Update: Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com reports that Dallas Cowboys WR Dez Bryant is making progress with his injured ankle, but he will not play this Saturday. Bryant hurt the ankle on July 30th, and Monday was the first time he ran and made cuts on the ankle. He wants to play in the team's preseason finale, but the Cowboys are focused on getting him back for the regular season opener.

Fantasy Impact: Bryant could be a very intriguing play in fantasy. He will likely start as the 3rd receiver on the depth chart, but he could jump Roy Williams for the number 2 spot. If he develops good chemistry with Tony Romo, he could potentially catch 50+ balls and make an immediate impact.

Update: Kevin Seifert of ESPN is reporting that Minnesota Vikings WR Sydney Rice had hip surgery on Monday. He is expected to miss at least half the season.

Fantasy Impact: This drops Sydney Rice's value significantly. It is best to avoid him now as 8 weeks is the minimum he could miss and there is no guarantee he will play well when he comes back. WR Bernard Berrian is the big winner here he is healthy and he now must be considered the Vikings top WR.

Update: In two road preseason contests so far, against the Steelers and Broncos respectively, Lions second-year quarterback Matthew Stafford has completed 21 of 29 passes for 191 yards and 2 TD’s with 1 interception and taking 1 sack. Head Coach Jim Schwartz and others within the Lions organization have been raving about Stafford’s poise, leadership, and work ethic throughout the offseason and training camp, and so far it’s been easy to see what they’ve seen.

Fantasy Impact: Generally, the second year is a very difficult one for starting quarterbacks in the NFL because defenses tend to pull some of their punches and keep certain tricks under wraps against rookies and unleash the full fury of their wrath against veterans (encompassing all of those who are in at least their second year), but Stafford’s case is somewhat different. When Stafford was drafted, Detroit was coming off of the first 0-16 season in NFL history led by a revolving door of quarterbacks that included Jon Kitna, Dan Orlovsky, and a washed-up Daunte Culpepper. Additionally, it was pretty much accepted that the Lions had nowhere to go but up and with a young quarterback lightyears ahead of his predecessors in terms of talent and potential, it’s fair to say that Stafford did see the full bag of tricks that the NFL had to offer. Furthermore, when you consider the new league that he was coming into, with the offensive line that he played behind, the receiving corps he had running routes for him (aside from Calvin Johnson), and the defense he had to compensate for, it’s hard to imagine how any season of his career could be more difficult for him. This year, he doesn’t have to worry about earning the starting job (as he did last year, competing with Culpepper); he has better skill position players around him in Nate Burleson, Tony Scheffler, and rookie Jahvid Best; the offensive line has been improved with the arrivals of veteran maulers Jon Jansen and Rob Sims; and the defense has been injected with a heavy dose of firepower. All signs point to Stafford taking advantage of his ameliorated predicament. Take Stafford as a high-end backup or possibly low-end starter in fantasy.

Update: In two road preseason contests so far, against the Steelers and Broncos respectively, Lions second-year quarterback Matthew Stafford has completed 21 of 29 passes for 191 yards and 2 TD’s with 1 interception and taking 1 sack. Head Coach Jim Schwartz and others within the Lions organization have been raving about Stafford’s poise, leadership, and work ethic throughout the offseason and training camp, and so far it’s been easy to see what they’ve seen.

Fantasy Impact: Generally, the second year is a very difficult one for starting quarterbacks in the NFL because defenses tend to pull some of their punches and keep certain tricks under wraps against rookies and unleash the full fury of their wrath against veterans (encompassing all of those who are in at least their second year), but Stafford’s case is somewhat different. When Stafford was drafted, Detroit was coming off of the first 0-16 season in NFL history led by a revolving door of quarterbacks that included Jon Kitna, Dan Orlovsky, and a washed-up Daunte Culpepper. Additionally, it was pretty much accepted that the Lions had nowhere to go but up and with a young quarterback lightyears ahead of his predecessors in terms of talent and potential, it’s fair to say that Stafford did see the full bag of tricks that the NFL had to offer. Furthermore, when you consider the new league that he was coming into, with the offensive line that he played behind, the receiving corps he had running routes for him (aside from Calvin Johnson), and the defense he had to compensate for, it’s hard to imagine how any season of his career could be more difficult for him. This year, he doesn’t have to worry about earning the starting job (as he did last year, competing with Culpepper); he has better skill position players around him in Nate Burleson, Tony Scheffler, and rookie Jahvid Best; the offensive line has been improved with the arrivals of veteran maulers Jon Jansen and Rob Sims; and the defense has been injected with a heavy dose of firepower. All signs point to Stafford taking advantage of his ameliorated predicament. Take Stafford as a high-end backup or possibly low-end starter in fantasy.

