NFL Player News

The veteran tight end will now miss the next four games, at minimum, as he tends to a back injury. Fantasy managers got little notice of the injury, with the first time hearing about it occurring when he missed practice Wednesday. Things escalated quickly as he was ruled out for the team’s Week 11 game on Friday and placed on injured reserve Saturday. Brock Wright is listed as questionable against the Eagles for Sunday Night Football, but he would stand to benefit from LaPorta’s absence. Realistically, boost the volume expectation of Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams for the immediate future.

Jesse Minter announced the news and did not provide a timetable for a return. Hendrickson had played through the ailment in Weeks 2 and 3. It’s plausible that he’s back in Week 5 assuming this wasn’t a major procedure, and if he was going to miss one game, the Titans game would be the one to miss.

Jefferson has not practiced this week and will likely be ruled out for Week 4’s game in the near future. While his injury is not believed to be serious, the Vikings would likely prefer not to risk further injury in a home game against the Dolphins that they can win without him. We’ll check back in with an update once head coach Kevin O’Connell has a chance to speak with media, but there’s a good chance Jordan Addison and Jauan Jennings will serve as the Vikings’ top two receivers this week.

Gonzalez did not practice at any point this week after popping up on the injury report Wednesday; his status seems to be in doubt for Week 5 at this point as well. The Patriots also ruled out DT Christian Barmore. They’ll be without their best coverage player against the Bills, elevating the matchup for D.J. Moore.

He didn’t practice at any point this week after suffering a shoulder injury in Week 3. He has to be considered questionable for Week 5 at this point. ‘Bill’ Croskey-Merritt figures to shoulder the majority of the workload for the Commanders this week and is a reasonable FLEX play against the Colts. Freshly-signed Austin Ekeler figures to handle third-down work.

He was, grimly, a late add to the injury report on Friday with a hamstring issue. We’re sure will get more on this as the day goes on, but McLaurin-reliant managers should make sure to have a backup plan in place ahead of Sunday morning’s first European football game of the season.

Williams was never believed to have a real shot at playing, but the Bears officially ruled him out on Friday. Tyson Bagent has reportedly taken all of the first-team snaps in practice this week, but Ben Johnson may wait until kickoff to reveal who his starter will be on Sunday, with both Bagent and Case Keenum expected to be active. We’ll see if Williams’ status improves for Week 5’s game against the Packers.

Swift popped up as a DNP on Thursday’s injury report, but Johnson said his RB1 will practice on Friday. We’ll see where things go from here, but it wouldn’t be surprising if Swift drew a questionable designation entering the weekend. Swift has rushed 54 times for 253 yards and three touchdowns this season while also catching eight passes for 68 scoreless yards. If he is unable to play in Week 4, Kyle Monangai would be firmly on the fantasy radar as a strong RB2.

“The MRI revealed some good news,” per Rapoport, who added that the hope is these are not long-term injuries for the second-year lineman. While Graham does have two injuries he will need to work his way back from, it’s fair to say this is an encouraging sign after he was seen on crutches and sporting a knee brace after Week 4’s win over the Steelers. If Graham is placed on injured reserve, he would be required to miss at least the next four games. He has totaled 15 tackles, six TFLs, and four sacks thus far for the Browns in what is shaping up to be a breakout season for the former No. 5 overall pick.

Legette will miss a second straight game with his knee injury. He has caught just two passes for 64 yards on six targets this season and wouldn’t be on the fantasy radar even if he were active. In addition to Legette, the Panthers also ruled out OG Damien Lewis (elbow) for Week 4 against the Lions while OT Monroe Freeling (concussion), DT Lee Hunter (foot), and DT Cam Jackson (knee) were all listed as questionable.

After being a DNP on Wednesday, Coker logged back-to-back limited practices to close out the week. Coker played through an ankle injury in Weeks 2 and 3, and will likely play through his quad injury this week in a Sunday night matchup against the Lions. Hopefully we’ll get more clarity on his availability later in the weekend, but for now, we expect him to play. That said, managers would be wise to stash a Sunday/Monday night emergency option in the unlikely event Coker is ruled out when inactives are announced 90 minutes before kickoff.