Training Camp Notes: July 28

This article is part of our Training Camp Notes series.

Training camp is in full swing with every team at least a few days into sessions with the full team present. In addition to big injury news, we're starting to hear some hype come out about rookies and other young players' potential roles. As always, it's important to try to distinguish real from the hype, which can be difficult with six weeks still remaining until kickoff. 

Injury Notes 

• Joe Burrow is the biggest news item for the second straight day. We knew he had a strained calf Thursday, but on Friday coach Zac Taylor said that Burrow will be out "several weeks." That's a bit ambiguous but certainly could spill over into the regular season. Trevor Siemian and Jake Browning are the two healthy quarterbacks remaining on the roster. While the potential fantasy effect on Burrow himself is obvious, pass catchers such as Tee Higgins, Ja'Marr Chase and Irv Smith could get off to slower starts as well.
• Amari Cooper returned to individual drills after missing four consecutive days of practice. He was reportedly moving well and should ramp up activity quickly. The issue shouldn't affect him come Week 1, though it would be good to see him get as many reps with Deshaun Watson as possible.
• Another story that broke Thursday that gained more clarity Friday was regarding Jalen Ramsey. He underwent meniscus surgery and is now expected to be out until December. The news isn't particularly fantasy relevant, though will affect the Dolphins D/ST value and obviously Ramsey's own IDP value.
• Odell Beckham didn't play at all in 2022, but he says he has no limitations to begin camp. Nevertheless, the team seems to be watching his reps carefully, a smart move given his own injury history and Baltimore's struggles to keep its receiving corps healthy in recent seasons. Beckham's ability to build quick rapport with Lamar Jackson will be important, particularly the longer that Rashod Bateman (foot) remains sidelined.
• Darnell Mooney was limited to 12 games last season and is being eased into camp after undergoing ankle surgery this offseason. He has stiffer competition for targets this season after the Bears added DJ Moore, but it could actually benefit Mooney in the sense that he won't have the route and coverage pressure of being out of place as the team's alpha.

Job Battles

• James Cook is getting some buzz as a potential three-down back from offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey. That would be a significant ask of the second-year player, considering he's somewhere between 190 and 199 pounds. Even in college, he never handled more than 113 carries in a season, and he had 89 rushing attempts in his rookie year in the NFL. Damien Harris would be a natural bruiser to complement Cook's style. Even if we look at Dorsey's quote with some skepticism, this is a situation worth continuing to monitor because of the high quality of the Buffalo offense. If one back does emerge as the favorite for a significant touch advantage, they should shoot up draft boards.
• The Colts have publicly stated they'll rotate the quarterback working with the first-team offense during camp, so we shouldn't read into Anthony Richardson working with the ones Friday. He reminded everyone of the natural talent that saw him skyrocket up draft boards in April, however, when he rolled out before delivering a deep pass into the arms of Alec Pierce for a touchdown. Richardson's rookie season will almost certainly come with some inconsistencies, but if he clicks at the right time, he may be the player fantasy managers need on their roster to win championships. 
•  It's hard to imagine anyone being under center in Houston other than C.J. Stroud to kick off the season, but first-year head coach DeMeco Ryans isn't ready to name him the starter for the Texans just yet. Stroud has reportedly had inconsistent practices to this point, which isn't particularly surprising given the needed adjustment to the faster pace of the pro game.
• We talked a bit about Baltimore's wide receiver corps, but Zay Flowers is another pass catcher that is taking advantage of his reps early in training camp. Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic reported that he has already earned the nickname "the joystick" from quarterback Lamar Jackson. Flowers has further impressed coaches with his attentiveness at meetings and in his preparation generally. After Mark Andrews, the split of targets is ambiguous in Baltimore, so Flowers has the chance to immediately step into a significant role.
• Dalvin Cook is visiting the Jets on Saturday and is reportedly optimistic a deal will get done. We have to consider the source of that prediction, but it would certainly be interesting to see how the team uses him in tandem with Breece Hall – who is still on the PUP list while recovering from a torn ACL. This is still hypothetical so we don't need to speculate too much, but both player's fantasy value would certainly be hurt if the deal comes to fruition.