Panthers RB Miles Sanders (groin) was limited in Wednesday's practice. He was limited last Wednesday and Thursday, didn't practice on Friday, and then played a season-low 43% of the offensive snaps in the loss to the Vikings. We'll see how Sanders progresses throughout this week, but he'll be a shaky fantasy play if he doesn't get in a full practice on Thursday or Friday.
Bengals QB Joe Burrow said Wednesday that last week was the best his calf has felt coming out of a game this season. "So I'm optimistic," Burrow added. Of course, he said that he avoided a setback in Week 3 -- and then proceeded to lay an egg vs. the Titans in Week 4. Burrow is tough to trust as a QB1 right now, even in Sunday's plus matchup vs. the Cardinals.
Giants RB Saquon Barkley (ankle) was limited in Wednesday's practice. He was limited in all three practices last week before missing the Seahawks game, so this doesn't tell us much about his availability for Sunday's game vs. the Dolphins. Barkley seemingly has a shot to play in that one, but we'll keep you updated on his progress over the next few days.
Steelers QB Kenny Pickett (knee) told reporters Wednesday that he'll be "ready to go" for Sunday's game vs. the Ravens. We'll track his status throughout the rest of the week after he suffered a reported bone bruise in last week's loss to the Texans. Pickett will be a bottom-barrel QB2 if he suits up this weekend.
Bengals WR Tee Higgins (rib) won't practice on Wednesday, HC Zac Taylor said. Taylor labeled Higgins "day-to-day," but fantasy owners should not be counting on him playing vs. the Cardinals this weekend. The Bengals get the Seahawks in Week 6 before a Week 7 bye.
Colts RB Jonathan Taylor's ankle is no longer an issue, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. "He's healthy," Rapoport said. "I think he probably would have been healthy maybe two weeks ago." Rapoport adds, though, that it's still unclear whether Taylor will play vs. the Titans this weekend. That'll come down to whether he's mentally and physically ready -- and whether Taylor still needs demands met before suiting up for the Colts. Stay tuned.
Jets HC Robert Saleh said Wednesday that RB Breece Hall is no longer on a pitch count. “He’s been working hard," Saleh said of Hall. "He ran violently last week in practice and I felt like it carried over into the game. You can tell he’s starting to get his legs underneath him. Even though he’s had production, he still hasn’t reached what he’s capable of and what he’s shown in the past.” Hall's snap rates over the first four weeks have gone 31%, 34%, 49%, 44%. It sounds like we should expect that to climb going forward. Perfect timing with a matchup against the pathetic Broncos defense on tap.
The Broncos are releasing veteran Edge Randy Gregory. That's not an especially impactful IDP move itself. Gregory has just 9 tackles and 1 sack through four games. His playing time dipped the past two weeks, from 64%+ the first two games to 47% and 46% in the last two. The move does remove a hurdle from the outlooks of Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper, who have each seen increases in playing time and good production through four games. Both sit top 15 among D-linemen (depending on your format). Denver does have Frank Clark and Baron Browing approaching injury returns, which will challenge the roles of Cooper and Bonitto. But we'll wait to see how that all shakes out before downgrading the guys currently succeeding. Cooper and Bonitto have climbed up our rest-of-season DL rankings and sit especially high in our Week 5 DL rankings, ahead of a meeting with the Jets.
Rams WR Cooper Kupp (hamstring) has been designated to return. He's eligible to practice on Wednesday, which he's expected to do. It's still unclear if Kupp will play vs. the Eagles this weekend, though. We'll keep a close eye on his status.
Falcons HC Arthur Smith said this week that TE Kyle Pitts is still working back to full health from the PCL injury that ended his 2022 season. "There are no perfect timetables," he told reporters. "But there are certain things ... he's doing really well right now. And there are certain things that he can't. It's been a journey back. He's going to get there." As for when Pitts might get back to full health, Smith could only say that he's "getting close." He did add that Pitts "looked as fast as he did as a rookie" on "some things outside." Does all of this mean that Pitts is approaching a big rebound? Not necessarily. But it's likely playing at least a part in why Pitts' playing time is down a bit vs. last year; and why Jonnu Smith has seen just one fewer target and caught four more passes through four games. Pitts remains stashable in most fantasy formats, though he's also not a must-hold if you need that roster spot for something more helpful. We'll keep watching for signals of some rebound for the not-yet-23-year-old.
Eagles TE Dallas Goedert remains a big part of the passing game, HC Nick Sirianni said Monday. Goedert has caught 13 passes for just 88 yards and 0 TDs through four weeks. He's sitting 30th among TEs in PPR points. "He’ll get going," Sirianni said. "I’m certain of that. We’ve got to do our jobs as coaches to get him going. But he is still a very big factor in the way our offense is playing right now.” We've seen WR A.J. Brown tally two straight huge games after expressing some displeasure over his role back in Week 2. Goedert hasn't publicly complained, but it's certainly possible that he gets some "squeaky-wheel" treatment. He's still run a route on 92% of Eagles pass plays, so he's not far off from better production.
