NFL Player News

The Saints backfield is currently dealing with multiple injuries as neither Alvin Kamara (knee) or Devin Neal (ankle) practiced on Wednesday. As a result, the team has added Hines as depth on the practice squad behind Audric Estime and Evan Hull on the active roster. Neal is already ruled out for Sunday and Kamara is currently on the wrong side of questionable, so it is possible we see Hines on the field sooner rather than later.

Goff and the Lions were unable to get almost anything going in the first half. They entered halftime with 10 points and the board and things went from bad to worse coming out of the break. Detroit’s only drive in the third quarter was a three-play possession that ended in a safety. In a frantic comeback mode, Goff found his rhythm and put up 14 points in the final quarter of action. He then marched Detroit down the field with time expiring and found Amon-Ra St. Brown at the goal line. Pittsburgh’s defense stood ARSB up and he pitched the ball back to Goff, who dove into the end zone for the game-winning score. The play, however, was called off because of offensive pass interference on St. Brown. Time expired, and with it went the Lions’ playoff hopes. The Lions aren’t out of the picture entirely, but they are hanging on by a thread. Goff will remain a mid-range QB1 in a must-win game versus the Vikings next week.

As per usual, the Texans struggled to move the ball on their side of the field and had to turn to Fairbairn, who nailed 54- and 50-yarders while also mustering a 49-yarder that didn’t score quite as much in your distance league. He’ll remain one of the best kickers in the league in Week 17 despite a tougher matchup against the Chargers.

He was more involved in the Vegas offense than third receiver Tyler Lockett (1/6 on two targets in 15 snaps) as Mayer handled 36 snaps while the Raiders tried to slow down Houston’s pass rush with chips. Mayer is not a recommended fantasy play and hasn’t done much while Brock Bowers has been active.

According to Klis, Bryant was taken to a hospital for “concussion-like” symptoms, which is good news. Had Bryant been dealing with neurological symptoms, this would be a completely different story. Bryant took a scary hit over the middle of the field late in Sunday’s loss to the Jaguars, which left players on both teams visibly shaken. We’ll likely have more updates on Bryant’s status on Monday, but it sounds like the rookie receiver avoided the worst.

The highlight here was a 37-yard deep catch-and-run where Geno Smith threw Bech open over the top of Derek Stingley, who was jumping the underneath route only to find out it was never going underneath. Bech has reached “No. 2 wideout in the Raiders offense” status, but it has equated to zero fantasy value at this time.

Week 3 feels like a long time ago. Tucker hasn’t cracked five receptions since Week 7 or 50 yards since Week 6. He’s a WR4 flier in PPR leagues, though if you were going to use him, against the Giants in Week 17 is about the best matchup you could find.

Robinson dominated from start to finish, playing especially well on the Falcons’ three-play third drive, in which Robinson accounted for all 65 yards gained. On the drive’s first play, Robinson ran a delayed route out of the backfield before catching the passes and scampering away for a 41-yard gain. He then picked up 11 yards on a run up the middle before snagging a screen pass on the right side of the field en route to the end zone. He nearly secured a 26-yard touchdown pass with two minutes remaining in the first half, but QB Kirk Cousins just barely overthrew him. Robinson is an elite RB1 against the Rams next week.

The Raiders managed to get Bowers a few underneath looks on early downs, but between Geno Smith’s deep accuracy being unreliable and the pass rush, Bowers-reliant managers should feel lucky that he found the end zone early in this one. He was bracketed between two Texans defenders in the end zone and it took a great throw from Geno Smith to find him. Start Bowers if you’ve got him in Week 17, though, on account of a teed-up matchup against one of the NFL’s worst defenses — the Giants — in a game that could determine the fate of the No. 1 overall pick.

Back-to-back duds for Higgins, who also had one catch last week. His catch was a big one, but the Texans are spreading the ball around enough that he won’t have consistent fantasy value. Higgins will be a hard-to-start WR5 against the Chargers in Week 17.

Kirk, questionable with an illness on Friday, not only played, but had his highest snap count (39) since Week 9 and highest target count since Week 12. We don’t get it — and while he had one nice slant over the middle here, there was nothing that otherwise said Kirk had to play. He’ll be a weak WR5 play against the Chargers in Week 17.