Chargers TE Donald Parham has cleared the concussion protocol and is on track to play vs. the Falcons this weekend. He's not a fantasy option but does add some downside to TE Gerald Everett. When we last saw Parham in Week 6, he ran a route on just 18% of pass plays and drew 3 targets (5% share).
Chargers WR Josh Palmer has cleared the concussion protocol, HC Brandon Staley said Wednesday. Barring a setback, Palmer will play vs. the Falcons this weekend. He's needed for a significant role with WR Mike Williams out and WR Keenan Allen still dealing with hamstring problems.
Chargers WR Keenan Allen will not practice on Wednesday as he continues dealing with hamstring trouble. “We are being careful with him," HC Brandon Staley said. "It hasn’t responded the way we have wanted." It's concerning news with the Chargers coming off their bye week. It sounds like Allen isn't even a lock to play vs. the Falcons this weekend -- and will probably be on some type of snap count if he does.
Commanders RB J.D. McKissic (neck) did not practice on Wednesday. We don't have any other details at this point, but it's worth noting that McKissic missed the final 6 games of last season with a neck injury. If he can't play vs. Minnesota this weekend, RB Antonio Gibson would pick up extra passing-game work.
Commanders WR Jahan Dotson (hamstring) remained sidelined on Wednesday. Fantasy owners shouldn't count on him returning for this weekend's game vs. the Vikings. Dotson's continued absence would be good news for WR Terry McLaurin, who has 8 targets in back-to-back games with QB Taylor Heinicke.
Chiefs HC Andy Reid said Wednesday that WR Kadarius Toney is "healthy now." He's been sidelined since Week 2 with alleged hamstring injuries that are evidently better now that he's been traded to Kansas City. It sounds like Toney will be available for Sunday night's game against the Titans. It's entirely unclear how big of a role he'll play, so we'd keep him on fantasy benches for Week 9. But Toney remains a high-upside stash.
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports that the Rams "turned down multiple offers for RB Cam Akers before Tuesday's trade deadline and now are working with Akers' agent in hopes he'll play for them again this season." Akers doesn't seem to have much choice, unless he's trying to force the team to release him. We'll see where this goes -- and how the backfield will shake out if Akers does return. The Rams also expect to get rookie Kyren Williams healthy soon, and HC Sean McVay has talked up his potential role. This looks like a backfield to avoid if you can, especially given how disappointing the offense has been on whole.
Browns GM Andrew Berry said Wednesday that he expects QB Deshaun Watson to start once he's eligible to play, Week 13 at Houston. Duh. Cleveland didn't commit all those draft picks and dollars to sit Watson behind Jacoby Brissett. But it never hurts to get official confirmation.
Falcons RB Cordarrelle Patterson (knee) has been designated to return from IR. He'll get back on the practice field today and is eligible to play vs. the Chargers on Sunday. We'll see if Patterson is ready after undergoing a knee scope on October 3. He averaged 16.3 carries and 2.3 targets over the season's first 3 games and should return as Atlanta's lead back. Patterson is a priority add if he's available in your fantasy league.
Colts RB Jonathan Taylor will not practice today because of the ankle sprain he aggravated in Sunday's loss to the Commanders. Taylor returned to finish that game, so we'd bet on him being ready by this Sunday. But he's certainly no lock. We'd bet on Deon Jackson being the next man up if Taylor can't play, though we'll see how just-acquired Zack Moss factors in.
Colts HC Frank Reich discussed RB Jonathan Taylor’s ankle injury on Tuesday. “On that one long run, he twisted it, came down on it wrong and twisted it,” Reich said. “Was able to take a break there, get it re-taped and got back in there.” Reich cautioned that JT isn’t exactly out of the woods yet. “We’ll continue to re-evaluate it, see how it responded today,” he said. “Sometimes, a day or two later, it kind of aggravates you, but we’ll know soon enough.” Indy squares off with New England on Sunday. We’ll closely track Taylor’s practice participation over the coming days.
The Bills are acquiring RB Nyheim Hines from the Colts, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The move continues Buffalo's pursuit of an upgrade at receiving back. The timing -- after a solid game from James Cook -- points to the Bills not believing the rookie is ready for a bigger role. Hines brings more proven NFL ability as a runner. He figures to challenge the playing time of RB Devin Singletary as well. It should be an upgrade in opportunity for Hines, who sits just 68th among RBs in opportunity share for his 2022 games with Indy. He garnered a stronger 11.8% target share in his 5 healthy games. Buffalo ranks 5th in the league in pass attempts but just 16th in RB receptions. We'll see whether that shifts at all with Hines around. Hines is signed through 2024 but has 2 cuttable years beyond this one. His arrival hurts the short-term outlook for Cook, though there's a chance Buffalo moves on from Hines after this year. The Bills are sending RB Zack Moss and a conditional 6th-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to the Colts. Moss has a chance to push past Deon Jackson on the Indy depth chart, but that's far from a sure thing.
The Dolphins have acquired RB Jeff Wilson from the 49ers in exchange for a 2023 5th-round pick. He’ll immediately slot in as the #2 back following today's trade of Chase Edmonds. Like Raheem Mostert, Wilson joins the squad with experience alongside HC Mike McDaniel. The new Dolphin is a poor bet for standalone fantasy value, but he carries handcuff appeal in Miami’s dynamic offense.
