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With the NFL regular season steadily approaching, this article aims to touch on IDP-relevant news and topics during training camps and preseason games. We'll examine injuries, contract situations, camp battles, rookie buzz, and other pertinent IDP topics. The plan is to have this article ready for your viewing every Thursday until the season kicks off. Thanks for tuning in; let's get to it!

IDP News: EDGE Haason Reddick, NY Jets

Haason Reddick requests to be traded out of New York.

Things are getting even messier in New York with the Hasson Reddick situation. First, Reddick was holding out for a new contract, absent from offseason team activities and training camp. Now, Reddick wants to be traded out of New York, which the front office has said is not happening. With Reddick away from the team, it’s a boost to promising second-year edge rusher Will McDonald IV, and Micheal Clemons also becomes more intriguing. Jermaine Johnson was already going to be heavily involved, and his presence would be even more crucial if Reddick remained away from the team.

IDP News: EDGE Jaelan Phillips, Miami

Jaelan Phillips is cleared for practice.

Less than nine months after suffering a torn Achilles, Miami has activated Phillips off the PUP list, and he has been cleared for the practice field. This is big news for the Miami defense, as Phillips is their biggest threat off the edge. We should expect Miami to be cautious with Phillips as he returns from a major injury like a torn Achilles. Phillips’ practice progress will be one to monitor in the coming weeks as we make our way to regular season action. After Phillips, the Miami edge unit consists of rookies Chop Robinson and Mohamed Komara, and newly re-signed Emmanuel Ogbah. Bradley Chubb (ACL) remains on the PUP list. 

IDP News: EDGE Bralen Trice, Atlanta and Matthew Judon, Atlanta

Rookie Bralen Trice suffers a torn ACL, ending his season. Atlanta trades for the Patriots' Matthew Judon.

Trice, a 2024 third-round rookie, suffers a brutal injury, tearing his ACL in Atlanta’s first preseason game. With football back in full swing, we can get these unfortunate circumstances. Trice was a productive edge rusher coming out of Washington, compiling 16 sacks and 23.5 tackles for loss over his last two collegiate seasons. Atlanta’s pass rush group needed reinforcements, and there was hope Trice could be an impact rookie when ready. While this is a bummer for this season, let’s hope Trice has a speedy recovery and we hear his name making noise this time next year. To fill this hole, the Falcons sent a third-round pick to New England for Judon. This is a huge upgrade for Atlanta's pass rush.

IDP News: S DeMarcco Hellams, Atlanta

DeMarcco Hellams suffered an ankle injury and is set to miss significant time, per head coach Raheem Morris.

The Atlanta defense suffers yet another tough loss in Week 1 of the preseason, as they will be without DeMarcco Hellams for a while. Hellams was competing with Richie Grant for the starting safety spot next to Jessie Bates III, so the timing of the injury is very unfortunate. Grant will be lining up next to Bates going forward, with the chance the Falcons will kick the tires on the veteran free-agent safety market.

IDP News: LB Matt Milano, Miami

Matt Milano suffered an arm injury in Tuesday's practice.

Milano suffered an arm injury in Tuesday’s practice, forcing him to exit early. Right now, the Bills haven’t offered up an update on Milano’s situation. Milano is returning from a brutal leg injury that limited him to just five games last season. Hopefully, this newest injury is nothing serious, so let’s keep an eye out as news comes out in the coming days. If Milano misses extended time, second-year man Dorian Williams could get his shot next to Terrel Bernard for the Bills defense. 

IDP News: LB Jordan Hicks, Cleveland

Jordan Hicks is being called week-to-week with an undisclosed injury.

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski recently called Hicks “week-to-week” with an undisclosed injury that’s been keeping him off the practice field. While we don’t know what ails him, Hicks getting the week-to-week label is a bit concerning. Hicks and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, who just got paid and we’ll discuss below, were set to form a solid 1-2 punch at linebacker for Cleveland’s defense, with Hicks likely calling the plays. If Hicks misses extended time, Devin Bush and second-year undrafted rookie Mohamoud Diabate are names to monitor for IDP purposes, as they both drew the start against Green Bay in Cleveland’s first preseason game.

