Ravens RB Justice Hill was limited in Wednesday's practice with foot and hamstring injuries. He played just seven snaps with the foot injury last week and now has this hamstring issue. We'll see what Hill does in practice over the next couple of days, but he's not looking like a good Week 5 fantasy play.
Ravens WR Odell Beckham (ankle) put in a limited practice on Wednesday. It was his first practice since going down back in Week 2. Beckham seemingly has a shot to return for Sunday's game vs. the Steelers but would be a desperation fantasy play.
Ravens WR Rashod Bateman (hamstring) put in a full practice on Wednesday. That puts him on track to return for this weekend's game vs. the Steelers. Bateman totaled just seven catches on nine targets through the first three games of the season and can't be trusted in Week 5 fantasy lineups.
Saints TE Juwan Johnson (calf) did not practice on Wednesday. He's looking unlikely to play vs. the Patriots on Sunday after injuring that calf early in last week's game. Jimmy Graham wound up leading Saints TEs with a 62% route rate last week, but TE Foster Moreau looks ready to return from his ankle injury after putting in a full practice on Wednesday.
Titans WR Treylon Burks (knee) did not practice on Wednesday. HC Mike Vrabel said last week that Burks isn't dealing with a long-term injury, but he certainly seems to be in danger of missing Sunday's game vs. the Colts.
Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown was listed on Wednesday's injury report as a non-participant with an abdomen issue. The team didn't actually practice, so it's an estimated report. But HC Dan Campbell was non-committal on St. Brown's availability for this weekend's game vs. the Panthers, according to insider Dave Birkett. We'll get another update on St. Brown tomorrow.
The Lions didn't practice Wednesday but listed DB Brian Branch as a non-participant in their estimated injury report. That doesn't bode well for his Week 5 status. It's been nearly a week since Branch left the Thursday night win at Green Bay with an ankle sprain. We'll see about his status heading into the weekend, but plan on starting someone else in that slot of your IDP lineup. S Kerby Joseph (hip) was listed as limited. He's a candidate to return after missing the past two games.
Saints QB Derek Carr (shoulder) was limited in Wednesday's practice. HC Dennis Allen said he threw a bit more than he did in last week's practices. "Things look good in terms of where he's at this week," Allen added. Carr averaged an ugly 3.4 yards per pass attempt last week, and it's likely the injured throwing shoulder was the culprit. He's not a viable fantasy option until we see him looking much closer to 100%.
Jaguars WR Zay Jones (knee) returned to a limited practice on Wednesday. He's tentatively expected back for Sunday morning's game in London vs. the Bills, but we'll monitor Jones' status over the next few days.
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.
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