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ESPN’s Todd Archer says Cowboys WR Jalen Tolbert “has a chance to take the No. 3 role behind CeeDee Lamb and Brandin Cooks” this upcoming season.

Advice: The departure of Michael Gallup this offseason immediately opened the door for Tolbert to step into a bigger role. Couple that with the fact that the Cowboys didn’t take a receiver until the sixth round of the draft, and his path to snaps becomes all the more clear. Archer reports that Tolbert has “joined [Dak] Prescott at the hip” this offseason, spending additional time with Prescott in hopes of developing additional familiarity and trust with the quarterback come game day. Head coach Mike McCarthy also praised Tolbert’s growth, saying he’s “taken leaps and bounds” with his confidence and understanding of the game. Tolbert entered the league as a third-round pick out of South Alabama and turned in a solid combine, posting an 8.76 RAS. He’s played sparingly through his first two years in the league, amassing 24 receptions for 280 yards and two touchdowns for his career, and has likely faced a steep learning curve going from the Sun Belt conference to the NFL. Any significant role would make him an interesting dart throw in the later rounds of fantasy drafts, as an injury to either Cooks or Lamb could thrust Tolbert into a starting role. Rotoworld 18 minutes ago

Coach Mike McDaniel said at OTAs that Tagovailoa, who continues to vie for a contract extension beyond his fifth-year option, has dropped between 10 and 15 pounds this offseason, Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post reports.

Advice: Tagovailoa has been an on-and-off participant at OTAs for Miami, but McDaniel made clear that his attendance schedule has been a non-issue. The quarterback added weight last offseason in order to protect himself, and coupled with training to reduce impact taken when falling to the ground, that allowed Tagovailoa to play a full 17-game slate for the first time in his NFL career. It appears that the signal-caller is now putting in the work to get more mobile while keeping the traits that have added to his durability, with McDaniel noting that Tagovailoa is looking "svelte." Both sides will continue negotiations on a multi-year extension, though Alain Poupart of SI.com notes the possibility of Tagovailoa playing out the 2024 season on his fifth-year option can't be entirely dismissed. Rotowire.com Yesterday, 3:21 pm

Coach Kevin Stefanski relayed earlier this week that Hopkins has recovered from the hamstring injury he sustained last December, Scott Petrak of BrownsZone.com reports.

Advice: The injury sidelined Hopkins for the Browns' last two regular-season games, as well as the team's playoff loss to the Texans. Per Petrak, Hopkins wasn't initially present for this week's voluntary OTAs, but once the kicker returns to the mix, he'll be set to lead a kicking corps that also includes Cade York and Lucas Havrisik. Rotowire.com Yesterday, 2:20 pm

Coach Sean Payton has made it clear Nix, Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson are competing for the starting QB job, ESPN.com's Jeff Legwold reports.

Advice: Payton said Thursday that Nix is "farther along" than most rookies would be at the same juncture, citing Nix's intelligence and NCAA QB record of 61 starts as likely explanations for his ability to learn the Denver offense quickly. The rookie first-round pick opened Thursday's practice with the starters, but Payton downplayed the significance afterward, mentioning that Stidham got more first-team snaps Tuesday and Wilson took the majority Wednesday. Payton said all three are doing well so far and expressed confidence that the Broncos have a good QB room, though he also used the term "orphan dogs" to describe the trio of Nix, Stidham and Wilson. Rotowire.com Yesterday, 8:33 am

The Athletic’s Jon Greenberg reports Caleb Williams and the Bears offense has struggled during OTAs.

Advice: Bears beat writers have reported plenty of Williams’ passes hitting the ground, difficulties getting set for plays, and constant pressure on the rookie from the Chicago defense. Greenberg said Williams was “under pressure while his receivers (which didn’t include Rome Odunze or Keenan Allen) tried to get open. There were a few just-missed interceptions. Sometimes, Williams couldn’t even get passes off as the secondary used its space advantage in the red zone to shut down receivers. We saw a lot of screen passes, many of which turned into scores. Occasionally, the offense struggled to line up or get a play off.” Hopefully a full summer of practices against a tough Bears defense will prepare Williams — the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft — for live action competition starting with the Titans in Week 1. Rotoworld Yesterday, 7:05 am