Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa delivered 382 yards and 3 TDs against the Lions in Week 8. After getting down 21-7 in the 1st half, he played mistake-free football. As usual, he leaned on Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, with the pair accounting for 77% of his yardage. This one always shaped up as a high-upside spot against a bad Detroit defense, and Tua capitalized with the overall QB1 performance. He’ll remain a top-12 guy for the road ahead, including Sunday at Chicago.
Commanders DE Chase Young is expected to join team drills in Wednesday's practice, HC Ron Rivera told reporters Monday. Young is still working back from last season's ACL tear (plus other damage). The team has opened the 21-day window for deciding whether to return him to the active roster, and it sounds like he's expected to be ready for game action soon. It's tough to know how long it will take Young to get back to normal playing time, and how he'll perform. He's stashable in deeper IDP leagues, but don't overrate his fantasy football outlook.
Cardinals TE Zach Ertz scraped together 4 grabs for 34 yards and 1 score against the Vikings in Week 8. His TD showed off some remarkable sideline balance and power. But the key takeaway here is his 5 targets, which ranked 4th on the team. He’s now seen just a 12.5% target share in 2 outings alongside DeAndre Hopkins. Still, Ertz will remain in the TE1 mix for Sunday’s showdown with Seattle.
Panthers interim HC Steve Wilks said Monday that he's sticking with QB P.J. Walker for the Week 9 game against the Bengals. Walker followed an efficient passing day in the Week 7 win over the Bucs with 317 yards in Sunday's OT loss to the Falcons. Walker completed just 52.8% of his passes for the game, with a game-tying 62-yard TD at the end of regulation and an INT. Walker doesn't make for a great fantasy play himself. He has been good for WR D.J. Moore through 2 starts, though.
Bills HC Sean McDermott said Monday that the team plans to activate CB Tre'Davious White from the PUP list ahead of Wednesday's deadline. "He'll remain day-to-day, and not really going to get into speculating on whether he's going to play this week or not," McDermott said, per ESPN's Alaina Getzenberg. "We're just going to continue to take it day by day like we've done to this point." White has been getting some work in with the team since Week 6. We'll see this week how close he is to game action.
Cardinals WR DeAndre Hopkins sucked up 13 targets (29.5%) in Arizona’s Week 8 loss at Minnesota. He turned them into 12-159-1 and made a number of acrobatic catches in the process. On the week, Hopkins’ performance was enough to rank as the overall WR2 in PPR. A massive target magnet, Hopkins should continue rolling as a WR1. Note that Marquise Brown (foot) will miss at least a few more weeks.
Rams HC Sean McVay said Monday that he expects WR Cooper Kupp (ankle) to play vs. the Bucs this weekend. Kupp has some "tissue swelling" but no structural damage to that ankle, per McVay. We'll keep a close eye on Kupp's status throughout the week, but fantasy owners can tentatively expect to have him in Week 9 lineups.
Browns LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (knee) is inactive for tonight’s game against the Bengals. That likely leaves Sione Takitaki as the #2 LB to Deion Jones. CB Greg Newsome II (oblique) and CB Greedy Williams (illness) are active
Vikings QB Kirk Cousins posted 232 yards and 2 TDs in Sunday’s win over Arizona. Cousins added a rushing TD from 17 yards out — his longest such score since 2016. He connected with K.J. Osborn and Johnny Mundt for a pair of goal line TDs, with Osborn’s catch coming on a beautifully placed ball. Cousins recorded the useful line despite a (stud-adjusted) so-so day from Justin Jefferson (6-98). We also saw Adam Thielen get shaken up on a play, but he ultimately returned to the field. Cousins figures to remain a top-12 option this week against Washington. After that, though, he gets tough draws at Buffalo and vs. Dallas.
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.
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