This article is part of our Training Camp Notes series.
Here are some of the top fantasy football headlines from Tuesday.
-The Bengals announced that A.J. Green (hamstring) would be back in practice Wednesday, which will hopefully get the star veteran back on track for a fast start in Week 1. The ankle injury that ended his 2019 is not an issue in the meantime, at least. If Green's recovery sputters after Wednesday then the Bengals are well-prepared to withstand it with all of Tee Higgins, John Ross and Auden Tate looking viable for various functions.
-Mike Williams (shoulder) is officially questionable for Week 1, which forces the Chargers to consider the possibility of replacing their primary downfield and red-zone target for at least one game. It's possible that they'll be able to get an understudy receiver like Jalen Guyton or rookie fifth-round pick Joe Reed prepared to imitate Williams' functions in a stopgap capacity, though they could also just opt to use a decoy with Williams' snaps and just overload the functions of Keenan Allen, Hunter Henry and Austin Ekeler that much more. Guyton and Reed are both big, athletic receivers, but it's not clear how much skill they have to offer the Chargers in the meantime. Reed has even practiced at running back at times, though the meaning of that isn't clear.
-Jordan Reed participated in his first practice with the 49ers on Tuesday, which could be viewed as good timing given the mounting injury list with San Francisco pass catchers. Deebo Samuel is still out with his foot issue, and recently first-round pick Brandon Aiyuk picked up a hamstring strain that has him week to week. Aiyuk's injury followed the season-ending ACL tear suffered by 2019 third-round pick Jalen Hurd, so the 49ers have had improbably bad luck with their pass catchers staying healthy. As much as wideouts like Trent Taylor and Kendrick Bourne are candidates to capitalize in the absence of those three younger receivers, Reed was always a pass-catching specialist at tight end and therefore might be a viable way to support the 49ers passing game until Aiyuk and Samuel are ready to return. Reed's concussion history is disturbing, but his health otherwise appears sound for the time being.
-Rather than Reggie Bonnafon, reports out of Carolina have identified Mike Davis as the presumed backup to Christian McCaffrey. The Athletic reports that Davis is "the front-runner" to back up McCaffrey, even though Davis was all but inactive behind Bonnafon after the Panthers claimed Davis off waivers in 2019. Bonnafon (6-1, 212) was long considered an athletic standout at Louisville, where he played quarterback his first two years, receiver his third and running back only in the fourth. Bouncing around couldn't have helped his skill development, so he theoretically could still be developing, but his pro day workout numbers (4.53 40, 38-inch vertical, 127-inch broad jump) don't really grade better than decent for a player of his build, which is a bit upright for his weight. His past reps at receiver should still give him an advantage over Davis as a pass catcher, so there might be a way for him to still be the better fantasy option over Davis even if Davis gets more carries.
-Reports from The Athletic's Buffalo crew indicate that the Bills offense is looking improved in a variety of respects – Josh Allen is playing well for his own part, Stefon Diggs is showing well as Allen's lead target, Zack Moss was a quick standout, and Gabriel Davis has earned effusive praise for his work as the team's WR4. It's a lot to add to an offense that already had Devin Singletary, John Brown, Cole Beasley and Dawson Knox. Allen expressed a goal to run less and throw more in 2020, which could be viewed as a red flag for fantasy investors, but if he engineers more first downs and scoring opportunities then the tradeoff will be more than worth it. Plus, as Allen points out, he'll remain active as a runner even if he scales it back a bit. By all accounts, the Buffalo offense is much deeper and more fully realized that it was in Allen's first two seasons. It's not as if the Buffalo defense is known for being friendly, either, so the Bills offense is truly earning its praise.
