Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey (hamstring) put in his 2nd straight limited practice on Thursday. He said afterward that he "feels great" and "definitely" has a chance to play vs. the Eagles this weekend. He's certainly trending in the right direction, but we'll get another update on his status tomorrow.
Giants WRs Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton remained sidelined on Thursday with their hamstring injuries. Both guys are likely to miss this weekend's game vs. the Cowboys. That keeps rookie WR Kadarius Toney in play as a Week 5 fantasy starter.
The Buccaneers on Thursday placed CB Carlton Davis on IR with the quad injury he suffered Sunday night at New England. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that the Bucs expect Davis to miss 4-6 weeks. Tampa might get CB Jamel Dean back this week. He put in limited practices Wednesday and Thursday. Otherwise, Richard Sherman, Pierre Desir and Ross Cockrell (slot) look like the top corners.
Lions TE T.J. Hockenson (knee) returned to a limited practice on Thursday. That seemingly puts him on track to play vs. the Vikings this weekend, but we'll get another update on his status tomorrow.
Falcons WR Calvin Ridley did not travel with the team to London and is out for Sunday's game vs. the Jets due to a personal matter, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. We'll look for more info on the situation and whether Ridley will be out beyond Week 5. WR Russell Gage (ankle) is also out for Sunday's game, leaving Atlanta with WRs Olamide Zaccheaus, Tajae Sharpe and Christian Blake. We wouldn't mess with them in fantasy lineups. RB Cordarrelle Patterson will continue to play a big role in this passing game. And TE Kyle Pitts should see more volume with Ridley out.
Panthers HC Matt Rhule said Thursday morning that he's "hopeful" RB Christian McCaffrey (hamstring) plays vs. the Eagles this weekend. McCaffrey got in a limited practice on Wednesday, looked good according to reporters in attendance and avoided a setback. We'll get another update on his practice participation this afternoon.
Rams HC Sean McVay said the kind of thing this week that fantasy football players want to hear about WR Robert Woods: "This guy's a stud in every sense of the word. It is important to be able to get a handful of guys involved. That's something that I always want to continue to be intentional about. ... When Robert's involved, that's a good thing for the Rams offense. That's something that we want to continue to see displayed, but Robert is a leader, he's a captain and he's been doing a great job up to this point. We just need to get him some more opportunities and that starts with me." Woods sits well behind leader Cooper Kupp but has still seen the 2nd most targets among Rams through 4 games. After seeing 6 targets or fewer in 3 of the first 4 games, though, perhaps he'll find more passes coming his way Thursday night at Seattle. The Seahawks have provided a high-upside matchup for opposing offenses so far, including spending more defensive snaps on the field than any other team. If your lineup decisions are close for Week 5, we'd lean toward giving Woods a shot.
Browns QB Baker Mayfield has been playing through a partially torn labrum in his left shoulder, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Mayfield suffered the injury in Week 2's win over the Texans. Surgery isn't needed "as of now," per Rapoport, and Mayfield hasn't missed a practice snap. He has, however, been playing with a shoulder harness, which might explain why he hasn't been very good the last couple of weeks. It's a situation to keep a close eye on going forward.
Cardinals RB Chase Edmonds (shoulder) didn't practice on Wednesday. He appeared to injure a shoulder late in last week's win over the Rams but did return to that game. We're expecting Edmonds to be available for Sunday's game vs. the 49ers, but we'll see if he gets back on the practice field on Thursday.
Titans ILB Jayon Brown missed Wednesday's practice with a knee injury. A hamstring injury cost Brown Week 2. He was back to full practice by the Friday of Week 3, though, and finished that week off the injury report. But Brown then played only 16% of the snaps against the Colts. Last week found him fully participating in practice every day, but then Brown played just 31% of the snaps vs. the Jets. We haven't seen any specific report yet on this knee issue or explanation of Brown's recent playing time. He can't be used in IDP lineups until we see a return to starter-level playing time. David Long has started each of the past 3 games and played nearly every snap.
Bears RB Damien Williams (quad) put in a full practice on Wednesday. He's ready to take over as Chicago's lead back vs. the Raiders this weekend. Williams is a rock-solid RB2 in Week 5 fantasy lineups.
The Packers have agreed to terms with LB Jaylon Smith. The veteran got released by Dallas earlier this week. We'll see how quickly he can get into the Green Bay lineup and how big a role the team has in mind. We'd bet on De'Vondre Campbell maintaining the top ILB job, but Smith's signing says the Packers like him more than Krys Barnes and Oren Burks.
Chiefs DE Frank Clark put in a full practice Wednesday. That's not something he's done much so far this season, including the past 2 weeks. Clark missed both of those games with a hamstring injury. That came on the opposite leg from the one that cost him Week 1 (with another hamstring injury). It looks like Clark is on track to play the Bills this Sunday. We'd rather see him play before getting him back into IDP lineups, though. DL Chris Jones, meanwhile, missed practice with his wrist issue. Unless Jones has suffered a setback, we'd bet on this just being a management thing.
Jaguars RB Carlos Hyde (shoulder) put in a full practice on Wednesday. He was a late scratch for last Thursday night's game vs. the Bengals after showing up to the stadium with shoulder pain. But Hyde is on track to return for this weekend's game vs. the Titans. That puts a slight dent in RB James Robinson's outlook.
Broncos RB Melvin Gordon (lower leg) was held out of Wednesday's practice. He was on the injury report with this issue last week but put in 3 limited practices. We'll see if Gordon gets back on the field tomorrow.
Broncos QB Teddy Bridgewater (concussion) didn't practice on Wednesday. He still has multiple stages of the concussion protocol to pass through in order to play vs. the Steelers on Sunday. QB Drew Lock seems likely to start that one.
Bucs RB Gio Bernard (knee) got in a limited practice on Wednesday. He has a shot to return for this weekend's game vs. Miami. Bernard would likely step back into a pass-catching role, putting a dent in RB Leonard Fournette's fantasy outlook.
Bucs TE Rob Gronkowski remained sidelined for Wednesday's practice. Reportedly dealing with 4 cracked ribs, 1 broken rib and a punctured lung, he seems unlikely to play this weekend vs. Miami. Cameron Brate operated as Tampa's lead TE with Gronk out last week, running a route on 69% of pass plays and tallying 6 targets.
Vikings RB Dalvin Cook (ankle) did not practice on Wednesday. He played through this issue last week, of course, but carried just 9 times on a 49% snap rate. “I don’t feel like I’m getting worse or heading in the wrong direction," Cook said Wednesday. "Part of this game is playing through pain." We'll continue to keep a close eye on Cook's status. He should play vs. the Lions this weekend, but how big a role he'll take on is uncertain.
Seahawks TE Gerald Everett (COVID) "has a chance" to play vs. the Rams on Thursday night, HC Pete Carroll said Wednesday. Everett needs 1 more negative test before he's cleared. We'll let you know if he's active tomorrow night, but Everett would be just a TE2 in fantasy lineups.
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