NFL Player News

We don’t know the specifics of Risner’s injury, but the veteran guard will now miss at least the first four games of the season while working his way back to the gridiron. There was some speculation that the Vikings would cut Risner after he missed much of the offseason, but they will instead give him time to work his way back to the field. Risner played on 745 offensive snaps for the Vikings last season, earning a PFF blocking grade of 57.1. He was brought back on a one-year deal after his strong first season with the team.

Davis is still a candidate to be limited in practice this week, but it doesn’t look like this injury is a major threat to send him to injured reserve or anything like that. Talking with the media after the game is a good sign for his future ability.

This would effectively end Hurts’ season, as a three-month absence would have him on track to return some time in late-January/early-February. In a statement released by Hurts’ agent, Nicole Lyyn, she said further tests revealed “deep vein thrombosis as well as bilateral pulmonary emboli.” She said that Hurts is stable and is not expected to have any “functional limitations” and that his treatment to resolve his blood clotting issues “should only involve anticoagulation [i.e., ‘blood thinners’].” As a result, Hurts will not be permitted to engage in football activities and will not be allowed to resume them until he is off his blood thinners. The good news here is that Hurts is expected to make a full recovery, and the doctors do not believe this will have a long-term effect on him moving forward. Hurts threw for 933 yards, eight touchdowns, and three interceptions this season while completing 57.8 percent of his passes — his lowest mark since his rookie season. He ran for another 107 yards and one touchdown as he and the Eagles struggled in his first five starts under offensive coordinator Sean Mannion. He remains under contract through the 2028 season, but Hurts has faced his fair share of scrutiny since leading the Eagles to a Super Bowl title in 2024. Hurts’ contract situation would suggest his job is more than secured for the foreseeable future, but this is the same Eagles front office that used a 2020 second round pick to select him as the heir apparent to Carson Wentz, who signed a four-year extension with the team in 2019. While we fully expect Hurts to be back with the Eagles next season, we can’t rule out the team using an early draft pick on a quarterback in a draft that is projected to be one of the more QB-rich drafts in recent memory. Tanner McKee, who started Week 6’s game against the Panthers, will take over as the team’s starter going forward.

Rush’s release came after the Falcons signed Andy Dalton. Rush had a rough stretch with the Falcons, throwing for 229-1-4 in his two starts while completing 56.4 percent of his passes. Once regarded as one of the better backup quarterbacks in the league, Rush has struggled mightily in his two seasons away from the Cowboys, going 0-4 in his starts since 2024 while throwing one touchdown to eight interceptions. He could catch on elsewhere as a practice squad option in the coming days, but he seems like a long shot to start another game in 2026.

The good news is that this shouldn’t exactly be expected to sideline Knight going forward after his 98-total yard effort against the Rams. Knight’s fantasy value is tenuous despite the big game, as he was outsnapped by Tyler Allgeier and Jeremiyah Love (ankle) could be back next week. But he did outplay Allgeier in Week 6.

Dalton had a chance to re-sign with the Eagles after being let go by them earlier in the week, but he spurned them to sign with Atlanta. The 38-year-old vet will presumably serve as the Falcons’ third-string QB for now, but could be one injury away from seeing playing time. Dalton threw for 293-1-1 on 37 pass attempts for the Panthers last season and has not started more than five games in a season since 2022.

The team announced its decision to move on from Ballard early Monday morning. The Colts opted to retain Ballard for a 10th season earlier this offseason despite a monumental collapse in the second half of last season that saw the team finish 8-9 after getting off to an 8-2 start. Ballard was hired as the Colts GM in 2017 and leaves with just two postseason berths and zero division titles to his name. The abrupt retirement of Andrew Luck before the start of the 2018 season presented an early challenge for Ballard to suddenly find a new QB, which often resulted in short-term answers to solve a long-term problem. After the likes of Philip Rivers, Matt Ryan, and Carson Wentz passed through the organization, the Colts finally selected Anthony Richardson in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft in hopes of landing their guy. When it became apparent Richardson wasn’t the answer, the team signed Daniel Jones, who turned in a solid 2025 campaign and was rewarded with a two-year, $88 million contract earlier this offseason. Among the multiple missteps by Ballard during his Colts tenure is the trade for cornerback Sauce Gardner, whom he acquired in exchange for the team’s 2026 and 2027 first-round picks. Few GMs get the leash that Ballard was provided with by the Colts, but this felt like a move that was destined to happen now or at the end of the season. Now, the Colts can get a head start on their next GM search in what is shaping up to be another rough season. The team announced that head coach Shane Steichen will remain in his role for now.

It’s the exact kind of answer we would expect from a coach who is just minutes removed from his team nearly completing a comeback victory. J.J. McCarthy stepped in for Jameis Winston in the fourth quarter and lit up the Saints for 243 yards and one touchdown in the fourth quarter, leading the Giants on three scoring drives and 17 unanswered points in a game that the Saints won 34-27. Whether it’s in Week 7 or a point later in the season, McCarthy feels like a lock to start multiple games for the Giants, who now sit at 3-2-1 on the season. The Jameis Winston Experience, while fun, is often short-lived, and his underwhelming performance on Sunday against the Saints (152-1-2) comes a week after Winston struggled for the entire first half against the Commanders before he turned it on in the second half. Harbaugh will likely announce his Week 7 starter in the coming days, but it wouldn’t be surprising to learn the team is handing McCarthy the keys for the remainder of the season.

The Saints have not opened Tyson’s 21-day window for return, but the fact that he traveled with the team suggests his window could be opened later this week, which would allow him to begin practicing with the team. There’s some belief that Tyson could return in Week 9 after the Saints’ bye week, but the team hasn’t committed to a return date for him just yet. We wouldn’t expect Tyson to suit up this week against the Steelers.

Williams was immediately asked to fill the WR3 role for an offense missing its top two slot receivers. Even so, he finished fifth on the team in targets and carries little fantasy value with Christian Watson, Matthew Golden and Tucker Kraft ahead of him. That doesn’t change ahead of a matchup with the Lions in Week 7.

Kraft was forced from the game in the second quarter after taking a scary hit to his thigh area that generated torsion on his knee while his foot was still planted. It was the opposite knee to the one he injured a season ago and the veteran tight end would miss only one drive before returning to the game after the half, providing a collective sigh of relief for fantasy managers that have tasted the despair of a major knee injury already. Kraft could be busy in Week 7 against the defense allowing the most fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends when the Packers face off against the division rival Lions in a potential shootout.