Bengals QB Joe Burrow said Wednesday that he expects WR Ja'Marr Chase (hip) to return for this weekend's game vs. the Titans. That, of course, is far from a guarantee that Chase will be back. But Week 12 has reportedly been the target for his return for a while now. We'll keep a close eye on his status over the next few days.
Chiefs RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire has been placed on IR with his high-ankle sprain. He'll miss at least the next 4 weeks and can be dropped from redraft rosters. We'll see if CEH's absence gets RB Ronald Jones on Kansas City's active roster on game days, but this now figures to be a 2-man backfield with Isiah Pacheco and Jerick McKinnon.
The Jets have announced that QB Mike White will start Sunday's game against the Bears. The 5th-year player got the 1st 3 starts of his career for last season's Jets, entering for most of a 4th before that stretch. He completed 66.7% of his throws, averaging 238.3 yards and 1.3 TDs per game over that span. The bulk of his production came in a 405-yard, 3-TD outing against the Bengals. White proved particularly friendly to RB target shares, with Michael Carter drawing 16% target share in the 4 White games. Of course, that remains a small sample and not a signal that you should dramatically increase your Week 12 expectation for Carter. We're also not sure White boosts the fantasy outlook for anyone else on the offense. But a change from Zach Wilson can't hurt. The team is planning to make Wilson a healthy scratch and use Joe Flacco as the backup.
The Commanders have designated QB Carson Wentz to return to practice. That leaves 3 weeks to decide whether to activate him from IR. Wentz has been out since injuring his throwing hand in the Week 6 win at Chicago. HC Ron Rivera has recently expressed confidence in QB Taylor Heinicke, though, amid a 4-1 stretch with him behind center. Don't bet on Washington going back to Wentz until/unless the team starts losing more (barring injury, of course). Heinicke's arrival has been good for WR Terry McLaurin's target shares, but the team passing numbers are way down from where they were with Wentz: from 248.2 yards per game to 206.2.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Jets HC Robert Saleh informed his team this morning that QB Zach Wilson won't start Sunday's game against the Bears. Schefter did not mention who will start in Wilson's place. The Jets' website currently lists Mike White as the backup, Joe Flacco as the #3 QB -- and Flacco has recently been a healthy scratch on game days. Flacco, of course, started the 1st 3 games this season while Wilson was out and posted bigger passing numbers on huge volume. He also completed just 58.7% of his passes as the team opened 1-2. White got 3 starts last year and threw for 405 yards and 3 TDs in his 1st outing, but then endured 2 lackluster losses. There's not a good option here, but we're happy to see the Jets not simply sticking with the status quo.
Cardinals HC Kliff Kingsbury said Tuesday that QB Kyler Murray has progressed "quite a bit" with his hamstring injury. Kingsbury did not say whether Murray will be back for Week 12, though, saying that he needs to be "full throttle" before getting back under center. We'll track Murray's status throughout the week. Kingsbury also said that QB Colt McCoy is "banged up" with elbow, hand and knee injuries.
Cardinals WR Greg Dortch is getting an MRI on a thumb he injured in Monday night's loss to the 49ers, HC Kliff Kingsbury said. We'll update Dortch's status when we know more. WR Rondale Moore also got hurt in the Week 11 loss.
The Chargers placed K Dustin Hopkins (hamstring) on IR, knocking him out for at least another 4 games. K Cameron Dicker has made all 6 of his XPs and all 7 of his FG tries over the past 3 weeks.
Broncos RB Chase Edmonds (ankle) was placed on IR. He'll miss at least the next 4 weeks with his high-ankle sprain and can be dropped from redraft rosters.
Lions WR Josh Reynolds (back) got in a limited practice on Tuesday. We'll see if he can make it back for Thursday's game vs. the Bills. Reynolds has been out since Week 8.
The Panthers announced Tuesday that QB Sam Darnold will start Sunday's game against the Broncos. Darnold himself will be far from a real fantasy-lineup option for that matchup, and we're not sure he improves the outlook for the offense on whole. But a move away from Baker Mayfield can't be bad for D.J. Moore's target shares. Moore drew 27.2% of Panthers targets in the 11 games Darnold started last season. He has garnered just 22.6% target share in Mayfield's 5 starts this year.
