The Patriots selected QB Jacoby Brissett with the 91st pick of the 2016 NFL Draft. He becomes the 3rd QB drafted by New England in the past 6 years. Ryan Mallett attempted 4 passes for the Pats, while Jimmy Garoppolo has chucked it 31 times through his first 2 seasons. Brissett started his college career at Florida before transferring to North Carolina State, where he completed 59.9% of his passes with 43 TDs and 11 INTs. He possesses prototypical size at 6'4, 231 pounds and has an NFL-caliber arm. Brissett will sit behind Garoppolo and, of course, Tom Brady this season. But he could eventually push Garoppolo for the right to be Brady's heir apparent.
The Bengals added WR Tyler Boyd with the 55th pick of the 2016 NFL Draft. Boyd has 1 of the best production profiles in the WR class. He’s Pittsburgh’s all-time leader in career receptions (254) and receiving yards (3,361), despite spending just 3 years there. He also chipped in on the ground, totaling 520 rushing yards and a score on 63 attempts (8.3 YPC). But Boyd isn’t particularly big or athletic at 6’1, 197 pounds with a SPARQ score in the 34th percentile among WRs. He figures to top out as a #2 WR at the next level. But he has a shot to capture that gig right away in Cincinnati. Only Brandon LaFell stands between Boyd and a starting job.
A federal appeals court ruled on Monday that Patriots QB Tom Brady must serve the 4-game suspension for his role in "Deflategate." Brady won his appeal of the suspension last fall and played all 16 games. He does have the option of appealing this decision to the Supreme Court, although that's viewed as unlikely. Brady and the league could also agree on a reduced ban. But for now, he'll miss the first 4 contests of the 2016 season. QB Jimmy Garoppolo will start those games against the Cardinals, Dolphins, Texans and Bills. Those matchups make him tough to like as a fantasy option, especially with no teams on bye for the first 3 weeks. Brady's suspension also hurts WR Julian Edelman and TE Rob Gronkowski's early-season outlooks.
Steelers WR Martavis Bryant plans to enter rehab for his depression and drug issues. “We’re all stunned, me included,” Bryant's agent said. “We clearly miscalculated the issue. His isn’t a party issue. It’s a coping issue and a depression issue, and he’s got to take care of it.” Bryant is facing a full-season ban for multiple missed drug tests. He's appealing the ban, but it isn't expected to be overturned. Like Cleveland's Josh Gordon, Bryant will be able to apply for reinstatement in 1 year. If he can get back on track off the field, he could return in 2017 at 25 years old.
With Washington's season over, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that the team will release QB Robert Griffin at some point. That move doesn't need to happen until March 9. That's when his $16.5 million option for 2016, which the team previously picked up, would become guaranteed. That's the number that figures to keep any team from trading for RG3, but we'd guess he'll find plenty of interest on the open market. Griffin needs to find the right situation and work to turn his NFL career around, but he at least starts with physical talent. We'll be curious to see where this goes.
The forecast for today's Steelers-Browns game calls for 20-30% chance of snow with 18 mph winds. That might be enough to break ties against guys in this game, but we're not moving any Steelers or Browns in the Week 17 rankings. QB Ben Roethlisberger, WR Antonio Brown and WR Martavis Bryant remain strong fantasy plays. TE Gary Barndige is the only reliable option in Cleveland's passing game.
The Bills announced Karlos Williams as their starting RB for today's game against the Cowboys. ESPN's Mike Rodak cautions that RB Mike Gillislee will remain involved, but Williams is clearly the better bet for touches and the better fantasy play. Buffalo should be able to run it plenty in this one, giving the explosive rookie RB1 upside.
Bucs WR Vincent Jackson (knee) remained out of practice on Wednesday. The veteran might be done for the year after spraining his MCL against New Orleans in Week 14. If that’s the case, his 11th NFL season will end with a disappointing 33 grabs, 543 yards and 3 TDs.
Bills RB Karlos Williams (shoulder) is out for Sunday’s game against the Eagles. RB LeSean McCoy will see as many touches as he can handle vs. his former team.
Cardinals S Deone Bucannon is active for today's game at San Francisco after passing through the concussion protocol this week. Use him as you normally would in your IDP league.
