NFL Player News

There was some question as to whether Ford would play in Week 13 after being downgraded to a DNP on Thursday as he deals with a lingering hamstring issue. Ford being active is a slight hit to Quinshon Judkins’ fantasy prospects, though the Browns should be run heavy enough for Judkins to deliver RB2 numbers. The Browns declared G Zak Zinter, T Cornelius Lucas, WR Jamari Thrash, TE Brenden Bates, DE Alex Wright, and DT Adin Huntington inactive against the Niners.

Noel has been dealing with the pinky finger issue since late July, but the hamstring is a recent injury. The second-year wide receiver would ideally be competing for the WR3 role right now, and losing reps could slow him down. He is a risky dart throw, but he flashed talent at times in his rookie season.

The Dolphins signed QB Mark Gronowski after Ewers picked up the injury. Ewers is the Dolphins’ primary backup, so the team was a little short-staffed for the remaining preseason games. Dolphins backup OT Jamaree Salyer reportedly suffered a season-ending injury.

McNichols probably is no higher than fourth on the depth chart in Washington behind ‘Bill,’ Rachaad White, and Kaytron Allen. Missing time due to injury doesn’t bode well for him making the initial 53-man roster.

With Malik Nabers still off the field, that’s a given. Still, Likely finds himself as barely a top-12 tight end by ADP. The argument could be made that he belongs closer to the top 10. “Given the way [Jaxson] Dart likes to throw to his tight ends, it suggests that Likely is in for a breakout season given the chemistry they already have developed,” Raanan concludes.

Benson has been inundated with buzz this offseason. He caught two balls for 26 yards on four targets in Las Vegas’ first preseason game and reportedly has a strong connection with Fernando Mendoza. Outside of Brock Bowers and Ashton Jeanty it’s been hard to recommend any Raiders skill position player in fantasy circles this year; perhaps the sixth-round pick can step into a real target role given the lack of competition around him.

Severity is unknown at this point and the injury didn’t happen at the practice, so we’ll await further team comment before getting too worried. The Packers definitely can’t afford to have Van Ness down with Micah Parsons already on pace to miss the first month of the season.

Washington has been Lawrence’s “favorite target, and he always seems to be open” DiRocco notes. The Jaguars main pass catchers are pretty close in ADP, with Washington leading the way at WR31 and Brian Thomas Jr. at WR33. This would seem to be an argument to trust Washington as a true WR2/WR3 option — and everything we’ve gotten on Washington this offseason from beat writers has been overwhelmingly positive.

It certainly can’t hurt his case for head coaching work should the Bears offense continue to play well above the league average. Randle El’s offensive playcalling produced 235 yards and 24 points in the second half.

Frankly, a pretty good update considering how quickly Mariota exited the field on Friday. The Commanders will likely pick up another quarterback to help navigate the final two weeks of the preseason. Mariota will be the backup for the season opener if healthy.

The good news is that Allen worked with the starters in the slot. The bad news is that he worked well into the second half in the first preseason game while leading the team in targets. He’s clearly the highest-upside stash receiver of the group, but playing deep into the first preseason game isn’t a great sign for his chances of early playing time.