Jets QB Zach Wilson is believed to have suffered an MCL sprain, per SNY’s Connor Hughes. He’ll have an MRI on Saturday, but HC Robert Salah told the media last night that Wilson's ACL is "intact." An MCL sprain would likely make the young QB questionable for Week 1. “He was in good spirits,” HC Robert Saleh said postgame. “He was fine. Frustrated, obviously. Again, he’s as good as you can be in this situation.” Fantasy owners can plan for a short-term absence right now, but we’ll see if anything additional comes from Wilson’s MRI.
Update: Via "sources," ESPN's Dianna Russini tweeted last night that "the early thought" is that Wilson "could" have suffered a PCL injury. We should know more later today.
49ers RB Elijah Mitchell has a hamstring injury that is expected to keep him out of the entire preseason, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. "Mitchell is expected to be ready for the start of the regular season," Schefter adds. It's still disconcerting news, though, on a player that dealt with a bunch of different injuries as a rookie last year (although he had no hamstring trouble). We'll see when Mitchell is able to get back on the field. RB Trey Sermon drew the start in Friday night's preseason opener.
Jets QB Zach Wilson left in the 1st quarter of Friday night's preseason opener with a leg injury. He made an awkward move at the end of the scramble and went down without any contact. Wilson headed back to the locker room with trainers. We'll update his status as soon as we know more.
Update: Wilson has a knee injury, the Jets announced.
Falcons WR Drake London injured his knee in Friday night's preseason opener and won't return. The rookie made a 24-yard catch on the opening drive and was able to get off the field. But trainers then examined his knee, and London was ruled out a short time later. We'll update his status as soon as we know more.
Insider Jordan Schultz hears that QB Justin Fields has "blown away" the Bears' coaching staff in camp. “His mechanics have improved, he’s in great shape, he works at it and he really cares. [OC] Luke [Getsy] loves him," a source told Schultz. That's obviously encouraging -- although we still wish Chicago surrounded Fields with a better supporting cast this season. He's still capable of QB1 production thanks to his rushing ability, but Fields is more exciting in dynasty leagues than redraft.
Insider Albert Breer calls Raiders RB Ameer Abdullah a "camp revelation" and believes he's set to play the James White role in HC Josh McDaniels' offense. Abdullah quietly caught 35 balls in 11 games for the Panthers last year and tested as an 87th percentile athlete prior to getting drafted in 2015. Vegas' backfield is murky right now, but if Abdullah is truly pegged for the "James White role," it'd be bad news for RB Josh Jacobs and would leave RB Kenyan Drake undraftable.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Raiders TE Darren Waller has been missing practice with a hamstring injury. He's been out since July 30, but Schefter says the injury is "not considered serious." We'll see when Waller is able to get back on the field. We're not adjusting his 2022 projections as of now.
Vikings QB Kirk Cousins tested positive for COVID and will be away from the team for at least 5 days. We'll see exactly when he gets back on the field, but this shouldn't impact his 2022 fantasy value.
The Bears this week activated LB Roquan Smith off the PUP list, but he remains out of practice. The veteran, of course, has been staging a "hold in" throughout camp in search of a contract extension. We still have yet to see any word on what "injury" landed him on the PUP in the 1st place. HC Matt Eberflus deflected questions on why Smith remains out of practice and whether the team will now fine him for not taking part. This is a nasty situation that seems likely to impact Smith's regular-season outlook -- barring the trade that he recently requested.
It shouldn't surprise anyone that Seahawks HC Pete Carroll announced QB Geno Smith as his starter for Saturday's preseason opener at Pittsburgh. Smith has remained atop the depth chart throughout the offseason and training camp. But it also sounds like the competition is far from done. “We’ll see what happens,” Carroll said Thursday, according to Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times. “There’s a lot of things that can happen when we go out there. We’ve just got to wait and see and we’ll put it together. We’d love to see the guys execute, and they’ve done really well on the practice field. We’d love to see a carry-over. But at the quarterback position, there are opportunities and if there are opportunities how do they seize them? Do they come through and make the play, make the big throw in the red zone or if it’s third down or whatever it is. We just have to wait and see.” We're most interested to see if either QB can look good enough to ease any concerns over the fantasy football outlooks for WRs D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, and TE Noah Fant.
