NFL Player News

Vildor (5'10/191) probably needed this one if he was to hang in the later Day 3 conversation. And on his initial run, things didn’t look great, as the Georgia Southern cornerback ran a forgettable 4.56-second dash. Whatever he did between his two runs worked wonders, though, as we almost never see improvements of over a tenth of a second outside of clock malfunctions. Vildor met with the Falcons, Titans and Jets, among others, over the course of the combine week. One slick run does not change the entire evaluation, here, as Vildor’s play with Georgia Southern dropped off considerably from 2018 to 2019, but at the very least, he showed a little more athletic twitch than might have been expected on his straight-line sprint.

He’s well on track to playing against the Bears in Week 10. The matchup should pull him to the borderline of the TE1 zone this week, and Johnson is coming off a 3/27/1 game against the 49ers in Week 9.

Panthers head coach Dave Canales told reporters on Wednesday that the team is trying to be smart about Dowdle’s injury. While this is a positive, it would be nice to see Dowdle upgrade to full participation on Friday. The Panthers’ new No. 1 running back visibly played through the pain last week. He will undoubtedly do so again, if he is capable of it, but this is worth watching.

Mid-week additions to the injury report are concerning, particularly for a team’s lynchpin defender. Brown is a difference-maker as both a pass rusher and run defender, boasting 16 quarterback pressures, four sacks and 20 tackles. Whether the Saints can exploit his potential absence on Sunday is up for debate, but having him on the field is certainly ideal for Carolina.

Palmer could still suit up on game day this weekend, but an upgrade to full would have been nice to see. The Bills’ perimeter wide receiver production continues to be an issue for them. Palmer’s potential return should help, but he is unlikely to be a savior of sorts, particularly in a likely run-heavy game script against the Dolphins.

Monangai was limited yesterday, putting him on track to play. Today’s full session reinforces that notion. Monangai had a classic, rookie breakout game in Week 9 against the Bengals, finishing as the half-PPR RB3 with starting RB D’Andre Swift (groin) sidelined. Swift also practiced in full today, likewise putting him on track to play. It stands to reason that Monangai will see increased work this weekend, though it’s anyone’s guess as to who leads the way. Both players sit on the RB2/3 borderline.

Barkley didn’t miss any real time against the Giants in Week 8 and Ian Rapoport reported he likely could have gone back in if necessary. A healthy Barkley would relegate your pre-emptive strike Tank Bigsby pickups to bench stash value. Nick Sirianni did not speak about Barkley ahead of today’s practice but it seems like he’ll be on track to play Monday against the Packers.

Brown did not practice at all ahead of Week 8 before Philadelphia’s Week 9 bye and was ruled out. This is a promising sign that he’ll be able to go in Week 10, though we’d like to see Brown or Nick Sirianni speak before we make any grand proclamations. Assuming this is at least a limited session, we should see him as a WR1 candidate against the Packers on Monday night.

He’s likely in line to not miss a game due to the brain injury given this trend, though we have seen players practice in full with a concussion and not be cleared on Friday. It’s rare. If Kmet is able to play, he’ll cut into Colston Loveland’s fantasy ceiling against the Giants a bit in Week 10.

Swift is now seemingly on track to play in Week 10 against the Giants. Soon, we will find out whether the Bears’ running back rotation has changed after No. 2 RB Kyle Monangai’s 198-yard, three-catch showing with Swift sidelined in Week 9. Ranking both players on the RB2/3 borderline seems prudent, barring actionable commentary provided by the coaching staff.

Odunze didn’t practice on Wednesday, but didn’t practice on Wednesday last week either and wound up being removed from the injury report on Friday. That’s still in play here, as the Bears seem to be managing a number of their key offensive weapons. Odunze will be on the WR1/WR2 borderline against the Giants in Week 10 despite bombing against Cincinnati last week.