Buying or Selling NFL's Latest Training Camp Buzz Entering September

With no NFL preseason this year, the buzz coming out of training camps is more important than ever. 

That buzz clues onlookers in on happenings like positional competitions, the final-roster battle and generally sets the tone for the team. 

Not all buzz is created equal, though. Coach-speak has a way of sliding into the chatter making the rounds, and with varying rules and media access at each of the 32 camps—plus the unreliable nature of rumors—some buzz is simply more buyable. 

Here's a look at some of the most notable training camp buzz as the calendar turns to September and a verdict as to whether we're buying or selling.

The Dallas Cowboys sparked some slight drama recently with a noticeable lack of reps for star wideout Amari Cooper at training camp practices. 

Normally, that wouldn't be too noteworthy, but the Cowboys' season last year came to an embarrassing end with a loss to Philadelphia in which the coaching staff withheld Cooper from playing on key downs, and he went on to admit he didn't play well. 

But new Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said there is nothing to Cooper's limited role right now and that he doesn't have any concerns about the wideout's health, according to The Athletic's Jon Machota: "No, I don't. Not at all."

After inking Cooper to a five-year deal worth $100 million this offseason, it's probable the Cowboys just don't want to risk arguably the offense's top weapon if there aren't going to be preseason games—and No. 17 pick CeeDee Lamb needs as many reps with Dak Prescott as possible given the circumstances. 

The New England Patriots think they have something special in corner J.C. Jackson. 

Jackson, an undrafted free agent in 2018, shocked some by getting reps with the first-team defense in Foxborough almost immediately. Fast-forward to now, and Bill Belichick sounds like a guy expecting a breakout, according to Chris Mason of MassLive.com: 

"He's had a good camp, been out there every day, he's taken a lot of reps, he's in good condition, his techniques and fundamentals are pretty good. So, he continues to make plays for us on the field and expand the things that he can do to provide, as I said, more versatility and for him to create either bigger or sometimes different roles for himself or for his teammates. He's done a good job for us."

This might be the personification of coach-speak, though. Jackson only played 68 percent of the defense's snaps last year, and while he only allowed 33 catches on 62 targets, he graded 67.3 at Pro Football Focus. 

Perhaps the biggest problem for Jackson is the presence of the NFL's reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Stephon Gilmore, who by comparison graded 82.8. With defenses looking to avoid him, Jackson's likely going to see a dramatic uptick in targets. A steady season, albeit one without a guaranteed increase in snap count, seems more doable. 

The New Orleans Saints suddenly have a big absence on their hands with running back Alvin Kamara missing from camp. 

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, it's all about the contract. 

Go figure, right? Kamara, one of the NFL's best running backs, only has a $2.38 million cap hit this season in the final year of his rookie contract. He's had to watch as other stars at his position such as Christian McCaffrey and Derrick Henry got massive extensions this offseason. 

Editor's Note: ESPN's Jeremy Fowler has reported the Saints and Kamara are "not far apart" on a deal despite yesterday's news. 

Kamara, just 25 and a third-round success story from the 2017 draft, has averaged five yards per carry for his career, scored 27 rushing touchdowns and caught 243 passes for 2,068 yards and 10 scores. 

Granted, it's a little odd for Kamara to pull such a move less than two weeks before the season kicks off, but it's certainly one way to put pressure on a front office wanting to go all-in on what should be Drew Brees' final season. 

The Chicago Bears have one of the more ho-hum quarterback competitions in recent memory, pitting new arrival Nick Foles against the failed-to-meet-expectations Mitchell Trubisky. 

Bears head coach Matt Nagy made it clear the team will announce something closer to the season's start, per Larry Mayer of the team's official website: 

"What I meant, to keep it real simple, was that there was not going to be a quarterback named this week that we're in right now. So I apologize if I made that gray. But there will be no waiting until the middle of the week or the end of the week for that to happen. That wouldn't be fair to our team and it wouldn't be fair to the quarterbacks."

But it's easy to see this going down to the wire. The Bears are unfortunately trapped in one of the strangest summers to date and won't see either quarterback get live reps in a preseason game. 

