NFL Player News

Minutes before the team’s official inactives dropped it was announced that Robinson would be inactive due to his hamstring injury. His absence will pave the way for Austin Ekeler and Jeremy McNichols to have busier afternoons than expected, with Ekeler the likely favorite to lead the backfield in touches.

The Dolphins passing game was not needed after the first quarter against the Jets, leaving Washington to total 10 yards on four targets for the game. Nothing new here, Washington is the screen/check-down wide receiver and clear No. 2 pass-catcher on the team. Higher volume passing games could certainly give him a good PPR fantasy game, but Washington is a touchdown-dependent WR5 heading into Week 15 against the Steelers.

The Bengals were repeatedly able to get Gesicki matched up against the Bills’ slot corners, and he made multiple crucial catches, including three different third-down grabs and a touchdown catch. Gesicki has been a big part of this offense in terms of snap share since returning from the IR, but he has yet to spike a big week like this. We’d consider this more of a one-off and view Gesicki as more of a TE2 next week against the Ravens.

Likely, who now has ten catches over his past two games, should have had a second touchdown in this one. He caught the ball in the end zone, got two feet down, and had the ball batted away before making a so-called football move. The score was overturned — Likely’s second close-call no-touchdown in as many weeks. Likely ran a route on 25 of Baltimore’s 45 drop backs on the day while Mark Andrews logged 39 routes. He’ll be a reasonable streaming play in Week 15 against a Bengals defense allowing the most targets, receptions, and yards to opposing tight ends. Likely had five grabs for 95 yards against the Bengals in Week 13.

Higgins left this game on two separate occasions after his head was slammed into the turf on attempted catches. It was particularly scary given that Higgins missed last week after suffering a concussion in Week 12. However, he was cleared both times he went into the blue medical tent and returned to the field to continue making big catches against the Bills. Higgins did have a few uncharacteristic drops, but he was also the focal point of the offense, with Ja’Marr Chase seeing shadow coverage. We’ll need to watch Higgins’ practice status closely, but he could be in for a big game next week against the Ravens.

Hockenson found the end zone on a two-yard pass from J.J. McCarthy after the Vikings opted to go for it on fourth-and-goal while up 24-0 in the fourth quarter. The veteran tight end has now found the end zone three times this season, but has left much to be desired for fantasy managers this season. The 59 yards he produced in Week 13’s loss to the Seahawks were his most in any game this season. Hockenson shouldn’t be viewed as anything more than a desperation play in Week 15 against the Cowboys.

Raheem Morris stayed committed to his ground game as long as possible, loading Robinson up with touches despite the Falcons eventually losing by 28. Even Tyler Allgeier managed 11 carries plus two catches. Allgeier also stole goal line work from Robinson, though he failed to convert on his opportunities in the paint. Red zone theft aside, Robinson’s role remained elite in this game. It’s simply going to be hard for Robinson to get home for fantasy managers every week with Kirk Cousins sinking the offense. Robinson will remain in the middle of the RB1 pack for his Week 15 date with the Bucs.

He did manage to convert a third-and-long deep in garbage time, but it’ll be hard to see Riley Leonard making the deeper Colts options worthwhile plays going forward. Downs is probably best approached as a WR5 against the Seahawks in Week 15.

Waddle was the lead receiver for the Dolphins yet again, tallying seven targets and also getting one carry for 21 yards. He caught a three-yard touchdown on the first possession of the game and was mostly quiet in the second half with the Dolphins up big. Waddle was briefly grabbing his calf and limping on the sidelines, but he quickly returned to the game. As the No. 1 receiver in the Dolphins offense, Waddle is a low-end fantasy WR2 for Week 15 against the Steelers.

Pierce appeared to catch a garbage time touchdown, but instant replay overruled the catch after it was decided that he was fumbling control of the ball as he hit the ground. After the play he was sent to the bench and evaluated for a concussion. Pierce was on video talking to reporters after the game in the locker room, which is a good sign for his status going forward, but we’ll probably get something more firm on that on Monday. He’s continued to be the best receiver the Colts have, but with Riley Leonard now leading the quarterback room, it’s probably more of a WR3 package against the tough Seahawks defense in Week 15.