NFL Player News

Baker was an early standout in training camp, but tailed off in August as drops became an issue. He made headlines for the wrong reasons last week after going live on Instagram to complain about being pulled over by police in Boston. Head coach Jerod Mayo said Baker has already been punished and that it wouldn’t impact his game status. Nevertheless, Baker is a healthy inactive while Kayshon Boutte is active. Baker is buried on the Patriots’ wide receiver depth chart at the moment.

Schefter clarifies this as a back injury after it was initially updated by the Packers as a neck injury. Neither of those designations are promising signs for him. Reed’s absence, should it continue into this week, would strengthen fantasy floors for Christian Watson, Matthew Golden, and Tucker Kraft. The Packers used a platoon of players to replace Reed, lead by Skyy Moore.

Quinn didn’t disclose any specifics about Cross’ injury, but he did share that Cross was discharged from the hospital on Monday and is making his way back to the team. We’ll see if Cross is able to get on the practice field this week, but the Commanders could be looking at yet another key player being sidelined for Week 3’s game against a Seahawks team that is off to a 2-0 start.

Head coach Dan Quinn confirmed Pelissero’s report shortly after it was announced. The 0-2 Commanders will host the Seahawks for their home opener with Mariota under center in what has become an all-too-familiar sight for Commanders fans. With Jayden Daniels (elbow) out for the foreseeable future, Mariota will likely make multiple starts in the coming weeks. The former No. 2 overall pick threw for 1,695 yards, 10 touchdowns, and seven interceptions in 11 games last season while leading the team to a 2-6 record in his eight starts. Mariota has proven to be a viable option in 2QB/Superflex leagues, but he should be avoided in this week’s tough matchup against the Seahawks.

We’re not likely to hear much on the long-term status of Daniels this week — maybe something breaks by Thursday or Friday — but it is very clear he won’t be starting again in the short-term. Gathering a variety of medical opinions rather than relying on the team doctor is, more often than not, a predecessor to some sort of surgery. It would be hasty to say that’s where this is headed, but it wouldn’t be surprising if it wound up that way given how bad the injury looked on the field.

FOX Sports’ Megan Olivi reported on Sunday that the Seahawks “are aiming” to have Darnold play in Week 3 against the Commanders. It goes without saying that Darnold will need to get a few days of practice in if he hopes to suit up, making this a big week for the Seahawks’ QB1 as he looks to get back on the field. Darnold’s injury wasn’t as severe as the team initially feared when he exited in Week 1 against the Patriots, but with a game against the 0-2 Commanders on the horizon, it’s possible the team doesn’t look to rush him back to the field if he’s not close to 100 percent. His practice status will be worth monitoring throughout the week, but if he’s held out, Drew Lock will make at least one more start in what should be a plus matchup for fantasy managers.

The 2-0 Vikings will hopefully get their first full look at Murray, who exited in Week 1 after just 11 snaps. Murray will face a Buccaneers defense that ranks 24th in points allowed through the first two weeks and has allowed the 11th-most passing yards and the 10th-highest net yards per pass attempt. Murray has a nice supporting cast to work with and brings plenty of rushing upside, but fantasy managers shouldn’t view him as anything more than a mid-QB2 until we see how he functions in his first full game or two with the team.

He’s out indefinitely and this will be a major blow for the Saints offense. There’s a chance he returns at some point later this season. He almost undoubtedly will end up on injured reserve in the next few days. Banks had a 73.5 PFF grade last year as one of the brighter rookie tackles of the class of 2025. Asim Richards would seem like the likely short-term replacement.

“Schematically, it wasn’t good,” LaFleur added, presumably while giving himself a wedgie. Harrison only saw one official target — another was wiped away by penalty — and he played just 74 percent of the snaps. The real problem here is that when the Cardinals ran well on offense in Week 1, Harrison had just one catch for 33 yards on three targets. He’s going to be hard to trust in any given week until we see it “click” in some way with LaFleur’s offense.

The Rams will announce their inactives 90 minutes before kickoff, but this is now the second time in two days that Schefter has suggested Nacua will not suit up tonight. Schefter said the team is “not giving up hope” that Nacua could still suit up, but also added, “it doesn’t sound promising right now.” If Nacua is unable to go in Week 2, Davante Adams would be an obvious favorite to see an increase in targets, while running backs Kyren Williams and Blake Corum could also get more involved as the Rams look for ways to move the ball against a Giants team that gave the Cowboys’ offense fits in Week 1.

He’s undergoing tests to determine the severity. That’s not normally the sort of story that ends with “and Brooks played a full allotment of snaps in Week 3,” but we’ll see. Brooks should be regarded as a drop candidate in shallow leagues on snaps and opportunities alone, but if he’s not healthy, that may expand to more leagues.