And the choices already weren't encouraging. Trubisky is a career 63.4 percent passer with just 48 touchdowns and 29 interceptions and a 23-18 record in three seasons as the starter. Foles is a career 61.9 percent passer and hasn't attempted more than 195 passes in a season since 2015, never mind the paltry 26-22 record. 

As ideal as it might be to know the starter by now, it won't come as a surprise if the decision takes much longer to make in the Windy City.

Controversy surrounded the Green Bay Packers this offseason because the team used a first-round pick on quarterback Jordan Love despite the presence of Aaron Rodgers. 

But the players are hardly fixated on that. Star running back Aaron Jones, for example, is more focused on the belief that things seem even better going into Year 2 of Matt LaFleur's plan, something he made clear to NFL Network's Brian Baldinger and Kurt Warner (h/t NFL.com). 

"You could just tell that the offense is crisper, Jones said. "I mean, coming in from Day 1 last year to Day 1 this year, guys are going full speed, they're not having to think about what their assignment is as they're playing and they can just go out there and play fast and I think you're going to see that translate to Week 1."

That's a scary thought for the rest of the NFC North considering Rodgers threw for 4,002 yards with 26 touchdowns last year and Jones totaled 1,084 yards and 16 touchdowns at an average of 4.6 yards per carry with 49 catches for 474 yards for good measure. 

It's only natural to expect an uptick in most facets now that the majority of the core players have a year under their belts in LaFleur's system, meaning Jones' rhetoric isn't bordering on hyperbole even though there are no preseason games to serve as a measuring stick. 

Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry was one of this offseason's biggest talking points before he cashed in on a four-year extension worth $50 million. 

The move was generally polarizing because paying running backs is polarizing. But that's especially the case for a back like Henry, who caught all of 18 passes last year. 

But word out of Titans camp from quarterback Ryan Tannehill is the offense's featured back is "catching the ball more confidently," according to NFL Network's Michael Giardi.

That's about as optimistic as it gets though. Henry's game isn't fooling anyone, hence the fact that he's never caught more than 18 passes in all four of his seasons. Not that it mattered last year, as he rumbled for 1,540 yards and 16 touchdowns with a 5.1 average. 

While the Titans would probably like the offense to be a little more unpredictable when Henry's on the field, that's likely why they added third-round rookie Darrynton Evans and free agent Jeremy McNichols in late August as guys they can move all over the formation, leaving the bruising work to Henry.

It's a little easy to overlook Seattle Seahawks running back Chris Carson. 

Carson, after all, missed the tail end of last year with a fractured hip, and that led to the rather unexpected reemergence of Marshawn Lynch. 

But word out of Seahawks camp is Carson is back and looking dominant. 

"Chris has got fresh legs," coach Pete Carroll said, according to the Seattle Times' Bob Condotta. "... He looks great. He hasn't had a snap out here that he didn't look good. So we don't have any hesitation with Chris at all. He's ready to go."

It's an easy buy-in because...Carson rarely looks bad. The 2017 seventh-round pick has posted consecutive 1,100-yard seasons with 16 rushing scores and a 4.5 average, even rendering 2018 first-round pick Rashaad Penny rather irrelevant. 

Barring something unexpected, there's no reason to assume anything besides Carson being one of the NFL's premier workhorses again. 

Bruce Arians was never going to take it easy on Tom Brady upon his arrival with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

In fact, Arians was his usual self with the media recently after practice, suggesting Brady's offense wasn't up to par against the defense. 

"The defense made the plays all day," Arians said, according to Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times. "I don't know if the offense made any plays."

Overblown would probably be the right word. A few miscues on a rough-weather day aren't the end of the world, but Arians' criticism sure doesn't hurt as a very public motivational tool for the offense. Brady, specifically, looked solid last year during a "down" season (60.8 completion percentage, 4,057 yards and 24 touchdowns against eight interceptions), and he's now surrounded by one of his best supporting casts ever thanks to the likes of Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Rob Gronkowski and more. 

Exhibition games or not, Brady and Co. figure to fire on all cylinders right out of the gate when the regular season starts.