The Score's Jordan Schultz hears that 49ers WR Deebo Samuel (knee, ankle) "could return as soon as Week 17." That makes Samuel worth hanging on to in plenty of fantasy leagues, although we wouldn't consider him a must stash. Samuel would carry elevated risk in fantasy lineups if he does make it back for what's the championship game in most leagues.
The Cowboys signed WR T.Y. Hilton. The 33-year-old has been available since hitting free agency in March. He missed 16 games over the previous 3 seasons and averaged just 41 yards per game. Hilton is unlikely to be more than a situational player in Dallas and isn't worth adding outside of the deepest fantasy leagues. The Hilton addition presumably means Dallas won't be signing WR Odell Beckham.
The Falcons released RB Damien Williams. He's been out since going down with a rib injury in the season opener. Williams is “100% healthy and well rested," a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter. We'll see where Williams lands next, but he's obviously a big long shot for any 2022 fantasy value.
Dolphins RB Jeff Wilson is "day-to-day" with the hip injury he suffered in Sunday night's loss to the Chargers, HC Mike McDaniel said. "We have avoided the worst case scenarios for sure," McDaniel said. That's good news -- but we'd still consider Wilson iffy for Saturday night's game vs. the Bills. We'll track his status throughout the week. Wilson's absence would obviously be good news for RB Raheem Mostert's fantasy outlook.
Seahawks HC Pete Carroll labeled RB Ken Walker (ankle) "day-to-day" on Monday. Walker was listed as a limited participant in Monday's practice, which was a light workout on the short week. It seems like he has a chance to return for Thursday night's game vs. the 49ers, but we'll get another update tomorrow. RB DeeJay Dallas (ankle) did not practice on Monday.
The Saints signed RB David Johnson to the active roster. He'll help New Orleans replace RB Mark Ingram, who's likely to miss the rest of the season with an MCL injury. We wouldn't bother adding Johnson to fantasy rosters even as an Alvin Kamara handcuff. RB Dwayne Washington is also on the active roster.
49ers WR Deebo Samuel suffered an MCL sprain and an ankle sprain in Sunday's win over the Bucs, the team announced on Monday. Samuel is expected to return at some point in the regular season, but we'd prepare for him to miss multiple games. We'll hopefully get a more concrete timeline for Samuel's return before you need to decide whether to release him from fantasy rosters. Jauan Jennings will take over as San Francisco's #2 WR with Samuel out but is unlikely to be a reliable fantasy play at this point in the season. RB Christian McCaffrey, WR Brandon Aiyuk and TE George Kittle are all candidates to pick up extra targets with Samuel out.
Broncos HC Nathaniel Hackett admitted Monday that "it doesn't look good" for RB Mike Boone to play again this season after going down with an ankle injury in the loss to the Chiefs. That'll leave Denver's backfield to Latavius Murray and Marlon Mack the rest of the way. Murray tallied 8 carries and 5 targets to Mack's 3 carries and 3 targets vs. Kansas City.
As expected, Patriots RB Damien Harris (thigh) is inactive for tonight's game vs. the Cardinals. RBs Kevin Harris and Pierre Strong are active, but Rhamondre Stevenson should dominate backfield work.
Cardinals DL Zach Allen (illness) is active for tonight's game against the Patriots. He was added to the injury report over the weekend but appears good to go.
Bengals HC Zac Taylor labeled TE Hayden Hurst (calf) "week-to-week" on Monday. It doesn't sound like Hurst will make it back for this weekend's game vs. Bucs. Mitchell Wilcox stepped in as Cincinnati's lead TE in the win over the Browns but finished with just 1 catch on 2 targets for 10 yards.
Bengals HC Zac Taylor labeled WR Tee Higgins "day-to-day" with his hamstring injury on Monday. Taylor explained after Sunday's win over the Browns that Higgins injured his hamstring in pregame warmups. He ended up finishing catch-less on 1 snap. We'll keep a close eye on Higgins' practice participation this coming week before judging how risky he'll be in Week 15 fantasy lineups.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Panthers WR D.J. Moore is considered "day-to-day" with a knee sprain, rather than the previously reported ankle injury. "Nothing significant," a source told Schefter. It sounds like Moore has a chance to be ready for Sunday's game vs. the Steelers -- although he'll be tough to trust in fantasy lineups after going catch-less in the win over Seattle.
Giants TE Daniel Bellinger's injured ribs are "pretty sore," HC Brian Daboll said Monday. We didn't get an official diagnosis on Bellinger, but ESPN's Jordan Raanan says it "didn’t sound great for him." We'll see if Bellinger can make it back for Sunday's game vs. the Commanders, but he probably shouldn't be in your Week 15 fantasy plans at this point.
Giants WR Richie James is in concussion protocol, HC Brian Daboll said Monday. That puts James' availability for this weekend's game vs. Washington in question. We'll track his status throughout the week.
Giants RB Saquon Barkley avoided a setback with his neck injury in Sunday's loss to the Eagles. "Came out of the game pretty well [physically]," Barkley said afterward. He also revealed that the injury is a stinger and happened in practice last week. Barkley was clearly limited in the Philly game, finishing with just 9 carries and 2 targets on a season-low 31% snap rate. HC Brian Daboll said Monday that the team is "hopeful" Barkley will be in better shape this week. We'll keep a close eye on his practice participation leading up to Sunday's huge game vs. the Commanders.
Falcons HC Arthur Smith confirmed on Monday that rookie QB Desmond Ridder will take over as the starter going forward. He called the decision to bench QB Marcus Mariota "performance based," but added that Mariota is likely heading to IR with a knee injury. Mariota can be dropped from all redraft rosters. Ridder is unlikely to climb beyond QB2 status in Atlanta's run-heavy offense.
Jets HC Robert Saleh said Monday that QB Mike White is day-to-day with his rib injury and is expected to play vs. the Lions this weekend. White took some huge shots in the loss to the Bills and exited the game on 2 separate occasions. But he returned both times and should be ready to go by this coming Sunday. We'll monitor his status throughout the week.
Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill finished Week 14 with 4 catches (10 targets), 81 yards and 1 TD. Hill added a fumble return score on one of the wildest plays you’ll see this season. Credit Hill for playing through an ankle issue, one we'll need to keep an eye on this week at practice. On the receiving score, Hill beat his man downfield for a 57-yarder. That proved huge, as Tua Tagovailoa played his worst game of the season, at one point completing only 3 of 17 attempts. That type of output seriously limited the upside of Jaylen Waddle, who totaled only 2-31 on 4 targets. He’s now totaled 3-40 over the past 2 weeks. This unit will look to rebound Saturday night against a tough Bills defense. A major turnaround in that one is unlikely.
Commanders QB Carson Wentz (finger) has been activated from IR. We'll see about Washington's plan at QB, but we expect QB Taylor Heinicke to at least start this weekend's game vs. the Giants. He's been up and down over the past 7 games but has led the Commanders to 5 wins. Wentz went 2-4 over the first 6 games of the season. The biggest fantasy impact here is with WR Terry McLaurin, who's been much more productive with Heinicke.
Update: NFL Network's Ian Rapoport confirms that Wentz is returning as Heinicke's backup.
Search
