NFL Training Camps 2015: Updates, Rumors and Analysis for August 14

Well, folks, the 2015 NFL preseason is underway in earnest. Six games were played on Thursday night and another half-dozen took place on Friday.

Thursday's games brought with them what NFL teams fear most this time of year: injuries. Several teams were bitten by the injury bug, with Washington being left with an especially nasty welt.

It's there where we'll kick off this look at the latest news, updates and hullabaloo from training camps across the NFL.

Washington TE Niles Paul (Ankle) out for Season

David Richard/Associated Press

The Washington Redskins won their preseason opener on Thursday night, but the victory came at a high cost.

After being carted from the field in the first quarter of Thursday's win over the Cleveland Browns, the Redskins received the news they feared regarding tight end Niles Paul. As Chris Wesseling of NFL.com reported, Paul will miss the entire 2015 season after dislocating his ankle.

Head coach Jay Gruden didn't mince words regarding the injury to the fifth-year veteran. "A huge loss for us," Gruden said. "He's a great player and a great leader."

Paul took to Twitter Friday morning to express his disappointment with the turn of events.

"This one is a tough pill to swallow," Paul said. "[I] finally got the opportunity I always wanted since I entered this league. [It] took me four years to get there. Life can be cruel sometimes. Thank you for all your well wishes and prayers. They are very much appreciated."

With Paul on the shelf, the Redskins have little recourse but to turn to the oft-injured Jordan Reed as the starter at tight end.

Redbirds Set to Sign Chris Johnson?

Mark Zaleski/Associated Press

Earlier this week, news surfaced that the Arizona Cardinals, leery of the injuries that have already befallen the team's tailbacks, had extended a one-year contract offer to free-agent veteran Chris Johnson.

It appears that may have been more than just talk.

According to Jay Glazer of Fox Sports, "Chris Johnson is heading to Arizona on Sunday for a workout and physical with Cardinals."

That has fueled speculation that if the physical pans out, the Cardinals will sign the seventh-year veteran. However, ESPN's John Clayton told Vince Marotta of Arizona Sports that it isn't a done deal:

"

Arizona’s been the one team that’s expressed interest and clearly it must be some sort of money issue. Maybe he wants more than the minimum—you can understand that, he’s had a 2,000-yard season once and he’s a proud guy — but if you get signed now, you get pretty much the minimum. That’s maybe something he didn’t want to do.

"

Still, the fact Johnson is traveling to Arizona would appear to indicate that either the Cardinals have sweetened the pot or Johnson has softened his stance.

Either way, the smart money says the 29-year-old has a job by Monday morning.

McCown Still the Man in Cleveland

David Richard/Associated Press

After Johnny Manziel made the highlight play of the night in Thursday's preseason loss to the Redskins and avoided making any mind-numbing mistakes, talk radio in Cleveland on Friday was filled with questions as to whether the second-year pro had narrowed the gap between himself and Josh McCown in the battle to start under center for the Browns.

That would be a "no."

That word comes courtesy of Browns head coach Mike Pettine, who told Pat McManamon of ESPN that McCown is still the team's No. 1 quarterback. "I haven't wavered on that," Pettine said.

After all, it wasn't like McCown was bad against Washington. In fact, the 36-year-old went a perfect 5-for-5 in leading the Browns on their most impressive drive of the game in the first quarter, including a touchdown pass to Travis Benjamin.

Zach Ertz Has 'Core Muscle' Surgery

Chris Szagola/Associated Press

There are a number of Philadelphia Eagles players with clouds of injury uncertainty hanging over their heads entering the 2015 campaign, such as tailback DeMarco Murray, thanks to his NFL-high 392 carries last year and the Curse of 370, and quarterback Sam Bradford, thanks to a lengthy injury history that includes a pair of ACL tears.

Well, those players are still healthy—not so much tight end Zach Ertz.

As Phil Sheridan of ESPN reported, Ertz underwent surgery on a "core muscle" injury on Friday after getting hurt in practice a couple of days ago:

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Ertz, 24, was slow to get up after a collision in practice Wednesday. He left the field before his teammates after that practice and did not practice the following day.

