Muth is active for Week 6 vs. Bucs

With games against the Seahawks and Broncos on tap for Mendoza’s first two starts, the Raiders may have wanted to throw Cousins to the wolves for those games before getting the No. 1 overall pick under center against Cleveland. Instead, the Vikings offered Vegas a third-round pick for Cousins and the Raiders couldn’t say no. Mendoza will make his first NFL start at home versus Seattle today. We expect him to be in the QB2 mix at some point this year, but it might take a few weeks given Vegas’s tough schedule.

Rapoport notes that the Vikings told Cousins they wanted him around beyond this year before their trade for him was complete. They would go on to pay a third-round pick to reunite with their former starter. Even if Cousins is far from a superstar quarterback, head coach Kevin O’Connell is clearly sick of the weekly carousel under center. The Vikings will be legitimate Super Bowl contenders if Cousins can just play as well as he did in Vegas. A deep playoff run will all but guarantee him a spot on the roster next year.

Phillips hasn’t played since Week 6 because of the hamstring issue. One of Carolina’s biggest offseason additions, Phillips was off to a solid start to the year before going down. He had 2.5 sacks in five games, two of which he left early. Getting Phillips back will be a big win for the Panthers’ defense.

Fellow Dallas cornerback Daron Bland is also expected to play. We don’t foresee the Cowboys putting up much of a fight against the 49ers offense, but having both corners available will at least help them slow San Francisco down a bit. Porter has appeared in four games for the Cowboys this year. He has three pass breakups and eight combined tackles.

Addison injured his thumb in practice on Friday and the team listed him as questionable for today’s game. The team elevated wide receiver Jeshaun Jones from the practice squad yesterday, casting some doubt on Addison’s availability. With Jauan Jennings also out, Tai Felton and Myles Price could be in line for larger roles today.

Anderson was added to the injury report on Thursday, then downgraded to a DNP on Friday. He was on the report earlier this year with the ankle injury. We suspect it flared up on him mid-week. The good news for Texans fans is that it won’t stop him from facing the Browns. With 9.5 sacks to his name through eight games, Anderson is in the midst of another elite season.

Wilson missed Week 9 because of the concussion but has cleared the league’s concussion protocol ahead of today’s game. Jets coach Aaron Glenn told reporters on Friday he expected Wilson to play, so this doesn’t come as much of a surprise. In a potential shootout with the Bills, Wilson will push for a high-end WR2 designation this week.

St. Brown played through the rib injury last week. He remained limited in all three practices before this week’s game. He’s likely not at full strength, but there was never much risk of him missing today’s game. He remains a high-end WR1.

A.J. Brown is also expected to play. We will get confirmation from the team within the hour, but fantasy managers who are already rising and grinding can get Stevenson and Brown back in their lineups. Stevenson will shuffle back into the RB2 mix. We will expect to see some Corey Kiner touches to keep Stevenson fresh.

Njoku logged a week of limited sessions before drawing the questionable tag for Monday Night Football. He will need to be activated from injured reserve prior to Monday to play. Fantasy managers are likely better off making alternate plans considering the Chargers don’t play until Monday.