NFL Player News

He called it both a “week-to-week” and “day-to-day” situation. Darrisaw was active for Week 14, but missed Week 13 and Week 15 while spending very little time at practice. With the Vikings officially eliminated, it doesn’t make much sense for him to gut this out. We expect Minnesota to shut him down unless his health improves.

Bourne looks like a viable FLEX starter for those in need. His 70 receiving yards were a team high, and his eight targets trailed only Trey McBride (10). The journeyman receiver delivered two 20-plus-yard gains via post routes, the first coming on the Cardinals’ first drive and the second on the seventh. Jacoby Brissett tried to force another downfield shot to Bourne on the latter drive, but it didn’t work out. Bourne is running high-value routes in the center of the field, playing for a garbage-time team with a cannon-armed quarterback. The results could be volatile at times, but he is worth starting in the FLEX against the Rams next week.

Wilson almost scored a passing touchdown via an end-around trick play on the Cardinals’ opening drive, but his receiver, Jacoby Brissett, was stopped two yards shy of the end zone. Heartbreak struck again two drives later, when Wilson only got one foot in bounds along the sideline on a would-be 19-yard catch. Brissett went right back to him on the following play, but the contested pass edged past Wilson’s outstretched hands. Wilson tacked on a couple of short gains before snagging a 17-yard pass on the Cardinals’ ninth drive, and he nearly bagged a 47-yard touchdown down the left sideline on the 10th drive, but his coverage defender effectively contested it, resulting in an incompletion. Wilson should handle a WR2-level workload against the Rams in Week 6.

Brissett also rushed twice for 19 yards and nearly scored on a trick play via a seven-yard reception. He was stopped at the Lions’ two-yard line. Brissett guided the Cardinals to a 14-play scoring drive on their first possession, which he capped off with a two-yard touchdown strike to backup TE Teagan Quitoriano. The bottom dropped out after that. The Cardinals racked up five straight drives ending a punt, with Brissett only managing to break the dreary streak by throwing an interception. Brissett managed to salvage his box score with another Quitoriano score, and a juggling touchdown catch secured by Trey McBride. Brissett also coaxed a few big plays out of fellow backup TE Elijah Higgins. Apparently, the veteran quarterback is ready to target more towering pass catchers with Marvin Harrison Jr. now a Texan. Brissett is borderline QB1/2 with a shaky floor in Week 6 against the Rams. Coach Mike LaFleur said post-game that he is not considering a quarterback change.

According to Raanan, Eluemunor “felt his calf pop” and left today’s game against the Commanders. That sounds unpleasant. Fortunately, he was able to walk around on his own, which is a good sign. Regardless, this is worth following. Giants LT Andrew Thomas has been playing through a groin injury. Stay tuned.

Gibbs scored twice today, bringing his career touchdown total up to 57, breaking the NFL record set by former Lions RB Barry Sanders for the most touchdowns scored by a player under 25 years old. The exceptionally talented player gets a boost from his sharp coaching staff, who continue to maximize Gibbs’ strengths. OC Drew Petzing dialed up a trick-play screen pass for Gibbs after the two-minute warning, in which Gibbs took the handoff, pitched it to Amon-Ra St. Brown, who pitched it back to Jared Goff, who then chucked it back to Gibbs with three offensive linemen in front of him on the left side of the field. An 18-yard gain ensued. Gibbs later produced a season-long 22-yard run. Although he scored two touchdowns today, he could have had a third. On the Lions’ ninth drive, Gibbs got two chances from the one-yard line on the ninth drive before the coaching staff greenlit a successful QB sneak for Goff. The Lions are on bye in Week 6, but he returns to the top of the running back ranks against the Packers in Week 7.

White continued to serve as the RB2 behind Jacory Croskey-Merritt and led the backfield with 11 snaps on third down. While his role remained largely the same, even with Austin Ekeler active, White offered nothing of fantasy value in this one. He saw only one target on the afternoon, and could continue to have his fantasy upside limited as long as Jayden Daniels is scrambling away from pressure rather than dumping it off to his checkdown options. Fantasy managers should avoid White in Week 6 against the 49ers.

Okonkwo caught two passes on the Commander’s opening and immediately topped his previous best game of the season. He hauled in passes of 11 and 23 yards on back-to-back catches before Jacory Croskey-Merritt ended the drive with a 33-yard touchdown run. Okonkwo would come up with a 25-yard reception later in the second quarter on a drive that ended with a Drew Stevens field goal, but was targeted just one time in the second half. It was an overall nice outing for Okonkwo, but fantasy managers shouldn’t rush to add him to their lineups. He’ll be a boom-or-bust streaming option in Week 6 against the Niners.

After three straight big weeks, Kittle finally came back down to earth in Sunday’s win over the Seahawks. His longest reception came on a 13-yard gain in the third quarter, but proved inconsequential after Deebo Samuel lost a fumble on the following play to end the drive. Kittle has been targeted 19 times over the last three weeks and has gone for 70-plus yards in three of his last four games. He should be primed for a bounce-back next week when the Niners play host to the Commanders on Monday night.

LaPorta got involved on the Lions’ third drive, making a clutch 12-yard grab on 4th-and-3 while suffering what the officials deemed an unnecessarily rough hit by LB Mack Wilson at the end of the play. He chipped in two catch-and-run plays on the following drive. The first being an 11-yard play that was controversially ruled down in front of the sticks. Coach Dan Campbell called his number on the next play, resulting in an effortless 38-yard touchdown down the right side of the field. LaPorta tacked on an eight-yard catch and a 19-yard catch in the second half as the Lions cruised to a blowout win. He goes on bye next week but returns to the TE1 ranks in Week 7 against the Packers.

Barner continues to be a non-factor in the Seahawks’ passing game. Outside of a Week 3 game against the Commanders in which he went for 5-69-0 on nine targets, Barner has totaled 53 yards in his other four games combined and has yet to find the end zone this season. Barner won’t be on the streaming radar in Week 6, even with four teams on bye.