Monken optimistic about Judkins for Week 7

No real surprises here after KaVontae Turpin was ruled out earlier in the week, with the biggest impact being how the team will handle kick and punt returns on special teams. The Cowboys continue to inch closer to full strength as they near the half way point in the regular season, desperately needing a win over the shorthanded Eagles to keep pace in the NFC East.

Barkley returns from a two-game absence, which could not have come at a better time for a team missing its starting quarterback and top two wide receivers. The divisional tilt against the Cowboys is a game of great importance to each team as they look up at the division-leading Giants as we approach the half way point in the regular season. Although Barkley could see his touches monitored in his first game in three weeks, fantasy gamers that waited him out through the weekend are likely forced to ride with the veteran for lack of other options. Inactive for the Eagles are OLB Nolan Smith, WR DeVonta Smith, WR Dontayvion Wicks, QB Cole Payton, DB Michael Carter II, and OL Jake Majors.

That explains McCaffrey’s brief departure in the team’s Week 7 loss to the Falcons, when the veteran alpha missed most of the second quarter but returned for the second half. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan added that he believes McCaffrey will be fine when the team comes out of their Week 8 bye. “We’re pretty optimistic,” he said Monday. Fantasy managers appear to have dodged a bullet with the first-round fantasy powerhouse but will want to continue to monitor reports from the team through their bye.

Conner has been on injured reserve all season while continuing to work his way back from the brutal foot/ankle injury he suffered last season. If he does return, Conner will join a fairly crowded backfield and would be nearly impossible to trust in fantasy as long as Jeremiyah Love and Tyler Allgeier are both healthy.

This news comes from head coach Mike LaFleur, who spoke with the media on Monday. After missing the last two games with a nagging ankle issue, Love’s return to the field in any capacity suggests he could have a chance to suit up in Week 8 against the Cowboys. Love’s ankle injury slowed his production through the first five weeks of the season, with the rookie saying at one point that he would “probably just hinder the team” if he had to play through it. Love’s status will be one to watch throughout the week, but even if he’s active, he’ll likely be forced to split touches with either Tyler Allgeier or Bam Knight, who has been solid in Love’s absence.

Golden has been dealing with the shoulder injury since last week, but the foot injury is a new one. While this is only an estimated injury report, the DNP is still mildly concerning for Golden, with the Packers playing on a short week. His status will be one to monitor in the coming days, but hopefully this is a minor issue. Golden played the entirety of the game in Week 7’s loss to the Lions and didn’t appear to be hampered by any nagging issues. We’ll see if he get upgraded to a limited participant on Tuesday.

Young was listed with the same knee injury last Friday but remained a full participant and was good to go in Week 7. Whatever issue he’s dealing with appears minor, especially if the team is still listing him as a full participant. At this point, there’s no reason to think he won’t be active for Week 8’s game against the Packers on Thursday night.

The Panthers won’t have their first official practice until Tuesday, but Coker would have been limited on Monday had the team been on the field. Coker caught one pass for nine yards in Week 7’s loss to the Buccaneers. His struggles came on a day when the entire Panthers offense was stymied for much of the day, so hopefully he’ll be in line to bounce back against the Packers on Thursday if he is active.

In a corresponding move, the Browns waived TE Carsen Ryan to make room for Gabriel, now the fourth quarterback on the team’s 53-man roster. Gabriel is buried on the depth chart behind Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders, and would need a lot to break right for him to have a chance to play this season.

His 21-day practice window will open this week. Bech could, in theory, start eating into Jalen Nailor and Tre Tucker’s snap counts. The Raiders are probably pretty happy with how Tucker has played, though, and Nailor is more of a fit as an outside receiver than Bech is. The 2025 second-rounder is worth monitoring but not exactly someone you should be stashing ahead of his return.