Fantasy Football Cheatsheets & Rankings

The Facts: Early in the offseason, the Colts turned down two trade offers for Brissett. And although they insist Andrew Luck will be healthy and ready to start this season, they remain committed to keeping Brissett on the roster as well. Reported by Profootballtalk.com

Diehards Line: GM Chris Ballard heaped praise on Brissett and said he’s the perfect backup to Luck, meaning the Colts would have to be bowled over with an offer before they’d be willing to part with Brissett. “Jacoby Brissett is going to play in this league a long time, "Ballard said. "If I learned anything last year, it was the value of a backup quarterback who can get it done, and I think Jacoby can do that. ...” As PFT's Michael David Smith notes, Brissett still has two years left on his rookie contract, at salaries of $735,000 this year and $890,000 next year. Those are bargain prices, which makes it easy for the Colts to stay committed to Brissett as the backup, and not have to worry about what they’ll do if Luck gets hurt again.

The Facts: Bryant has worked out with Odell Beckham this week and has expressed a desire to play for the Giants. But it takes two to do a deal, and the Giants don’t seem interested. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, the Giants “are not at this point in time vying for his services.” Reported by Profootballtalk.com

Diehards Line: The only report of a team interested in Bryant has been the Ravens and that now appears to be contingent on the Saints' decision to match Baltimore's offer for Willie Snead. Remember, Bryant has not had a 1,000-yard season since 2014 and his last 100-yard game came November 13, 2016, giving him a 23-game streak without one. ... We'll continue to watch for more.

The Facts: GM Chris Ballard held his pre-draft press conference on Friday, but one of the leading topics of conversation had to do with the team’s top pick in the 2012 draft. It’s hard to avoid talking about Luck‘s right shoulder injury under any circumstances because so much of the Colts’ fortunes are tied to Luck’s health. Ballard said that Luck still has not progressed to throwing a regulation football, but that the exercises he is doing are similar to what he’d be doing if he had gotten to that point. Reported by Profootballtalk.com

Diehards Line: Ballard also stressed that Luck is not pressing to get back in the same way he did before missing all of last season and that the team is confident in his return to action. He further illustrated that by pointing to the trade with the Jets that moved the Colts from No. 3 to No. 6 in the first round and saying he thinks that shows they are “very confident” about the quarterback’s progress. That's great news, but until Luck is throwing without restriction nobody should feel too confident. We'll continue watching for more.

The Facts: The Eagles and Foles have agreed to a revised contract for the 2018 season that includes a mutual option for 2019, NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported Friday, per two sources informed of the agreement between the sides. Before the revision, Foles was set to become an unrestricted free agent after this upcoming season. Reported by NFL.com

Diehards Line: While full financial terms are not immediately available, a source told NFL Network's Ian Rapoport that the deal includes a $2 million signing bonus and several millions more in incentives if Foles becomes the starter and hits various benchmarks as Philly's starting QB. Foles was set to earn $7 million in 2018, the final season of a two-year deal signed before the 2017 season to be Carson Wentz's backup. Foles' market changed markedly after taking over for the injured Wentz and leading the Eagles to their first Super Bowl title in franchise history and claiming game MVP honors. NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reports that Philly's reshuffling of Foles' deal has nothing to do with the health of Wentz, who is not guaranteed to be ready to play in the season opener against the Atlanta Falcons. Wentz is still recovering from a torn ACL and LCL suffered in Week 14 last season, but reiterated this week that, while it's hard to put a timetable on his recovery, starting Week 1 is "still the goal." Garafolo clarified that Foles' deal was instead redone to reward the journeyman with a pay bump for his performance in the postseason while also providing him the opportunity to hit free agency next spring if he decides to do so.

The Facts: In a letter posted to agent Mike McCartney’s Twitter account on Friday, McCown announced his retirement as an active player. McCown thanked family, friends, coaches and teammates and called it “bittersweet” to step away from a sport he’s played since the second grade. Reported by Profootballtalk.com

Diehards Line: McCown was out of the NFL last year after being released by the Cowboys in September, but spent time with five other clubs during a career that dates back to 2004. He was a fourth-round pick by the Browns that year and made four starts as a rookie before being traded to the Buccaneers the next year. He spent four years in Tampa, three in Jacksonville, a year in Atlanta and four years in New Orleans. McCown only made 10 starts over that extended run and ends his career 216-of-356 for 2,370 passing yards, nine touchdowns and 15 interceptions. His older brother Josh is currently with the Jets and also made starts for the Browns and Buccaneers during his own long run as an NFL journeyman.

