NFL Player News

The 49ers’ lead blocker and occasional gadget man suffered the injury early in San Francisco’s Week 2 contest. Less involved in the offense than he used to be, Juszczyk’s absence shouldn’t really reverberate across fantasy football.

He did upgrade to a full practice today so he’s at least likely on the optimistic side of questionable. Still, we were hoping he’d be cleared off the line entirely today, so it does give us a little hesitation that he could practice all three times this week, including one full, and still be questionable. The Colts don’t really have much else behind him.

Fant sat out in Week 4 after scoring two touchdowns in Week 3. He is not fantasy-relevant on his own, but he can serve as a checkdown option for Tyler Shough. The Saints labeled WR Barion Brown (thigh) questionable to play this week.

He did practice three consecutive days, even if they were all limited sessions. We’d regard Dowdle as on the optimistic side of questionable to return and cut in to Jaylen Warren’s full-time workload. It’s a good matchup against a Colts line that has, at times, had issues defending the run game. Dowdle will be a hard-to-start FLEX if active with a questionable workload.

Nor are Darnell Wright (ankle) or Jonah Jackson (ankle), as all three got in two sessions after a Wednesday DNP. It seems like all three just got a maintenance day. The Bears line will be in good shape this week against the Packers.

Despite an early-week DNP, Swift heads into the week in arguably a better position than he started it. We’re not sure how much workload he’ll handle with Kyle Monangai (foot) out, but it will certainly be a large majority of what the Bears do. Roschon Johnson figures to handle whatever Swift can’t, but isn’t a priority free agency pickup so much as a stash at this point.

Williams got in a limited session today. It is his first time practicing since straining his hamstring in Week 2 against the Vikings. According to the Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs, Williams could be ramped up in time to face the Falcons in Week 6, depending on how his body responds. Earlier today, we learned that the Bears have not yet determined his expected return date, but a progression plan is in place with specific benchmarks. He should be rostered in 10- and 12-team leagues.

He practiced in full each of the last two days after a limited session on Wednesday. Bowers should be started with confidence in Week 5, though it looks like the knee injury will continue to limit his practice reps.

Stevenson told Mike Reiss that he’s “ready to go” and that he just got “rolled up on” late in Week 4’s win over the Bills. We’d be surprised if he didn’t play on Sunday and he should be regarded on the optimistic side of questionable.

Slater suffered a high-ankle sprain and had surgery — a tight-rope procedure — to try to accelerate his return. Sounds like a pretty severe version of a high-ankle sprain. He’ll miss at least the next four weeks and be eligible to return in Week 9. The Bolts are dealing with a ton of injuries along their offensive line and it’s currently unknown how that will shake out for Week 5, which we’re sure Justin Herbert is loving.

The Bears have a progression plan in place for Williams’ rehab, and per Johnson, the star quarterback is “right on track.” Williams resumed throwing “a little bit the other day.” Although the team does not yet know when Williams will retake the field on game day, they have set up a series of benchmarks for him to hit. Their Week 7 Thursday Night Football game could complicate things. Bringing Williams back in Week 6 would give him a short turnaround, and he could be sore after his first game back. Expect them to handle this cautiously. The Bears currently sit in second in the NFC North with a 3-1 record.