Bills RB Leonard Fournette will make his 2023 debut tonight against the Chargers. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo expects the veteran to get “some run” behind James Cook. Of course, Cook is coming off a career-best game vs. Dallas, so any work Fournette takes is likely to come from Latavius Murray or Ty Johnson. Ultimately, we’re not expecting Fournette to turn into a fantasy asset down the stretch.
The Chiefs have ruled RB Jerick McKinnon (groin) and WR Kadarius Toney (hip) out for Monday's game against the Raiders. Toney's averaging 2.1 receptions and 13.0 receiving yards per game for the season and shouldn't have been in anyone's fantasy plans. McKinnon has scored in two straight games and three of the past four but remained a weak bet for touch volume. His absence can only help solidify returning RB Isiah Pacheco as a strong play this week.
The Patriots have downgraded TE Hunter Henry (knee) from questionable to out for Sunday's game against the Broncos. His absence would seem to be good news for Mike Gesicki, and it might mean a boost in playing time. But Henry and Gesicki don't play exactly the same position. Gesicki has run 71.7% of his pass snaps from the slot so far, according to Pro Football Focus, plus another 19% out wide. Henry has spent 48.1% in the slot; 43.5% inline. TE Pharoah Brown might be the more direct playing-time beneficiary of Henry's absence. Henry'scoming off season highs in targets, catches, and yards, which probably inflates the perception of what he's leaving available. Before last week, Henry was averaging just 4.0 targets and 2.7 receptions per game. Neither Gesicki nor Brown looks all that attractive for fantasy use.
Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence has cleared concussion protocol and will travel with the team to Tampa Bay, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Rapoport doesn't say whether Lawrence will start Sunday's game vs. the Bucs -- but we're not sure why he wouldn't, barring a setback. We'll look for further updates on Lawrence's status, but we're now projecting him in for Week 16. It's a significant boost for WR Calvin Ridley and TE Evan Engram.
Colts RB Zack Moss (forearm) has been downgraded to out for Sunday's game vs. the Falcons. That leaves only RBs Trey Sermon and Tyler Goodson behind Jonathan Taylor. JT carries some added risk coming off his thumb injury -- but there's a good chance that he dominates work against Atlanta. He's climbing the Week 16 RB Rankings.
The Titans have placed S Amani Hooker on IR, which will end his season. Hooker played every snap of the Week 15 OT loss to the Texans but then missed practice all week with a knee injury. The team had already ruled him out for Sunday's game against the Seahawks. With S K'Von Wallace also ruled out, the starting safeties should be Elijah Molden and Terrell Edmunds. Molden has five starts this season and played 100% of the snaps in four of those. He's an OK deep start if you need him, though Seattle hasn't been a positive scoring matchup for DBs. Make sure you don't overrate Molden's usefulness by looking at his fantasy total from last week, when he returned an INT for a TD against Houston. Molden can be a sneaky option for CB-required leagues, though, if he carries CB eligibility there. Edmunds has played sparingly since arriving in Tennessee in the Kevin Byard trade, reaching 50% snap share just once. We wouldn't bet a Week 16 lineup slot on him unless you play in an abnormally deep league. Check our updated Week 16 DB rankings to see where both players sit.
Houston has ruled out LB Blake Cashman (hamstring) for the second straight game. LB Denzel Perryman (Achilles') is questionable. He managed limited practices all week, though, and Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 in Houston reports that Perryman's "trending toward being active." Cashman's absence and Perryman's question mark have moved LB Christian Harris up our Week 16 LB rankings. Harris has produced solid numbers lately, including 7 solo tackles in three of his past four games -- with two lines of 10+ total tackles in that span. Cleveland presents a positive scoring matchup this week. The Browns have yielded the third-most fantasy points per game to LBs for the season and remain top-8 in that category even over QB Joe Flacco's three weeks as starter.