Update: Following a stellar preseason opener against the Seahawks in which he completed 5 of 6 passes for 78 yards, Vince Young continued his strong preseason performance in the Titans home opener against the Cardinals Monday night, going 9 of 13 for 128 yards, while also logging a 10-yard run on one play. Young has seemingly picked up right where he left off after going 8-2 as a starter last season after replacing Kerry Collins, who himself had replaced Young on opening day 2008.

Fantasy Impact: There are players who were reported to have had strong offseasons and training camps who have not shown much promise thus far in preseason and there are players who have been shocking with the level of performance that they have displayed on the field thus far in August, but Young is a guy who was sensational through the ten games he started last season, who by all accounts had a flawless offseason and training camp (aside from his altercation in a Dallas strip club), and who has been lighting it up in his limited preseason opportunities. Don’t look now, but I think the Titans have their franchise quarterback. What I like most about Jeff Fisher’s club is that they might have the most balance of any offense in the league. There are teams that can run the ball on you but have suspect quarterbacks (the Jets, Jaguars, Panthers, etc.) and teams that have top-tier quarterbacks but that don’t pose much of a threat on the ground (the Giants, Chargers, Patriots, etc.), but the underrated value that true balance has is that Young and even star running back Chris Johnson don’t have to be the best in the league on any given Sunday for them to win. If you get 100 yards on the ground from Johnson, and say, 20 yards on the ground and around 200 through the air for Young, that will be good enough for the Titans to win ten or eleven games, and likely a playoff spot. It’s similar to the Dallas Cowboys offense of the 1990′s in a sense. Troy Aikman wasn’t necessarily the league’s best quarterback, in an era when Joe Montana, John Elway, and Dan Marino were still in the league, and Emmitt Smith wasn’t necessarily the league’s best back (he is the all-time leading rusher, but I believe that had as much to do with the presence of Aikman and their incredible offensive line as much as it did his own performance), but together they were unstoppable. If second-year wideout Kenny Britt can make the most of his immense potential, the duo may have their Michael Irvin as well. I like Young as a low-end starter or high-end backup in your fantasy draft.

Update: Bills rookie running back C.J. Spiller, the ninth overall pick, showed signs that foreshadow justifying his lofty draft status with a brilliant performance in Thursday’s preseason home opener against the Colts. With almost all of the Colts defensive starters playing, minus defensive end Dwight Freeney, Spiller gained 54 yards on 10 carries, including a very impressive 31-yard touchdown run that was guided by his immaculate vision and incredibly quick and nimble feet; two traits that will serve any NFL running back very well. Spiller also added a 2-yard reception on the night.

Fantasy Impact: With all the talk of rookie running backs centering around San Diego’s Ryan Mathews and Detroit’s Jahvid Best, Spiller appeared hungry to prove why he was the first running back drafted in 2010, amid chatter that his training camp holdout weeks ago and the perceived ineptitude of Buffalo’s offense would stunt his development. The Bills’ other top two running backs, Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch, are both dealing with injuries and owner Ralph Wilson and head coach Chan Gailey would like to give their young stud every chance to deliver a return on their investment. The Bills also face several rather soft run defenses throughout the season, which would lead me to label Spiller a low-end no.2 or high-end no.3 RB and a contingent flex option, depending on other reports and performances between now and September 12.

Update: Bills rookie running back C.J. Spiller, the ninth overall pick, showed signs that foreshadow justifying his lofty draft status with a brilliant performance in Thursday’s preseason home opener against the Colts. With almost all of the Colts defensive starters playing, minus defensive end Dwight Freeney, Spiller gained 54 yards on 10 carries, including a very impressive 31-yard touchdown run that was guided by his immaculate vision and incredibly quick and nimble feet; two traits that will serve any NFL running back very well. Spiller also added a 2-yard reception on the night.

Fantasy Impact: With all the talk of rookie running backs centering around San Diego’s Ryan Mathews and Detroit’s Jahvid Best, Spiller appeared hungry to prove why he was the first running back drafted in 2010, amid chatter that his training camp holdout weeks ago and the perceived ineptitude of Buffalo’s offense would stunt his development. The Bills’ other top two running backs, Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch, are both dealing with injuries and owner Ralph Wilson and head coach Chan Gailey would like to give their young stud every chance to deliver a return on their investment. The Bills also face several rather soft run defenses throughout the season, which would lead me to label Spiller a low-end no.2 or high-end no.3 RB and a contingent flex option, depending on other reports and performances between now and September 12.

