ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Giants RB Saquon Barkley is expected to miss three weeks with his ankle injury. It's an "ordinary" sprain, rather than a high-ankle sprain, Schefter adds. It's all relatively good news, but fantasy owners will still need to prep to be without Barkley for the short term. Schefter's timeline would have him back for Week 6 vs. the Bills. Barkley's absence leaves the Giants' backfield to Matt Breida, Gary Brightwell, and rookie Eric Gray. Breida is the preferred fantasy add but shouldn't be considered more than a low-upside RB3 or flex.
The Steelers announced on Monday that WR Diontae Johnson (hamstring) is being placed on IR. The veteran wideout will now miss at least the next 4 games of the season. Johnson sustained this injury during the second half of Week 1 vs. the 49ers and didn't return to the contest. He also hadn't participated in practice at any point this week leading up to the Steelers' Week 2 primetime game vs. the Browns. Without Johnson in tow, the Steelers will look to see increased efforts from WRs Allen Robinson and Calvin Austin. Neither player is worth considering in most 10 or 12-team formats, though they are decent speculative deeper league adds. Expect to see a small bump in responsibility for TE Pat Freiermuth to supplement Johnson's contributions as a lower aDOT player in the Steelers' offense.
The Cardinals on Monday placed S Budda Baker on IR. That means he'll miss at least another four games, on top of the loss to the Giants he already missed. K'Von Wallace played every snap in place of Baker and should be the starter while the vet is out. Wallace led Arizona in total tackles and has history with HC Jonathan Gannon from Gannon's time as Eagles DC. He's a decent addition for balanced and more tackle-heavy IDP formats.
Jaguars HC Doug Pederson labeled WR Zay Jones day-to-day with the knee injury he suffered in Sunday's loss to the Chiefs. Jones is still set for additional testing on the knee. He was able to return to the Week 2 game, so we're tentatively expecting him to be available for this weekend's game vs. the Texans. But we'll update his status when we know more.
49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk injured his left shoulder on the opening drive of Sunday's win over the Rams. He eventually returned to the game but ended up playing just 53% of the offensive snaps. HC Kyle Shanahan on Monday wouldn't commit to Aiyuk being available for Thursday night's game vs. the Giants. We're tentatively expecting Aiyuk to be out there for that one, but we'll watch his status over the next few days.
Lions HC Dan Campbell labeled RB David Montgomery "day to day" with his quad injury, according to Tim Twentyman of the team's official website. It's hard to take that timeline seriously when Montgomery said himself this morning that he'll be out "a couple weeks." We'll keep you updated on his status throughout the week. But fantasy owners should not be counting on Montgomery in Week 3 lineups.
Bears WR Darnell Mooney told reporters on Monday that he exited the Week 2 loss with a knee bruise. The injury originally occurred in Week 1 and was aggravated in Tampa Bay when he twice banged knees with Bucs DBs. “I’ll be good," Mooney added. It sounds like he has a chance to be ready for this weekend's game vs. the Chiefs, but Mooney is a shaky fantasy bet in a struggling Bears offense.
Bengals HC Zac Taylor was non-committal on QB Joe Burrow's status for next Monday night's game vs. the Rams, saying it's "hard to say" at this point if Burrow will be available. The Cincinnati Enquirer's Kelsey Conway noted that Burrow was walking around the locker room "without a noticeable limp" and with no boot on his leg on Monday. We'll keep a close eye on his status throughout this week.
Dolphins WR Jaylen Waddle is in the concussion protocol, according to multiple reports. He left Sunday night's game late for the check. Waddle looks unlikely to be ready for Week 3, but we'll keep an eye on his status.
Ravens S Marcus Williams will not have surgery for his pectoral injury, according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. Williams is rehabbing and not even planning to go on IR. That indicates the team hopes to get him back inside the next four games. Williams already missed the Week 2 win over the Bengals. We'll watch for updates on his expected return. In the meantime, Geno Stone is starting in Williams' place.
Raiders HC Josh McDaniels said Monday that WR Jakobi Meyers is "headed in the right direction" as he moves through the league concussion protocol. That indicates optimism the WR will be ready for Week 3. We'll continue to track Meyers' progress this week. He's worth grabbing where available ahead of his return, though, after a big Week 1 receiving line.
Raiders HC Josh McDaniels deemed WR Davante Adams "good" on Monday, according to ESPN's Field Yates. Adams left Sunday's loss to Buffalo late for a concussion check after a big hit. But he clearly passed the testing. Symptoms sometimes surface a couple of days after the injury, and we'll certainly be watching for any further updates. But Adams should be ready for Week 3.