Niners HC Kyle Shanahan sounds like he's happy with how RBs Trey Sermon and Jeff Wilson Jr. have performed in training camp so far. "Trey Sermon's come back and he's doing a great job and has improved on so many things from last year," Shanahan told Sirius XM this week. "Jeff Wilson's the healthiest he's been since 2020." Shanahan also highlighted RBs JaMycal Hasty and Jordan Mason just after that, and the whole answer followed a question on the importance of adding Tyrion Davis-Price. The primary takeaway is that Shanahan seems pleased with the depth of this year's backfield, which we expect to be led again by Elijah Mitchell. Don't forget Sermon and Wilson in the final rounds of deep fantasy football drafts, though.
The Commanders plan to play QB Carson Wentz and other starters for about 15-20 snaps in the preseason opener against the Panthers, according to The Washington Post. We'd bet on that increasing for the 2nd exhibition. We'll be interested to see how Wentz fares with his new WRs, as well as rookie RB Brian Robinson's role and performance.
Ravens backup QB Tyler Huntley says that Baltimore's preseason winning streak is no accident. "It means a lot to the culture, just to show that we're a winning team," Huntley said after Thursday night's victory over the Titans, according to ESPN. "And we don't care what kind of game it is, the Ravens are going to fight to get a win." This obviously doesn't matter for the regular-season fantasy outlook of Huntley or any other Raven. But it's relevant if you're plotting out preseason DFS lineups. Baltimore is playing to win (without putting regular-season starters at elevated risk).
Giants QB Daniel Jones saw his 1st game action Thursday night since a November neck injury ended his 2021 season. “It felt good to get out there and it was just like it used to be,” Jones said afterward, according to ProFootballTalk. “I didn’t think a whole lot about the neck or anything like that. I felt good and it was just football.” Jones said he thought the offense got off to a good start. The QB went 6-of-10 for 69 yards over 2 series before leaving. The Giants came away with 1 FG over that span. Jones also ran once for 6 yards. He was going without Kadarius Toney, who figure to be the top WR come Week 1. We'll keep evaluating Jones as the regular season approaches.
Ravens HC John Harbaugh said after Thursday night's preseason opener that WR James Proche didn't play because of an unspecified "soft-tissue deal." The coach indicated that it's minor and said the young wideout will miss "a week or 2." We'll keep an eye out for more details.
Browns QB Deshaun Watson has proposed an 8-game suspension and $5 million fine, according to the Associated Press. The league has reportedly been pushing for a full-season ban. It's unclear if the sides are in settlement talks. We'll continue to keep you updated on the situation and will hopefully have a final outcome soon.
Seahawks HC Pete Carroll complimented rookie RB Kenneth Walker. Carroll really focused on Walker’s improvement in pass protection. "He could play all three downs, and we'd feel comfortable with it,” Carroll shared. Rashaad Penny is currently batting a minor goin injury, but the veteran remains on track to start Week 1. How long that lasts, however, is certainly in question. Neither guy projects for big pass volume -- but the 3rd-down/receiving down role appears up for grabs here.
The Browns announced this week that QB Deshaun Watson will start Friday night's exhibition opener against the Jaguars. The pending status of his suspension has no bearing here, since that will apply to regular-season games.
ESPN's Mike Reiss reports that QB Mac Jones "and most Patriots starters" aren't expected to play in tonight's preseason opener against the Giants. It would be nice to see Jones in action amid negative camp reviews, but we'll have to wait.
Colts HC Frank Reich said QB Matt Ryan will play the 1st quarter of Saturday's preseason opener against the Bills.
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