Jaguars WR Zay Jones (knee) was limited in practice all week and is listed as questionable for Sunday morning's game vs. the Bills in London. HC Doug Pederson is optimistic that Jones will be able to play, but it doesn't look like he'll be at 100%. That leaves him as a shaky Week 5 fantasy play.
Commanders RB Brian Robinson registered season lows with six carries and 10 rushing yards in Thursday night's loss to the Bears. He struggled to find running room early on, and the Bears fell behind 17-0 early in the second quarter. Robinson's final carry came with 9:28 left in the second quarter. He at least added 33 yards on four catches, but it was still an ugly fantasy outing in what looked like a great spot. That's the risk when dealing with a game script-dependent RB. Robinson wound up getting out-snapped 38 to 25 by RB Antonio Gibson in this one. The good news is that the Commanders shouldn't face much negative game script the next two weeks vs. the Falcons and Giants. (Of course, we didn't think they'd get crushed by the Bears at home.)
Per The Athletic's Dianna Russini, the Bears are trading WR Chase Claypool and a 2025 seventh-round pick to the Dolphins in exchange for a 2025 sixth-round pick. Claypool's tenure in Chicago was short-lived, as he only appeared in 10 games after being acquired from the Steelers prior to the trade deadline last year. On Wednesday, Bears GM Ryan Poles shared in a radio interview that trading for Claypool last season "didn’t work out and we were hoping for him to be a little bit more productive," signaling that a potential move was on the horizon after marking the wideout inactive for two straight games. From a fantasy perspective, moving to the Dolphins at least keeps Claypool somewhat on the radar. He'll have a hard time finding relevance ahead of his new teammates Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, but it's never a bad thing to move to one of the NFL's highest-scoring offenses. Still, he's only worth stashing in very deep leagues for now. Most 10 or 12-team league managers shouldn't take action.
The Athletic's Dianna Russini confirms that Rams WR Cooper Kupp (hamstring) is expected to play vs. the Eagles on Sunday, barring a setback. Russini adds that Kupp has been on a snap count at practice, so it's certainly possible that he's on a snap count this weekend. Still, an active Kupp will be tough to keep out of fantasy lineups -- especially in what figures to be a pass-heavy game from the Rams.
QB Sam Howell and the Commanders were pathetic in the first half of Thursday night's game vs. the Bears, digging themselves a 27-3 hole. Howell headed into the break with just 71 yards, 0 TDs, and 1 INT on 9-of-13 passing. He chucked it another 38 times in catch-up mode in the second half, though, and threw for 317 yards and a pair of scores to finish with a 388-2-1 passing line. It wound up being a strong fantasy outing -- but it's tough to feel good about Howell moving forward after this performance. He failed to get WR Terry McLaurin (4-49-0) or WR Jahan Dotson (3-30-0) going and took another five sacks against a Bears defense that had TOTALED two sacks over the first four weeks. Howell gets favorable matchups again the next two weeks vs. the Falcons and Giants but won't be a recommended QB1 play.
Bears TE Cole Kmet was on the receiving end of the third of QB Justin Fields' four passing scores in Thursday night's win over the Commanders. Kmet easily beat LB Cody Barton on a crossing route for the four-yard TD. He finished the night with five catches on five targets for 42 yards and the score. WR D.J. Moore dominated in this one, but Kmet finished second on the team in targets, catches, and yards. His 17.2% target share was actually his second-lowest mark through the first five games of the season. He's averaging 5.8 targets on a 19.1% share for the year. With that type of volume -- and QB Justin Fields looking more comfortable as a passer -- Kmet should be viewed as a weekly low-end TE1.
Bears WR D.J. Moore racked up 230 receiving yards and a single-game franchise record three TDs in Thursday night's win over the Commanders. He got going early with a 58-yard deep reception and a 20-yard TD on Chicago's first possession. Moore's assault continued throughout the night with a strong combination of route running and after-catch skills. In fact, he racked up a whopping 141 yards after the catch, per Pro Football Focus. His second TD came on an impressive contested grab from 11 yards out in the second quarter; the third a relatively easy 56-yard catch and run after CB Kendall Fuller tried to jump Moore's route for an INT. Moore has now topped 100 yards in two straight games and three of the last four. More importantly, he's racked up 32 targets on a 27.8% share over the past four weeks. Don't expect the Bears passing game to continue producing anywhere close to how it has these past two weeks. But QB Justin Fields looks improved and can certainly support Moore as at least a WR2 on this type of volume. Plus, Moore has three more favorable matchups on tap vs. the Vikings, Raiders, and Chargers.
