NFL Player News

Tyron Smith will be eligible to return in Week 17, though the Jets are all but certain to be eliminated from the playoffs at that time, so this may be the last we’ve seen of Smith in a Jets uniform. Smith signed a one-year deal with the Jets in the offseason. Pro Football Focus graded him as a plus blocker in both the pass and run game, but will fail to come close to playing a full season once again. Smith last played more than 13 games in 2015 and has only hit 13 once in the past five years. The former Cowboy will have plenty of suitors on the open market, but his injury woes will limit him to another short-term deal.

Michael Carter, meanwhile, had three carries for 13 yards and caught two balls for 18 yards in the loss. While Carter ran more pass routes than Knight, it was Knight who led the backfield with six targets on the day. Knight in Week 13 totaled 98 yards on 14 touches as the de facto lead back for Arizona. Knight will be flex worthy in deep leagues next week against a tough Texans defense that has shut down opposing ground games in 2025.

The Arizona backfield didn’t have much going on in a blowout loss that saw Jacoby Brissett drop back to pass 50 times. Bam Knight led the backfield with seven rushes for just 16 yards, but it was Carter who ran 25 pass routes to 17 routes for Knight. Carter, who had 47 yards on five receptions last week against the Bucs, appears to be the Cards’ primary pass-catching running back. He’s only relevant in the deepest fantasy formats.

It was Thielen’s first game as a Steeler after parting ways with the Vikings last week. He started the game for Pittsburgh — with Roman Wilson a healthy scratch — but ran just 12 pass routes on 36 Aaron Rodgers drop backs against Baltimore. Marques Valdes-Scantling and Calvin Austin ran ahead of Thielen. Though Mike Tomlin has made some noise about involving Thielen in the Steelers offense, there’s little chance the fading veteran will see much usage in the coming weeks. He should remain on waiver wires.

Still yet to score this season, Okonkwo continues to pair the most modest of floors with the most nonexistent of ceilings. That will not change during the fantasy playoffs, leaving Okonkwo out of sight, out of mind in both re-draft and DFS fantasy.

Today snapped a streak of three straight four-catch performances for the rookie fourth-rounder. There just wasn’t any volume in the Titans’ passing attack with Tony Pollard going bonkers on the ground. Cam Ward completed 14 passes, generating 117 yards in the process. Helm has showed enough that he can be considered a potential future TE1 — emphasis on “potential” — but even TE2 status will be difficult to come by during the fantasy playoffs with Chig Okonkwo still successfully vying for looks down the seam.

Freiermuth ran a pass route on 22 of the Steelers’ 36 drop backs, leading all tight ends and seeing a small bump in playing time with Darnell Washington sidelined with a concussion he sustained in the first quarter. Jonnu Smith, meanwhile, ran just 13 routes and saw one target. Freiermuth, who doesn’t have more than three receptions in the game since Week 6, could have some deep-league fantasy relevance in Week 15 against the Dolphins if Washington enters the league’s concussion protocol and misses a game or two.

McDuffie departed in the first quarter after landing hard while defending a deep pass to Texans alpha wide receiver Nico Collins. He would remain on the field before being helped off by trainers, who would check the knee for stability. McDuffie spent the remainder of the first quarter testing his knee on the sideline before being ruled out near the half.

That’s a highly disappointing yardage total considering Dike’s catches and targets, but the looks matched a season high. The score was also his second in three weeks. The Titans have followed through on their pledge to get Dike more involved down the stretch. It has been difficult for it to translate to real fantasy value because of Cam Ward’s ongoing struggles, but Dike is still looking like someone who could be an eventual fantasy WR3. That will not include for Week 15 against the 49ers. Fantasy managers simply have too many other higher-ceiling options with the playoffs beginning.

Austin got loose on the sideline in the third quarter for one of Aaron Rodgers’ five completions of more than 20 yards, a rarity headed into Week 14. With 26 catches on 44 targets, Austin isn’t fantasy relevant for now. Austin has just four games with more than three receptions in 2025. He can be left on waiver wires ahead of Week 15.

Ayomanor’s first quarter score came after a play fake helped him a get a step on the DB in man coverage. It was a great start, but unfortunately his only action on a day where the Titans surprisingly road paved Cleveland on the ground. Ayomanor now has only four grabs for 30 yards over the past three weeks, which is especially disappointing since it has coincided with Calvin Ridley’s season-ending absence. Ayomanor still has end-of-bench dynasty league appeal, but he is miles from 12-team league relevance as we begin the fantasy playoffs, which we might not have guessed during his relatively hot start to the season.