LaFleur said Jacobs will log a full week of practice but also pointed out that the 28-year-old back has “missed the exposure to football” over the last several months while on the commissioner’s exempt list. Jacobs was reinstated by the league late last week and is eligible to play immediately, but whether or not he will be active next week is to be determined. We’ll see how this week unfolds, but it would be a bit surprising if Jacobs was inactive in a pivotal NFC North matcup.

The fact that he has to think about it probably tips the hand that it will be J.J. McCarthy sooner or later — if not outright now. Jameis Winston was replaced by McCarthy in the fourth quarter yesterday and McCarthy showcased his deep arm and almost erased a large deficit by throwing for 243 yards on 21 attempts. If McCarthy did start against the Texans, he would likely be a bottom five superflex option on the Week 7 slate because of his established history as a starter.

Dell will make his long-awaited return next week against the Giants. By the time he takes the field in Week 7, Dell will have been more than 22 months removed from his last regular-season game, which came in Week 16 of the 2024 season. Dell suffered a torn ACL, LCL, and MCL, along with a dislocated knee, in that game against the Chiefs and has been on a long road to recovery. He’ll join a crowded receiver room that recently acquired Marvin Harrison Jr., and Jaylin Noel has posted a solid 17-334-2 line through the first six weeks of the season and topped 100 yards in Sunday’s win over the Jaguars. Targets could be hard to come by for Dell, but his return next week is an impressive feat on its own given the injury he had to work through.

Evans did not log a practice in the days leading up to Monday night’s game against the Commanders, but the team still listed him as questionable on Saturday. Schefter reports the Niners want to see how Evans looks during pregame warmups, but it sounds like they are somewhat hopeful he will be active for Monday’s game. Evans has caught 24 passes for 326 yards and three touchdowns this season and went for 7-113-1 on 10 targets in last week’s win over the Seahawks. He would be a must-start on Monday against Washington if he is active.

When asked if Jackson’s ankle has improved over the last two weeks, Minter offered up a resounding “yes.” Jackson missed a second straight game in Week 6’s loss to the Browns, despite reports earlier in the week that said he nearly played in Week 5 against the Falcons. We’ve seen injuries linger in the past for Jackson, whose team fell to 4-2 on the season and is now preparing to face another division rival in the Bengals next week. Jackson, who is considered day-to-day, did not get on the practice field in any capacity last week, so even a few limited sessions would be an upgrade as far as his Week 7 availability is concerned.

This would effectively end Hurts’ season, as a three-month absence would have him on track to return some time in late-January/early-February. In a statement released by Hurts’ agent, Nicole Lyyn, she said further tests revealed “deep vein thrombosis as well as bilateral pulmonary emboli.” She said that Hurts is stable and is not expected to have any “functional limitations” and that his treatment to resolve his blood clotting issues “should only involve anticoagulation [i.e., ‘blood thinners’].” As a result, Hurts will not be permitted to engage in football activities and will not be allowed to resume them until he is off his blood thinners. The good news here is that Hurts is expected to make a full recovery, and the doctors do not believe this will have a long-term effect on him moving forward. Hurts threw for 933 yards, eight touchdowns, and three interceptions this season while completing 57.8 percent of his passes — his lowest mark since his rookie season. He ran for another 107 yards and one touchdown as he and the Eagles struggled in his first five starts under offensive coordinator Sean Mannion. He remains under contract through the 2028 season, but Hurts has faced his fair share of scrutiny since leading the Eagles to a Super Bowl title in 2024. Hurts’ contract situation would suggest his job is more than secured for the foreseeable future, but this is the same Eagles front office that used a 2020 second round pick to select him as the heir apparent to Carson Wentz, who signed a four-year extension with the team in 2019. While we fully expect Hurts to be back with the Eagles next season, we can’t rule out the team using an early draft pick on a quarterback in a draft that is projected to be one of the more QB-rich drafts in recent memory. Tanner McKee, who started Week 6’s game against the Panthers, will take over as the team’s starter going forward.

The team announced its decision to move on from Ballard early Monday morning. The Colts opted to retain Ballard for a 10th season earlier this offseason despite a monumental collapse in the second half of last season that saw the team finish 8-9 after getting off to an 8-2 start. Ballard was hired as the Colts GM in 2017 and leaves with just two postseason berths and zero division titles to his name. The abrupt retirement of Andrew Luck before the start of the 2018 season presented an early challenge for Ballard to suddenly find a new QB, which often resulted in short-term answers to solve a long-term problem. After the likes of Philip Rivers, Matt Ryan, and Carson Wentz passed through the organization, the Colts finally selected Anthony Richardson in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft in hopes of landing their guy. When it became apparent Richardson wasn’t the answer, the team signed Daniel Jones, who turned in a solid 2025 campaign and was rewarded with a two-year, $88 million contract earlier this offseason. Among the multiple missteps by Ballard during his Colts tenure is the trade for cornerback Sauce Gardner, whom he acquired in exchange for the team’s 2026 and 2027 first-round picks. Few GMs get the leash that Ballard was provided with by the Colts, but this felt like a move that was destined to happen now or at the end of the season. Now, the Colts can get a head start on their next GM search in what is shaping up to be another rough season. The team announced that head coach Shane Steichen will remain in his role for now.

Kraft was forced from the game in the second quarter after taking a scary hit to his thigh area that generated torsion on his knee while his foot was still planted. It was the opposite knee to the one he injured a season ago and the veteran tight end would miss only one drive before returning to the game after the half, providing a collective sigh of relief for fantasy managers that have tasted the despair of a major knee injury already. Kraft could be busy in Week 7 against the defense allowing the most fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends when the Packers face off against the division rival Lions in a potential shootout.

Watson drew lockdown corner Joey Porter Jr. for much of the game, something that aided teammate Matthew Golden in leading the team in both targets and receiving in the win. The talented fifth-year receiver is already within 74 yards of setting a new career high in receiving while also being just one touchdown shy of a new high water mark, two achievements he will look to unlock when the Packers face off against the Lions in a potential shootout in Week 7. Watson remains a back-end WR1 for that matchup.

Golden took advantage of being the Green Bay receiver to mostly avoid Joey Porter Jr., although he did victimize the lockdown corner on a 37-yard reception in the first quarter. He would cash in on a touchdown eight plays later from nine yards out for his third score of the season. The speedy second-year receiver has now eclipsed 100 yards in half of his games while hitting 95 in one other, and is pacing for over 1,400 yards and eight touchdowns. That’s enough to have Golden in the conversation for one of the top values of fantasy drafts this summer. Golden will be an upside WR2 when the Packers take on the division rival Lions in Week 7.