Quarterback

The good news is that we now have clarity on the status of Aaron Rodgers’ foot injury. In other news, we got a live look at his broken toe on Wednesday. Rodgers got off to a slow start last week but he came on strong in the second half despite the broken toe and it appears to be something he will have to work through for the rest of the season. While he’s still a QB1 against a tough Rams’ defense this week, I wouldn’t consider him a must start. If you are looking to use Rodgers on Sunday, don’t read anything into the fact that he didn’t practice on Wednesday as those reps will be limited. 

It’s a tough opponent in Cleveland, but Lamar Jackson will be back under center this week after missing last week’s game with an illness. At the same time, the Browns have had a few games this season where their defense has simply gone belly up, and Jackson claims to be in peak physical condition, so run him out there. 

Once again, Ben Roethlisberger is limited in practice this week. It hasn’t been the best of seasons for the Pittsburgh quarterback but after throwing for 273 yards and three touchdowns last week, there are worse options to roll with this week than Roethlisberger and we don’t have to worry about him taking the field. 

Something has to give for Baker Mayfield. With Case Keenum behind him, he is still the best option under center for Cleveland, but his health is certainly holding him back; or at least it appears to be the base given what we have seen out of him so far this season and last week specifically. Mayfield is dealing with shoulder, knee, and foot issues, and while he will be limited at best in practice this week, he appears set to take the field again on Sunday. 

For better or worse, Zach Wilson will be back under center this week. The Jets aren’t going to put Wilson out there if his knee isn’t up to it, but thanks to COVID-19 protocols, Mike White and Joe Flacco aren’t even options to start under center. I would expect things to look a little differently than when we last saw Wilson under center, but at the same time it’s unclear how much rust there will be. I would keep my distance here unless you absolutely have no other options. 

Running Back

Here we go again with the San Francisco backfield. JaMycal Hasty didn’t practice on Wednesday as he still deals with an ankle injury but I’m not sure how much that will ultimately matter as both Jeff Wilson and Trey Sermon are healthy and ready to go once again this week. The big question here to monitor, is how is Elijah Mitchell and his finger progressing? He was back in practice, albeit limited, on Wednesday so things are moving towards the incumbent returning. 

Things appear to be quite different in the Tennessee backfield than perhaps we were expecting even as of a week ago. Adrian Peterson is no longer a Titan, Jeremy McNichols didn’t practice on Wednesday due to a concussion, and D’Onta Foreman is limited with a triceps injury. Prior to this point, it’s like McNichols or Foreman were tearing things up, but with running backs the focus is always going to be on who sits atop that depth chart. And this week, that appears to be Dontrell Hillard who has a combined 82 yards to date on the season. 

After playing on Thursday, New England has a few extra days to get healthy, but their backfield has become a little more crowded than it previously was. However, it really shouldn’t be that surprising though as that is their general baseline. Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson split offensive snaps (25 compared to 22) while Harris carried the ball 10 times for 56 yards compared to 12 carries for 69 yards for Stevenson.  Harris was limited in practice with his neck injury on Wednesday, but Stevenson is the bigger obstacle to his fantasy value as both are like FLEX options at best although the latter is now listed on the Injury Report with a knee injury that caused him to be limited in practice on Thursday. 

It doesn’t appear that Jordan Howard is on track to play this week, and after what we saw out of him in the last few games, there are some carries up for grabs. With that being said, Miles Sanders returned to action this week and had perfect timing as he picked up 94 yards on 16 carries and he should continue to be just as busy, at a minimum, with Boston Scott stepping up. 

After spraining his MCL two weeks ago, I wasn’t expecting to see Aaron Jones back on the practice field this soon. This is going to be a situation to keep an eye on leading up to Sunday as the last thing we want is for it be messy and turn into a timeshare between Jones and A.J. Dillon this week. As the lone option in Green Bay’s backfield last week, Dillon picked up a combined 97 yards, but if Jones is back, then the second year back would return to your fantasy bench. At the same time, if Jones does in fact make his return, while his ranking would be downgraded, but he’s still a starter. 

