Cardinals QB Kyler Murray posted his best fantasy day of 2022 in Week 8, completing 31-of-44 attempts for 326 yards and 3 TDs. Murray also tossed 2 picks in a game for the first time since last year’s Wild Card matchup with L.A. His scores went to DeAndre Hopkins, Rondale Moore and Zach Ertz, as the QB again leaned on Hopkins (29.5% target share). While this offense still struggles with drive to drive consistency, Murray — who added 36 yards on the ground — showed on Sunday that he remains a weekly QB1. Next up is an improved Seattle defense.
The Ravens are acquiring LB Roquan Smith from the Bears for 2nd- and 5th-round NFL Draft picks. Smith is in the final year of his rookie contract, so we'd bet on an extension with Baltimore following. His arrival likely means the end of full playing time for Ravens LB Patrick Queen. They'll likely start together, but the move for Smith signals dissatisfaction with the middle of the defense. Queen has become a full-timer this season after seeing 80% and then 76% the previous 2 seasons. Smith's departure from Chicago leaves tackle upside for LB Nicholas Morrow, who was already playing full-time snaps. Joe Thomas stands 3rd among Bears LBs in playing time currently and might be the top candidate to absorb vacated snaps.
Update: The Ravens are also sending LB A.J. Klein to the Bears, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. He'll likely get at least a shot at stepping into Smith's vacated role.
Vikings TE Irv Smith suffered a high-ankle sprain in Sunday's win over the Cardinals, insider Chris Tomasson reports. Smith is getting an MRI on Monday to get a better look at the damage, but he figures to miss multiple games. He's droppable in standard-sized fantasy leagues. Smith's absence leaves lead TE duties to Johnny Mundt, who owns just 22 career catches, with 12 of them coming this season. We should see more volume funneled to WRs Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen and K.J. Osborn with Smith out.
Rams WR Cooper Kupp is considered "day to day" with a "regular, low-ankle sprain" suffered late in the Week 8 loss to San Francisco, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. "He's got a chance to play [vs. the Bucs this weekend,] but you need to see how it responds, how swollen it gets, how it takes to rehab," Rapoport adds. "It seems like overall, the Rams star receiver is going to be fine, but we need to see how the week goes before we determine his availability." We'll keep a close eye on Kupp's status throughout the week. His absence would obviously be a big blow to the Rams offense, while leaving behind lots of volume for Allen Robinson, Tyler Higbee, Van Jefferson and Ben Skowronek.
Ravens RB Gus Edwards has a "minor" hamstring strain, according to The Athletic's Jeff Zrebiec. He reports that Edwards will be questionable for the Monday night visit to New Orleans in Week 9 "but hasn't been ruled out." The uncertainty on Edwards makes Kenyan Drake and Justice Hill each worth a look in waiver runs this week. We'd target Drake first, after he worked ahead of Hill each of the past 2 weeks.
Ravens TE Mark Andrews is dealing with shoulder and ankle injuries, HC John Harbaugh said Monday. Neither is considered major. It sounds like Andrews at least has a chance to play against the Saints this weekend. But the Ravens have a Week 10 bye, so they could give Andrews extended time to heal up for the stretch run by holding him out this Sunday. We'll track his practice participation throughout the week. TE Isaiah Likely will be a viable fantasy spot starter if Andrews sits.
Ravens HC John Harbaugh says WR Rashod Bateman will miss "a few weeks" with the foot injury he aggravated in Thursday night's win over the Buccaneers. That span does include the team's Week 10 bye, so we'll see just how many games he misses. Although it's been frustrating to this point -- thanks primarily to the foot injury -- we'd hang on to Bateman where it makes sense. Baltimore has the 2nd-best remaining schedule for WRs. That finishes especially nicely: at Pittsburgh, at Cleveland, vs. Atlanta and vs. Pittsburgh weeks 14-17.
Saints RB Mark Ingram is expected to miss 3-4 weeks with an MCL sprain suffered in Sunday's win over the Raiders, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Ingram's absence leaves Dwayne Washington as New Orleans' #2 RB -- and should mean even more work for RB Alvin Kamara.
Don't expect to see a significant shift in Dallas' backfield going forward, despite RB Tony Pollard's big Week 8. “There’s no argument,” owner Jerry Jones said when asked whether RB Ezekiel Elliott should still be the team's lead back. "Zeke’s ability to punish, Zeke’s ability to deliver, Zeke’s ability, what he does for us in pass protection, and, frankly, Zeke’s ability to make big plays are there, and we’re going to go where Zeke goes. He’s that integral to our success.” It's blatantly clear that Pollard gives Dallas' offense more juice. But the Cowboys -- check that, Jerry Jones -- has 90 million reasons to stick with Elliott. We'll see if Pollard picks up any additional work when the Cowboys come off their Week 9 bye, but he's still best considered a RB3 or flex for now.
Patriots WR DeVante Parker suffered "just a knee sprain" in Sunday's win over the Jets, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. "If he misses time, it'll likely only be one game," Rapoport adds. "Could be back after the [Week 10] bye." We'll track Parker's status throughout the week, leading up to Sunday's game vs. the Colts.
Bills S Jordan Poyer left in the 4th quarter of Sunday night's win over the Packers after hurting his left elbow. He said afterward that it "felt like a pop," according to the Buffalo News. Poyer also said he'll have an MRI today. We'll see about the severity. It's the same elbow Poyer hurt in training camp, costing him the entire preseason. He said this injury feels different. Jaquan Johnson stepped in after Poyer left.
