Alabama WR Noah Rogers may be closer to a return from injury than anyone thought

Alabama needed to add an experienced WR in the Transfer Portal after losing Germie Bernard to the NFL and Isaiah Horton, Cole Adams, and Jalen Hale to the portal. They took a swing at Auburn's Cam Coleman, but that was never realistic. They ultimately landed NC State's Noah Rogers, who started 12 games for the Wolfpack in 2025.

Rogers looked likely to be Alabama's No. 3 WR next to Ryan Coleman-Williams and Lotzeir Brooks, but Rogers went down with an injury during the A-Day scrimmage. Kalen DeBoer described it as a long-term injury that would cost him part of the 2026 season.

DeBoer mentioned a month ago that Rogers was coming along nicely in his rehab, but he still expected him to miss the early part of the regular season. Perhaps that was a cautionary way to view it.

Because on Sunday, Rogers returned to practice, per photos released by UA Athletics:

Transfer WR Noah Rogers returns to Alabama practice on Sunday

Alabama has some talent in the WR room, but there is some concern about the depth down the depth chart. With Rogers out, Alabama really only had five guys that seemed ready to contribute, perhaps a sixth if JUCO transfer Tyler Henderson is as far along as Coleman-Williams alluded to at SEC Media Days.

Outside of Coleman-Williams, Brooks, and Rico Scott, no other healthy WR on the roster has caught a pass at the FBS level. Getting Rogers back could be pivotal, especially now that Alabama's QB competition is decided with sophomore Keelon Russell beating out senior Austin Mack.

Surrounding the sophomore with as many weapons as possible is critical.

Rogers getting back to practice is the first step in his return to the football field and his Alabama debut. The return to practice doesn't necessarily signal that Rogers will be healthy and available for Week 1. He's got to ramp himself up into game shape before DeBoer and the coaching staff are comfortable putting him out there.

But this is a positive development. When he went down in the spring, while DeBoer noted immediately that it wouldn't be season-ending, the injury was expected to eat into the season some. Now, it's possible that Rogers doesn't miss any time, and if he does, it might just be a couple of games at the start of the season.

With some recent bad injury news, Sunday brought a nice change of pace with Rogers getting back on the practice field.

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