Chiefs OC Doug Pederson says RB Spencer Ware will maintain a backfield role Sunday against the Bills even if RB Charcandrick West (hamstring) is ready to play. “I think our mentality is still the running back by committee,’’ Pederson told ESPN.com, specifically praising Ware's balance, vision and power. That could make him a nice complement to the smaller, speedier West, whose touches the Chiefs might want to limit coming off a hamstring injury. The situation adds risk to West as a fantasy option for Week 12, but he's still the 1st Chiefs back we'd use if he's active. Ware will be tough to trust as a fantasy starter if West is in the lineup but should at least still be an option for deeper leagues or those in rough shape at RB.
Cardinals WRs Michael Floyd and John Brown both missed Wednesday's practice with their hamstring injuries. Floyd went down in the 2nd half of last week's win over the Seahawks. Brown made it through the game but obviously wasn't at 100%, going catch-less on 3 targets. We'll see if either guy gets on the practice field tomorrow. WR Jaron Brown is behind them on the depth chart.
Packers WR James Jones was added to Thursday's injury report with a quad. He was listed as a limited participant. It's still unclear whether Jones injured the quad during practice or is just getting some mid-week rest. Check back tomorrow for an update.
Eagles RB Ryan Mathews (groin) is listed as questionable for this weekend's game against the Cowboys. He was limited Wednesday, sat out Thursday but put in a full practice on Friday. He should play on Sunday. We’ll see if his role grows coming out of the bye. Consider Mathews a risk/reward RB3 or flex.
Jets QBs Ryan Fitzpatrick and Geno Smith are both uncertain for Sunday's game against the Jaguars. Fitzpatrick suffered ligament damage in his left hand in yesterday's loss to the Raiders and will need surgery at some point, according to HC Todd Bowles. But it sounds like he'll put off that surgery for now. Bowles labeled Fitzpatrick day-to-day. Smith, meanwhile, is dealing with a "big bruise" on his left shoulder, per Bowles. There's no structural damage to the non-throwing wing. Bowles said that the team is exploring trade options for a QB. Rookie Bryce Petty is the only healthy QB on the roster right now.
Chargers TE Antonio Gates (knee) is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Ravens. He didn’t practice all week, but San Diego isn’t ruling him out just in case he makes more progress than expected before kickoff. We’ll find out Gates’ status by noon ET on Sunday, but fantasy owners can’t be counting on him. Gates’ snaps would likely be limited even if he plays. Ladarius Green is a TE1 regardless of Gates’ availability.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said that WR Dez Bryant (foot) has a "really good chance" to return for Week 8. Bryant ran and cut at full speed this past week and worked out on the field prior to yesterday's game against the Giants. "I felt real good," he said. "I'm just taking it day by day. That's all I can do, and stay strong." We'll continue to keep a close eye on Bryant's progress this week.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport confirms that Chiefs WR Jeremy Maclin (concussion) will play against the Steelers today. He shouldn't be limited at all, making him a borderline WR1 in a positive matchup.
Chargers TE Antonio Gates (knee) is officially questionable after missing all 3 practices this week. HC Mike McCoy already confirmed that Gates can play without practicing. But the knee is a real concern. And we might not find out his official status until 3 pm ET on Sunday. Owners hoping to start Gates need a late-game replacement. The best would be Ladarius Green, who will be a high-upside TE1 if Gates doesn't play. Other options include Larry Donnell, Crockett Gillmore and Zach Ertz.
Contradicting a previous item, Bills HC Rex Ryan said after Sunday's win over Miami that RB LeSean McCoy is playing on "one and a half legs," according to Tyler Dunne of The Buffalo News. Ryan reportedly added that McCoy is dealing with significant pain in his troublesome hamstring. That would explain his slow start, as well as Karlos Williams' 1-carry edge against the Dolphins. It's worth noting that Ryan had previously exuded almost nothing but confidence for McCoy's health status. Perhaps we'll see more of a timeshare in the coming weeks, especially after Williams' big Week 3. Ryan said the team hasn't considered sitting McCoy to get him back to 100%, but McCoy was more non-committal. "We got to look at everything," he said. "We'll figure it out. I'm not sure right now. I don't have a definite answer. We'll see what's going on." It's a situation to watch, and Williams should be picked up in any fantasy football league of at least moderate depth. If you own McCoy and someone else owns Williams, consider checking on the trade price for the rookie.
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