Ravens WR Rashod Bateman is making good progress in his recovery from November foot surgery, HC John Harbaugh said Thursday. "He's going to be ready to soon run at full speed," Harbaugh said. Bateman flashed early this past year with 2-59-1 and 4-108-1 lines to open the season, but a Lisfranc injury to his left foot limited him to just 4 more games the rest of the way. It doesn't sound like that'll be an issue in 2023, though, setting up the 23-year-old Bateman as an intriguing post-hype sleeper. We'll see who Baltimore hires at OC and if that new OC opens up the passing game.
Bills Isaiah McKenzie (hamstring) practiced fully again on Thursday ahead of Sunday's Divisional Round game vs. the Bengals. It seems the veteran wideout is on track to play barring any potential major setback. We'll keep an eye out for updates tomorrow regarding a final word on McKenzie's availability.
Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence (toe) practiced in a limited fashion all week and is officially questionable for Saturday's Divisional Round game vs. the Chiefs. This trend of Lawrence being questionable with his toe issue is nothing new and shouldn't prevent him from suiting up this weekend. The Chiefs' defense ranks as the 2nd-best matchup in adjusted fantasy points allowed to QBs. It's a good spot for Lawrence on paper, but it's hard to get the taste of the 4 INTs that Lawrence threw in the 1st half vs. the Chargers last week out of our mouths. We're not as keen on the second-year signal caller as a result.
Chiefs WR Mecole Hardman (hip) didn't practice all week and has been ruled out for Saturday's Divisional Round game vs. the Jaguars. Rookie WR Skyy Moore (hand) managed to practice fully all week and doesn't carry an injury designation. WR Kadarius Toney could see a small bump into DFS relevancy for this weekend's slate with this news, though neither Toney nor Moore carries a target share greater than 10% since Toney's arrival from the Giants in Week 9. We still feel best about WRs JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling for fantasy purposes. The Jaguars' defense ranks as the 9th-best matchup in adjusted fantasy points allowed.
Giants WR Isaiah Hodgins (ankle) practiced in a limited fashion on Thursday and doesn't carry an official injury designation for Saturday's Divisional Round game vs. the Eagles. Despite being weighed down by his ankle injury last week vs. the Vikings, Hodgins led the Giants in receiving with an 8-105-1 stat line. The Eagles' defense ranks 10th in adjusted fantasy points allowed to WRs and will be a much tougher draw. Still, Hodgins ranks 1st on the Giants in target share (26.5%) and air yards share (36.4%) over their last 4 games, including the Wild Card round. We feel good about his chances regardless of the matchup.
Chiefs HC Andy Reid said Thursday that RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire (ankle) is "unlikely" to play vs. the Jaguars on Saturday. CEH was designated to return from IR and has been practicing this week, but he evidently needs a bit more time to recover from his November 20 high-ankle sprain. Isiah Pacheco and Jerick McKinnon will continue to handle the majority of backfield work for Kansas City this weekend, with Ronald Jones potentially sprinkling in.
Ravens OC Greg Roman announced Thursday via management firm AthletesFirst that he's "stepping away from the team to pursue other opportunities." Roman's offenses obviously leaned heavily on the run across his 4 years in Baltimore, which made plenty of sense with Lamar Jackson at QB. But Roman's rushing lean predated that stint. All 6 of the previous offense for which he served as OC -- 4 in San Francisco, then 2 in Buffalo -- ranked among the league's top 9 in rushing attempts. Across his 10 years as a coordinator, just 3 Roman offenses ranked lower than 3rd in carries. Only 1 of those 10 finished lower than 4th in rushing yards, and that came back in 2011, his 1st season at the post with the 49ers. We'll see where Roman lands and who the Ravens select to follow him. Of course, the status of Jackson for 2023 and beyond will likely matter even more for projecting both the player and the Ravens offense. Jackson is set to hit unrestricted free agency in March, but we'd be surprised if Baltimore lets him hit the open market. Baltimore's offense promises to be 1 of the more intriguing storylines to watch this offseason.
Bills WR Isaiah McKenzie (hamstring) practiced fully on Wednesday in advance of Sunday's Divisional Round matchup vs. the Bengals. This is great news considering McKenzie was inactive for the team's Wild Card game vs. the Dolphins due to this injury. We'll see if this trend continues as the week unfolds. Be sure to check back for updates tomorrow.
Giants WR Isaiah Hodgins (ankle) practiced in a limited fashion again on Wednesday ahead of Saturday's Divisional Round game vs. the Eagles. Hodgins shared a photo on his Instagram story following the team's Wild Card win vs. the Vikings that shows how busted up his ankle is. We'll leave it up to you if you want to look it up and find the picture. The point is that it certainly doesn't look great, though he did manage to play through it this past Sunday. Check back tomorrow for updates regarding the young wideout's status.
