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    Packers signing ex-Steelers TE Jonnu Smith

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    Packers signed Jonnu Smith, formerly of the Steelers, to a one-year contract.

    Smith reunited with Arthur Smith in Pittsburgh last year and posted 38 catches for 222 yards and two touchdowns. Even with NFL players actively returning to college football, Jonnu was unable to find a way to follow his favorite offensive coordinator to Ohio State. All signs point to Tucker Kraft being fully recovered from his torn ACL by Week 1, but backup tight end Luke Musgrave remains sidelined with an injury of his own. Smith won’t be on the fantasy radar as long as Kraft is healthy, but he should be a solid depth option for the Packers.
Legendary Bears head coach Ditka dies at 86
Chicago Bears icon and Hall of Fame tight end Mike Ditka has died at age 86. Chris Simms and Connor Rogers reflect on his legendary life in football and explore his enduring impact on the sport.

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  • GB Tight End #85
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    Jordan Love made it a point to get Kraft going in this game, peppering him with easy-button targets throughout the contest. Kraft led the team with a 23 percent target share. His six grabs also led the team and are a new season high. He found the end zone with an impressive toe-dragging catch at the goal line. Kraft is still looking for the explosive play, but the team is getting him more involved every week. He is back in the TE1 ranks after a slow couple of weeks to start the season. Kraft will look to stay hot versus the Bears next week.
  • GB Tight End #85
    Kraft has not yet looked himself after recovering from a torn ACL suffered in 2025, this time committing two drops for the first time in his career. To add additional context, Kraft has never had more than three drops in an entire season entering his fourth year in the league. The game plan clearly consisted of getting Kraft involved early to circumvent the offensive line struggles, but the connection with Jordan Love was off throughout. Kraft appears likely to need time to get back to full speed for the Packers, although his snaps and route participation rate were back to normal for the second consecutive week. Fantasy managers are likely forced to ride through the turbulence considering the state of the tight end position throughout the league, but he is a shaky start ahead of a Week 4 matchup with the Buccaneers.
  • GB Tight End #85
    The good news is that Kraft played 52 of the team’s 53 snaps and ran a route on 32 of their 34 dropbacks. The bad news is that he wasn’t commanding targets, and he also fumbled one of his catches, but the replay review couldn’t determine for sure who recovered it, so the Packers were able to maintain possession. Perhaps we should have been a little less aggressive in expecting Kraft to return from tearing his ACL less than a year ago and go right back to being himself at the start of the season. His role remains elite, but it may take another couple of weeks before he’s physically able to play like we’re used to seeing.
  • GB Tight End #85
    Kraft, who tore his ACL in Week 9 last year, told reporters he would not be on a snap count in Week 1. He was. Kraft ran 20 routes to Jonnu Smith’s 18. The good news is that Kraft looked as explosive as ever, racking up gains of 30, 23, and 12 yards. Even with the weak route rate, this goes down as a win for a player whose game is built around big plays. His route rate should climb in the coming weeks, keeping him in the TE1 mix versus the Jets next Sunday.
  • GB Tight End #85
    The news was first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Kraft’s deal, which runs through the 2030 season, has a maximum value of $92 million and includes a $26.5 million signing bonus. He’s now the NFL’s highest-paid tight end. Kraft had 32 receptions, 489 yards and six touchdowns before tearing his ACL in Week 9 last year. Not on the injury report for Week 1, Kraft is a surefire TE1 even in a tough matchup against the Vikings defense.
  • GB Tight End #85
    Silverstein believes the deal’s total value likely isn’t as important to the Packers as the structure. Kraft is still likely to reset the tight end market, but since he is returning from a season-ending ACL tear and has “yet to show he’s picked up where he left off last year, it may take some time for the deal to come together.” In the meantime, as long as he takes the field, Kraft can be treated as a TE1.
  • GB Tight End #85
    Kraft has been trending toward playing in Week 1 for a long time. Not appearing on the injury report in any capacity means he is good to go. Kraft may still have somewhat of a pitch count for his first game back from a 2025 torn ACL, but Matt LaFleur will be sure to get him the ball when he is on the field. Kraft is a fantasy TE1 for the Packers’ Week 1 game against Minnesota.
  • GB Tight End #88
    Musgrave is coming back from a neck injury with no clear timeline for a return to action. The Packers last week signed Jonnu Smith, who will play behind Tucker Kraft to start the regular season. Smith could be an interesting waiver add if Kraft — returning from a major knee injury — misses any time in 2026.
  • GB Tight End #85
    It looks like the Packers are ready to ease Kraft back into competition following the serious knee injury that ended his 2025 season. Kraft said recently that the team would “probably” keep him on a snap count to begin the regular season. That would make Kraft — one of the game’s most efficient tight ends — a dicy bet for fantasy purposes. Kraft might not be playable for the first month of the regular season, or even longer depending on his progress and the Packers’ strategies for keeping him healthy.
  • GB Tight End #85
    Kraft is recovering from a season-ending ACL tear. He is on track to play in Week 1. Easing him into action before “sending [him] to the wolves” partway through the year, as Kraft says, makes sense. Kraft proved himself to be a top-tier real-life tight end and a locked-in TE1 in fantasy last year. He can still return TE1 numbers while playing on a snap count, likely receiving a few first-read passes that are designed with his post-catch skill set in mind. These comments should not impact his ADP negatively. For what it’s worth, Kraft also said that he is hoping to play his normal allotment of snaps in Week 1. The team may simply choose to take a conservative approach. Kraft notably resumed participating in 11-on-11 drills today.

