Pickett may only be getting a one week audition here, as Carroll said that Geno Smith “will be back” against the Texans in Week 16. Against the Eagles’ stellar pass defense, Pickett is best approached as a QB3 in superflex leagues and even an optimistic view can’t see him as better than a low-end QB2 with almost nothing around him beyond Brock Bowers and Ashton Jeanty. It’s just not an ideal situation, even if he did look decent in relief of Smith in Week 14.

Riley Leonard (knee) has practiced in full all week, so it sure seems like he’d be available to go if the Colts wanted him to. Of course, if they really wanted him to go, they probably would not have signed a 44-year-old grandfather in the first place. So there’s that. We’ll likely get a report that Rivers will start at some point in the next 36 hours. He’s not to be trusted in superflex leagues in his first start in five years.

Higgins has been concussed twice over the last three weeks and will now miss a second game due to his brain injury. Despite being limited in both Wednesday’s and Thursday’s practice, the star receiver felt like a long shot to play after landing in protocol following Week 14’s game against the Bills. When Higgins missed Week 13’s game against the Ravens, backup Mitchell Tinsley stepped up to run a season-high 31 routes while also drawing a season-high eight targets. He could have some upside as a dart-throw WR4 in deeper leagues.

With extra time to heal up after getting concussed in a Thursday night matchup against the Lions, Lamb is now good to go in a pivotal Week 15 game against the Vikings. Lamb turned in arguably his best performance of the season before going down last week, totaling six catches for a season-high 121 yards in just one half of play. He can be trusted as a WR1 in this week’s fantasy playoff matchups.

It may not have been the most efficient outing for Evans, but when you consider it was the first time on the field for the future Hall of Famer since Week 7, it’s an incredibly impressive performance. The 32-year-old worked the sideline for most of the contest, and showed he’s still as good as it gets at jump balls with a 45-yard snag. Evans is far from a lock to put up these kind of numbers each week, but clearly the connection with Baker Mayfield is going to make these kind of outings possible. The Panthers are next in Week 16.

Three touchdowns from Kyle Pitts? In this economy? This was a remarkable effort from the tight end in what has been an impressive — if frustrating (until Thursday) because of the lack of scores — campaign. The Buccaneers simply had no answer for him, and the Falcons lack of other competent targets sans Bijan Robinson provided the volume. He’s now up to four scores on the season, and he’ll have a chance to add to that total with Kirk Cousins clearly feeling confident in feeding him as often as possible against the Cardinals in Week 16.

Tyrod Taylor was also absent during the portion of practice open to the media. All signs point to Brady Cook making his starting NFL debut on Sunday. Cooks took over for Taylor mid-game last week and was a disaster. He completed fewer than half of his attempts and was intercepted twice. Cook also took six sacks. Cook being named the starter would take Aondai Mitchell and John Metchie off the fantasy radar for Week 15. Cook himself won’t be a fantasy option, even in Superflex leagues.

This news comes directly from the team. Steelers spokesman Burt Lauden added that Watt will not practice on Thursday and his status for Monday’s game is in question. Head coach Mike Tomlin will provide more updates at the appropriate time. It’s a scary update for one of the best defenders in the league. The hope will be that this is a short-term issue, but it’s too early to say anything definitively. We don’t expect Watt to suit up versus the Dolphins on Monday.

LaFleur told reporters, “We’ll see how he’s feeling tomorrow & go from there.” He isn’t ruling Jacobs out yet, but it’s safe to say the veteran back is on the wrong side of questionable after missing the first two practices of the week. Jacobs previousy missed Week 12 with the knee issue. Backup Emanuel Wilson racked up 28 carries, which he turned into 107 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Wilson would push for an RB1 ranking if Jacobs sits in Week 15 versus the Broncos.

Hendrickson underwent core muscle surgery to deal with the injury earlier this week. It is expected to sideline him for six weeks. With only a month left in the season, even a miraculous playoff berth by the Bengals wouldn’t guarantee Hendrickson a shot at playing again this year. It’s safe to assume Hednrickson’s season is over. His time with the Bengals could also be at an end. Hendrickson has been stuck at a contractual standstill with the Bengals for years. The 2024 sack leader has been eying a new deal for a while and Cincinnati’s front office has refused to meet his demands while also throwing shots his way in the media. He is set to hit free agency in the offseason and will command a massive contract on the open market.