ESPN's Adam Schefter said it's "fair to wonder" if Bengals QB Joe Burrow (calf) will play vs. the Rams next Monday night. It wasn't an official report, but we doubt Schefter just pulled this out of thin air. We'll look for further updates on Burrow's status and track his practice participation throughout the week, but his fantasy owners should be lining up a backup plan for Week 3 (and maybe beyond). QB Jake Browning is Cincinnati's backup -- and would obviously be a huge downgrade for all Bengals skill-position players.
The 49ers have given RB Christian McCaffrey 2 more carries through two weeks than any other player in the NFL has received. His 42 rushes lead Derrick Henry (40) and Tony Pollard (39), with the two Monday night games of Week 2 yet to go. That's abnormal for McCaffrey, who has reached 20 carries in consecutive games just three other times in his career. He averaged 14.7 carries per game across 13 starts with the 49ers last year, including the playoffs. Summer indications had San Francisco planning to use McCaffrey in a way that would preserve him for the season. That doesn't match up with 21.0 carries per game, of course. We'd be surprised if his carry count and carry share stays that high. But it doesn't really matter as long as McCaffrey stays healthy. He's obviously an every-week starter whenever available. No other 49ers RB even played an offensive snap against the Rams.
Rams RB Kyren Williams has racked up 2 TDs in each of the first two games. His 4 total TDs leads the NFL through two weeks, pending the Monday night games. Williams posted a 14-52-1 rushing line in Sunday's loss to the 49ers, a tough matchup for rushing production. He added 6 catches for 48 yards and a TD on 10 targets, second most on the team. No other Rams RB got a carry in the game, and Ronnie Rivers garnered the only other RB target. The Rams made both Cam Akers and rookie Zach Evans healthy scratches for this game. Williams looks like a potential workhorse going forward and easy weekly fantasy starter until further notice.
Rams WR Puka Nacua snagged 15 catches for 147 yards in Sunday's loss to the 49ers. That gives the rookie 25 receptions through his first two games, a new NFL record. Nacua drew a whopping 20 targets in the game, doubling his nearest teammate and accounting for 36.4% of Matthew Stafford's 55 pass attempts. RB Kyren Williams ranked second, catching six of 10 targets for 48 yards and a TD. WR Tutu Atwell ranked third with 9 targets. He snagged 7 catches for 77 yards. Nacua now stands as a must-start at least until Cooper Kupp returns. We'll see how the WR corps changes at that point.
Ravens HC John Harbaugh says the ankle injury that knocked WR Odell Beckham Jr. out of Sunday's win over the Bengals is minor. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that Beckham is "managing the issue" and that it's not expected to cost him game time going forward -- "if all goes well." We'll watch Beckham's status heading into a Week 3 home date with the Colts. WRs Rashod Bateman and Devin Duvernay each gained significant playing time Sunday vs. Week 1. Nelson Agholor went from 0 Week 1 targets to leading the Week 2 receiving production, but his playing time didn't grow with Beckham going down.
Buccaneers RB Chase Edmonds is having an MRI today on an MCL injury that knocked him out of Sunday's win over the Bears. Edmonds missing further time could only help rookie RB Sean Tucker, who already edged the vet in Week 1 playing time. Ke'Shawn Vaughn would likely find a role with Edmonds out as well. Rachaad White remained the clear lead back in Week 2.
Eagles slot CB Avonte Maddox will have surgery this week for the pectoral muscle he tore in Thursday night's win over the Vikings. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that Maddox is out "indefinitely" and could miss the rest of the season. That's usually the case for pectoral tears. Philly -- which is also dealing with injuries to starting CB James Bradberry (concussion) and S Reed Blankenship (ribs) -- turned to undrafted rookie Mario Goodrich after Maddox left. The Eagles have allowed each of their first two opponents to exceed 350 yards passing and could remain a favorable passing matchup.
Lions RB David Montgomery told reporters Monday morning that he'll need "a couple weeks" for the quad he injured Sunday to heal, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. That means you'll need to plan for Montgomery to miss at least the next two games, and perhaps more beyond that. Jahmyr Gibbs obviously stands as the backfield's top fantasy play in Montgomery's absence. RB Craig Reynolds also got involved for 3 carries and 1 target after Montgomery left the OT loss to Seattle. Reynolds is worth a pickup in deeper fantasy football leagues, ahead of a Week 3 home date with the Falcons.
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