NFL Player News

Bakhtiari got in a limited session on Friday, but has had a hard time clearing the final hurdle of getting beyond the practiced field for the first two weeks of the season. The Packers will get one of their two star linemen back as RT Elgton Jenkins is active. Also inactive for the Packers are S Tariq Carpenter, OL Caleb Jones, OL Sean Rhyan, WR Samori Toure, and DL Jonathan Ford

Barner caught 10 passes for 70 yards in Week 11. He has since caught nine balls for 80 yards in his subsequent three appearances. Barner is an elite blocker and even picks up the occasional rush attempt on the tush push. As a fantasy asset, he leaves a lot to be desired. The Seahawks don’t throw often, and when they do it typically goes to Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Barner, in turn, will be stuck in the TE2 ranks for the forseeable future.

Bateman, who had just five receptions over his pervious four games, dropped a potential touchdown inside the ten yards line against the Steelers — the latest in a frustrating season for the miscast downfield threat in a run-heavy Baltimore offense. Bateman ran a pass routes on 38 of Lamar Jackson’s 45 drop backs against the Steelers. He’s only a deep league option for Week 15 against the Bengals.

At least not officially. Johnson did draw a 28-yard DPI early in the third quarter. Fair enough, but today’s doughnut comes as Mike Evans is probably on the right side of questionable to return for Thursday’s game against the Falcons. Even if he doesn’t, rookie Johnson has proven to be a safe 12-team league drop with bye weeks over and the fantasy playoffs beginning in Week 15.

This is Johnson’s standard statline of late, but it was more impressive today with Tyler Shough attempting only 20 passes in rainy Tampa conditions. Johnson is typically going to see at least 6-7 looks. We would expect him closer to that norm for Week 15 against the Panthers back on the Superdome’s fast track. Even with bye weeks over, Johnson will maintain low-end TE1 appeal.

With the Saints riding the running game and short fields following failed Bucs fourth down attempts, Olave posted his second fewest receiving yards of the season as Tyler Shough attempted only 20 passes in the rain. Olave was the intended target on Shough’s interception, a miscommunication where Olave cut off his route. If Olave’s back injury was an issue, we didn’t notice. Today was disappointing, but the Saints are typically a high-attempts passing attack. He will remain a strong WR2 for Week 15 against the Panthers.

The Chiefs elevated G C. J. Hansen Saturday to help with depth up front, but they could find themselves under constant pressure against the vaunted Houston pass rush now down multiple pieces up front. Expect quarterback Patrick Mahomes to eventually lean into a ball-out-quick mentality, likely to benefit wide receiver Rashee Rice.

Cornerback Kamari Lassiter is active after coming into the weekend listed as questionable, leaving no real surprises for the Texans as they look to continue their torrid second half of the season. Winners of four straight, the Texans could all but end Kansas City’s streak of consecutive postseason appearances with an upset on the road.

Horribly inefficient of late, Egbuka very much remained so in the rain. The lowlight was a dropped 22-yard touchdown with the Bucs trying for a game-tying score late in the fourth quarter. It wasn’t a perfect ball from Baker Mayfield, but one Egbuka absolutely has to catch. Struggling to rediscover his early- to mid-season form, Egbuka now has to contend with the likely Week 15 return of Mike Evans against the Falcons on Thursday. With the Bucs now in hand-to-hand combat for a playoff berth, Evans will undoubtedly be a point of emphasis, especially in the red zone. That makes Egbuka an even more volatile WR2 option than he has already been the past few weeks.

Ali could see a marked uptick in snaps, routes, and touches if Keaton Mitchell misses extended time with the knee injury he sustained in the second half of Sunday’s loss to the Steelers. Ali, who drew praise from head coach John Harbaugh last week, is a decent bench stash headed into the fantasy playoffs in case Derrick Henry gets dinged up in the coming weeks.

Tucker’s one-yard touchdown in the third quarter came after he set the Bucs up at the one-yard with a 13-yard rumble. The Bucs then went hurry up and he punched it in. The score was nice, but Tucker was a distant third in snaps behind Bucky Irving and Rachaad White, and that should remain a theme for the stretch run as the Bucs try to grind out a rock fight NFC South title.