NFL Player News

Dortch is seemingly heading toward an absence for the Cardinals’ Week 14 game against the Rams. The veteran wide receiver was working his way into FLEX territory just a few weeks ago. He does not need to be rostered at this time. Cardinals WR Xavier Weaver (hamstring) was added to the injury report on Thursday.

After missing Week 4 as a late addition to the injury report, it looks like McLaurin is set to miss his second game because of the hamstring issue. If healthy, Stefon Diggs will operate as Jayden Daniels’ No. 1 receiver. Diggs himself is now dealing with a hamstring injury, so there’s no guarantee he’s available either. Antonio Williams and Chig Okonkwo could see more work if both wideouts can’t play this week.

According to ESPN’s Kevin Seifert, Jefferson said, “the plan is definitely to play Sunday, but who knows?” Overall, we take this as a net positive, but the Vikings’ No. 1 wide receiver is still clearly rehabbing his ankle injury. For now, we tentatively expect him to be active this week.

Diggs didn’t appear to get hurt during the Commanders’ Week 4 loss to the Colts, but it looks like he felt something after the game. With Terry McLaurin also sidelined for today’s practice, Antonio Williams could be the Commanders’ No. 1 receiver in Week 5. He saw eight targets on Sunday, only one fewer than Diggs. The Commanders’ absurdly long injury report will be one to monitor as the week progresses.

As a right-handed quarterback, Shough should be fine despite his surprise appearance on the injury report. Even in a blowout loss on Monday, the second-year passer racked up 286 yards and a touchdown on 48 attempts. As long as the volume is there, Shough is good for low-end QB1 numbers. He will remain inside the top 12 at his position for Week 5 against Minnesota.

It is unclear when Dell will take the field on game day, but he is officially participating in his 21-day practice window. His range of potential outcomes is quite wide. Stashing him on fantasy benches is a reasonable move at this time, though he is not guaranteed to be a fantasy contributor.

Love will presumably have his practice reps monitored, but he isn’t at risk of missing Week 5. He went down with a new ankle injury late in the second quarter of Week 4. Love played sparingly in the second half but denied getting injured at all after the game. It sounds like it’s not a major issue, but it’s hard to feel confident in him handling a heavy workload after how things unfolded last week. He is tumbling back into the RB3 ranks for his upcoming game against the Lions.

Bateman and WR Chris Moore (ankle) were both limited to begin the week. Neither player will be fantasy-relevant if backup QB Tyler Huntley gets the start in Week 5 against the Falcons though.

Andrews practiced in full with the hand injury last week before posting a 5/27/1 receiving line. He should be good to go again this week, though he is a low-end TE1, with backup QB Tyler Huntley likely starting in Week 5.

Jon Gaines will take his spot at right guard. Gaines drew the start in Week 1 while Adams was sidelined with a knee injury, so it’s not a major shakeup for the Cardinals.

Flowers was not present during the portion of practice open to the media earlier today, though it was assumed that this was a maintenance issue relating to his multi-week hamstring strain. It turns out Flowers is dealing with a new injury. It is unclear when the injury occurred. If it was an in-game issue last week, then beginning Week 5 with a limited practice is a great sign for his availability. Stay tuned.