The Facts: Jason Witten will be back with the Cowboys in 2018, but another one of the team’s tight ends is retiring. The Cowboys confirmed that they are placing James Hanna on the reserve/retired list shortly after Todd Archer of ESPN reported that Hanna, who dealt with knee problems for the last two years, was walking away from the game. Reported by Profootballtalk.com

Diehards Line: Hanna joined the Cowboys as a sixth-round pick in 2012 and played in 78 games for the team. He missed the entire 2016 season before returning to play every game last season and ends his career with 37 catches for 374 yards and a touchdown. Witten is now joined by Geoff Swaim, Rico Gathers and Blake Jarwin on the depth chart at tight end.

The Facts: Snead, a restricted free agent, is signing a two-year offer sheet worth up to $10.4 million with the Baltimore Ravens today, a source tells ESPN's Adam Schefter. Reported by ESPN.com

Diehards Line: The Saints will have five days to match it. It's not clear if they'll be all that interested. Remember, Snead was tendered at the lowest level earlier this offseason. He was suspended for three games to open last season and ended the year with just eight catches for 92 yards in 11 games. The Saints have added Cameron Meredith to a receiving corps that also includes Michael Thomas and Ted Ginn. The Ravens, meanwhile, are in the midst of a major overhaul at the position with recent signees Michael Crabtree and John Brown currently at the top of their depth chart. ... We'll be following up when the final decision is announced.

The Facts: According to Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com, Bryant has been working out the last several days with Odell Beckham’s trainer, Jamal Liggin. Reported by Profootballtalk.com

Diehards Line: Bryant has expressed a desire to remain in the NFC East so he can play his former team two times a year. He also seemed to indicate that the New York Giants would be among his top choices if he alone could pick a destination to play for in 2018. So when Bryant posted video to his Instagram account on Thursday working out with Beckham, it only furthers the idea that the Giants are Bryant’s prime destination of choice. As previously noted, the Giants release of Brandon Marshall could open up the door to the possibility of Bryant joining Beckham and Sterling Shepard. However, the Giants have less than $5 million in available cap space and whether they want to invest any of that in another veteran receiver while Beckham awaits a payday of his own is uncertain.

The Facts: The 2018 NFL regular-season schedule was released Thursday. Reported by NFL.com

Diehards Line: You can access a full team-by-team look at the schedules for each franchise on the NFL's official website. Meanwhile, NFL.com's Michael Fabiano dished up a few notes of interest on his Twitter account: No quarterback has an easier schedule during the fantasy playoffs (based on 2017 FPA home/road results) than Chicago's Mitchell Trubisky; Miami's Ryan Tannehill has the toughest schedule among quarterbacks during the fantasy playoffs while Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes has the second hardest. No running back has an easier schedule during the fantasy playoffs than Buffalo's LeSean McCoy; Chicago's Jordan Howard has the second-easiest slate; Houston's Lamar Miller and D'Onta Foreman have the toughest schedule among running backs during the fantasy playoffs while New Orleans' Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara have the second hardest. No team's wideouts have an easier schedule during the fantasy playoffs than the Cowboys while Julio Jones and the Falcons' wideouts have the second-easiest slate. There will be ample time for more analysis in coming weeks and you'll find plenty of it right here on the FootballDiehards.com website.

The Facts: Brown took part in this week’s Bears minicamp as a tryout player and he did well enough to stick around a while longer. Brown’s agents announced on Twitter that their client has signed a contract with the Bears. Reported by Profootballtalk.com

Diehards Line: Brown broke into the NFL with the Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2013 and caught 49 passes for 524 yards and seven touchdowns during his rookie season. He spent the next two seasons with Baltimore as well, catching 38 passes for 367 yards, and then moved on to Denver in 2016. A back injury kept him from playing in the regular season and he was out of the league last year after being dropped by the Broncos as they made their way to 53 players. Brown joins Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel as new additions to the wideout group in Chicago, although his spot on the roster is less secure than those bigger-ticket acquisitions.