Bills rookie RB James Cook played his 2nd most snaps of the season and garnered his 2nd largest touch count in Sunday night's win over the Packers. he ran for 35 yards on 5 carries and caught a 41-yard pass while playing 25% of Buffalo's offensive snaps. The only game that has seen more snaps or touches for Cook was the 41-7 Week 2 win over Tennessee that allowed him to clean up in garbage time. RB Devin Singletary operated as the clear backfield leader, posting a 14-67 rushing line and adding a 16-yard catch while playing nearly 3 times as many snaps as Cook. RB Zack Moss was active but did not see the field. There's room for Cook to pick up some touches over the 2nd half of the season, especially in games that find the Bills jumping to large leads. He also looks like the clear #2 now, should anything happen to Singletary. Cook should be rostered in most fantasy football leagues of 12+ teams. He's available in 74% of ESPN leagues as of this writing.
Packers RB Aaron Jones delivered 143 yards on 20 carries in Sunday night's loss to the Bills. Green Bay stuck to a surprisingly run-heavy approach despite falling 17 points behind by the 4th quarter. It was less hard to understand giving the ball to Jones, who averaged 7.2 yards per rush. He added 14 yards on 4 catches (5 targets). A.J. Dillon also produced 54 yards on 10 carries, though half of that came via a single 27-yard run. Jones again worked clearly ahead of Dillon, the 3rd such game among Green Bay's past 4. Buffalo entered the game as the league's #1 run defense by Football Outsiders DVOA.
Packers QB Aaron Rodgers entered the 4th quarter with just 74 passing yards in Sunday night's loss to the Bills, but added 129 and a TD to his totals in that quarter alone. Green Bay went run-heavy through most of the game, falling behind by 17. Rodgers then led that 4th-quarter scoring drive that ended with a 37-yard TD to rookie WR Samari Toure. Rodgers found rookie WR Romeo Doubs for an impressive catch in the end zone earlier in the game. TE Robert Tonyan led the Packers with 5 catches, totaling 35 yards. Green Bay gets a much more favorable matchup at Detroit in Week 9.
Bills WR Stefon Diggs posted numbers Sunday night that belied his team's overall passing struggles in the win over Green Bay. He led Buffalo in targets (8), receptions (6) and yards (108), accounting for 46.2% of QB Josh Allen's completions and 49.5% of his yardage. Diggs also snagged 1 of Allen's 2 TD tosses. TE Dawson Knox grabbed the other, for 1 yard out, among 2 catches for 10 yards on 3 targets. WR Gabriel Davis managed only 2 receptions for 35 yards among 7 targets. No other Bill drew more than 2 looks.
Bills QB Josh Allen had an uncharacteristically mediocre passing night in Sunday's win over the Packers. He completed just 13 of 25 passes (52%) for 218 yards, throwing 2 TD and 2 INTs. The 2nd was particularly bad. Allen was clearly trying to throw the ball away into the ground but put it at the feet of Green Bay's top corner, Jaire Alexander, allowing him to make a diving INT near the Packers goal line. Allen nearly made up for it on the ground, with 49 yards on 6 attempts but came up short of the end zone on a 1st-quarter run that preceded TE Dawson Knox's TD catch. Buffalo gets the Jets, Vikings, Browns and Lions ahead of a Week 13 visit to New England.
Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker Jr. posted a pedestrian 51 yards on 18 carries in Sunday's win over the Giants. He saved his fantasy day with an impressive cutback run for a 16-yard TD in the 4th quarter and continued to dominated backfield work. RB Travis Homer ran just 10 pass routes to Walker's 23 in his return from IR, according to Pro Football Focus numbers. RB DeeJay Dallas got on the field for just 5 snaps. Walker has now tallied 18+ carries and 20+ opportunities in 3 straight games.
Seahawks WRs D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett each came up a little short of their usual playing time in Sunday's win over the Giants but otherwise showed no signs of the injuries that made them questionable. Metcalf led Seattle with 10 targets and 6 catches, taking them for 55 yards and a TD. He narrowly missed more with a couple of near-catches. Lockett posted a 5-63-1 receiving line on 8 targets and dropped another ball that would have produced a long TD. Barring physical setbacks this week, both guys should be strong fantasy starts at Arizona.
Daniel Jones went 17-of-31 (54.8%) passing for 176 yards and 0 TDs in Sunday's loss at Seattle. He added just 20 yards on 6 rushes in a game where the Giants couldn't get anything going against a surging defense. Jones took 5 sacks, the 3rd time this year he has reached that number. He did avoid turning the ball over, though, his 5th such game among 8 this season. WR Darius Slayton led the receivers in targets (6), receptions (5) and yards (66). TE Tanner Hudson (3-58 on 5 targets) was the only other Giant to eclipse 15 yards. WR Wan'Dale Robinson managed just 2 receptions for 15 yards on 3 targets. The Giants get their bye in Week 9.
The Seahawks limited RB Saquon Barkley to just 62 total yards on 23 touches Sunday. He averaged a meager 2.7 yards across 20 carries and tallied a meager 9 yards on 3 receptions (5 targets). Barkley saved his fantasy day with a 1-yard TD plunge in the 2nd quarter. The Seattle defense has been terrific in 3 straight outings, against both the run and pass. Barkley and the Giants get a Week 9 bye.
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