IDP News: LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Cleveland

The Browns sign Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah to a three-year, $39 million extension.

This is a nice payday for Owusu-Koramoah, as the three-year $39 million deal includes $25 million guaranteed. Cleveland locks up one of its young ascending defenders, as Owusu-Koramoah is coming off career-best marks in snaps (761), tackles (101), and tackles for loss (20) in 2023. In last week’s article, we talked about Owusu-Koramoah trending toward seeing a more stable snap share this season. Cleveland opting to pay him heading into his fourth season bodes well for that sentiment. Should teammate Jordan Hicks miss extended time as we discussed above, Owusu-Koramoah’s presence becomes even more important. Things are trending positively for Owusu-Koramoah’s IDP stock; let’s hope he gets the playing time he deserves.

IDP News: LB Pete Werner, New Orleans

The Saints give Pete Werner a three-year, $25 million contract extension.

The three-year extension keeps Werner in New Orleans for the foreseeable future, and the $25 million is a solid investment, with a reported $17.5 million in guarantees. From an IDP outlook, the Saints' financial investment in Werner provides at least a little clarity at linebacker after they brought in Willie Gay Jr and 2023 late-season waiver wire darling Khaleke Hudson on one-year deals during free agency. 

Gay always felt like the biggest threat to Werner for the LB2 spot next to Demario Davis. While it could still be a little messy, this recent extension makes it feel like the Saints paid Werner to be on the field. Werner’s IDP dynasty outlook also gets a little bump, as Demario Davis (35) isn’t getting any younger. Werner hasn’t quite hit the mark yet we IDP gamers had hoped, but hopefully, he will change our minds in his fourth season.

IDP News: Minnesota LBs

Blake Cashman, not Ivan Pace Jr., wore the coveted green dot in Minnesota’s first preseason game.

We covered this situation in the first edition of this article three weeks ago after Ivan Pace Jr. stated he would act as the Vikings' defensive signal caller. Well, fast-forward to Minnesota’s first preseason game against Las Vegas, and Blake Cashman was in the lead role calling the plays. It’s not what we expected, and it’s an important development for IDP purposes. 

Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores typically only deploys one full-time linebacker in his scheme, making finding the leader of the unit important. Right now, Cashman appears to be the top option, making his stock heading upward. While it’s a little early to count Pace out, his stock undoubtedly gets a ding after the initial excitement surrounding him wearing the green dot. This is a situation to put a pin in throughout the preseason. I'm sure we’ll be talking about it again soon.

IDP News: S Julian Blackmon, Indianapolis

Julian Blackmon stayed in his box safety role in the Colts' first preseason game.

In last week’s article, we discussed the worries of Blackmon possibly losing his box safety role after seeing time at both strong and free safety in practice. Well, in the Colts’ first preseason game against Denver, Blackmon was back in his IDP-friendly box safety role. Blackmon only played 12 snaps, but seven came up in the box, slot, and defensive line, per Pro Football Focus. Nick Cross was the other starting safety, as he played 33 snaps, with 23 coming aligned deep at free safety, per PFF. This is a good sign for Blackmon to remain a productive IDP safety, and we will continue to keep tabs on the Colts' safety developments through the preseason.

IDP News: Bengals Safeties

Vonn Bell and Geno Stone get the start at safety, with Jordan Battle looking like the odd man out.

The Bell, Stone, and Battle Bengal safety trio was one of the trickier situations we IDP gamers needed a little confirmation on. Cincinnati gave us some, rolling out Bell and Stone with the starters, albeit just for three snaps. Battle rolled with the backups, making his current IDP outlook look bleak. Neither Bell nor Stone are big-time IDP assets, but they are the ones to target out of this safety unit. Battle is still young with some IDP dynasty appeal, but can be left off your redraft boards, unfortunately.

Thanks for taking the time to read my article. Feel free to reach me on Twitter @KBellf54 with any questions or feedback.

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