Bears QB Justin Fields threw four TDs for the second straight game in Thursday night's easy win over the Commanders. He'd thrown four TDs in exactly 0 NFL games prior to these last two -- and only reached three TDs once. Fields was locked onto top WR D.J. Moore against Washington, connecting with him on eight of 10 throws for 230 yards and three scores. Fields' other TD went to TE Cole Kmet. There was a lot of bad defense from the Commanders in this one, but Fields is certainly looking more comfortable in the pocket and throwing downfield a lot more than he did last season. He added 57 rushing yards on 11 carries in this one for a monster fantasy day. Fields has a good chance to stay hot going forward in favorable upcoming matchups vs. the Vikings, Raiders, and Chargers.
San Francisco CB Charvarius Ward returned to limited practice Thursday after sitting out Wednesday with a heel injury. We'll see about his outlook for Sunday night's game against the Cowboys.
Niners LB Dre Greenlaw opened this week by missing Wednesday's practice and then returning for a limited Thursday. It's the same way he opened Week 4's practice slate after hurting an ankle in Week 3. Greenlaw played through the injury last Sunday and tallied 10 tackles in the win over Arizona. We'd bet on him being ready for this week's clash against Dallas. We'll watch for confirmation.
Broncos LB Josey Jewell (hip) returned to full practice Thursday. That certainly points to him playing Sunday against the Jets, after missing Week 4. We should get confirmation Friday afternoon, but plan to have Jewell available for your IDP lineups. Jewell's return figures to knock down LB Drew Sanders' playing time. We'll see exactly what the rookie's role looks like, though. He was pegged for an increased role in the Week 3 loss to the Dolphins that Jewell left early with the injury.
Chiefs LB Nick Bolton (ankle) put in limited practices Wednesday and Thursday. That's noteworthy because he missed every practice the past two weeks, along with both games. We'll see about Bolton's game status after Friday's practice. His return would send LB Drue Tranquill back to a part-time role.
Dolphins Edge Jaelan Phillips put in limited practices Wednesday and Thursday. That's progress after he missed practice all last week with an oblique injury that cost him the Buffalo game. We'll see Friday about Phillips' game outlook. Meanwhile, S DeShon Elliott (groin) graduated to a full Thursday practice. He spent all last week limited before missing the game and then remained limited Wednesday.
Bears RB Roschon Johnson sustained a concussion in the first half of Thursday night's game vs. the Commanders. We'll track his progress through the protocol next week.
Bears RB Khalil Herbert injured his right leg in the third quarter of Thursday night's game vs. the Commanders. The leg bent awkwardly as Herbert went down to catch a low pass. Herbert was able to walk off the field with the help of trainers but headed straight to the medical tent. We'll update his status when we know more.
Update: Herbert tried to return with his right ankle heavily taped, but he was unable to make a cut on his first carry back and limped off the field.
Raiders QB Jimmy Garoppolo (concussion) was limited in Thursday's practice. So he's made some progress through the protocol but still has work to do to be cleared for Monday night's game vs. the Packers. We'll keep you updated on Garoppolo's status over the next few days.
Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb (rest, knee) returned to a full practice on Thursday. It's confirmation that he's good to go for Sunday night's showdown with the 49ers.
Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle (hip) put in a full practice on Thursday. He looks set to resume No. 2 RB duties behind Tony Pollard vs. the 49ers on Sunday night.
Broncos RB Javonte Williams (quad) returned to a limited practice on Thursday. He seemingly has a chance to play vs. the Jets this weekend. We'll see what Williams does on Friday and how he's listed on the final injury report.
Rams WR Cooper Kupp (hamstring) was listed as a full participant in Thursday's practice. It sure looks like he'll make his 2023 debut vs. the Eagles this weekend. OC Mike LaFleur said Kupp “looks healthy," adding that when Kupp was “gearing up for that first game” before he went on IR, “you could tell he almost could tell that something was still a little bit off. And from my vantage point, it looks like he feels really good.”
Search