The Falcons are trading WR Calvin Ridley to the Jaguars in exchange for what NFL Network's Ian Rapoport calls a "complex draft compensation that can be worth at maximum a 2023 5th rounder and a 2024 2nd rounder." We'll pass along further details on the return when we have them. Ridley, of course, is suspended for at least the rest of the 2022 season for gambling on NFL games. He'll be able to apply for reinstatement in February. Assuming that gets granted, he'll join Jacksonville as a 28-year-old with a 1,374-yard 2020 season under his belt. It's a risky move for the Jaguars, but one that could pay off big time. Ridley and Christian Kirk have the potential to be a strong duo for QB Trevor Lawrence, who's had an up-and-down start to his NFL career.
Update: Per Rapoport, the 2024 draft pick starts as a 4th-rounder. It becomes a 3rd if Ridley hits a play-time milestone and a 2nd if Ridley agrees to a long-term deal with Jacksonville.
The Dolphins are sending RB Chase Edmonds and 2 draft picks to the Broncos for EDGE Bradley Chubb. The Broncos are getting a 2023 first-rounder that initially belonged to San Francisco, as well as a 4th-rounder in 2024. Miami will get a 5th-rounder in 2025. Chubb upgrades a Dolphins pass rush that ranks just 23rd in sacks and has dealt with some injuries. He's in the final year of his rookie deal, so we'd bet on an extension following. Edmonds played his way out of the starting backfield gig in Miami but lands in a Denver offense that presents opportunity. We'll see about the team's RB plans coming out of the Week 9 bye, though we wouldn't bet on any of the Denver backs truly taking over. Chubb's departure should mean more playing time for 2nd-round rookie EDGE Nik Bonitto, who has 1.5 sacks over his past 2 games. Myles Gaskin looks like the #2 RB in Miami now.
Lions HC Dan Campbell made it clear Tuesday that RB D'Andre Swift still isn't back to 100%. “We probably gave Swift one too many carries,” Campbell said of his Week 8 usage. “We love Swift. Glad he’s out there, but he’s not back." Swift played 54% of Detroit's offensive snaps in the loss to Miami but finished with just 5 carries and 5 targets. That followed a full week of practice. It doesn't sound like we should expect significantly more work in this Sunday's game vs. the Packers.
The Bears are trading a 2nd-round pick to the Steelers in exchange for WR Chase Claypool, ESPN's Field Yates reports. It's a steep price for a guy who's been mostly disappointing since a flashy rookie season. Claypool ranks 52nd among 62 qualifying WRs in Pro Football Focus' 2022 receiving grades. His 1.03 yards per route run ranks 57th -- a bit behind teammates Diontae Johnson (1.16) and George Pickens (1.14). Of course, Claypool is still just 24 and brings a 6'4, 238-pound frame with 99th percentile athleticism. There's still intriguing fantasy upside here. Chicago is obviously a rough landing spot, though. QB Justin Fields has been better lately but remains a question mark as a passer. And this is the league's run-heaviest offense. The Bears rank dead last with just 20.0 pass attempts per game. That's climbed to 22.8 over the last 5 weeks -- but that's still not a workable number for Claypool. Consider him a WR4 unless we get a significant increase in passing volume from Chicago. Claypool's departure from Pittsburgh should mean more targets for Johnson, Pickens and TE Pat Freiermuth.
The Lions are trading TE T.J. Hockenson to the Vikings, along with a 2023 4th-round pick and a 2024 conditional 4th-round pick, in exchange for a 2023 2nd-round pick and 2024 3rd-round pick, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports. It's surprising for a few reasons, most notably because it's an intra-division trade and involves a former 1st-round pick still on his rookie deal. Hockenson counts just $6.5 million against this year's salary cap and has a $9.3 million 5th-year option for 2023. He's been slightly underwhelming through 3+ NFL seasons considering he was the 8th overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft. But Hockenson's 44.0 receiving yards per game since 2019 rank 10th among TEs. He's averaged a career-best 56.4 yards per game so far this year and ranks 7th among 31 qualifying TEs in Pro Football Focus' 2022 receiving grades. Minnesota is an OK spot for Hockenson's rest-of-season fantasy value. He'll obviously be behind WR Justin Jefferson in the pecking order but could challenge WR Adam Thielen for the #2 spot. And the Vikings have been a pass-leaning offense this year, ranking 7th at 38.0 pass attempts per game. (The Lions rank 15th at 35.7.). Hockenson will face negative fantasy-scoring matchups the next 2 weeks vs. Washington and Buffalo, but the schedule looks nice after that. Detroit, meanwhile, is left with TEs Brock Wright and James Mitchell. Wright is the preferred add but is probably only worth a look in TE-premium leagues like the FFPC. RB D'Andre Swift and WR Amon-Ra St. Brown should pick up more targets with Hockenson gone.
Vikings TE Irv Smith suffered a high-ankle sprain in Sunday's win over the Cardinals. ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that he's expected to miss "multiple weeks." Smith shouldn't expect to find starter opportunities when he returns, after his team traded multiple draft picks for T.J. Hockenson. Smith can be dropped in all non-dynasty fantasy football formats.
Update: Smith is expected to be out 8-10 weeks, per Schefter.
The Colts on Tuesday fired OC Marcus Brady. It's an understandable move for a team ranked 30th in scoring and 18th in yards, but we're not sure how much impact there will be. HC Frank Reich calls the offensive plays, and Brady worked under him since Reich took the Indy job in 2018. If Brady were a primary issue here, it's tough to imagine him climbing from QBs coach to OC in 2021 and then maintaining the OC job this season. We'll see where the Colts offense goes from here.
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