Game script didn’t work in James Robinson’s favor last week as the Jaguars were blown out. With that being said, while nursing both heel and knee injuries, Robinson still managed 14 touches although all he had to show for it was 38 yards and a late game touchdown. We are always going to have to worry about game script with Robinson, but to this point he has made it work and he is in good position to take the field once again on Sunday. 

Cordarrelle Patterson has been a large piece of Atlanta’s offense so far this season, and his absence was felt last Thursday. At this point, things are trending towards Patterson returning to action as he is practicing on a limited basis and should go right back into your starting lineup if he does the same for Atlanta. The game didn’t work in favor of the running game last week, but Qadree Ollison did lead the team with nine carries for 34 yards and would be a player to at least keep on your radar if Patterson is unable to take the field. 

Things are slated to get more crowded in the Cleveland backfield, but in reality, it’s really going to get back to where things were in the beginning of the season Kareem Hunt on a path to return. There is enough skill and workload to support both Hunt and Nick Chubb, but we still need confirm that not only will he be returning, but that there won’t be any limitations placed on him. 

With the short week, I wouldn’t read too much into Saquon Barkley being limited in practice on Wednesday as the Giants are going to take things slow and cautious with him. Of greater concern, is the fact that Barkley was on the field just 59% of New York’s offensive snaps. Game script didn’t favor the running aspect of Barkley’s skill set, but he has proven to be a capable receiver. It should be noted that the Giants’ play calling has been horrific all season and the effects of their change at offensive coordinator remain to be seen. There doesn’t appear to be anything keeping Barkley from taking the field on Sunday and the expectation is that his role and workload will increase. 

Wide Receiver

The earlier we can get information the better, and while the answer isn’t what we want, at least we know that Antonio Brown will be sidelined once again this week. Tampa Bay isn’t short of weapons offensively, and this means we get another of Tyler Johnson in the third receiver role. Scotty Miller did come back from Injured Reserve and his toe injury on Tuesday, but it remains to be seen what, if any, his role will be. On both counts, this isn’t a situation I would go out of my way to target. Instead, I would continue to look Chris Godwin’s way even though we are now in the third straight week of seeing him limited in practice with a foot injury. Godwin’s usage or performance hasn’t suffered so we can continue to rely on him. It’s also possible that this increases this week as Mike Evans was held out of practice on Wednesday and Thursday with a back injury, although at this point it doesn’t appear that it will keep from taking the field on Sunday but I would have alternate plan at the ready. Godwin was back to being a full participant in practice on Thursday, so we should see more of the same from him this week. 

When it comes to Devin Duvernay’s status for this week, the return of Marquise Brown is more critical than his knee and chest injuries that kept him as limited in practice on Wednesday but he was a full participant on Thursday. From a health perspective, he should be good to on Sunday, but I’m not sure he gets back to his four reception, 37-yard effort from last week as the targets simply might not be there. Brown was very busy in the few weeks prior to missing last week’s game, so there’s no reason not to expect him to pick up where he left off with double-digit targets. 

It should come as no surprise that DK Metcalf was given Thursday off from practice as Seattle continues to treat his foot injury cautiously, but once again, I wouldn’t expect it to impact his status on Monday.

Injuries that take place during the practice week are never a good thing, but it remains to be seen how serious, or not, Corey Davis’ groin injury is. With 477 receiving yards and four touchdowns, Davis is the leading receiving for the Jets (whatever that is worth) but there are going to be questions relating to how New York’s offense runs with Zach Wilson under center once again. The fact that Davis didn’t practice on Thursday does increase our level of concern, and it could lead to a second straight strong week from Elijah Moore

A.J. Brown not practicing on Wednesday shouldn’t have come as a surprise for those following the Tennessee receiver this season. This time we can attribute it to the chest injury that forced him out of last week’s game, but until we hear otherwise, I would proceed as if he will be the number option in the Titans’ offense this week. 

