NFL Player News

A third-year sixth-rounder, Calcaterra was needed for 13 starts with always-injured Dallas Goedert missing two lengthy stretches. Calcaterra posted a 24/298/1 receiving slash after catching nine total balls across his first two years in the league. Good for Calcaterra, but his yards per route run was a gasping 0.98, placing him at 39th amongst seam stretchers in PFF’s database. Even if Goedert is cut loose ahead of 2025, Calcaterra doesn’t have the looks of a “secret” Dynasty league stash heading into the final year of his rookie deal.

Same old, same old for Jones, who has been on the injury report with this shoulder since hurting it against the Seahawks a few weeks ago. It didn’t stop him from being Minnesota’s lead back last Sunday and we expect him to be in the RB2 conversation against the Cowboys in Week 15.

Hockenson didn’t practice on Wednesday, so this is a step in the right direction. The veteran probably has some chance of escaping the questionable line if he suits up again on Friday. Hockenson is merely a TE2 against the Cowboys on Sunday if he plays.

He seems to be trending towards playing, though what we can expect out of him is a bit of a wild card at this point given J.J. McCarthy’s up-and-down play and the tight-end focused attack the Vikings featured last Sunday. Addison is probably toeing the WR3 line solely on the basis of a matchup against the Cowboys pass defense so long as he makes it to Sunday healthy.

This is great news. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was optimistic about Metcalf’s odds of suiting up, but said Metcalf might miss time in practice this week. The Steelers’ No. 1 wide receiver is now firmly on track to face the Dolphins on Monday night. He can be treated as a WR2.

The fact that Washington is able to practice is a plus. The Steelers’ jumbo-size tight end suffered a concussion in Week 14 against the Ravens. Players frequently miss at least one game due to concussions, but the Steelers play on Monday night this week, so the added rest day may have increased his odds of playing.

Raiders backup QB Kenny Pickett is extremely likely to be the team’s starter in Week 15 against the Eagles. Even if Smith is able to return in time for Week 16, he would face the Texans’ elite pass-rush unit. Smith does not need to be rostered in re-draft.

He was both added to the report on Thursday and seen in the locker room by reporters with a “short walking boot” — this is raising alarm bells that he may not be ready for Week 15’s pivotal game with the Patriots. His status should be updated on Friday, but we’re expecting him to be questionable at best based on this report.

Back-to-back practices is good news for Odunze even if both of them have been limited sessions. He’s likely to at least find the questionable line ahead of Sunday’s game against the Browns. Olamide Zaccheaus (hamstring) was also limited for a second straight day. If both can return, it will likely lower Luther Burden’s WR4/FLEX stock in Week 15.

He will be on “somewhat of a pitch count” coming back from the collarbone injury. That’s good news for fantasy managers who were relying on Chris Godwin and Emeka Egbuka in Week 15, but it makes Evans a bit of a risky start in his first week off injured reserve. Evans probably belongs on the WR4/FLEX line if you’re going to play him, though the promise that he’ll be out there on “the big downs” is promising.

Eagles LG Landon Dickerson (calf) was also absent for the portion of practice open to the media. He was limited yesterday. Both players are questionable to play in Week 15 against the Raiders. Hopefully, at least one of them can resume practicing tomorrow. Stay tuned.