Eagles coach Chip Kelly said he expected Ertz to be ready for the regular-season opener Sept. 14, but said that the tight end would likely miss the entire preseason.

"

Head coach Chip Kelly tried to paint the injury as a chance for other players to show what they can do:

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Daily, a different guy shows up. Eric Tomlinson came out the last two days and made some big catches for us. All three of them have size. Andrew [Gleichert's] a really sharp player -- really picked things up very quickly. And Justin Tukes is starting to really come along.

One byproduct of not being able to have Zach for a couple of games in the preseason, it will give those guys an opportunity to show what they can do.

"

Still, it's not good news for Ertz, who many expected to take the proverbial next step in his third NFL season.

Jameis Winston 'Underwhelming' in Practice

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

On Saturday night, 2015 No. 1 overall pick Jameis Winston will make his NFL debut with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Here's hoping the game goes better than practice has—at least in the opinion of one scribe.

According to Jeff Darlington of NFL Media, Winston's first few NFL practices left more than a little to be desired:

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I have a confession to make: While watching Jameis Winston's first several NFL practices (from rookie minicamp until now), I was extremely underwhelmed. Admittedly, I'm not a football scout—but Winston seemingly did nothing special. Nothing that popped. Nothing that made you say, 'That's why he went No. 1 overall.'

"

However, Darlington also went on to say that Winston has steadily improved:

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This past weekend, Winston strung together two solid practices (notching five red-zone touchdowns in one day) leading up to the practice I watched on Wednesday. Winston certainly looks like he's found his rhythm. He's throwing with more authority and, as a result, more accuracy. He looks more poised—his passes have more zip.

"

And that's the thing—it's August. Practice reports about Marcus Mariota were almost universally glowing, but the No. 2 overall pick looked awful in the first quarter of his first preseason start.

Let's allow Winston to get in some game action before anointing him the second coming of Joe Montana—or the second coming of Ryan Leaf.

EJ Manuel Falling Flat for Bills

Bill Wippert/Associated Press

The 2015 season is a make-or-break one for Buffalo Bills quarterback EJ Manuel.

And according to Sal Capaccio of WGR Radio in Buffalo, if training camp has been any indication, Manuel is leaning hard toward breaking:

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EJ Manuel just can’t get off the mat right now. He’s appearing to fall further and further behind in this competition, mostly because of (again) his inaccuracies. Manuel threw one pass down the sideline that sailed far out of bounds before it landed, not giving his receiver a chance to make a play in the field of play.

EJ has a preseason game and then two days of practicing against the Cleveland Browns before another game to try and gain ground. But it looks like he’ll really have to do something special in those settings to have a legitimate shot to stay in it.

"

Sure, Manuel was the first quarterback selected in the 2013 NFL draft. And neither Matt Cassel nor Tyrod Taylor would appear to be any sort of long-term solution for the team under center.

Of course, Manuel has yet to give any indication he is either, and the new regime in Buffalo doesn't owe Manuel a thing.

It doesn't look as though Manuel is going to earn anything on his own, either.

Ryan Davis Turning Heads in Jacksonville

John Raoux/Associated Press

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote here at Bleacher Report that Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Ryan Davis would make the team forget all about the loss of No. 3 overall pick Dante Fowler to an ACL tear.

That may have been pushing it, but it looks like Davis is holding up his end of the deal.

That's the latest from Ryan O' Halloran of the Florida Times-Union, who singled out Davis as a player to watch during Friday's preseason opener:

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It can be argued Davis has been the most impressive defensive lineman in camp. Every day, he either flies around the edge to get a sack, or bats down a pass or both. The Jaguars are already banged up along their front and Davis is expected to see time at end and tackle against Pittsburgh. What the coaches have to figure out is how big of a playing-time load Davis can handle.

"

With Fowler out for the season and veteran Chris Clemons coming off a season in which he ranked as one of the worst 4-3 ends in football, per Pro Football Focus, the Jaguars badly need Davis to step his play up after a surprisingly effective 2014 campaign.

So far, so good.