NFL Player News

Rob Ninkovich is now the only long snapper on the Patriots’ 53-man roster. A move will likely be made some time in the next 48 hours.

The Vikings will be without Douglas, one of their two talented rookie wide receivers, against the Vikings’ top-tier defense today. He is sidelined by an ankle injury. Joly, the Dolphins’ rookie tight end, is inactive after making his debut last week. Cook wil serve as the team’s emergency third quarterback.

Marcus Mariota suffered a knee injury at the end of the Commanders’ second drive. He was later ruled out for the rest of the game, resulting in Kaliakmanis’ first NFL action. He tried to chuck it deep like Mariota has done so far, but the results weren’t nearly as pretty. He averaged 5.3 yards per attempt and completed 45.5 percent of his passes. Kaliakmanis did find Treylon Burks for a 47-yard bomb in the third quarter, so it wasn’t all bad. Mariota is likely out next week, but Jayden Daniels has a good shot at returning. Assuming he does, Kaliakmanis will return to backup duties versus the Giants.

McGowan got a whole drive to himself early in the second quarter. Three of his carries and one of his two targets came on this drive. He was otherwise tasked with normal backup duties. McGowan is the only backup of note on the team, but he doesn’t have a standalone fantasy role right now.

Barkley was injured on the Eagles’ second series and officially ruled out midway through the second quarter. He had only two carries for eight yards before departing. It has been mostly Tank Bigsby since, though Will Shipley has received a smattering of handles. Already banged up this season, Barkley is probably in real danger of missing Week 5 against the Jaguars in London.

Moore landed on his left shoulder while trying to make the catch on a pass in the second quarter. It’s the same shoulder that he injured in the Week 2 win over the Lions. Obviously, the fact that it’s the same shoulder is not a great sign, as is Moore’s long injury history. We should get an update at halftime.

Warren tied for a team high in catches but was out-targeted by Laquon Treadwell and Ashton Dulin. If you couldn’t tell, the passing attack did not look good. Daniel Jones was horribly inaccurate and the Commanders were largely successful in slowing down Warren and Josh Downs. Better days should be ahead for Warren, but he’s averaging a dismal 32.5 yards per game right now. He’s falling to the back of the TE1 ranks ahead of Indy’s Week 5 date with Pittsburgh.

Dulin was active for the first time this year. His return could not have come at a better time with Keenan Allen ruled out over the weekend. Dulin took on a starting role and wound up leading the team in targets, tied with Laquon Treadwell. The Colts couldn’t get much going through the air and settled for spreading the ball around instead of peppering their top pass-catchers with targets. It’s hard to imagine them taking that approach again in Week 5. Even if they do, Dulin is more of a thorn in the sides of Tyler Warren and Josh Downs than a FLEX option in his own right.

Chase was injured after a second quarter facemask penalty by a Jaguars defender. His neck whipped back as he was taken to the ground and he promptly exited the game. After a brief amount of time in the blue tent, Chase headed to the locker room. The Bengals announced he is being evaluated for a concussion but a locker room visit indicates Chase is on the wrong side of questionable.

Treadwell has taken over Alec Pierce’s role with the latter now on IR. Though he isn’t as productive as Pierce, Treadwell is still capable of moving the chains every now and then. He somehow led the Colts in targets this week, which may ultimately be a sign of the dysfunction in their passing game. Even after the solid performance, fantasy managers shouldn’t be looking to play Treadwell in Week 5.

With Alec Pierce and IR and Keenan Allen ruled out, this was supposed to be Downs’ breakout performance. Instead, Downs went missing for most of the game. He caught two passes in the first quarter, another in the second, and did not touch the ball again for the remaining 35 minutes of the contest. Downs finished fourth on the team in targets and was used primarily for check-down duties, though that’s all Daniel Jones was capable of today. Downs should still be treated as the team’s No. 1 receiver for Week 5 versus Pittsburgh, but his stranglehold on the targets is at least in question now.