NFL Player News

Terms weren’t announced. Entering his age-29 season, Thomas has caught eight passes for 63 yards over his last two seasons while dealing with calf injuries. He’s merely a depth add behind Brock Bowers. It’s possible that Thomas could compete for a real role in the offense if Michael Mayer, who the Raiders were reportedly shopping earlier this offseason, is traded.

Brown PPR-scammed his way to a decent fantasy day, as his seven targets were second only to Ja’Marr Chase. Brown found himself in a near 50/50 rush split with Samaje Perine in this one, as Perine wound up handling 14 carries, but saw only one target. Brown remains the only fantasy viable running back in the Bengals’ backfield and will be on the RB2 range next week against the Dolphins.

With Rome Odunze essentially out for the second week in a row, Burden was clearly the top receiving option for the Bears in this one. The 22-year-old receiver had more yards, catches and targets than DJ Moore, but Moore caught two touchdowns while Burden was held without a score. If Odunze is out again in Week 16, Burden will be in the WR3 mix against the Packers.

Hampton led the way with 15 rushes while Kimani Vidal saw 12 rushes and one reception. It was Vidal who ran the most pass routes — 21 to eight — and functioned as the third-down and two-minute back for much of the game. With the Chargers shifting hard to the run over the past three weeks, Hampton and Vidal are likely to split around 30 weekly touches, possibly more depending on game script. That could lock in Hampton for 15-20 weekly touches. The rookie should be considered a top-30 option in Week 16 against a week Dallas defense.

Judkins had the backfield to himself with Dylan Sampson out, but the Browns running game was inexplicably ineffective in a great matchup against the Bears defense. Once the Browns fell behind, Judkins was essentially phased out of the game as he couldn’t even get positive yardage on his three catches. He’ll be in the RB2 mix against the Bills in Week 16.

His one miss was a blocked 50-yarder by Calais Campbell. The Texans have continued to generate plenty of attempts for Fairbairn with their combination of solid regular offense and horrendous red-zone offense. He’ll remain high in the kicker ranks next week against the Raiders.

Higgins played 42-of-62 snaps for the Cardinals on offense and watched Trey McBride catch a lot of targets. We salute his selflessness.

Monangai had led the Bears in rushes in three consecutive games, but the 23-year-old rookie running back took a backseat to D’Andre Swift in Week 15 against the Browns. He had 11 carries and just 33 yards while being held without a catch on two targets. Monangai managers had to watch while Swift exploded for 98 yards and two touchdowns. He’ll be more of an RB3 in a tough matchup against the Packers in Week 16.

Tinsley saw a season-high nine targets in Week 12 when playing in place of Tee Higgins (concussion). With Higgins sidelined again due to another brain injury this week, Tinsley was unable to replicate his target volume, with only two looks coming his way in the shutout loss. Tinsley hauled in a 16-yard reception in the fourth quarter, and just missed hauling in a pass in the end zone on that same drive a few plays later. Assuming Higgins is able to return in Week 16 against the Dolphins, Tinsley will go back into his backup role.

Uh, yeah. That’s Arizona Cardinals WR2 Jalen Brooks, the former Cowboys 2023 seventh-round pick. Brooks played 43-of-62 snaps. The target tree in Arizona is narrow enough that Brooks still retains no fantasy value even if the seas have parted to allow him this opportunity.