NFL Player News

The Bengals were looking for a new offensive coordinator after Brian Callahan landed the Titans’ head coaching gig. Pitcher has been with the Bengals since 2016 and has held the title of quarterbacks coach since 2020. His familiarity with Callahan’s offense plus his close work with Joe Burrow made him an obvious contender for the job. Jake Browning’s strong end to the 2023 season in place of Burrow undoubtedly boosted Pitcher’s resume as well. Like Callahan before him, Pitcher could be on the path to a head coaching gig of his own if the offense gets back on track in 2024.

Kelce was in and out of the lineup in the first half while dealing with a lingering ankle issue. Though he clearly wasn’t 100 percent, Kelce was second on the team (behind Xavier Worthy) in targets and had a 24-yard catch and run reception in the second half. Kelce, who now has nine catches over his past three games, should see more looks from Patrick Mahomes for as long as Rashee Rice (hamstring) is sidelined. He’ll be a top-15 fantasy play in Week 7 against the Seahawks.

Mahomes had multiple touchdown tosses in every game this season headed into Week 6. Kansas City’s offense didn’t have to do much against a sleepy Chargers offense that could barely move the ball once again on Sunday. The Chiefs leaned on Ken Walker, who went for 128 yards and two touchdowns on the day. With Rashee Rice and Tyquan Thornton out, Mahomes relied heavily on Xavier Worthy and Travis Kelce. Until Rice is back and fully healthy, Mahomes will be more of a top-15 option. He gets the Seahawks in Week 7.

Knight seemingly earned more work as the game progressed by simply outplaying Allgeier, the team’s Week 6 starter. After a few unproductive Allgeier runs, the Cardinals got Knight involved as a receiver on the second drive, his first catch coming via a slant route and generating a first down. They gave him three carries on the third drive, culminating in a 31-yarder on a well-blocked run to the left. Allgeier subbed in for the red zone sequence on that drive, but the coaching staff gave Knight three red zone touches on the fifth drive, compared to just one for Allgeier. They gave Knight two more red zone touches on the seventh drive. Blocking failed him on the second one, and it may have resulted in a right hand or wrist injury. Knight trotted over to the medical staff after the play, and a trainer could be seen stabilizing Knight’s wrist while putting him through sideline testing. Knight did return to the game on the next drive, but this is worth keeping an eye on. If Jeremiyah Love (ankle) misses the Cardinals’ Week 7 game against the Broncos, and Knight’s apparent injury is a non-issue, Knight could end up getting the start next week. Stay tuned.

McBride’s first target ended up being a Quentin Lake interception, but Jacoby Brissett went right back to his star tight end on the following drive. McBride made a contested catch on a quick in route, spun off contact and took off downfield for a 26-yard gain. McBride’s day largely consisted of out routes and catches in the flats after that, but he was given two opportunities to score a touchdown from inside the Rams’ 25-yard line on the Cardinals’ seventh drive. On 2nd-and-1 from the Rams’ 21-yard line, McBride caught a pass in the flats and rumbled through contact for a short first-down gain. Three plays later, on 3rd-and-goal from the Rams’ seven-yard line, Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur dialed up a screen pass for him, but the Rams blew it up, resulting in a yardage loss. It wasn’t McBride biggest outing, but a 7/53 is hardly unusable. McBride remains an elite TE1 against the Broncos next week.

Kincaid did nearly all of his damage in the short area of the field, but his fantasy managers will take any kind of volume they can get after a three-week stretch where Kincaid saw a dismal seven combined targets. Kincaid’s eight targets led all Bills pass-catchers in this one, and were it not for an 18-yard touchdown taken off the board by a holding penalty, he could have been in line for a much bigger day. It’s far too early to say that Kincaid is “back,” but fantasy managers can at least be happy with a decent day of production. The Bills are now entering their bye week, but Kincaid will be boom-or-bust TE1 in Week 8 against the Ravens.

Coleman’s six targets tied for second-most on the Bills with Khalil Shakir, who also found the end zone in this one. Coleman scored on an impressive 12-yard play by Josh Allen, who appeared ready to take off and run with the ball before spotting Coleman open in the end zone and flipping a shovel pass to him for the score. Coleman has now scored in three straight games and has been targeted six or more times in two of his last three. With the Bills now heading into their Week 7 bye, Coleman could face more target competition when they return in Week 8 against the Ravens if DJ Moore (shoulder) is active. Moore was questionable entering this week and ruled out 90 minutes before kickoff, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he was a full-go after the bye.

Bourne got going with a 15-yard catch-and-run on the Cardinals’ third drive. He earned a third-down end zone target from the Rams’ three-yard line, running an out route just inside the goal line, but he was unable to secure the pass, resulting in a close incompletion. He later bagged a tight-window catch on the Cardinals’ first drive after halftime, helping the offense down the field for one of their six field goal drives. The crafty veteran remains a PPR FLEX starter against the Broncos next week.

The Eagles released Dalton less than two weeks ago. According to Florio, the Eagles reached out to Dalton with an offer after Jalen Hurts’ superficial blood clot moved in his calf, resulting in an indefinite sidelining, and Dalton told the Eagles, “no, thank you.” Florio did not reveal where Dalton plans to sign, but we should get word on that before long.

Wilson’s day would have looked a lot different if a would-be 36-yard touchdown pass from Jacoby Brissett had not glanced off Wilson’s fingertips while he dove for it in the end zone. He had another 30-yarder go off his hands on the following drive, and had a five-yard catch overturned by a penalty. The disappointing box score results could allow fantasy managers to send a successful buy-low offer. Wilson is a WR2/3 next week against the Broncos.