Brian Branch (Achilles) practicing in full

Always a good sign for the quarterback when the coach has to defend his plan to keep starting said quarterback in back-to-back postgame availabilities. While we empathize with the Indianapolis media that clearly has seen enough of Jones, we’re not sure what exactly they think will go differently with Anthony Richardson — who spent his press availability on Sunday noting that he doesn’t “really regret a lot of things I do” after a citation for marijuana possession — under center. Richardson’s in the final year of his rookie contract. The Colts remain a mess after firing Chris Ballard. Jones probably won’t play this poorly next week against a non-Vikings defense, but it’s hard to deny that he’s playing poorly.

He also noted that Coleman’s touches were explosive. It’s hard to sit here with much certainty about what looks to be a three-headed Broncos running back room where every back has their niche, but Coleman probably enters Week 8 as the favorite of the three to crack 10 touches. Payton added, for the 17th time since he became Broncos coach, that he needed to get more touches for Marvin Mims on offense. We’ll believe that when we see it.

Quinn did mention usage from “elsewhere” and the name “Antonio Williams” came up. Williams won’t be a buzzy waiver wire claim this week but could find himself in a reasonable WR3/WR4 sort of situation as the year unfolds.

“I bet it, I know it. We’re gonna continue to support him, throw our arm around him and continue to do what we gotta do to make plays on Sunday. We gotta continue to put him in the best position to do so. BT works at it. He cares about this, he cares about winning and losing, he cares about his team. We all wanna see guys have success individually, but I’m excited about attacking this week with BT,” Coen continued. We’ll believe it when we see it, but at least it sounds like an endorsement that Thomas will remain in the playbook to some extent in Week 8. Fantasy managers that aren’t under duress probably shouldn’t tempt fate by putting Thomas, who did not catch a pass in two weeks in England, in lineups.

He’ll be week-to-week. An ankle sprain isn’t quite as devastating for offensive linemen since they don’t have to move quite as much as other positions, but it wouldn’t be surprising if Cross missed multiple weeks. He also could be a candidate for a quick IR stint. Josh Jones filled in at left tackle for Cross and would seem to be the short-term replacement.

Macdonald didn’t elaborate on how much time Shaheed could miss, if any, but it doesn’t sound like this is expected to be a long-term injury based on what he had to say on Monday. Shaheed’s impact is largely felt in the punt and kick return game, as he has just 16 receptions for 163 scoreless yards on the season for Seattle. We will update his practice status throughout the week, but Shaheed won’t have any fantasy relevance even if he does suit up next week against the Bears.

Price has missed the minimum four games and being immediately designated to return should have him making his debut sooner rather than later. Of course, with Zach Charbonnet also returning to the fold soon, this could be a split backfield rather than the RB2 zone that Price looked to be opening the year in. Price probably will only reach the FLEX ranks when active until we see what the touch counts look like; perhaps he could have a Blake Corum-ish role if all goes well for the Seahawks offense.

Noel suffered his injury in Sunday’s loss to the Giants and was spotted in a boot after the game. He ran just 15 routes in the game and was held to two catches for -3 yards. Noel is at risk of missing time, but even if he is active, there’s little reason to hold onto him given the suddenly crowded Texans receiver room.

Speaking on Monday with the media, Caserio said that “nobody is discouraged” with how negotiations with Stroud and his agent have gone thus far, saying that the two sides just “couldn’t quite come to an agreement” yet. Stroud is in the fourth year of his rookie contract and had his fifth-year option picked up by the team earlier this offseason. He will be under contract through the 2027 regardless of how negotiations go, but we would expect him to sign a long-term extension at some point next offseason to avoid this becoming an issue come training camp. Despite the Texans’ 2-5 start to the season, Stroud has been mostly solid, throwing for 1,867 yards, 11 touchdowns, and one interception while completing 64.8 percent of his passes.

Baringer has been on injured reserve all season while dealing with a lower-body injury, but the 27-year-old punter is now healthy and available for work after his release. A former sixth-round pick of the Patriots back in 2023, Baringer has played in 51 games in his career while averaging 41.0 net yards per punt. He is now free to sign with any team.