NFL Player News

Houston sits at fourth on the active career sack leaderboard behind only Von Miller, Cameron Jordan, and Chandler Jones and currently ranks 27th all time in career sacks. Far from the same player that recorded an astonishing 22.0 sacks in the 2104 season, Houston mustered a solid 9.5 sacks a season ago in addition to his fifth career interception. Another established defensive presence for new defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero’s Carolina takeover.

Samuel missed practice with an illness Friday and landed on the injury report as questionable. The 29-year-old receiver is expected to play, according to Schefter. He’ll be in the WR3 mix in the first round of the fantasy playoffs.

Demercado has been sidelined since suffering a high-ankle sprain in Week 11. He’s expected to be active, according to Schefter, after getting in three limited practices during the week. Bam Knight has consistently out-touched Michael Carter in recent weeks and even if Demercado is active, he doesn’t figure to command even a third of the backfield touches in his first game back. None of the Cardinals’ running backs are particularly enticing against the Texans defense in the fantasy playoffs and Knight is truly the only usable option.

Chubb practiced just once this week, in a limited fashion on Friday. The 29-year-old running back is still listed as questionable with a rib injury, but isn’t expected to play, according to Schefter. Woody Marks is set up nicely for a bell cow role in a good matchup against the Cardinals. Marks is a solid RB2 in Week 15.

Jacobs is still listed as questionable with a knee injury. He’s missed one game already this season because of his balky knee, but is expected to play against the Broncos in Week 15. Jacobs’ backup Emanuel Wilson is also questionable with an illness, though he plans to play. In a tough matchup at less than 100 percent, Jacobs is a midrange RB2 in the first round of the fantasy playoffs.

With Josh Jacobs (knee) expected to play, Wilson’s availability doesn’t appear to be crucial for the first round of the fantasy playoffs. He’s still listed as questionable. The team already elevated Pierre Strong from the practice squad and he could fill in as the backup if either of the Packers’ top two backs are ultimately ruled out.

Johnson is set to miss his fourth consecutive game in Week 15 against the Raiders, which was his original target for return. The 35-year-old right tackle is dealing with a Lisfranc sprain, but Rapoport passes along that Johnson will likely return to practice next week and depending on how that goes he could be active against the Commanders in Week 16 or Bills in Week 17.

If you’re not familiar with the reserve/left squad list, that’s okay, it is something typically reserved for players about to retire. The awkward saga between Aiyuk and the 49ers appears to be ending in a messy divorce, with the recent move by the team all but ensuring the two sides split in the coming offseason. The transaction also officially ends Aiyuk’s 2025 season before it began. Stay tuned through the offseason.

The veteran quarterback was in the midst of a career year before it was halted due to a torn Achilles. The six-to-eight month recovery window gives him the potential to be ready for preseason camp ahead of the 2026 regular season, which is sure to figure into the team’s plans moving forward. That will likely be a point of continuous discussion surrounding the Colts considering Jones was playing the 2025 season on a one-year, “prove-it” deal.

McCaffrey dealt with an illness that limited his practice participation this week. He was removed from the injury report Friday before being added back and listed as questionable Saturday with a bak injury. It is unclear when the new ailment surfaced. Late-week additions to the injury report are never something fantasy managers want to see, also leading to a significant decision in the first week of fantasy playoffs considering the 49ers don’t play until the afternoon Sunday. McCaffrey will remain a top tier RB1 if active against the Titans. Fantasy managers might want to hedge by grabbing Brian Robinson off of waivers, if available. ESPN’s Adam Schefter later followed up the report by saying McCaffrey will go “good to go” Sunday.