Dallas faces a Sept. 4 opener vs Philadelphia with Micah Parsons still in contract limbo, yet coach Brian Schottenheimer remains confident he’ll suit up. Parsons has spent camp on a chair but is participating in meetings and walkthroughs, and Dallas is betting his conditioning and game-day readiness will keep the defense elite while the business side sorts itself out.

The Cowboys’ defense appears anchored by Parsons’ on-field impact, combining elite pass rush with top EPA/Play metrics when he’s on the field, while posting stark drops when he’s off. Dallas has publicly leaned into a team-first mindset, even as Aikman argued Parsons’ absence could hinder the club’s chances—a view Schottenheimer disputes as overly simplistic.

Trey Hendrickson’s extension talks with the Bengals have become a test of value in an evolving edge-rush market. Cincinnati let Hendrickson explore a trade to prove he wouldn’t fetch market-rate, but market moves since then have raised the stakes. Crosby’s $35.5M APY, Garrett’s $40M, and Watt’s $41M markers set a new floor for top-tier pass rushers. Hendrickson now faces a tricky choice: accept market value with Cincinnati, or test the market again and risk a season-long uncertainty. With the season looming, the decision could ripple through both the Bengals’ defense and fantasy projections for sack-heavy players in the AFC North and beyond.

For fantasy-minded followers, the saga matters because a Hendrickson departure or raise reshapes lineups and defensive rosters. If he stays at market value, his sack upside remains strong but crowded by higher salaries on the market; if he moves, teams with aggressive edge plans could boost their defenses while creating new targets and value adjustments around Cincinnati’s pass rush depth chart. Either outcome tightens the podium for fantasy edge players and shifts win-probability narratives around Cincinnati’s line of scrimmage.

Tyson Bagent signed a two-year Bears extension worth roughly $10 million with incentives that can push the deal to $16 million. The 25-year-old undrafted Shepherd product has backed up Chicago since 2023 and impressed again in a recent Bills preseason win, going 13-for-22 for 196 yards and a TD. The Bears added Case Keenum for veteran depth, while coachs and execs praised Bagent’s preparation and progression through Chicago’s new offense. He’ll again serve as Caleb Williams’ backup, giving the QB room a steady, high-workload understudy behind Fields and Keenum.

The move tightens Chicago’s quarterback stability and signals a longer-term plan behind the Williams-era projection. For fantasy managers, the value hinges on Williams’ college-to-NFL trajectory and Fields’ health, but Bagent’s developmental trajectory and job security create a speculative upside in deeper leagues and late-season DFS if his reps rise late in the year.

Updated WR projections for 2025 shape fantasy drafts, led by Nick Mariano's latest outlooks. The piece spotlights top producers and situational sleepers across the league, including Ja'Marr Chase, CeeDee Lamb, Justin Jefferson, Puka Nacua, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Rashee Rice, Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze, Ladd McConkey, Matthew Golden, Jakobi Meyers, and Ricky Pearsall. Odunze is framed for a sizable second-year leap with Chicago’s offense, helped by a sturdier line and new pass-catchers around Caleb Williams’ targets. Injury news and rankings updates accompany the projections, with DFS and season-long usage in mind.