NFL Player News

He’ll miss at least the next four games and be eligible to return in Week 6 against the Buccaneers. Kittle is a tough hold in shallow leagues without an injured reserve spot, but given the state of the 49ers offense he probably remains a hold. If Brock Purdy starts this week — that also seems to be in some question — it sounds like Christian McCaffrey will get all the workload he can handle against the Saints. Jauan Jennings feels like a question mark as well but would step in to a major role against the Saints if he can play, along with Ricky Pearsall. Jake Tonges will replace Kittle in the 49ers lineup and isn’t a recommended streamer at this point, though he did catch a touchdown against the Seahawks in Week 1.

Samuel was again a critically important part of the San Francisco offense. He scored his touchdown — his third of the year — on a well-designed red zone target from Brock Purdy. Looking far quicker and more fleet afoot than he did last year in Washington, Samuel has been a consistent flex option in 12-team leagues through Week 4. That should continue in Week 5, though the matchup is much tougher against the Seahawks secondary.

Silver said he spoke to Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Chris Jones, among others, in the locker room, and the group was “all for” signing Hill when he is ready to play. Per Silver, Hill is believed to be targeting a November return. Rashee Rice injured his hamstring today, and Tyquan Thornton suffered what is likely to be a season-ending ankle injury.

Washington remains one of the Dolphins’ primary returners despite his increased receiving involvement. His day began with a muffed punt that he successfully recovered in the end zone for a touchback. Things improved from there. Washington delivered multiple double-digit gains, functioning effectively as a weapon behind the line of scrimmage and in the flats. He also turned in a 17-yarder via a corner route on play action. Rookie WR Caleb Douglas (ankle) may return for next week’s game against the Saints. If he remains sidelined, Washington should be FLEX-viable, though his ceiling is questionable.

Waddle was invisible for much of the game until a late red zone touchdown with the Broncos in up-tempo catch-up mode. It was his first touchdown reception as a Bronco. Waddle, who now has three down games in his first four contests as the Broncos’ nominal WR1, will probably struggle until Denver OC Davis Webb figures out how to maximize his personnel, including the struggling Bo Nix. Against the 49ers Waddle was targeted on a meager 16 percent of his routes. Hopefully that rate will rise in Week 5 against the Chargers.

Willis’ biggest plays of the day are the ones that didn’t count. Willis rolled out of the pocket, escaping pressure, on the Dolphins’ third drive and hit Chris Bell downfield for what could have been a 68-yard touchdown. Unfortunately, the officials determined that the tiniest edge of Bell’s right cleat grazed the sideline pre-catch, during the scramble drill, negating the play altogether. Heartbreaking. Willis also had a 10-yard scramble called back due to holding on the Dolphins’ fifth drive. He attempted a running fadeaway pass 25 yards downfield to Bell on 3rd-and-8 on the Dolphins’ ninth drive, but the catch was contested and ultimately fell incomplete. He is a QB2 against the Bengals next week.

Kelce was held in check throughout the entirety of this one and has been targeted just six times in his last two games. Were it not for an 11-yard score in last week’s win over the Dolphins, we would be looking at back-to-back disappointing fantasy weeks for the future Hall of Famer. Kelce and the Chiefs are now heading into their bye week. He could see an increase in targets with Rashee Rice (hamstring) and Tyquan Thornton (ankle) both at risk of missing multiple weeks, but Kelce now has three games on his 2026 ledger with five or fewer targets.

Mims also lost a fumble in the loss. Mims has been virtually invisible in the Broncos offense through four games, though that could change if Pat Bryant’s injury proves to be the long-term variety. Even in that case Mims would be nothing more than an ultra deep league option.

Sutton was the recipient of a couple off-target intermediate looks from Bo Nix, who struggled to place the ball against the 49ers secondary. Sutton could see an expanded role in the Denver offense if Pat Bryant is out long term following his leg injury in Week 4. Sutton has been targeted on 16 percent of his pass routes this season; he has nine receptions through four games. Sutton should only be rostered in deeper leagues.

Worthy saw a season-high seven targets in this one after Rashee Rice (hamstring) exited just a few plays into the game. Worthy came up with a handful of key plays for the Chiefs, with his biggest coming on a 41-yard reception that put the Chiefs in position for a short touchdown pass to Tyquan Thornton a few plays later. The Chiefs now head into their Week 5 bye, but they could be down multiple receivers, with Rice and Thornton (ankle) both suffering injuries in this one. While we don’t yet know the extent of Rice’s injury, Thornton’s ankle injury looked like a potential season-ender. Worthy could well be worth a stash in leagues where he is still available, as he could soon be the top receiver for the Chiefs when they return in Week 6 to face the Chiefs. Second-year receiver Jalen Royals, who ran 21 routes in this game, could also see an expanded role in the coming weeks.

Claiborne was given chances to contribute on the Vikings’ seventh and 10th drives. The rookie was unable to maximize his touches and had a catch behind the line of scrimmage that he took back to the line, negated by a holding penalty. Claiborne’s best play was an eight-yard run off the right tackle. That said, he out-touched DeeJay Dallas, who bagged only a 10-yard checkdown on the opening drive.