NFL Player News

Judon has been a good soldier this offseason while seeking a new contract. The veteran pass rusher reported to mandatory minicamp and has been present and participating in training camp up until Monday. Monday marked the first day of padded practice for the Patriots, and as The Athletic’s Chad Graff pointed out, Judon “showed up in a sweatshirt, chatted with [head coach] Jerod Mayo for a while, then left the main field.” We can’t say for certain that a hold-in is officially underway, but things appear to be trending in that direction. Judon, who turns 32 next month, is hoping to get one more extension from the Patriots before the start of this season, but that was the case last year before the team reworked his deal for 2023. He’s set to earn just over $14 million this season, but Judon is hoping for some long-term security before the start of the season. Before suffering a season-ending biceps injury last season, Judon had totaled four sacks in four games for the Patriots and has totaled 32 sacks in 38 career games with the team.

He was a limited participant all week. Reed is still, per Matt LaFleur, “going through the process of being fully cleared medically.” That doesn’t mean the Packers won’t activate him, but between the lack of a full practice and that update, we’d certainly put him on the pessimistic side of questionable. Reed not playing would be good news for Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs.

Great news. Johnston is firmly on track to play in the Charges’ Monday Night Football game against the Eagles in Week 14. Johnston tends to rely on touchdowns and explosive gains to return FLEX value, making his floor a bit shaky. This game’s overall environment should be fairly fantasy-friendly, though. Expect the Chargers to give him a few opportunities to produce chunk gains, either via screen passes or shots downfield.

Golden got in three limited practices this week despite Matt LaFleur saying there was a real chance he’d play early in the week. The practice pattern has looked virtually indistinguishable from what has been the norm for Golden of late. Golden last played in Week 11 and last was fantasy-useful in Week 5. Even if he plays, he’d be hard to start at this point.

The Athletic’s Daniel Popper observed Hampton wearing “a blue jersey and participating in [a] red zone walkthrough” early on, which was a good sign for his involvement in scoring position whenever he gets activated. The fact that Hampton ended up practicing fully is a great sign for his Week 14 availability. He is on the positive side of questionable at this time.

Against the Bears, he’ll be a candidate to finish RB1 overall on the slate — even if TJ Edwards and Noah Sewell are back for this one — based on volume and Chicago’s trouble stopping the run. Jacobs got in a full session on Friday for the first time since his knee injury popped up and that’s a good sign for his workload going forward.

Lloyd got in three limited sessions and seems to not yet be close to returning. He was designated to return earlier this week and is probably more of a threat to return in Week 16 or Week 17. When he does come back, he’ll just be Josh Jacobs’ caddy — if that — after Emanuel Wilson’s impressive performance in Jacobs’ absence against the Vikings.

The prudent move is to consider Herbert as questionable to play, though his continued participation is a good sign. Chargers OC Greg Roman also said yesterday that the team is “really optimistic” about Herbert’s availability for Monday night. Herbert was seen taking snaps under center in red zone drills, which is a great sign for his ability to grip the football in his non-throwing hand.

He got in a limited session on Friday after two DNPs, and the Texans were reportedly (per Aaron Wilson) optimistic that he’ll play on Sunday. It would be good news for Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy if Lassiter sat, as he’s complied a 73.9 PFF coverage grade in 721 snaps this season.

He practiced in full on Friday and should be fine. In IDP leagues, it would be a disappointment if Anderson did not provide at least a half-sack or so against a Chiefs offensive line that looks likely to be down several starter.

He practiced in full on Friday for the first time this week. The rookie back can be started as a low-end RB2 — he has a good role, but the Chiefs are a good enough run defense that they create a pass funnel, and the Texans have struggled to give him any touchdown equity with a rough red zone offense.