McCarthy is reportedly already at home and working with the staff via Zoom. In addition to returning to the team facilities on Friday, he’s also expected to hold a video news conference with the media before the weekend. Barring any setbacks, it’s been reported that McCarthy plans on being on the sideline and coaching the team for Sunday night’s Week 14 contest against the Eagles.

On the same day Hurst’s father announced his son was dealing with Post Traumatic Amnesia, Hurst returned to the practice field. The veteran tight end was listed as a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice and will likely get in another limited practice on Thursday. Hurst’s injury is just the latest example of violent head injuries that take place on a week-to-week basis, and while he said this isn’t career-ending, the prospects of him playing again are somewhat unnerving. We’ll see if he’s able to clear concussion protocol to play in Week 14 against the Saints, but even if he’s on the field, he’ll be hard to trust from a fantasy perspective.

Harris hasn’t practiced all week and is carrying a questionable tag into the game. Despite this, the Steelers are expected to have Harris on Thursday night against a stout Patriots defense that’s fresh off a Week 13 performance in which they held the Chargers to six points. Already playing in a committee, it’s possible Harris is on the shorter end of the touch share, given his injury. We’re cautiously treating him as a fringe RB2/RB3 for Thursday night’s contest.

As if Austin Ekeler managers haven’t been through enough, it sounds like the Chargers are ready to further entertain the idea of a more split backfield. We saw this in Week 13 when Ekeler played on just 57 percent of the team’s snaps — his fewest since Week 1 when he went suffered an injury. Ekeler is averaging 3.5 yards per carry and has been far from the impact player we’ve seen over the last several years. Staley said the team will continue “exploring” and “making adjustments” in hopes of getting their flailing rushing game back on track. Despite his struggles, Ekeler is still the RB15 in fantasy points per game in PPR leagues, but he hasn’t finished any higher than RB24 over the last three weeks. A continued decline in playing time and efficiency could make him difficult to start in any capacity down the stretch.

The Bills opened Knox’s 21-day window for return on Wednesday, meaning he could suit up as early as this week when the Bills take on the Chiefs. Knox’s return could complicate the fantasy outlook for rookie Dalton Kincaid, who has caught 31 passes for 281 yards and two touchdowns in Knox’s absence, averaging 14.2 fantasy points per game over that span. Knox was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice. In a big conference matchup against the Chiefs, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him activated if he’s ready to go.

According to Van Pelt, DTR has one more box to clear before being eligible to return. The Browns won’t commit to Flacco as their Week 14 starter, but it’s hard to imagine the team going back to DTR after Flacco’s semi-decent outing against the Rams. DTR was listed as a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice and would presumably get in another limited session on Thursday. He’ll likely be cleared at some point in the week, forcing the Browns to make a decision, but that may not come until Friday.

Cooper entered concussion protocol after the Browns’ Week 13 loss to the Rams and was a DNP in Wednesday’s practice. The veteran receiver will need to clear protocol if he hopes to have any chance of suiting up in Week 14 against the Jaguars, but he’s also dealing with a rib injury. We’ll see if he’s able to get on the practice field Thursday, but Cooper is trending toward missing this week if he logs a second-straight DNP.

Schultz has been dealing with a hamstring injury, missing Week 13 against the Broncos. He did not practice all of last week, but returns to start this week in a limited capacity. Brevin Jordan started in place of Schultz in Week 13, but Schultz should reclaim that spot once he returns. On track to play for Week 14 against the Jets, Schultz ranks as a low-end TE1.

Although Nacua was listed as a limited participant, head coach Sean McVay said “he just did everything” in the Rams’ Wednesday practice. Nacua hurt his shoulder in a Week 13 win over the Browns, but finished the game. The rookie has been a WR1/2 all season long and should continue to operate in the WR2 range despite the shoulder issue. Fantasy managers will be thrilled to hear that he is practicing and McVay’s comments provide optimism that he will play Week 14 against the Ravens.

Head coach Pete Carroll initially said that Walker and Zach Charbonnet did some work in a walkthrough, but both were listed as non-participants in practice. The Seahawks’ near-indecipherable language around injuries makes it hard to distinguish how ready Walker is to begin the week, but his practice statuses later in the week will paint a clearer picture. Walker has missed two straight games for the Seahawks and is in danger of missing Week 14 against the 49ers.