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NFL news roundup: Packers TE Tucker Kraft (knee) returns to team drills; Commanders QB Marcus Mariota (knee) expected to miss rest of preseason

Packers TE Tucker Kraft returns to team drills after ACL injury, while Commanders QB Marcus Mariota expected to miss rest of preseason due to knee sprain.

First seen Aug 16, 2026 · 5:04 PM UTC · last updated Aug 17 1:34 AM

Scoring Zone's Take

Tucker Kraft's return to team drills is the headline here, and it's a genuinely encouraging sign for your draft board. The two sources conflict slightly on whether the underlying issue was an ACL injury or a broader knee injury, but the key fact both agree on is that he's back practicing with the Packers, which points toward him being on track for Week 1 or close to it. For draft prep, you can lean back toward treating Kraft as a legitimate TE1-caliber target rather than discounting him for injury risk — just keep an eye on beat reporting as camp progresses to confirm he's taking a full workload before you fully commit draft capital, since there's still some ambiguity in the reporting about the exact nature of the injury.

On the other side, Marcus Mariota being expected to miss the rest of the preseason with a knee sprain is a mild fantasy non-event for most rosters — he's a backup-caliber QB in Washington and not someone you're drafting outside of deep two-QB leagues. The bigger implication is roster-related rather than fantasy production: if this preseason absence lingers or worsens, it could affect QB depth-chart battles in Washington, which is worth monitoring but doesn't move Mariota's ADP meaningfully. None of the other players listed (Kinnard, Harrell, Kanak, Robinson, Hansen, Salyer, Riley, Van Ness, Bates, Allegretti, Gronowski) have specific news attached in these sources beyond being mentioned in the cluster, so there's no actionable fantasy takeaway for them yet — don't drop or fade any of them based on this report alone. Confidence on Kraft's positive trajectory is moderate (80%) given the source agreement, though the injury-description discrepancy is worth watching before finalizing his draft slot.

NFL news roundup: Packers TE Tucker Kraft (knee) returns to team drills; Commanders QB Marcus Mariota (knee) expected to miss rest of preseason

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INJURIES

  • QB Carson Beck is dealing with a rib injury that is not a long-term concern, but will still need more time to heal, head coach Mike LaFleur Said.
  • RB Jeremiyah Love is unlikely to play again in the preseason due to a high ankle sprain, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported. Schefter added the team is hopeful Love can return for the regular-season opener.

SIGNINGS

INJURIES

  • RB Kyle Monangai is believed to be fine after injuring his knee in Sunday's practice, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported. Schefter added that Monangai's initial tests showed his knee to be structurally sound, but the team will do an MRI to confirm.
  • OT Ozzy Trapilo was activated off the physically unable to perform list. Trapilo's return comes after he ruptured his patellar tendon in the team's wild-card win over the Packers.

ROSTER CUTS

  • WR Kyron Hudson was waived with an injury settlement.
  • DB Kenechukwu Eziomume was waived with an injury settlement.
  • DB Gervarrius Owenswas waived with an injury settlement.

VISITS

INJURIES

  • CB Michael Coats Jr. (ankle) will hopefully return to practice this week, head coach Todd Monken said.
  • CB Nate Evans should be OK after injuring his quad in Saturday's preseason game, Monken said.

PRESEASON NEWS

  • QB Shedeur Sanders will start and play the first half of the upcoming preseason game against the Bills, Monken confirmed. Sanders and Watson will each get first-team reps in joint practice with Buffalo on Thursday.

SIGNINGS

ROSTER CUTS

  • RB Kye Robichaux was waived with an injury designation.
  • DB Loren Strickland was waived with an injury designation.

INJURIES

  • TE Tucker Kraft, who tore his ACL last season, returned to team drills at practice on Sunday. Kraft is hoping to be ready to play in Week 1. Kraft, who acknowledged speaking to reporters Sunday that the team would probably watch his reps carefully until halfway through the season, explained why he's willing to go full speed coming off injury without an extension: “I always put it back on the team. … Guys keep fighting and clawing to come back into this locker room. That’s the reason I do it. There’s other attributes. I want to leave a legacy on this sport as a whole. I want my children to see the lengths I would go to to fight for something I love, and I think I have it right here in the G.”
  • OL Darian Kinnard (ankle) did not practice Sunday.
  • DE Lukas Van Ness(shoulder) did not practice Sunday.

SIGNINGS

  • TE Louis Hansen

INJURIES

  • WR Anthony Gould is dealing with a groin injury, head coach Shane Steichen said.
  • WR Alec Pierce (ankle) is not expected to participate in this week's joint practices with the Falcons.
  • LB CJ Allen (hamstring) returned to practice Sunday after missing the past week.

PRESEASON NEWS

  • The Colts don't plan to play their starters in their Week 2 preseason game against the Falcons, per Steichen.

SIGNINGS

  • WR Noah Brown

ROSTER CUTS

  • DT Benito Jones

OTHER NEWS

  • TE Brock Bowers missed Sunday's practice due to personal reasons, head coach Klint Kubiak said.

SIGNINGS

  • P Jack Bouwmeester signed with the Rams and was given an international roster exemption.

TRYOUTS

  • DL Aaron Donald tried out with the Rams for a second time in the past two weeks, per the transaction wire. The Aug. 5 transaction wire previously listed Donald as trying out with Los Angeles as he continues to consider potentially unretiring to play for the team.

SIGNINGS

  • QB Mark Gronowski
  • ILB Cam Riley

INJURIES

  • OL Jamaree Salyer was placed on injured reserve.
  • CB Ethan Robinson waived/injured

INJURIES

  • LB Jamal Adams suffered a season-ending knee injury in Saturday's preseason game, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported.

RETIREMENTS

  • DB Sam Webb was placed on the reserve/retired list.

INJURIES

  • QB Kurtis Rourke (rib) is not expected to be out long term, offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak said. Rourke had been taken to a hospital Thursday after being injured and having trouble breathing during the team's preseason game. He was released from the hospital the same night.

SIGNINGS

ROSTER CUTS

  • TE Jaren Kanak was placed on injured reserve.
  • DE Jaylen Harrell was placed on IR.

INJURIES

  • QB Marcus Mariota suffered a sprained MCL that is likely to sideline him for the rest of the preseason, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Sunday. Head coach Dan Quinn confirmed Mariota sprained his MCL, but the team is "optimistic" Mariota will be ready for the regular season and he doesn't anticipate bringing in another quarterback. Mariota was injured in Washington's preseason opener Friday against the Miami Dolphins.
  • TE John Bates (hamstring) will be worked into practice this week, Quinn said.
  • C Nick Allegretti (calf) will be worked into practice this week, Quinn said.
Coverage from Nfl Dot Com News · by Around the NFL Staff · Aug 16, 2026 · read original