Update: Following a thumb and elbow injury to starting quarterback A.J. Feeley in Saturday night’s victory over the Browns, first overall pick Sam Bradford is slated to start Thursday night when the Rams travel to Foxborough, MA to take on the Patriots, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Fantasy Impact: This will be a very interesting game to watch, because it will give you the best evaluation yet as to where Bradford is in his development into becoming a franchise quarterback. The 2008 Heisman Trophy winner was up and down in the first two preseason games, but this was also while playing with backup linemen, backs, and receivers, and with head coach Steve Spagnuolo and his staff not wanting to trust their full bag of tricks to their backups. On Thursday, Bradford will have the full power of the offense and ten other starters at his disposal, playing in the third preseason game, which is usually the game when the starters get the most time to work the kinks out and sort out the details before a preseason finale that is generally all about determining the final spots on the roster. What makes the challenge even more daunting is coaching mastermind Bill Belichick standing on the opposing sideline, wanting to prepare his own defense in the best way possible to avoid a repeat of last year’s embarrassing performance by the unit in a season that culminated in a 33-14 home wild card loss to the Ravens.

Update: Following a thumb and elbow injury to starting quarterback A.J. Feeley in Saturday night’s victory over the Browns, first overall pick Sam Bradford is slated to start Thursday night when the Rams travel to Foxborough, MA to take on the Patriots, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Fantasy Impact: This will be a very interesting game to watch, because it will give you the best evaluation yet as to where Bradford is in his development into becoming a franchise quarterback. The 2008 Heisman Trophy winner was up and down in the first two preseason games, but this was also while playing with backup linemen, backs, and receivers, and with head coach Steve Spagnuolo and his staff not wanting to trust their full bag of tricks to their backups. On Thursday, Bradford will have the full power of the offense and ten other starters at his disposal, playing in the third preseason game, which is usually the game when the starters get the most time to work the kinks out and sort out the details before a preseason finale that is generally all about determining the final spots on the roster. What makes the challenge even more daunting is coaching mastermind Bill Belichick standing on the opposing sideline, wanting to prepare his own defense in the best way possible to avoid a repeat of last year’s embarrassing performance by the unit in a season that culminated in a 33-14 home wild card loss to the Ravens.

Update: Yahoo Sports is reporting that the Baltimore Ravens CB Lardarius Webb was activated off the PUP list. He tore his ACL December 20th last year against the Bears. Webb will be brought along slowly and his still not ready to play in a game.

Fantasy Impact: This is good news for the Ravens Defense. There secondary is banged up with Fabian Washington also recovering from a torn ACL. The Ravens have a strong front 7 but there secondary is weak. The Ravens defense is still a top ten fantasy defense.

Update: Marc A. Greenberg of thejetpress.com is reporting that New York Jets DE Ropati Pitoitua tore his ACL Saturday night and will be out for the season.

Fantasy Impact: Pitoitua was only a back up but the Jets were counting on him. This should not affect the Jets defense has the number 1 fantasy defense.

Update: Yahoo Sports is reporting that New York Giants QB Eli Manning will play in the Giants next preseason game verse the Baltimore Ravens. Eli missed the last preseason game due to getting 12 stitches in forehead. The stitches have now been removed

Fantasy Impact: Its good to see Eli back on the field and moving past this injury. He is primed for another big season.

Update: Yahoo Sports is reporting that New York Giants QB Eli Manning will play in the Giants next preseason game verse the Baltimore Ravens. Eli missed the last preseason game due to getting 12 stitches in forehead. The stitches have now been removed

Fantasy Impact: Its good to see Eli back on the field and moving past this injury. He is primed for another big season.

Update: Andrew Ilnicki of gmenhq.com is reporting that New York Giants RB Andre Brown is winning the battle for third string RB. Brown had 13 carries for 61 yards in the last preseason game. Coach Coughlin said "I thought there were times in the game when Andre did a real good job. There were other occasions when it looked like we probably could have had a little bit more. But as the game went on, he did a good job. He got better and better.”
Fantasy Impact: Brown is a player you should familiarize yourself with. The Giants top running backs Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw are injury prone. It is very plausible that at some point this season Andre Brown becomes the Giants starting RB due to injuries. Jacobs already is battling Neck issues. Bradshaw is currently the starting RB.

Update: Andrew Ilnicki of gmenhq.com is reporting that New York Giants RB Andre Brown is winning the battle for third string RB. Brown had 13 carries for 61 yards in the last preseason game. Coach Coughlin said "I thought there were times in the game when Andre did a real good job. There were other occasions when it looked like we probably could have had a little bit more. But as the game went on, he did a good job. He got better and better.”
Fantasy Impact: Brown is a player you should familiarize yourself with. The Giants top running backs Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw are injury prone. It is very plausible that at some point this season Andre Brown becomes the Giants starting RB due to injuries. Jacobs already is battling Neck issues. Bradshaw is currently the starting RB.