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  • WAS Wide Receiver #3
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    Stefon Diggs (hamstring) will not play in Week 5 against the Giants.

    Diggs did not practice this week and was ruled out by the team shortly after Friday’s practice concluded. His absence will give rookie Antonio Williams, who ran 30 routes last week, a chance to take on a bigger role. Williams tied for the team lead with eight targets in Week 4’s game against the Colts and could be treated as a desperation WR4/FLEX play. Fantasy managers considering Williams for their lineups may want to check the weather, as rain and wind are currently forecasted for the area, which could create a suboptimal environment for Washington’s passing game.
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    Commanders head coach Dan Quinn said Jayden Daniels (elbow) will start in Week 5 against the Giants.

    Daniels appeared to be close to playing in Week 4 against the Colts before ultimately being ruled out. His being upgraded to a full participant in Thursday’s practice suggested he was a virtual lock to start in Week 5, barring any unexpected setbacks. Daniels will wear a brace on his left arm for the rest of the season in hopes of avoiding a three-peat of his dislocated elbow. Daniels will be without Stefon Diggs (hamstring) for Sunday’s game, and rainy/windy conditions are currently in the forecast. We’ll conservatively project him as a mid-to-low-end QB1 in what could be less-than-ideal conditions on Sunday.
  • CIN Wide Receiver #5
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    Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said Tee Higgins (groin/neck) is questionable for Week 5 against the Dolphins.

    Higgins missed the first two practices of the week but was able to get on the field in some capacity on Friday. We would consider him to be truly questionable given his one day of practice, meaning fantasy managers will want to check his official game status when the team announces inactives 90 minutes before kickoff. If he can’t go, Dohnte Meyers, who saw nine targets last week, could be on the fantasy radar as a WR4 in deeper leagues.
  • LV Running Back #2
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    Ashton Jeanty (ankle/foot) was not spotted at Friday’s practice.

    Jeanty has been dealing with the ankle injury throughout the week, but the foot injury was added after Thursday’s practice. Jeanty was officially listed as limited on Thursday, but the Raiders’ RB1 was absent from the media portion of Friday’s practice. We will receive final word on his Week 5 availability soon, but rookie Mike Washington could be in line for a busy day against the Patriots if Jeanty is unable to go.
  • BAL Quarterback #8
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    Lamar Jackson (ankle) did not practice on Friday.

    Jackson did not practice this week, but head coach Jesse Minter said on Wednesday that his QB1 could still play even if he doesn’t practice. We’ve heard this one too many times when it comes to Jackson and nagging injuries, and it’s not often we see him suit up in these scenarios. His status will be one to keep an eye on when the team releases its final injury report, but even if Jackson is given the questionable tag, we would recommend stashing an emergency option at QB in the event he doesn’t start. Given that the Ravens play on Sunday night, Jackson’s backup, Tyler Huntley, and Falcons starter Michael Penix Jr. would be the most logical stashes as Matthew Stafford and Josh Allen, who play on Monday night, are rostered in nearly every league.
  • TEN Wide Receiver #14
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    Carnell Tate (back) is good to go for Week 5 against the Texans.

    Tate popped up on Thursday’s injury report with a back injury, but it appears that was mostly due to some tightness that isn’t expected to slow him in Week 5. Tate has seen 21 targets over the last two weeks and has posted a 15-203-0 line over that span. He has some solid WR3/FLEX appeal against a Texans defense that has struggled against the pass early in the season.
  • CIN Wide Receiver #1
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    Ja’Marr Chase (concussion) was seen practicing on Friday.

    Chase still needs to clear concussion protocol if he hopes to suit up for Week 5’s game against the Dolphins. That said, he appears to be trending toward being able to play after logging back-to-back practices to close out the week. Tee Higgins (groin/neck), who was a DNP on Wednesday and Thursday was also seen sprinting and running routes on Friday, which suggests he could also be good to go for Sunday’s game. We will check back in with official game day statuses in the coming hours when the team releases its final injury report.
  • WAS Wide Receiver #3
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    Stefon Diggs (hamstring) is not practicing on Friday.

    Diggs was unable to get on the practice field this week and will likely be ruled out for Week 5’s game against the Giants in the next few hours. Rookie receiver Antonio Williams would again be in line for a busy day and could be the favorite to lead the team in targets this week, especially if Terry McLaurin (hamstring) also misses this week. McLaurin’s status remains wait and see after he was spotted on the practice field Friday after being a DNP on the first two days.
  • CHI Running Back #4
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    NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports the “belief is that D’Andre Swift (hip/knee) should be able to go” in Week 5 against the Packers.

    We will get a better sense of Swift’s availability soon when the Bears release their final injury report of the week. After being a DNP in Wednesday’s practice, Swift was able to log a limited session on Thursday, which is a good sign for his availability with one practice left to go. Kyle Monangai (thumb/toe), who has yet to practice this week, could be at risk of missing Week 5, which could lead to a busy day for Swift, while Roschon Johnson would serve as the Bears’ RB2.
  • NYJ Wide Receiver #15
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    Adonai Mitchell (finger) will not play in Week 5 against the Brown.

    Mitchell will miss his third straight game with the finger injury he sustained in practice, ahead of Week 3’s game against the Lions. During Mitchell’s absence, Isaiah Williams has run 59 routes, the second-most of any Jets receiver, but has seen just five targets. Garrett Wilson is the only reliable receiver in this passing game, while rookie tight end Kenyon Sadiq is a boom-or-bust option against a defense that has allowed the ninth-most fantasy points to tight ends this season.