Mason Crosby is set to kick for the Giants in Monday's game vs. the Eagles. The team placed K Randy Bullock on IR earlier this week, and K Cade York hurt his quad on Thursday. So the 39-year-old Crosby will make his 2023 debut for the 5-9 Giants. You should be able to do much better in fantasy lineups.
Eagles WR DeVonta Smith (knee) missed his second straight practice on Friday. We still don't have any details on the knee issue. We'll see if Smith practices on Saturday and how he's listed on the final injury report for Monday's game vs. the Giants.
Cardinals WR Greg Dortch (shoulder) is listed as questionable for this weekend’s game vs. the Bears. He only got in a limited practice on Friday. Dortch can’t be trusted in fantasy lineups if he ends up playing. His absence would leave Michael Wilson, Rondale Moore, and Zach Pascal as Arizona’s top three WRs.
Patriots WR JuJu Smith-Schuster (ankle) is out for Sunday night’s game vs. the Broncos. Demario Douglas, DeVante Parker, Jalen Reagor, and Tyquan Thornton will be New England’s top four WRs for that one. Douglas is the only one inside the top 50 in the Week 16 WR Rankings.
Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson (ankle) remained sidelined all week and is out for Sunday night’s game vs. the Broncos. That means another start for RB Ezekiel Elliott. We’ve seen his ceiling and floor the past two games: 140 total yards and a score in Week 14; 46 scoreless yards in Week 15.
Patriots TE Hunter Henry (knee) is listed as questionable for Sunday night’s game vs. the Broncos. He only got in a limited practice on Friday. We’re not expecting Henry to play, and he’d be a shaky fantasy starter if he does.
Raiders RB Josh Jacobs (quad, illness) returned to a limited practice on Friday. We're tentatively expecting him to play vs. the Chiefs on Monday afternoon, but we'll see how he's listed on the final injury report tomorrow.
Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker (shoulder) only got in a limited practice on Friday this week and is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game vs. the Titans. HC Pete Carroll said Friday that Walker is “good to go” for this one, but check back around 11:30 am ET on Sunday to make sure he’s active.
Seahawks QB Geno Smith (groin) put in a full week of practice and isn’t listed on the final injury report. He’s ready to go for Sunday’s game against a banged-up Titans defense. Smith checks in 12th in the Week 16 QB Rankings.
Titans TE Chig Okonkwo missed Friday's practice with an illness and is listed as questionable for Week 16. It's unlikely to keep him from playing vs. the Seahawks, but you'll need to check back around 11:30 am ET on Sunday to make sure Okonkwo is active.
Titans QB Will Levis (ankle) is listed as questionable for this weekend’s game vs. the Seahawks. He only got in a limited practice on Friday. We’re expecting Levis to miss this one, leaving QB Ryan Tannehill to get the start. But we’ll continue to keep you updated on the situation leading up to Sunday’s 1 pm ET kickoff.
The Packers have ruled LB De'Vondre Campbell (neck) out for Sunday's game against the Panthers. That pushes Isaiah McDuffie into the starting lineup for what will be his eighth start. McDuffie tallied at least 5 solos in each of those seven previous starts and averaged 9.1 total tackles. He'll be an option for tackle-friendly IDP lineups. McDuffie sits in LB3 territory of our Week 16 rankings. Quay Walker spent the whole practice week limited but carries no injury designation into the game. He should be fine to use. Green Bay also ruled out S Darnell Savage (shoulder).
Titans DT Jeffery Simmons (knee) will miss his third straight game Sunday against the Seahawks. That's a big blow to a run defense that struggled without him the past two weeks. Tennessee allowed 148 rushing yards to Houston and 158 to Miami the game before. The matchup certainly improves for Seattle RB Kenneth Walker III. Tennessee has also ruled out S Amani Hooker (knee), S K'Von Wallace (quad), LB Jack Gibbens (back), and CB Sean Murphy-Bunting (hip). It could be a nice week for the entire Seattle offense.
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