Chiefs WR Mecole Hardman (pelvis) didn't practice again on Wednesday ahead of Saturday's Divisional Round game vs. the Jaguars. Fellow WR Skyy Moore (hand) practiced fully for the 2nd-consecutive day. It's tough to imagine we'll see Hardman play on Saturday if he doesn't ramp up to at least some practice participation on Thursday. Check back tomorrow once we have more information on this front.
Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence (toe) was a limited participant in practice again on Wednesday. We expect Lawrence to suit up for Saturday's Divisional Round game vs. the Chiefs barring any unforeseen change. We'll update his status again tomorrow.
The Browns are hiring longtime NFL coach Jim Schwartz to run their defense. Cleveland fired DC Joe Woods after a season in which they fell from 5th in yards allowed, 13th in scoring defense and 11th in Football Outsiders DVOA to 14th, 20th and 23rd, respectively. Schwartz last coordinated the Eagles' defense from 2016-20. Overall, he has spent 19 years as DC (Titans, Bills and Eagles) or HC (Lions) in the NFL. Schwartz's defenses have tended to rank better against the run than the pass and have not proved especially helpful to LB tackle totals. He has generally focused on generating pressure with his front 4, often lining up edge players in a "wide 9" formation, well outside the OTs. We'll see about his specific plans for a Cleveland defense with some intriguing talent.
The Buccaneers are expected to fire OC Byron Leftwich, according to Pewter Report. Just a year ago, Tampa Bay was coming off 3 straight years among the league's top 3 in scoring and Leftwich was getting interviews for HC gigs elsewhere. But the 2022 Bucs ranked just 25th in points, 15th in yards and 16th in Football Outsiders offensive DVOA (down from 1st in 2021). We'd bet on Leftwich getting an opportunity elsewhere. The Bucs, meanwhile, seem likely to have a QB question to answer, with Tom Brady's contract up.
Update: Greg Auman of FOX Sports reports that HC Todd Bowles says no decision has been made yet on Leftwich's job status.
Lions OC Ben Johnson is passing on HC opportunities elsewhere to stick with Detroit for 2023, according to multiple reports. Johnson elected to skip an in-person interview with the Panthers this week, after already talking with the franchise by teleconference. Johnson was viewed as the favorite for the Carolina job and has also interviewed with the Colts and Texans. He instead sticks with an offense that jumped from 25th in scoring and 22nd in yards in 2021 to 5th and 4th, respectively, this season. Detroit also leaped from 29th in Football Outsiders' offensive DVOA to 5th. Johnson's continued presence is undoubtedly good news for QB Jared Goff and other key Lions offensive pieces.
Giants WR Isaiah Hodgins (ankle) practiced in a limited capacity on Tuesday in advance of Saturday's Divisional Round game vs. the Eagles. The second-year wideout has been a significant contributor to the Giants' offense for several weeks now, so a potential absence from him would leave quite a void. We'll keep tabs on his health as news unfolds in the coming days.
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts did not appear on the team's initial injury report on Tuesday ahead of Saturday's Divisional Round game vs. the Giants. Considering the dual-threat QB missed 2 games due to a right shoulder injury sustained in Week 15 vs. the Bears, his lack of being on the report is tremendous news. Hurts last played against the Giants in Week 18 and posted modern numbers. Hopefully, with some rest behind him, we'll see production closer to what Hurts did in Week 14 with 77 rushing yards and 30.4 fantasy points. A presumably healthy Hurts is easily a top-3 QB in playoff fantasy contests.
Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence (toe) logged limited participation on Tuesday ahead of Saturday's Divisional Round matchup vs. the Jaguars. The second-year QB has practiced lightly over the last several weeks with this injury without ultimately missing a game. We expect the same for Saturday. We'll keep an eye on this in case something changes.
Chiefs WR Skyy Moore (hip) practiced fully on Tuesday. It's still too early in the week to tell if he'll be available for Saturday's Divisional Round showdown vs. the Jaguars, but starting with full practice is a good start. We'll continue to monitor the rookie wideout as the week unfolds.
The Titans have hired Ran Carthon as their GM. Carthon has been the 49ers' director of player personnel the past 6 years and held the same role with the Rams the previous 5 years. At the top of his to-do list this offseason will be figuring out what to do at QB, where 34-year-old Ryan Tannehill carries a $36.6 million 2023 cap hit and Malik Willis is coming off an ugly rookie campaign.
Chiefs RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire (ankle) has been designated to return from IR and practiced on Tuesday. He's been out since suffering a high-ankle sprain in Week 11. We'll see if CEH is cleared to play in this weekend's Divisional Round game vs. the Jaguars, but his role was dwindling before that injury. Edwards-Helaire totaled just 10 carries and 5 targets on 38 snaps over his last 3 games.
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