Beat: Pats need Williams to step up without AJB

Lewis connects the Vikings to Chargers backs Keaton Mitchell and Kimani Vidal as well as Tennessee’s Tony Pollard, Tampa Bay’s Kenneth Gainwell, and Arizona’s Tyler Allgeier. These are just whispers at the moment, but any kind of costly trade acquisition would cut into the playing time and fantasy value of Jordan Mason and Aaron Jones. The Vikings have clearly already been shuffling depth pieces around so we believe there could be more urgency there as the trade deadline gets closer.

Gardner-Johnson was caught on tape spitting at/in the direction of Raiders TE Brock Bowers after the two were seen jawing at one another after a play. Gardner-Johnson will be suspended without pay when the Bills return from their bye to play the Ravens in Week 8. He has tallied 25 tackles, two pass breakups, and one interception this season while earning a PFF grade of 55.2.

Coen benched Thomas for the entire second half after he had one drop and two non-catches in the first against Houston. It sure seems like the runway for Thomas is running out in Jacksonville. A potential trade is the only fantasy salvation coming for the third-year receiver as he looks buried here.

Tom Pelissero’s report over the weekend was that Pierce was still weeks from returning, and unfortunately this very much aligns with that. Pierce is now eligible to return off injured reserve, but until we see him designated to return and practicing, it’s hard to believe he’s close to returning.

Jones has yet to crack 270 yards or throw multiple touchdowns in a start. He’s also thrown six interceptions and is completing a career-worst 59.6 percent of his passes. It is not an uncommon observation to say that he is struggling to drive the ball on his throws. While the Colts are not going away from Jones now, that does not necessarily mean he will remain the starter all year if he continues to play like this. Given what the Vikings have been up to this year, we’d be surprised if Jones escaped the bottom five of quarterback fantasy points this week.

“He is going to become the byproduct of all the finer things that get improved. The improved play from our offensive line; the more efficient we are relative to downs; running the football. That’s our job as coaches here,” Payton said. Nix has been one of the worst quarterbacks in the league through six starts and Jay Glazer passed along word yesterday that Payton changed the terminology that OC Davis Webb had put in this offseason back to what it was last season, which apparently did not help Nix out. He’ll be hard to trust even with a slapdash Cardinals defense on tap for Week 7.

Arroyo’s career hasn’t really got off the ground with AJ Barner as the obvious No. 1 in the Seahawks tight end room. The 50th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft has just two targets this year and hasn’t been a fantasy factor yet.

Bowles has already said that the team is preparing as if Jalon Daniels will start in Week 7, but the team will be evaluating Mayfield to see how he is progressing in his recovery from a dislocated thumb. Mayfield reportedly pushed to play last week after throwing on Monday, but his thumb swelled up, which factored into the decision to sit him in Week 6’s loss to the Steelers. Given Bowles’ comments about the team’s plans entering the week, it sounds like Mayfield is at risk of missing at least one more game, but we’ll see how his hand responds when he gets on the field on Wednesday.

According to Rapoport, an MRI revealed a mild calf strain for Gardner, who is expected to be week-to-week with the injury. While he is expected to miss some time, Rapoport also notes that Gardner is not expected to miss “an extended period,” which suggests he won’t be placed on injured reserve. Gardner sounds like a virtual lock to miss Week 7’s game against the Vikings, so we’ll see if a week away gives him enough time to be ready for Week 8’s game against the Jaguars. Gardner has totaled 17 tackles and four pass breakups for the Colts this season while earning a PFF coverage grade of 62.6.

Bowles said this week will be an important evaluation week for Baker Mayfield, who is still rehabbing a dislocated thumb that has sidelined him since Week 3. Daniels hasn’t been overly impressive in his three starts this season, throwing for 501 yards, three touchdowns and five interceptions while also taking nine sacks. That said, he did manage to pull off a win over the Cowboys in Week 5 and had the Buccaneers in position to beat the Steelers in Week 6 before Pittsburgh erupted for 16 points in the fourth quarter to force overtime. We’ll see how things unfold throughout the week, but it sounds like Mayfield is at least one week away from returning. Daniels would be on the fantasy radar as a low-end QB2 if he gets the start against Carolina.