Seahawks HC Pete Carroll expects QB Geno Smith to be okay after suffering knee and ankle injuries in Monday night's win over the Giants. Smith missed the final series of the first half of that game but returned for the second. “He kind of twisted his knee a little bit," Carroll said. "It really was knee and ankle at first, but I think it just came down to taping up the ankle and then his knee was a little bit — he might be sore [Tuesday.] He’ll need a break.” Smith said that he experienced "some slight pain, but overall, I was just happy that I came out OK.” Seattle gets a well-timed Week 5 bye. It sounds like Smith will be able to play come Week 6.
The Athletic's Dianna Russini reports that the Rams are "hopeful" WR Cooper Kupp can play vs. the Eagles this weekend. The team wants Kupp to be "80-90%" healthy, and Kupp isn't there yet. "They are taking this day-by-day," Russini adds. "The hope is that he plays [against Philadelphia.] ... But they wanna be really careful knowing they wanna see him be able to do what he does well for them vs. rolling him out there and just being ok and even possibly reinjuring it." The vibe we get from both this report and HC Sean McVay's comments last week is that Kupp is worse than 50/50 to play this weekend. We've left him out of the Week 5 Rankings for now but will continue to keep a close eye on his status.
Steelers HC Mike Tomlin said QB Kenny Pickett has been diagnosed with a bone bruise on his knee. He'll participate to some extent in Wednesday's practice, and the team will evaluate him from there. "The more comfortable and functional he is, the more work he'll get," Tomlin said. It seems like Pickett has a real chance to play vs. the Ravens this weekend. We'll keep you updated on his progress.
Lions HC Dan Campbell confirmed that WR Jameson Williams will have a limited role in his 2023 debut vs. the Panthers on Sunday. "If he does play, he can’t play 60 plays," Campbell said. "That’s not smart. So we can’t do that to him. So we’ll see where it goes. It’s all about improvement, no different than the rest of the team. Every week we just got to get a little bit better. He just needs to get a little bit better and we’ll take it from there." Williams' big-play ability makes him an exciting stash on fantasy rosters. But he's not a viable Week 5 starter. We'll keep a close eye on how his usage evolves.
Seahawks WR D.K. Metcalf hauled all 3 targets for 31 yards with a TD in Week 4 vs. the Giants. Teammate Tyler Lockett had small success as well, recording 4 catches for 54 yards in the primetime contest. Rookie wideout Jaxon Smith-Njigba notably tied Lockett for a team-leading 6 targets in the game, though his opportunities only manifested into 3 catches for 5 yards. For as frustrating as the first-year WR has been, it’s worth remembering that he’s only a few weeks removed from surgery for a wrist fracture. Perhaps he’ll have more success following the team’s bye week in Week 5.
Seahawks RB Ken Walker III totaled 79 rushing yards and 1 TD on 17 carries in Week 4’s win vs. the Giants. Rookie Zach Charbonnet saw minimal work, receiving 5 carries for 31 yards on the ground with 1 catch for 9 yards in the contest. Walker III has now seen at least 17 carries in each of the last three games. This backfield is very much in the control of the second-year back, though we’ll see if there’s a plan to involve Charbonnet more following the team’s bye week in Week 5.
Seahawks QB Geno Smith completed 13 of 20 passes for 110 yards with 1 TD vs. the Giants on Monday night. He briefly exited the contest for a series due to a knee injury, but he played in the majority of the game. Smith’s numbers on the week accomplished very little for fantasy managers, but lots of credit goes to the Seattle defense for putting this game away early. Rookie CB Devon Witherspoon’s 97-yard INT return for a TD stands out as a prime moment in the game. Next week, the Seahawks will be on their bye week.
Giants RB Matt Breida tallied 14 carries for 30 yards in Week 4’s loss vs. the Seahawks. He also added 5 catches for a team-leading 48 receiving yards in the contest. TE Darren Waller posted meager numbers again, catching all 3 of his targets for just 21 yards. Though he ranks t-ninth among TEs in targets (23), Waller has only one game with over 3 receptions. This Giants team is simply lost. They’ve now played three primetime games this season, and they’ve been outscored 94-15. Yikes. We might feel comfortable starting RB Saquon Barkley if he’s able to return from injury in Week 5 vs. the Dolphins, but he’d be the only one.
Giants QB Daniel Jones experienced yet another dreadful primetime nightmare. He was sacked a career-high 10 times, threw 2 INTs, and lost a fumble in Week 4 vs. the Seahawks. Including Monday night, Jones has recorded less than 10 fantasy points in three of four games. It’s fairly evident that the Giants’ offensive line has a lot of issues, and being without RB Saquon Barkley doesn’t help. Still, it’s going to be difficult to trust him in 1QB leagues at any point soon. Their next two games are against the Dolphins in Week 5 and the Bills in Week 6, neither of which are appealing matchups.
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