NFL Player News

According to the Miami Herald, the Dolphins are ''looking at potential free agents to sign’’ now that they’ve extended Cameron Wake. Starks, 28, is set to make $3.725 million in the final year of his current deal. The Dolphins have also discussed possible contract extensions for Jake Long, Sean Smith, and WR Brian Hartline.

Henry wasn’t asked to do much in this game with the Pats only throwing 25 passes in total. He made the most of his limited reps with a 13-yard touchdown just before halftime and a 23-yard screen pass from Josh Dobbs on the latter’s first throw of the day. Henry is now up to seven touchdowns on the year. He will sit on the TE1/2 border for Week 18 versus Miami.

Announced as playing through illness mere hours before kickoff, McMillan proceeded to have his worst game of the season. It must be noted, however, that McMillan has now caught more than two passes just once in his past five games. It’s quite possible he’s slamming into the rookie wall as he plays through various injuries. McMillan will undoubtedly post a better Week 18 box score, as the Panthers will be trying to make the playoffs vs. Tampa Bay’s pass-funnel defense.

White only saw four touches for 17 total yards on the day, but he most notably saw a sizeable chunk of backfield snaps against the Dolphins. He saw 32 snaps to Bucky Irving’s 36 snaps in a pass-favorable game script. Sean Tucker notably had just four snaps, rushing two times for eight yards and failing to catch his only target of the day. Irving is the lead back for the Bucs while White is the passing-down back and Tucker is the short-yardage, goal-line back. It continues to be a frustrating split for fantasy purposes and Irving is the best bet out of the backfield for Week 18 against the Panthers.

Bernard has dealt with an ankle injury for much of the season, and this calf injury appears to be on the same side. Shaq Thompson will take his place in the lineup and has actually been the superior player of the two while Bernard has been banged up.

Chism hasn’t played much this year after surprisingly making the Pats’ roster after a strong training camp. New England was without Kayshon Boutte and Mack Hollins this week, giving Chism an opening. He took the opportunity and ran with it, pulling in his first grab of the day for 30 yards and his second for a 10-yard score. Boutte should be back next week, meaning Chism isn’t guaranteed a spot on the gameday roster for Week 18. Still, his Week 17 spike should earn him more playing time in the long run.

Coming off his best game of the season, Walker had one of his quieter efforts as Zach Charbonnet reached 100 yards rushing for the first time all year. 16 of Walker’s yards came on a “give up” 3rd-and-30 hand-off in the first half. It’s still notable, of course, that he received 17 touches even as Chabonnet ran circles around him. This rotation will continue for next week’s all-important 49ers tilt.

The story of the last few weeks has been a backfield committee and stumbling offense for Irving. He had an inefficient day, turning nine carries into 19 yards, with a longest run of 12 yards. On the bright side, he was finally involved in the passing game, catching five passes for a mere 14 yards. The closes Irving got to scoring was a third quarter drive where he was tackled inside the 10-yard line on a red zone carry, though he was dropped for a loss on the next carry and subsequently substituted out of the game. Irving has not see high leverage usage in the Bucs’ backfield committee, but still leads the way in snaps and opportunities. He will close out the season as a low-end fantasy RB2 in a battle for the division against the Panthers in Week 18.

With Kayshon Boutte out for the week and Mack Hollins on IR, Williams was tasked with WR1 duties in New England this week. He led the team in routes and logged a respectable 20 percent target share. Williams didn’t do much with the extra opportunities and even committed one egregious drop. The misplay broke Drake Maye’s completion streak at 11 to open the game. Boutte should be back next week. He will reclaim the No. 1 wideout role once cleared, meaning Williams won’t be on the fantasy radar for Week 18.

Charbonnet’s second two-score game of the season gives him 11 total scores on the year, making this the first time in his three-year career he’s reached double digits. This was also his first 100-yard game of the season on the ground. Charbonnet was the clear “hot hand” in Seattle’s ever-frustrating backfield, though Kenneth Walker III did reach 17 touches. The Seahawks have not altered their two-back approach all year, and we expect it to maintain for Week 18 against the 49ers and on into the playoffs.