had, I believe, three of those periods (Tuesday) and we’ve been averaging two or three a day,” Fangio said. “(The) entire practice (Saturday) at the stadium … was unscripted.” That doesn’t mean it’s all been smooth sailing during the installation of the new playbook. The Broncos have had some difficulty getting the plans in on occasion during those unscripted periods, but Fangio is pushing to smooth out some of those rough edges before the season opener Sept. 14 against the Titans. — Jeff Legwold
With camp finished and the Chiefs having turned their attention to their Sept. 10 season opener against the Texans, coach Andy Reid said he was eager to get back to a more normal routine. What he missed this preseason most of all? “I like the preseason games, whatever amount that you get. I think it’s good really for the young guys. It’s also good for the coaches on the sideline and the players on the field for the (starters), the guys that are going to play in the game. Just going through that routine is healthy. I’m not saying that you have to have four games or three games or two, but you’d like to at least have a dry run on it.” — Adam Teicher
Starting RG Nate Davis was carted off the field and helped into the building by two trainers. He was favoring his left leg. Earlier in the day, OLB Derick Roberson was carted off and favored his right leg. A.J. Brown left early but he jogged off on his own. Brown returned after missing two consecutive practices. He took part in individual drills and did some wind sprints on a separate field before leaving when the team transitioned to a special-teams period. — Turron Davenport
The Giants just finished practice with a slip-and-slide fumble drill. Starting middle linebacker Blake Martinez said it made him feel like a “kid” for a bit. The drill involved water, a hose, and sliding like a child looking to secure a football. It ended with players chanting “Judge, Judge, Judge” before coach Joe Judge sliding into what looked like a mud pile. An old Patriots drill, only not quite exactly the same. Doubt Bill Belichick took part in New England’s version. — Jordan Raanan
Eagles QB Carson Wentz remained sidelined Tuesday with a soft-tissue injury. Coach Doug Pederson emphasized that it is nothing major, and that Wentz would be resting this week anyway in a normal preseason. A bigger concern may be his blind side, as Jason Peters continues to work at right guard while the inexperienced Matt Pryor takes reps at left tackle. “Jason Peters for us has done an outstanding job at right guard. He’s comfortable at right guard,” Pederson said. “We have some options at left tackle that we’re working through over there.” — Tim McManus
Riley Reiff is staying put in Minnesota after agreeing to a contract restructure, but did not suit up for practice Tuesday. The left tackle was spotted in the weight room at the end of the portion open to media where Danielle Hunter, who has now missed 13 straight practices, was working with strength and conditioning coaches during individual drills. Hunter went through stretching for a second straight day before going inside. Newly acquired defensive end Yannick Ngakoue is expected to participate in his first practice on Thursday. — Courtney Cronin
