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Training Camp Notes: Cobb Expects To Be Ready For Week 1

Randall Cobb sent fantasy owners into cardiac arrest when he left the Packers' third preseason game early with a shoulder injury. Those early drafters can exhale as they prepare their Week 1 lineups, as Cobb said Tuesday he expects to be ready to go against the Bears. Cobb said the shoulder, while still a little swollen, is much better than he and the team feared it could be. With fellow wide receiver Jordy Nelson out for the year with an ACL injury, Cobb will be the singular focal point of the Packers' passing game, and could be primed for an absurdly productive season catching passes from Aaron Rodgers. With all 16 games now at his disposal, Cobb should be primed to validate those who selected him near the top of their drafts.

  • The injury news out of Jacksonville isn't nearly as good. Free agency splash Julius Thomas will undergo surgery on his injured finger Wednesday and could miss up to a month, which comes at an awful time for the Jaguars. If the injury had happened early in training camp, he likely would've missed just one game. But with the surgery taking place just 11 days before the team opens the regular season against Carolina, Thomas could be looking at three missed games. Likewise, fantasy owners who drafted Thomas as their No. 1 tight end will be missing a sizable amount of points; in each of his last two seasons, Thomas has caught 12 touchdowns. Last year, he found the end zone a dozen times despite starting just 10 games. He was in line to be a huge piece of numerous fantasy teams, but instead he'll be a huge hole, at least for the first few weeks.
  • Just one day after his time in Buffalo came to an abrupt, surprising ending, it appears Fred Jackson has found a new home. NFL.com's Ian Rapoport reports that Jackson is set to sign with the Seattle Seahawks, who saw running back Robert Turbin go down with a high ankle sprain in their last preseason game. Jackson, who has spent all eight of his NFL seasons in Buffalo, ran for 525 yards and two touchdowns in 14 games last year. He should have a chance to compete with Christine Michael for the team's No. 2 running back position, and, possibly of equal importance to the veteran, finally play for a contender.
  • Over in Kansas City, the sprained ankle Kelce suffered in Monday's practice isn't nearly as bad as some fantasy owners may have feared. Head coach Andy Reid said the superstar tight end would be able to go if the Chiefs' upcoming preseason game were a regular season contest. He won't see the field against the Rams as a precautionary measure, but he should be expected to be back at full health by the time Week 1 rolls around. Kelce is a bona fide stud at tight end; last season, he caught 67 passes for 862 yards and five touchdowns in his first full year of action. With Jeremy Maclin demanding more defensive attention in coverage this season, Kelce could see his numbers jump even higher.
  • Washington wideout DeSean Jackson said Tuesday that he'll be able to play Week 1. With a newly-minted starting quarterback in Kirk Cousins, Washington will need every conceivable weapon at its disposal. For those who haven't selected their squads yet, Jackson remains a viable fantasy option despite the dramatic rotating door at quarterback. Last season, with three different starting quarterbacks, Jackson caught 56 passes for 1,169 yards and six touchdowns. For what it's worth, in the six games last season where Cousins was the team's primary gunslinger, Jackson averaged three catches for 77.6 yards and 0.5 touchdowns per game. That would average out to 48 catches, 1,241 yards and eight touchdowns over a 16-game campaign.
  • And, finally, it wouldn't be an NFL update if it didn't feature a little bit of the artist formerly known as Money Manziel. Cleveland's enigmatic quarterback will reportedly not need surgery on his ailing elbow, which is a good sign for him, but it's still uncertain whether he'll be able to serve as the backup quarterback by Week 1. Manziel played well in his first two preseason appearances before the elbow held him out, and there were rumblings that he could potentially unseat starter Josh McCown if the season began on a bad note. But with a nagging elbow problem, the plans for a theoretical coup could be delayed by a few weeks.