In a letter to Jets GM Joe Douglas, Kaepernick says he would be “honored and extremely grateful for the opportunity” to lead the team’s practice squad. The letter was interestingly released by rapper J. Cole and contains Kaepernick’s arguments on why he would be a good addition for the Jets. He added Jim and John Harbaugh, Chip Kelly, and Mark Davis as references in the message. The 35-year-old last played for the 49ers in 2016, staying in the limelight for his social justice activities and workouts to return to play over the years.

On Thursday, Lions head coach Dan Campbell said that Montgomery, who sat out Week Three with a thigh injury, is moving toward getting back in the lineup this week. “Two that are trending the most positive right now would be Decker and D-Mo. Those are the two I’m starting to feel pretty good about,” Campbell said. The Lions will have another walkthrough on Wednesday, but Campbell feeling good about Montgomery right now is a strong sign for his ability to play. If he is able to see the field, Jahmyr Gibbs would likely go back to something closer to his Week 2 usage, while Craig Reynolds would maybe be relegated to a small handful of carries, depending on how Montgomery feels.

While Barkley didn’t do a lot at practice on Tuesday, the Giants just had a walk through. Afterwards, Daboll was asked about Barkley’s status and said, “He’s really now, I’d say, in the day-to-day category. Feels a lot better today. But we’ll kind of take that all the way throughout the week and see how he improves.” Obviously, Barkley feeling better is a good sign, but there is still a ways to go before he gets back out on the field on Monday night against Seattle. With the Giants sitting at 1-2, they may be inclined to play their star if he’s close, so this is certainly a situation to monitor closely over the next few days.

When he was asked directly about being on the field on Thursday, Watson said, “That’s the plan.” Obviously, players are always a bit more optimistic about their chances to see the field than teams are, and Watson still has two days of work before the Packers will make the final decision, but it’s still good to hear a player say that he is anticipating being on the field. Getting Watson back in the receiving corps alongside Jayden Reed and Romeo Doubs would be big news for Jordan Love and the whole Packers offense on Thursday.

The Bengals started the game by peppering Chase on the opening drive and Burrow continued looking his way for easy completions. Chase was largely confined to short area work on a night where Burrow’s mobility was affected by a nagging calf strain, but head coach Zac Taylor was able to move him around the formation enough to get him one-on-one coverage for most of the evening. Fantasy managers have to be happy with the Week 3 production after the electric wide receiver failed to provide solid counting stats during the first two games of the season. Next up is a more forgiving matchup with the pass-funnel defense of the Titans in Week 4.

Mixon continued to play heavy snaps for the Bengals and handled all but two running back opportunities in Week 3. His first touchdown of the year masked his continued low efficiency but salvaged his fantasy day, providing the first starter-worthy fantasy week this season. Mixon’s efficiency and upside could improve as the offense improves, after the Bengals have managed just 46 points scored through three weeks. That said, fantasy managers might want to make alternate plans with a matchup with the stout run defense of the Titans on deck for Week 4.

Burrow’s limited mobility showed through in Week 3 but he managed to gut it out through a troubling calf strain to lead his team to their first victory of the season. He keyed in on alpha wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, feeding his top target 15 looks in a primarily short area attack. The inefficiency and low yards per attempt were largely to be expected considering his inability to extend plays with his legs, but fantasy managers that invested a pick in the top six rounds of fantasy drafts will surely want more than what they’ve seen to this point in the season from Burrow. Burrow was also hurt by numerous drops from Tee Higgins which could have padded his stats on the night. Next up for the Bengals is a more forgiving matchup through the air when they travel to Tennessee to face the Titans in Week 4.

Higbee maintained an elite snap rate but continued to stay in to block at a high rate to help an offensive line that struggled against the stunt blitz packages of Lou Anarumo’s swarming defense. He was able to flash his dependable hands when in a route, catching all five targets and leading the team in receiving until the final drive of the game. Fantasy managers are sure to want more considering the absence of Cooper Kupp from the lineup, but will have to make do with the adequate fantasy performance in full PPR settings in Week 3.

Nacua salvaged his fantasy outing with a 37-yard grab on the team’s final drive of the game to set up a one-yard score by Tutu Atwell. His showing was a far cry from the 35 combined targets he saw during the first two weeks of the season, but he still managed to lead the team in receiving for the third consecutive game. Nacua’s ability to shake loose over the middle of the field has been an integral piece of the offense in the absence of Cooper Kupp, the latter of whom could return as early as Week 5 against the Eagles.

Atwell’s day could have been much bigger but he was ruled to have stepped out of bounds at the two on a jet sweep in the first quarter and narrowly missed catching a second touchdown in the third quarter. His speed and joystick abilities were on full display against the Bengals, moved around the formation to generate mismatches against the swarming defense of Lou Anarumo. Atwell should remain an integral part of the offense even when Cooper Kupp makes his eventual return, which could come as early as Week 5 against the Eagles.