NFL Player News

ESPN’s John Clayton reported Tuesday that Benson was “hoping” to latch on with the Raiders. Both veteran runners have been greeted by dead markets, but Grant did at least earn a visit to New England last month. Each appeared to be running on fumes last season, though Benson did manage to go over 1,000 rushing yards for the third straight year while proving typically durable. Grant played better down the stretch after getting off to a slow start. Either would provide cheap, veteran insurance behind the injury prone Darren McFadden.

Life continues to be rough for fantasy managers rostering Harrison. The soon-to-be ex-Cardinal will not participate in what should be a fantasy-friendly game against the porous Lions defense. Bummer. Still no definitive word on where he will end up next week. Trey McBride, Michael Wilson and Kendrick Bourne benefit from his absence. The Cardinals will be without Wingard, one of two starting safeties, but will have DT Walter Nolen (calf) available to them.

It was reported earlier on Sunday that Kittle was dealing with an illness, but that he was still expecting to play. Kittle was not listed with the 49ers’ inactives when the team announced them 90 minutes before kickoff, meaning he is good to go and can be treated as a TE1 as usual.

Wilson had just one target in the first half. He pinned the reception to his hip, but the ball was ripped loose by a defender, which not only made the pass incomplete but also seemed to dislocate Wilson’s finger. With Michael Pittman Jr. also hurt, we should continue to see a lot of Germie Bernard in Week 5.

Williams entered the weekend as questionable after being limited in practice all week. Now, the Niners DT will officially be active for a pivotal NFC West showdown against the 3-1 Seahawks. While Williams is active, the Niners did declare DL James Thompson Jr., LB Tatum Bethune, DL Nick Bosa, OL Enrique Cruz Jr., QB Kurtis Rourke, FB Kyle Juszczyk, and S Marques Sigle inactive for Week 5.

Slowed by a foot injury, Bartch, one of the Lions’ better backup offensive linemen, will be unavailable today. Fortunately, the Lions’ offensive line health is improving and stud C Cade Mays (wrist) could return in a week or two. The Lions will also be without Ya-Sin, one of two starting perimeter cornerbacks and S Brian Branch (Achilles) is not yet ready to resume playing. This should be a high-scoring game environment, though DL Tyleik Williams (foot) is active.l

Goedert returned to the lineup after missing three games with a knee injury. Already without Saquon Barkley and DeVonta Smith, Goedert was immediately thrust into a high-usage role. He led the team in targets and catches, though much of his looks were simply check-downs. Even if that’s his role going forward, Goedert should catch enough passes to sustain borderline TE1 numbers until DeVonta Smith returns. He gets a date with the Panthers in Week 6.

Holani is good to go for Sunday’s game after entering the weekend as questionable. Holani rushed seven times for 18 scoreless yards last week and shouldn’t be relied on in any fantasy format this week. While Holani is active, the Seahawks declared QB Jalen Milroe, RB Robert Henry Jr., LB Chazz Surratt, WR Montorie Foster Jr., and TE Nick Kallerup inactive for Week 5.

There hasn’t been a lot of word on what happened to Skowronek. He went into the blue medical tent in the second quarter to have his leg looked at and then headed into the locker room. When the Steelers returned the kickoff to start the second half, Skowronek, who is a key special teamer, was not on the field. He was ruled out shortly after. With Michael Pittman Jr. already out, the Steelers are getting a little thin with their wide receiver depth.

He finishes with five carries for 11 yards. Initially questionable to return in the second quarter, Montgomery was ruled out after halftime. This could open some major space for Woody Marks to have a strong role going forward. We’ll keep an eye out for updates after the game, but it doesn’t look good for Montgomery.

The good news is that Lemon set new season highs in targets, catches, and yards. The bad news: All of that resulted in a measly 9.3 PPR points. Lemon will hopefully continue to earn more opportunities as the season progresses, but DeVonta Smith’s return could just as easily stall the rookie’s progress. Lemon will be a WR4/5 if Smith remains out for Week 6 against the Panthers.