NFL Player News

Carpenter started 11 games in his first season with the Falcons after spending the previous eight years of his career with the Jets and Seahawks. The Falcons signed OL Sean Harlow to the 53-man roster in a corresponding roster move.

Horn was injured in Week 12 and missed the Panthers’ Week 13 game against the Rams. The star corner was able to practice throughout this week and has now been cleared in time to take on Tyler Shough and the Saints in a game that could further push the Panthers’ lead in the NFC South. Horn has totaled 25 tackles this season along with a career-high five interceptions and will be a full-go for Sunday.

Higgins has been concussed twice over the last three weeks and will now miss a second game due to his brain injury. Despite being limited in both Wednesday’s and Thursday’s practice, the star receiver felt like a long shot to play after landing in protocol following Week 14’s game against the Bills. When Higgins missed Week 13’s game against the Ravens, backup Mitchell Tinsley stepped up to run a season-high 31 routes while also drawing a season-high eight targets. He could have some upside as a dart-throw WR4 in deeper leagues.

Harrison will miss a second-straight game due to his heel injury. His absence likely spells another high-volume target day for Michael Wilson, who has seen 18, 14, and 16 targets in three games without Harrison this season, turning into fantasy gold for managers down the stretch. Even with a tough Week 15 game against the Texans on tap, Wilson will be a must-start. Harrison will look to make his way back to the field for Week 16’s game against the Falcons.

The knee injury that sidelined Jacobs for Week 12 flared up this week. After being a DNP on Wednesday and Thursday, Jacobs will log a limited session on Friday in hopes of having a chance to play in Week 15 against the Broncos. Speaking on Friday, LaFleur said that “it sounds like [Jacobs] is feeling pretty good” to start the day, so we’ll see where things go from here. If Jacobs is unable to go, backup Emanuel Wilson would slot in as the starter. Wilson rushed for 28-107-2 in a spot start for Jacobs against the Vikings, but would have a far more difficult matchup against the Broncos if he gets the nod. We will have better insight on Jacobs’ availability later today when the Packers release their final injury report.

Taylor did not practice this week. The rookie tight end will miss his first game of the season, further adding to the offensive woes for the Jets. Rookie UDFA Brady Cook will be without two of the Jets’ top pass-catchers in Taylor and Garrett Wilson (knee), leaving backup TE Jeremy Ruckert to step up in Taylor’s absence. Outside of Breece Hall, all Jets players are looking like full fades in Week 15.

Taylor missed practice on Wednesday and Thursday, so this news doesn’t come as much of a surprise. With Justin Fields (knee) also ruled out, rookie UDFA Brady Cook will make his first career start in Week 15 against the Jaguars. Adrian Martinez will serve as his backup.

Things have been trending in this direction all week. Cook, who replaced Tyrod Taylor (groin) early in Week 14’s loss to the Dolphins, will now make his first career start on the road against an 11th-ranked Jaguars defense. Cook threw for 163-0-2 in his first taste of NFL action last week while completing just 46.7 percent of his passes. Despite the Jaguars being one the the premier pass-funnel defenses in the league this season, Cook can be avoided in all fantasy formats. Fantasy managers hoping for some production from Adonai Mitchell may also want to consider looking elsewhere in Week 15.

The Dolphins won’t release their final injury report until Saturday, but Smith said on Friday that he didn’t “see anything that’s going to hold [Achane] back” from playing in Week 15. Head coach Mike McDaniel said after Week 14’s win against the Jets that Achane could have returned in an emergency situation, and Achane was limited in Thursday’s practice. We’ll check back in when Achane’s official status is announced on Saturday, but he’s clearly trending in the right direction for Monday night’s game against the Steelers, where he will be locked in as an RB1.

Fantasy managers rostering Omarion Hampton and Kimani Vidal take note. Hampton was out-snapped by Vidal 51 to 23 in his return from an ankle injury, but saw more even opportunity splits. Hampton earned 15 looks to Vidal’s 17 in Week 14’s win over the Eagles, and found himself on the receiving end of a four-yard touchdown on the Chargers’ opening drive. Hampton’s workload should continue to ramp up in the coming weeks, but when asked about backfield touches on Thursday, Roman noted the “hot hand” three times in his response. Both Hampton and Vidal will be in play for fantasy managers in Week 15 against the Chiefs, with Hampton getting the edge as the more likely goal-line option.

With extra time to heal up after getting concussed in a Thursday night matchup against the Lions, Lamb is now good to go in a pivotal Week 15 game against the Vikings. Lamb turned in arguably his best performance of the season before going down last week, totaling six catches for a season-high 121 yards in just one half of play. He can be trusted as a WR1 in this week’s fantasy playoff matchups.