Detroit

Lions

Raymond practiced in a limited fashion for the first time since suffering his ankle injury in Week 12. The 31-year-old barely maintains fantasy relevance, with a 4/49 line going for his best of the season. However, when he is active, he tends to take routes from the rookie touchdown-generator Isaac TeSlaa. Neither Raymond or TeSlaa are surefire fantasy plays, but fantasy managers should move TeSlaa out of their deep league lineups if Raymond plays Week 15 against the Rams.

Mills was released by Houston earlier this week. He appeared in four games for the Texans this year, logging four tackles while playing a mix of special teams and defense. With the Lions seemingly losing a new defensive back to injury every week, Mills will give the team some extra depth on defense.

The Lions were without their top three tight ends last week. Sam LaPorta and Brock Wright were—and remain—on injured reserve while Zylstra missed the game with a knee issue. His return to practice today puts him on track to start for Detroit in Week 15. In a potential shootout with the Rams, Zylstra will be a touchdown-or-bust TE2.

In a stunning turn of events, St. Brown played on Thursday last week despite being held out of all three practices leading up to the game. He played a relatively normal role, catching six passes for 96 yards. Even a limited practice today is a good sign that his ankle issue is getting better. He will hold a spot at the back of the WR1 ranks for his Week 15 date with the Rams.

The worst was confirmed on Friday, just hours after earlier reports said that the Lions feared an Achilles injury for Branch. The third-year safety will now miss the remainder of the season as he looks to undergo surgery and rehab to be ready in time for the start of next season. Branch appeared in 12 games for the Lions this season, totaling 75 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and nine pass breakups. He will enter 2026 in the final year of his rookie contract.

Pelissero didn’t speculate on the severity of Branch’s Achilles injury, but said the star safety “will have further tests this morning.” We tend to know where things go from here, but we’ll let them play out and hope for the best. Branch was injured in the fourth quarter on a play that took place in the end zone and remained down for several minutes while being tended to by the training staff. He eventually made his way to the sideline with help and was later carted to the locker room. Branch has started all 12 games he’s appeared in this season for the Lions, totaling 75 tackles. 2.5 sacks, and nine pass breakups. Veteran Avonte Maddox is in line to replace Branch while for however long he is out.

Bates’ longest field goal on the day came on a 47-yarder late in the second quarter. The field goal came only a few minutes after Bates took a hard hit on a kick return and appeared to briefly get checked out by the medical staff. Bates has attempted seven field goals in his last three games and will remain a high-end fantasy option in Week 15 against the Rams.

Even with Amon-Ra St. Brown in the lineup, Williams managed to tie for the team lead with nine targets and narrowly edged out ARSB in receiving yards. Williams has now totaled 240 yards through the air over the last two weeks. A solid fantasy day could have been made better had Williams managed to score on a seven-yard run that came up a yard short of the end zone. Despite a strong two weeks, Williams remains a volatile play for fantasy managers, but things have been mostly good as of late. He’s gone for 66 or more receiving yards in five of his last six games and scored in four of those games. He’ll be on the WR2/WR3 fantasy radar for Week 15 against the Rams.

A week after having his ankle rolled up on, the Sun God was back on the field against the Cowboys and didn’t appear to miss a beat. St. Brown was targeted on the opening play of the game and hauled in two passes of 25-plus yards to help lead an explosive passing game all night. St. Brown’s biggest play of the game came late in the fourth quarter when he ripped off a 37-yard gain to help set up Jahmyr Gibbs for a 10-yard score on the following play. St. Brown turned in an impressive showing on Thursday night given the circumstances and now has over a week to rest up before Week 15’s game against the Rams.

Were it not for a 35-yard touchdown late in the second quarter, Montgomery’s day would have looked much worse for fantasy managers. Montgomery’s score came on one of the more physical runs you’ll see this season, as the veteran back shed two tacklers before breaking into the secondary before outrunning the Cowboys’ defense on the way to the end zone. Montgomery has now scored in back-to-back weeks, but the yardage total remains a concern. The 60 rushing yards he posted on Thursday were his most since Week 10 against the Commanders. He’ll remain a volatile flex play in Week 15 against the Rams.