Beat: Lew Nichols had ‘legitimate’ roster case

The veteran receiver played through both ailments in Week 8 but was limited to only 54 percent of the team’s offensive snaps in a blowout win. Fantasy managers will want to monitor his status in the coming days, with the expectation that he continues to play through the injuries against the Ravens on Thursday Night Football.

This appears to be a non-issue as the veteran change of pace back should be fine for Thursday Night Football against the Ravens. Of greater concern was the absence of lead back Bayshul Tuten, something fantasy managers of both players will want to monitor as Thursday draw nearer. Rodriguez would seemingly be in line for a featured role if Tuten is unable to play on a short week.

Tuten briefly left the team’s Week 8 win in the first quarter but returned to amass 159 total yards and two touchdowns against the overmatched Colts. Fantasy managers will want to track his status closely as the team makes a quick turn to face the Ravens on Thursday Night Football.

The fact he was listed as limited and not a “DNP” likely signals a more modest injury and we would expect Hill to suit up when the Ravens take on the Jaguars on Thursday Night Football in Week 9. Either way, fantasy managers likely have better options at the position.

That keeps the veteran tight end on track to suit up in Week 9 against the Jaguars on Thursday Night Football. Andrews has struggled to return usable fantasy weeks throughout his age-31 season, with the team now down to their third, potentially fourth, quarterback for Thursday’s game. he can safely be left on fantasy benches on the short week.

Charbonnet makes his season debut after a suffering a torn ACL late in the 2025 season while Price returns from short-term injure reserve due to a chest injury. Emmanuel Wilson and George Holani had held down the backfield in the absence of the two top backs, leaving an uncertain situation regarding expected backfield utilization when the Seahawks take on the Bears in a marquee matchup. Inactive for the Seahawks are QB Drew Lock, LB Uchenna Nwosu, WR Rashid Shaheed, RB Velus Jones Jr., OT Charles Cross, G Beau Stephens, and NT Brandon Pili.

No real surprises here after Monangai was ruled out for Week 8 on Saturday, leaving D’Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson to handle backfield duties in a difficult matchup against the Seahawks. The two had operated in a loosely split backfield before Week 7, during which Swift saw workhorse usage in a tight game against the Patriots. It would appear likely that Swift will once again see the bulk of the work considering the opponent, making him a surefire RB2 with RB1 upside to cap the Week 8 festivities.

Loop suffered an undisclosed injury in the Week 8 loss to the Bills, something that is reportedly serious enough to warrant injured reserve consideration. When asked if Jake Moody would be kicking on Thursday Night Football against the Jaguars, Minter replied with a simple, “At this point, yes.” The Ravens were dealt numerous injury issues in their loss to the Bills as they lost both Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley, with third string rookie Joe Fagnano also emerging dinged up after taking numerous hard sacks.

Whelp, that isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement for the rookie quarterback’s chances of starting under center for the Ravens when they host the Jaguars on Thursday Night Football to kick off Week 9. The team lost both Lamar Jackson to a season-ending thumb injury and backup Tyler Huntley to a turf toe injury in their Week 8 loss to the Bills, now in desperate need of a viable quarterback option as they fight for their playoff lives. It is possible the team addresses the position through trade with just over a week until the trade deadline, although that is unlikely to help them on a short week. More to come in what quickly became a dire situation in Baltimore. Fagnano was officially listed as limited on the team’s estimated practice report Monday.

Njoku has been on the shelf since being placed on injured reserve ahead of Week 3, with the potential to return following five missed games plus the team’s Week 7 bye. The team will have 21 days to activate him from short-term injured reserve, meaning Njoku is not guaranteed to be activated in time for Week 9 against the Texans. Fantasy managers that have held Njoku through his time on injured reserve can continue patiently waiting for his return while those in shallower leagues can consider adding him from waivers before he is activated.