NFL Player News

It appears to be Blaine Gabbert Time for the Chiefs, who will rest their starters ahead of the postseason. Mahomes finishes the season with 27 touchdowns, the lowest TD total for a full season in his NFL career. He also posted the lowest adjusted yards per attempt of his career. Gabbert could be interesting for DFS players against a miserable LA defense.

Carolina also ruled out left guard Damien Lewis, who is dealing with a knee issue. Phillips also missed last week’s game because of a hamstring injury. The hope is that the mini-bye after Thursday Night Football is enough to get him back for Week 9. Phillips has 2.5 sacks this year.

Coker was at little risk of missing tomorrow’s game after getting in a full practice on Tuesday. He was listed as a full participant again today before being cleared for action. Despite the quiet Week 7 showing, which saw Coker catch just one pass, fantasy managers should still treat him as a WR2 for Week 8.

Randall was placed on injured reserve at the end of training camp with an undisclosed injury. The team now has three weeks to officially activate him from injured reserve. Once healthy, Randall will be contending with Rasheen Ali for the Ravens’ rarely used RB3 role.

Head coach Todd Monken told reporters that Verse is dealing with some swelling in his knee. He doesn’t expect the young EDGE defender to miss Week 8, and the Browns are giving him a rest day to heal up. Verse hasn’t done much since being traded to Cleveland in the offseason. He has 12 pressures and zero sacks this year.

Joseph dealt with a cartilage issue in his knee last year and has spent the entirety of 2026 working his way back from it. As of a month ago, Dan Campbell didn’t sound optimistic that Joseph would be able to play at any point this year. Joseph is currently on the PUP list. His return to practice means the team has opened his 21-day practice window. We expect them to use most of the window to ramp Joseph up to full speed, but it’s still a great sign for the playmaking safety.

Hall returned to practice last week for two limited sessions. He was listed as questionable on Friday but didn’t seem to be in the running to play by Sunday morning. The Jets ultimately ruled him out before kickoff. That ramp-up period suggests he should be back to face the Patriots this week. Braelon Allen has likely played himself into a large role even once Hall is healthy, but the latter should still operate as the team’s clear No. 1 back this week, putting him in the RB2 mix versus New England.

Though it’s unclear what, exactly, is going on with Jackson’s lingering ankle injury, a Wednesday practice puts him in a good spot to suit up in Week 8 against the Bills. His return will be a boon for Zay Flowers and the rest of the Baltimore offense. If Jackson can’t play, Tyler Huntley will get another start and should be used in superflex formats.

Rice, who hasn’t played since Week 4 against the Raiders, would be a big addition to the struggling Kansas City offense if he’s able to practice this week and suit up in Week 8 against the Broncos. Rice had been dominating targets in the Chiefs’ check-down offense, and would likely continue in that role if he can return this weekend. No other pass catcher in the Chiefs offense is a must-play for fantasy purposes for now.

Diggs won’t practice Wednesday with an undisclosed injury. He should be fine for Washington’s Week 8 matchup against the Eagles, however. Diggs could see a slightly bigger role in the Commanders offense with Terry McLaurin (knee) done for the year. Diggs drafters should keep an eye on the veteran’s practice status in the coming days. Diggs has been targeted on a team-high 28 percent of his pass routes in 2026.

Downs was cagey when asked on Wednesday morning whether he had officially asked for his ticket out of Indianapolis, but Fowler maintains the wideout has requested the Colts trade him before the NFL’s trade deadline. That could very well happen in the coming days with the miserable Colts in fire sale mode, having dealt Quenton Nelson to Seattle and DeForest Buckner to the Niners. Downs, who has 26 receptions for 307 scoreless yards this season, would make sense as a trade target for the wideout-needy Chiefs, the Steelers, and perhaps the Seahawks.