– Mike Gillislee (hamstring) was a full participant in practice today for the Patriots. With Week 1 less than two and a half weeks away this was a good sign for his owners. Rex Burkhead has been working with the first team in his absence and makes for a nice late round pick even if Gillislee is 100 percent healthy. A fumble or two from Gillislee could land him in the doghouse and Bill Belicheck would have no problem letting Burkhead take over as the main ball carrier in that scenario. Still, it appears to be Gillislee’s job to lose and he’s still a solid mid-round pick as the head of the RBBC in New England.

– Ty Montgomery (leg) also returned to practice today on a limited basis as it looks like his injury was very minor. His status for Saturday’s preseason game is still unknown but obviously this is a good development. Jamaal Williams is the handcuff here and, like Burkhead, is worth a spot on your bench as a late round flier in case anything should happen to Montgomery.

– Aaron Rodgers is expected to start the Packers third preseason game Saturday in Denver. While this isn’t a great matchup it’s worth noting from a DFS standpoint. Rodgers should get plenty of run in this game as the third preseason game is usually the final warmup for the first stringers.

– The Giants’ wide receivers got banged up Monday against the Browns but appear to be ok. Brandon Marshall (shoulder) avoided anything significant although he likely won’t be practicing anytime soon. Odell Beckham suffered an ankle injury but was able to walk without a limp after the game and the MRI only showed an ankle sprain which is good news. Both are without a timetable to return and owners can breathe a sigh of relief as they’ve both avoided a serious injury.

-LeGarrette Blount is expected to be a “big part of the offense” according to head coach Doug Pederson. There had been speculation that Blount could be cut by the Eagles but this should put any of those rumors to rest. Look for him to handle the majority of the workload on first and second downs for the Eagles.

– Coach Bill O’Brien reaffirmed that Tom Savage is “the starter” for the Texans and that he’s had a good camp. It’s hard not to imagine that at some point Deshaun Watson takes over as the signal caller although that could be put on hold the longer the Texans stay in the playoff hunt. That’s not a tough scenario given their defense and the division they play in.

It wasn’t a good night for Giants receivers during Monday’s exhibition in Cleveland, as both Odell Beckham (ankle) and Brandon Marshall (shoulder) exited with injuries. While it initially doesn’t sound as if either is dealing with any sort of long-term problem, nothing is for certain, so we’ll need to monitor their statuses throughout the week to determine whether they’ll suit up for the all-important third preseason game Saturday against the Jets. If they ultimately don’t play, Sterling Shepard will likely be the apple of Eli Manning’s eye and could make for an intriguing DFS play against a suspect Jets secondary. Rookie tight end Evan Engram could see a lot of work, too.

With nearly two full weeks of preseason games in the books, we’re beginning to get news about some of the injured players finally getting ready for their return action, in that’ll make up most of the items in today’s edition of the training camp blog:

Saturday brought a robust slate of preseason action, as most teams allowed their first-team units a longer leash in terms of playing time. While the second preseason game still typically pales in comparison to the third contest– which is typically termed the regular-season “dress rehearsal” — in terms of the snaps afforded projected starters, there is often at least a quarter of action for some of the bigger names. In a few cases Saturday, some of that actually extended to a full half of play, as several clubs look to build rapport between quarterbacks and new pass-catching options, for example.

Without further ado, let’s dive in to a few highlights for each club in terms of notable performers:

With the majority of NFL teams having played yesterday or slated to play tomorrow, it’s been a fairly day for news, so this’ll be one of the lighter preseason blogs you’ll be seeing from me. That said, there’s always a few good nuggets to help us prepare for our fantasy drafts.