Position Battles, Training Camp Hold-Ins And Injury News Define Opening Week Of NFL Training Camp

METAIRIE, LOUISIANA – JULY 25: Spencer Rattler #2 of the New Orleans Saints runs a drill during a training camp practice at the Ochsner Sports Performance Center on July 25, 2025 in Metairie, Louisiana. (Photo by Derick E. Hingle/Getty Images)

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Over a week of training camp has passed for every NFL team as organizations close in on preseason play starting with tonight’s Hall of Fame Game between the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Chargers.

During that span, various storylines have emerged from a handful of teams. Some have been centered around critical positional battles while others have been about player holdouts turning into player hold-ins.

Below are the five most prevalent storylines out of the early days of training camp.

New Orleans Saints Starting Quarterback Battle Heats Up

Since the retirement of Derek Carr during the offseason, the Saints have made it clear that it would be conducting an open competition for the starting quarterback spot throughout training camp and the preseason.

According to Saints general manager Mickey Loomis the race for the starting position has been declared a three-player battle between second-round rookie Tyler Shough, second-year signal caller Spencer Rattler and third-year pro Jake Haener.

On the outside looking in, many people believed it was Shough’s job to lose since he was selected by the team’s newest coaching regime that’s led by headman Kellen Moore. Instead, Spencer Rattler looks to have had the advantage throughout camp and was part of the team’s starting rotation during the unit’s most recent walkthrough.

Moore has raved about Rattler’s ability to be a quick processor within his offense and the South Carolina standout has continued to impress with the first and second team offense. Early signs point to Rattler holding the edge for the starting job ahead of the team’s preseason opener next week versus the Los Angeles Chargers

Terry McLaurin ends his holdout and returns to Washington Commanders’ Training Camp on the PUP List

Last Sunday, Commanders’ receiver Terry McLaurin ended his contractual-based holdout and reported to the team’s training camp after missing Washington’s first three practices. Unfortunately, he didn’t return as an on-field participant but rather a member of the Physically Unable To Perform (PUP) list.

Head coach Dan Quinn voiced that his star receiver’s ankle injury was a holdover ailment from last season that is “not uncommon.”

“We don’t know much today,” Quinn said. “We’ll have to do more follow-up on the medical side and then doing assessments and see where he’s at, so we’ll put a better timeline together once he kind of goes through, see where he feels at. The one thing that we know, we have a really good process for this.”

The elephant in the room is still McLaurin’s contract with reports suggesting that he wants at least north of $30 million per year tagged to the final year of his three-year $68 million deal. The lack of an extension led the 29-year-old to express his frustration through a brief training camp holdout after talks stalled in mid-July.

“I’ve been pretty frustrated, I’m not going to lie,” McLaurin said. “Everything that has transpired up to this point has been disappointing and frustrating. I want to continue my career here, I’ve created my life here, my wife and I have bought our first home here. So this has been somewhere where I’ve always wanted to be.

“Just to see how things have played out has been disappointing. Obviously I understand everything is a business, but at the same time I want to put myself in a position where I’m valued and I feel appreciated and things like that. Unfortunately that hasn’t transpired the way I want it to, so I’m just trying to take things day by day.”

Trey Hendrickson Ends His Holdout And Returns To Cincinnati Bengals Training Camp

In an effort to stand in solidarity with his teammates, Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson ended his holdout yesterday by making his first appearance to Cincinnati’s training camp.

However. he didn’t participate in any team activities and operated more as a teacher/mentor to first-round rookie Shemar Stewart while keeping a watchful eye on the camp’s defensive workouts.

“If I can help him in any way, that’s my goal for being here,” Hendrickson said after practice. “The plan was be here day 1. Things transpired. News happened to me and we just kind of make decisions as we go.”

In total, Hendrickson missed the first seven days and five practices of training camp which totaled out to be a net loss of $350,000 in fines for his absences. He also was fined $104,768 for missing the three days of the Bengals mandatory minicamp which is a violation of the league’s collective bargaining agreement with the NFLPA.

According to Hendrickson, “nothing has really changed” when it comes to making ground on a new contract extension. Both sides were recently far apart during negotiations about the contractual language of guaranteed money over the course of multiple years.

The NFL’s leading sack man during the past two years is set to make $15.8 million in base salary in 2025 to complete the final year of his contract.

Shemar Stewart Reaches New Deal With The Cincinnati Bengals And Ends His Team Holdout

After months of battling between contract languages, the Bengals and Shemar Stewart agreed to a fully-guaranteed four-year rookie deal that officially brought their first-round pick onto the team.

The fully-guaranteed money is set at $18.97 million which will include a $10.4 signing bonus for Stewart according to his agent Zac Hill. Both sides came to an inevitable compromise that allowed Cincy’s first-rounder to collect a more lucrative payout structure compared to other No.17 overall picks after agreeing to the team’s void language placed within his contract.

According to Bengals’ team president Mike Brown, the void would be retroactive if Stewart were to do something illegal that sent him to prison.

“Doesn’t mean that we couldn’t agree to pay it, but we wouldn’t be forced to pay it. I don’t want to pay somebody who hypothetically could be in jail for four years at this level of pay,” Brown said.

Stewart missed most of the Bengals’ offseason workouts as he refused to sign a participation waiver prior to getting his rookie deal finalized. Negotiations were at such a toxic point that a source revealed Cincinnati at one point offered their 2025 first-round pick a lower training camp roster bonus than its last year first-round selection Amarius Mims.

Isaiah Likely Suffers A Broken Bone In His Foot And Will Miss 5-6 Weeks

In what was likely a potential breakout season for the young tight end, Baltimore Ravens’ Isaiah Likely suffered a broken bone in his foot near the end of training camp practice this Tuesday that will need surgery to repair. The injury recovery time is slotted between 5-6 weeks which potentially puts the third-year tight end’s Week 1 regular season return in jeopardy.

A season ago, Likely had career-highs in receptions (42) receiving yards (477) and touchdown grabs (6). 2025 will be the final season of his rookie contract.