NFL Player News

According to Fowler, the Patriots don’t want to rush Barmore’s recovery and won’t force him on the field until he’s fully ready to go. Barmore was diagnosed with blood clots back in late July and was placed on the reserve/NFI list during roster cutdowns. Barmore totaled a career-high 64 tackles and 8.5 sacks last season and was recently signed to a four-year contract extension. His absence would be a tough blow to a Patriots defense that ranked 15th last season and allowed the seventh-fewest yards per game.

Minshew entered halftime with 62 passing yards and six points on the board. It took him a while to get going, but he locked onto Davante Adams and Brock Bowers in the second half and the yards started pouring in. He connected with both pass-catchers for big gains in the second half and found Adams in the end zone for a game-tying score late in the fourth quarter. Minshew has been overly cautious for the better part of two games, as evidenced by his elite completion rate of 77 percent leading to a much more pedestrian 7.5 yards per attempt. He has also taken nine sacks in two games. Minshew is doing enough to keep the starting job for now, but he would be better off giving his best receivers chances to make big plays more often. He ranks as a low-end QB2 heading into a Week 3 game versus the Panthers.

It was a quiet game for Evans. The Buccaneers scored only 20 points, had 19 pass attempts and 12 completions. There was hardly room for another receiver to have a good game with Chris Godwin eating up the Lions defense as efficiently as he did. Evans will look to get a bigger piece of the pie in the Week 3 home matchup with the Broncos.

It’s only been two weeks, but the early returns on Godwin moving to the slot full-time have been great. He has 15 catches for 200 yards and two touchdowns already. This week’s performance was particularly impressive as he put up a 7/117/1 line while the Buccaneers had only 19 total pass attempts and Baker Mayfield completed just 12 passes. He led the team in targets, catches and got loose in the secondary for a 41 yard touchdown. Godwin is a high-end WR2 heading into Week 3’s home matchup with the Broncos.

Fant’s 2024 fantasy revival has so far failed to launch with just three receptions for 25 yards through two games. That’s despite the fact that Geno Smith dropped back 47 times in Boston. Fant should still end up producing some TE2 days, but it is looking harder than expected behind the elite receiver trio of DK Metcalf, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Tyler Lockett. Week 3 against the Dolphins does at least profiles a a positive offensive environment.

Jones struggled to get anything going against a stout Niners defense. He ceded control of the Minnesota backfield to Ty Chandler, who had ten rushes for 82 yards on the day. Jones was dinged up in the second half, perhaps forcing the Vikings to give more playing time to Chandler. As long as he continues dominating pass routes and backfield targets, Jones should be a solid-enough fantasy option in Week 3 against the Texans.

Bateman didn’t do much in this game, but it was still his first time with 40 yards in consecutive weeks since the start of the 2022 season. He is being used as a field stretcher for Lamar Jackson, though that role doesn’t entail much volume and doesn’t hit often. Bateman will pop up for a few big games this year, but predicting them will be nearly impossible. Fantasy managers should view him as a low-floor WR5 heading into his Week 3 matchup with Dallas.

With Jake Ferguson out, Schoonmaker was the team’s primary tight end. He saw a pair of targets on the Cowboys’ first offensive drive, including hauling in a one-handed catch on the run. Schoonmaker was a serviceable fantasy play and will continue to be a TE2 with Ferguson out. If Ferguson cannot go next week, Schoonmaker should be scooped up off waivers for Week 3 against the Ravens.

Jamo picked up right where he left off in Week 1 with a 50 yard catch on the first drive. Unfortunately, that was the extent of the Lions’ downfield passing game for the day. Williams nearly had a catch on the sideline that would’ve put the Lions in the red zone with less than a minute left, but he couldn’t keep both feet in bounds. He was still heavily involved in the offense in a week where Amon-Ra St. Brown saw 19 targets. It looks like his role isn’t going away and the Jamo breakout is still on. Williams will be counted on once again as a field-stretcher for Detroit in Week 3 against the Cardinals on the road.

Despite losing this game, the Ravens were tied or playing from ahead for all but 30 seconds. This meant they used Hill sparingly while piling touches on Derrick Henry’s plate. Henry carried the ball 18 times. Hill will be a PPR factor in the few games that Baltimore plays from behind in this year but isn’t a viable fantasy option when the Ravens are projected to be ahead. He will rank as a RB5 for the Ravens’ upcoming matchup with the Cowboys.