NFL Player News

Fowler believes Kupp “is all the way back” after the 31-year-old missed five games with an ankle injury last season. According to Fowler, a source close to him said the veteran receiver is “on an absolute mission” this season and that he “was deeply affected about not being [on the field] for parts of last year.” Kupp finished last season as the WR24 in fantasy points per game (13.9), but was the WR1 in back-to-back seasons before that. Still a preferred target of Matthew Stafford’s, it will be interesting to see Kupp’s target share is affected by Puka Nacua, who is coming off a record-breaking rookie season. Whether or not the offense truly runs through Kupp is to be determined, but it sounds like both Kupp and Nacua should be primed for another productive year this season.

Winfield was one of four defensive backs to get inured in Week 1, leaving the team with innumerable question marks on the back end for the immediate future. That’s not exactly the best news with a road matchup with the Lions on tap in Week 2, particularly considering the Week 1 breakout of Jameson Williams.

Williams will be active for Week 1 and is reportedly set to see a normal allotment of snaps, which can’t be said for fellow contract hold-in Brandon Aiyuk. The fact that Williams will return to his normal workload is good news against the vaunted pass rush of the Jets under the big light on Monday Night Football.

The electric rookie receiver missed Week 1 after appearing to suffer a setback with his quadricep. He logged limited sessions on Wednesday and Thursday last week before being downgraded on Friday. It now appears as if the ailment is more serious than initially reported, meaning his professional debut could have to wait another week with the Dolphins on a short week for Week 2.

Nacua will miss a minimum of four games. It means that even in the best-case scenario, Nacua will not return before Week 7 since the Rams’ bye falls in Week 6. It’s a brutal, brutal blow for fantasy managers, one the Rams will tend to with increased DeMarcus Robinson targets and apparently Tyler Johnson snaps. Rookie Jordan Whittington and Tutu Atwell will also be in the mix. That’s reasonably good depth, but everyone knows the true result will be as many targets as Cooper Kupp can handle. TE Colby Parkinson’s arrow is also pointing upward. For Nacua, it’s just the latest issue in an increasingly-lengthy injury history.

It’s just an estimation since the Dolphins did not actually practice ahead of Thursday Night Football. Mostert “played through” the injury on Sunday, but was highly ineffective in doing so. Now he must contend with the adrenaline wearing off on a short week. De’Von Achane (ankle) is also banged up. Jeff Wilson would be Mostert’s replacement on early downs. We ultimately expect Mostert to go, with Achane probably being a little more of a question mark.

As was Raheem Mostert (chest). It’s just an estimation since the Dolphins didn’t actually practice ahead of Thursday Night Football, but it’s obviously not ideal. The one worry with under-sized Achane has been his elevated risk for nicks and bruises. Achane did finish Sunday’s game, and doesn’t seem to be dealing with a high-ankle sprain. It’s just a very quick turnaround. Stay tuned. Jeff Wilson and rookie Jaylen Wright are the next backs up, with Wilson the between-the-tackles fill-in and Wright the change of pace.

Love is expected to miss about three weeks according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, and at least for Week 2 against the Colts it will be Willis under center and not Sean Clifford. Green Bay made the trade for Willis just before the start of the year, and the speedy 25-year-old will have one of the better group of weapons to throw the football to. Willis also hasn’t shown in the preseason and his limited action in actual games that he may not be the guy to get those players the football. The ability to run makes Willis interesting on top of those receiving corps, but there’s a ton of volatility in using Willis as a fantasy fill-in.

Schefter notes that Nacua is still undergoing individual testing. The results of that testing will obviously go a long ways into determining Nacua’s status going forward, but the wideout looked to be dealing with a good amount of pain before leaving the SNF overtime loss. If the 23-year-old wideout isn’t able to go, Cooper Kupp will again be a target hot in Week 2 against the Cardinals.

Kamara flashed RB1 numbers on the ground and through the air. His rushing line of 15 carries for 83 yards and a touchdown undersells both how extensive and creative his workload was versus Carolina. Jamaal Williams’ 11 totes were almost exclusively the product of garbage time as Kamara out-carried him 15-7 through three quarters. Kamara got the fourth quarter off while Williams added four carries, one of which was a touchdown, to his box score in the final frame. Kamara also ran five routes from the slot. It was his first time with as many slot routes since Sean Payton retired after the 2021 season. Had the Panthers kept the matchup remotely competitive, Kamara could have come away with a monstrous fantasy outing. The combination of a creative pass-catching role and an elite workload on the ground will put Kamara firmly in the RB1 conversation for Week 2.

That’s good news for the 25-year-old tight end. Ferguson was diagnosed with an MCL injury, but it appears to be not as significant as first feared. He still should be considered questionable for Week 2 against the Saints, but even if he misses that contest, there’s a great chance Ferguson is back in action by the end of the month.