Giants WR Richie James (knee) was limited in Tuesday's practice. He's expected to step in for Wan'Dale Robinson as New York's primary slot receiver going forward. We'll see if this knee issue impacts his availability for Thursday's game vs. the Cowboys.
The Rams waived RB Darrell Henderson. You could have gotten big odds a month ago on Henderson getting cut from this roster before RB Cam Akers. Henderson played just 4 snaps last week. HC Sean McVay said Monday that the limited playing time was due to a knee issue, but there must be more to this story. We'll see where Henderson lands, but he's unlikely to be a fantasy factor the rest of this season. His release leaves Los Angeles' moribund backfield to Akers and Kyren Williams. RBs Malcolm Brown and Ronnie Rivers are on the practice squad.
Steelers HC Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that RB Jaylen Warren's hamstring injury is "not significant" but labeled him "questionable" for Monday night's game vs. the Colts. We'll track the rookie's status throughout the week. His absence would be a significant boost for RB Najee Harris.
Pats RB Rhamondre Stevenson was upstaged by Damien Harris in a Week 11 win over the Jets. Harris rushed 8 times for 65 yards, topping Stevenson’s 26 yards on 15 attempts. Sunday marked Harris’ first action since Week 8 (illness). But he certainly looked healthy in this one, earning PFF’s 4th highest rushing grade. Stevenson, meanwhile, ranked 2nd to last, hurt by 0 missed tackles forced on the ground and 1.7 YPC. Stevenson still came through in fantasy with 6 grabs for 56 yards, including 1 impressive display of power. It’s worth noting that the Jets represented a tough matchup for RBs. Thursday turns up a Vikings squad that was just smoked by Dallas RBs. On the year, Minnesota ranks mid-pack in adjusted fantasy points allowed to RBs.
Jets WRs combined for only 64 yards in an ugly Week 11 loss to New England. Zach Wilson went just 9 of 22 for 77 yards in one of the worst displays of QB play you’ll find all year. A tough matchup with New England didn’t help, but there was simply nothing positive to takeaway here. Denzel Mims (2-35) led the team in receiving, while Elijah Moore (2-17) remained a part-timer (54% snap share). Most disappointingly, Garrett Wilson registered only 2 catches for 12 yards on 3 targets. This unit will look to rebound Sunday against Chicago. We’ll see if Wilson gets the nod under center.
Falcons RB Cordarrelle Patterson tallied a record-breaking 9th career kickoff return TD in Sunday’s win over Chicago. The 103-yarder was in addition to leading Atlanta RBs in carries (10) and finishing behind Tyler Allgeier in yards (52 vs. 55). Patterson remained a low-volume passing option, catching both of his targets for 7 yards. His 2 targets actually marked the most he’s seen since Week 1 (5). With Atlanta insisting on a RB rotation, Patterson looks like a low-end RB2/FLEX going forward. Next up is a Jets run D ranking a formidable 13th in adjusted fantasy points allowed to RBs.
Bears WR Darnell Mooney turned 5 targets into 4 catches, 29 yards and 1 score in a Week 11 loss to Atlanta. Mooney nearly added a long TD, but Justin Fields’ downfield pass arrived overthrown. His true TD came from 16 yards out with help from a well-executed pick. The young WR now enters Week 12 with 6 or fewer targets in all but 2 games this season. Next up is an elite Jets pass D.
Bears RB David Montgomery matched a season-high with 17 carries in a Week 11 loss at Atlanta. He notched 3.9 YPC and 1 TD, which was setup by a defensive holding call. Montgomery added 3 catches for 54 yards through the air, with a big chunk coming on a beautiful downfield pass by Justin Fields. Rookie Trestan Ebner mixed in for 6 carries (0 targets), but he managed just 1.3 YPC. With Khalil Herbert set to miss at least 3 more games, Montgomery will remain a solid RB2 going forward. Next up is a road date with the Jets.
Pro Football Talk reports that Rams QB Matt Stafford has entered the concussion protocol. HC Sean McVay refused to say whether Stafford was in the protocol in his Monday press conference. But if this PFT report is correct, Stafford is a long shot to be cleared for Week 12 and might miss multiple games.
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