NFL Player News

Arizona will be without both of its starting tackles this week after being eliminated from postseason contention in Week 16 against the Panthers. It’s bad news for Kyler Murray and the Cardinals offense, and it makes the Rams defense an interesting fantasy option off the waiver wire. The Cards headed into Week 17 have what Pro Football Focus grades as the NFL’s fifth best pass-blocking offensive line.

This is as good of news as Bears fans could have hoped for after their QB1 was carted from the field with a towel over his head less than 24 hours ago. It was reported after the game that Williams was in good spirits and walking around the locker room after the team’s Week 2 loss to the Bears, and the early belief was that he had avoided any severe injury. It’s safe to say that this certainly sounds like a minor ordeal at worst, based on the latest report, after the initial fear was that Williams could be looking at an extended absence. With an extra day of rest before Week 3’s Monday night game against the Eagles, Williams could have a legitimate chance to suit up without missing a game. His name will be one to monitor on the injury report, but fantasy managers could be forced into deciding whether or not to risk playing him if he ends up receiving a questionable designation tag come Saturday. If Williams is unable to play, Tyson Bagent would draw the start.

Johnson was targeted a few times downfield in the second half and nearly came down with a long catch that would have put the Bucs in position to beat Cleveland. Johnson, who ran a route on 16 of the Bucs’ 41 drop backs, won’t be fantasy relevant unless the team struggles with wideout injuries.

Banks will undergo an MRI to confirm the severity of the injury, but the second-year tackle is likely looking at a 4-6 week absence if the MRI doesn’t reveal any additional damage. Banks has started all 19 games he has appeared in for the Saints since being drafted last year. He was replaced by fourth-year tackle Asim Richards in Sunday’s win over the Ravens, who allowed two pressures on the 15 pass-blocking snaps he was in on.

Goedert exited in the second quarter of Sunday’s game and did not return to the field. The 31-year-old tight end will undergo an MRI to confirm the severity of his injury, but it sounds like he could be at risk of missing some time. With rookie tight end Eli Stowers (quad) already on injured reserve, veteran Johnny Mundt would be in line to see an increased role after leading all Eagles tight ends in snaps (49) and routes run (20) against the Titans. Mundt caught just two passes for eight yards and will not be on the fantasy radar for Week 3 against the Bears even if he does draw the start.

James will look to play out the Chargers’ final 15 games of the season with a cast. The Chargers are off to an 0-2 start and will be desperate to turn things around in Week 3 against the 2-0 Bills on the road in Buffalo. The veteran safety has totaled 10 tackles and one pass breakup in the first two games of the season.

Cosmi will need to clear concussion protocol in time to play in Week 3’s home opener against the Seahawks. Cosmi took a hard helmet-to-helmet shot from teammate Kaytron Allen while trying to make a block and immediately went down on the field for several minutes. Rookie sixth-rounder Matt Gulbin took over in his absence and could be in line to draw the start for him next week if Cosmi is unable to play. Quinn also said DT Javon Kinlaw suffered a shoulder injury and LT Brandon Coleman suffered a finger injury in the loss.

Worthy’s score came from one yard out on a fourth down play at the end of the second quarter. The play followed three consecutive failed rush attempts from Kenneth Walker from one yard out, with the veteran receiver leaking to the flat on a Mahomes bootleg for his first score of the young season. Worthy remains a shaky WR5 ahead of a cake matchup with the Dolphins in Week 3.

An interesting development from this one were the 10 targets filtered to running back Kenneth Walker, who gained emphasis through the air in the short areas of the field typically accounted for by Rice and tight end Travis Kelce. The Colts also utilized elevated rates of man coverage until the departure of cornerback Charvarius Ward, against which Rice has clear negative splits. He did break free for a 31-yard gain, one of two Mahomes completions to go for more than 30 yards. Rice remains a volume-driven WR2 with clear WR3 downside, in an offense now more intent on featuring the backfield. He remains a touchdown-dependent WR2 against the Dolphins in Week 3.

Kelce continues to do the bulk of his damage within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage while running a high percentage of hitch routes, but the volume of passing and inside-funnel matchup aided in him eclipsing 100 yards through the air for the first time since Week 8 of 2024. That game also happened to be an overtime win, meaning the only two times since Week 7 of 2023 in which Kelce has gone over 100 yards have gone to overtime. Even so, Kelce continues to be a solid outlet for quarterback Patrick Mahomes and should continue to see games of spiked volume when the Chiefs are pushed, as they were by the Colts. That is unlikely to be the case in Week 3 when the Chiefs travel to Miami to face the Dolphins, where Mahomes will be a shaky TE1 bet in fantasy.

Walker has now notched 178 combined yards or more in each of his new team’s first two games to start the season. In addition to the gaudy yardage numbers, Walker saw 10 targets on 47 Patrick Mahomes pass attempts in the overtime victory, while accounting for all but four running back opportunities. His backfield opportunity share, touchdown equity, and pass game involvement make Walker a top-tier fantasy asset for those that invested a second-round pick in his services this offseason. The only micro-blemish on his record against the Colts was a sequence of carries at the end of the second quarter in which he was stuffed from the one-yard line on three straight plays, with the team eventually scoring on fourth down via a touchdown pass to Xavier Worthy. Walker remains a top-tier RB1 ahead of a road date with the much more forgiving Dolphins in Week 3.