Sterling Sheppard was still unable to return to practice on Wednesday as he works through a quadriceps injury but he is getting closer and there is still an outside chance he returns to action this week. Even if he does, I wouldn’t rush to get him back into your lineups. Of greater concern, is the quadriceps injury that kept Kadarius Toney out of practice on Wednesday as we have to carefully watch his status. Even if he is in the lineup, the Giants haven’t consistently turned him loose, but with Freddie Kitchens now calling the plays (honestly anyone could be better than Jason Garrett) that could, or should, change. Neither Shepard or Toney practiced again on Thursday, so while their situations could change (more so Toney) I would look to make alternate plans although this could be the week that Kenny Golladay breaks out. 

Jarvis Landry continues to struggle this season, 27 catches for 245 yards and no touchdowns, in a situation that he should be exploiting with a lack of other receiving options in Cleveland. That makes it tough to rely on moving forward although I wouldn’t read into him missing practice on Wednesday as that has been the norm for him. At the same time though, Donovan People-Jones is dealing with a groin injury and Anthony Schwartz has a concussion, so it could be a Rashad Higgins week; even if there isn’t much passing volume there. Both Landry and Peoples-Jones did practice on a limited basis on Thursday, so it is at least trending towards both being available. 

Washington doesn’t play until Monday, so it makes it that much more difficult to find injury replacements. Curtis Samuel did practice on a limited basis on Thursday, but based on what we have seen from him this season, I would ignore it as far this week goes. 

At this point, it looks like we will have to wait another week for Will Fuller to return from his broken finger. The same can also be said for DeVante Parker so it will be another week of Jaylen Waddle and Mike Gesicki unless something changes. 

It’s nice when we can simply ignore a situation, and with Tyler Boyd that is the case as he doesn’t appear on this week’s Injury Report. We can now confirm it was just cramps or dehydration that forced Boyd out of last week’s game and we can move forward with him for Sunday. 

Last week, Allen Lazard was unable to practice and ultimately wasn’t active against Minnesota. It is good news then that Lazard is back in practice this week and means he has a good chance to be back on the field this week. However, we should note that over the last few weeks, Marquez Valdes-Scantling has been taking on a larger role. While in Green Bay, we unfortunately can’t ignore Davante Adams. There is no argument with his performance this season as one of the best receivers in the league, but after being limited by a shoulder injury last week (before playing without issue), this week he is limited by an ankle injury. Unless we here differently, there’s no reason not to move forward with Adams without any concern. 

With five catches for 47 yards in his last three games, we shouldn’t be relying on TY Hilton at this point but it should also be noted that he was limited in practice on Wednesday so he’s not exactly the picture of true health. 

Tight End

The fact that Washington doesn’t play until Monday makes it a little more difficult both to analyze and utilize their tight as there are three potential options at play. Logan Thomas, the most preferable, is now eligible and able to practice so it will be interesting to see what he can do throughout the weekend. His replacement, Ricky Seals-Jones is still unable to practice, so that would force us to look elsewhere, and his replacement (John Bates) doesn’t appear to have much in the way of fantasy value after catching three passes last week. If we get clarity on Thomas prior to Sunday, then that is the direction I would in, but if not, looking elsewhere is likely the best decision from a roster management perspective. 

With both New England tight ends limited in practice on Wednesday, I would presume that they are in the same boat from a health perspective, and both are slated to take the field on Sunday. If that is the case, I would continue to defer to Hunter Henry who has found more success this season. 

After suffering a knee injury, Eric Ebron is expected to be sidelined at least for this week, so that should mean more work for Pat Freiermuth who has become a solid option at the tight end position. 

Things are currently trending towards Kyle Rudolph not being available on Sunday and that could mean increased work for Evan Engram