Who Should I Start? Jalen Royals or Isaiah Bond

Wednesday, September 3, 8:59 AM

Kansas City Chiefs rookie wide receiver Jalen Royals (knee) has been ruled out for Friday's season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers. The fourth-round pick has been sidelined for multiple weeks with knee tendinitis and did not travel with the team to Brazil on Wednesday. Royals was expected to provide depth behind third-year starter Rashee Rice, who is suspended for the first six games. With both Royals and Rice unavailable, veteran JuJu Smith-Schuster is positioned to take on a larger role. Smith-Schuster, who rejoined the Chiefs in 2024 after Rice suffered a season-ending LCL injury, has an opportunity to stabilize the passing game early in the year. Royals' next opportunity to make his NFL debut is against the Philadelphia Eagles. - Nathan Harvey

Monday, August 18, 9:37 AM

The Cleveland Browns have signed rookie wide receiver Isaiah Bond to a three-year, $3.018 million fully guaranteed contract. After garnering a good deal of buzz in the early stages of draft season, Bond went undrafted after being accused of sexual assault in April. The case was no-billed last week by a grand jury, and Bond faces no further criminal charges. Bond announced shortly after this ruling that he would be signing with the Browns, and his deal becomes official. Having missed almost all of training camp, it will be difficult for him to carve out any sort of immediate role as a rookie, but the guaranteed signing would suggest that the Browns have a plan for him. Bond has always displayed impressive game speed, and he is worth stashing in dynasty leagues.