The Chiefs on Thursday placed LB Willie Gay Jr. on IR with a toe injury he suffered in the team's final preseason game. The IR designation means Gay will miss at least 3 games, but it doesn't sound like they expect the issue to linger much beyond that. According to Sam McDowell of The Kansas City Star, there was "initial optimism" that the injury wasn't serious. Anthony Hitchens figures to lead the LB playing time for K.C. while Gay is out.
The Panthers have claimed RB Royce Freeman off waivers from the Broncos. He joins a thin depth chart behind Christian McCaffrey. Freeman's not likely to find fantasy relevance in Carolina, but he could challenge rookie Chuba Hubbard for touches behind McCaffrey.
Washington HC Ron Rivera is "very confident" that WR Curtis Samuel (groin) will be able to play in next weekend's opener vs. the Chargers. He's missed the majority of the offseason and remained limited in Thursday's practice. But Rivera expects Samuel to participate in team drills starting Monday. We'll continue to track his progress, but Samuel will be a risky Week 1 fantasy play.
Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb has been activated from the COVID list. He'll be ready to rock for next Thursday's opener vs. the Bucs.
There's a "strong chance" Giants RB Saquon Barkley (knee) plays in next Sunday's opener vs. the Giants, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. "Team won't decide until next week and has been cautious so could still hold him back. But there is optimism," Fowler adds. Barkley has been trending in the right direction for the past few weeks, so we're expecting to see him out there come Week 1. The question will be how big a workload he'll be able to handle. We'll continue to keep you updated.
Per Jets HC Robert Saleh, WR Jamison Crowder is day to day with a groin injury. The Jets open September 12 at Carolina, and Crowder's expected to suit up. It’s been a quiet offseason for the veteran WR, but if healthy, he figures to have a home in 3-WR sets. There’s just not much fantasy upside to chase.
Jaguars RB Travis Etienne is having surgery to repair his Lisfranc injury on Thursday, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Etienne is expected to be sidelined for 4 months. So he'll miss his entire rookie season but should be able to participate in most or all of next offseason's practices.
Bucs RB Gio Bernard is dealing with a "mild" high-ankle sprain, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports. Pelissero adds that Bernard is expected to be ready for the season opener vs. Dallas. But this would need to be an extremely mild high-ankle sprain for that to be the case. We'll keep an eye on Bernard's status. His absence would open up passing game work for RB Leonard Fournette (and maybe a bit for RB Ronald Jones.
Colts QB Carson Wentz, WR Zach Pascal and C Ryan Kelly were activated from the COVID list on Thursday. Wentz seems to be on track to start next weekend's opener vs. the Seahawks -- but he'll do so with very little practice time under his belt.
Ravens WR Sammy Watkins (undisclosed) returned to practice on Wednesday. He missed over a week of action but appears on track for Week 1. The 28-year-old could supply some deep league value early on while Rashod Bateman is sidelined.
49ers QB Trey Lance is "trending in the right direction" in his recovery from a small chip to 1 of the fingers on his right hand, GM John Lynch said Wednesday. The 'Niners are still hoping to get Lance back at practice on Monday -- although Lynch admitted that's "kind of the optimistic" timetable. This injury has likely killed any chance Lance had of winning the Week 1 starting job. But we're still expecting to see the rookie under center by the midway point of the season.
Ravens WR Rashod Bateman (core) has been placed on IR. That means the rookie will miss at least the first 3 games of the season. HC John Harbaugh had previously said that he hoped to get Bateman back “sometime in September," but the earliest he could be back now is the very end of the month. We'll keep an eye on his progress, but Bateman is only worth stashing in deep fantasy leagues and leagues with IR spots. Ravens WR Miles Boykin was also placed on IR
The Patriots placed WR N'Keal Harry (shoulder) on IR. He'll miss at least the first 3 games of the season. The former 1st-round pick was reportedly having a nice camp before the shoulder injury. But he'll return no higher than 4th on the depth chart behind Jakobi Meyers, Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne.
NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reports that the Cowboys are signing RB Corey Clement to the active roster. The former Eagle spent training camp and the preseason with the Giants but didn't make the 53-man roster. He'll obviously land behind Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard on the Dallas depth chart, but that 3rd spot is open. We're not particularly interested in Clement for any fantasy football format, though.
Colts WR T.Y. Hilton had surgery this week to alleviate his disc issue, according to Stephen Holder of The Athletic. The team has placed the veteran wideout on IR, but GM Chris Ballard reportedly said they expect Hilton back "sooner than later." The IR stint means Hilton will miss at least 3 games, but it sounds like he might not be out much longer than that. Expect Michael Pittman, Parris Campbell and Zach Pascal to work as the top 3 WRs while Hilton is gone.
Lions WR Kenny Golladay (hamstring) participated in individual drills in Wednesday's practice. As far as we know, it was his most extensive work since going down on August 3. Golladay seems to be trending toward playing Week 1 -- but don't be surprised if he gets off to a slow start after missing so much practice time.
Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Steelers are considering placing DE Stephon Tuitt on IR to open the season. Tuitt missed all of training camp and preseason while dealing with a knee issue. That followed an offseason of missed workouts following a family tragedy. It all combines to create a lot of uncertainty surrounding Tuitt's 2021 campaign. The veteran lineman is coming off his best pro season, so he remains an intriguing stash for IDP leagues. But we have knocked him down our DL rankings.
The Lions signed K Austin Seibert. It looks like he'll open the season as the starter after Detroit cut Ks Zane Gonzalez and Randy Bullock on Tuesday. Seibert is a weak fantasy option on what figures to be 1 of the league's lowest-scoring offenses.
Steelers RB Anthony McFarland missed the team's preseason finale with an unspecified injury. Mark Kaboly of The Athletic reports that whatever the issue is, "it could land him on IR" this week. That would knock McFarland out for at least 3 games. We'll keep an eye on this situation. Benny Snell and Kalen Ballage also remain on the depth chart behind Najee Harris.
Update: McFarland has been placed on IR with his undisclosed injury, so he'll miss at least the first 3 games of the season.
Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports that the Giants plan to "evaluate" TE Evan Engram "for a few days before making a decision" on whether to place him on IR. Engram hurt his left calf in the preseason finale. Sending him to IR would keep the TE out for a minimum of 3 games. So it sounds like the team is trying to decipher whether he can comfortably get back onto the field sooner than that. We'll keep an eye on the situation. Engram has dipped in our TE rankings, but there remains PPR upside whenever he's all the way back.
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