NFL Player News

Kareem Hunt and Brashad Smith could find themselves in bigger roles in Week 9 against the Bills, but with the Chiefs holding a Week 10 bye, this feels like something that may only cost Pacheco a week of action. We’d be extremely surprised if Pacheco made a real attempt to play on a short week after suffering the injury with the bye as extra incentive.

Etienne practiced in full all week and, with AJ Dillon ruled out, the Panthers currently have just one healthy back on the 53-man roster. It seems fairly likely that Etienne will be activated from injured reserve to serve as Carolina’s No. 2 back on Sunday. Perhaps he’ll be joined by a practice squad player as well. Either way, Etienne has no stand-alone value this week.

He didn’t practice all week. With Jonathon Brooks also out, it seems likely that Trevor Etienne will be activated to serve as Chuba Hubbard’s main backup. Hubbard will project to get most of the volume here and has stumbled into high-end RB2 value this week.

After missing all of practice last week and being a DNP on Thursday, Diggs was back on the field Friday, which is a good sign for his Week 6 availability with one practice left to go in the week. The Commanders take on the 49ers on Monday Night Football this week and will likely announce Diggs’ availability sometime Saturday, but he could be on track to return in what is a must-win game for the 1-3-1 Commanders. Diggs has caught 18 passes for 170 yards and three touchdowns this season and would be in the mix as a fringe WR3/WR4 if active.

All signs are pointing to Tyler Huntley making his second straight start. Jackson was a DNP for all three practices this week and will likely be ruled out in the next few hours, meaning Huntley will have a chance at a “revenge game” against a Browns team that he spent part of the 2024 and 2025 seasons with. Huntley threw for 201-2-0 in last week’s win over the Falcons and rushed for another 20 yards and one touchdown. He’ll have some appeal in 2QB and Superflex leagues on the road against the Browns.

This is an improvement for Judkins, who was a DNP for the team’s first two practices this week. Head coach Todd Monken said earlier this week that Judkins was considered day-to-day, so we’ll see if he has a shot at playing when the team releases its final injury report in a couple of hours. It seems unlikely that Judkins will be fully removed from the injury report, meaning he’ll likely carry a questionable designation heading into the weekend.

Winston has been a DNP in practice all week and has now been ruled out for Week 6’s game against the Colts. The second-year safety has started all four games he has appeared in this season, totaling 29 tackles and one forced fumble while earning a PFF coverage grade of 47.2.

Milton will join Tanner McKee and rookie Cole Payton on the Eagles’ 53-man roster. This move comes a day after it was revealed that Jalen Hurts would be out indefinitely due to a superficial blood clot that could sideline him for the next several weeks. Milton will likely serve as the Eagles’ emergency third QB on game days and seems unlikely to see any playing time at this point.

Cooper had his 21-day practice window opened earlier this week, but is officially set to return after logging a full practice on Friday. The rookie receiver could step into an immediate role for the Jets with Adonai Mitchell (finger) out for at least one more week, but he could still be a few weeks away from fantasy relevance. Cooper played on just five snaps in Week 1 before his injury, but did catch one pass for 30 yards.

It was reported earlier this week that Mitchell underwent a “small procedure” on the finger he injured in practice ahead of Week 3. Given that news, it doesn’t come as much of a surprise to learn that Mitchell will miss his fourth straight game with the injury. With rookie Omar Cooper Jr. set to play in his first game since Week 1, Mitchell could face additional competition for targets when he finally returns to the field.