Giants RB Saquon Barkley (ankle), WR Sterling Shepard (hamstring), WR Kenny Golladay (knee) and WR Kadarius Toney (ankle) were working with trainers off to the side of Wednesday's practice, according to ESPN's Jordan Raanan. The Giants play the Chiefs on Monday night, so we'll get the team's first official practice report tomorrow. "Will say this after speaking with sources the past few days about the Giants playmakers: They're in a race against time. It is going to be close on a bunch of them. Probably one or two make it," Raanan tweeted.
Bucs TE Rob Gronkowski (ribs) was back on the practice field on Wednesday, per The Athletic's Greg Auman. We'll check on Gronk's participation level this afternoon, but he at least has a chance to return for Sunday's game vs. the Saints
Update: Gronkowski was officially limited in practice.
Bucs WR Antonio Brown (ankle) remained sidelined for Wednesday's practice. The Athletic's Greg Auman spotted Brown with a crutch. That certainly doesn't sound like a guy in line to play vs. the Saints this weekend -- especially with Tampa getting a Week 9 bye. With Brown out last week, WR Chris Godwin saw 11 targets and WR Mike Evans 10.
The Giants announced Tuesday that S Jabrill Peppers will miss the rest of the season after rupturing the ACL in his right knee. Peppers also suffered a high-ankle sprain. The 26-year-old is set to hit free agency in March, so we'll see what 2022 holds for him.
The Bears don't expect EDGE Khalil Mack to play Sunday against the 49ers. Mack has been dealing with a foot injury since at least Week 4. He has been playing through it for normal snap shares and was working on a 5-game sack streak before failing to notch 1 against the Bucs last Sunday. Ian Rapoport reports that Mack might land on IR. We'll see whether it comes to that. For now, make alternate Week 8 IDP plans. We'll also see whether the Bears get EDGE Robert Quinn back from the COVID list this week.
Insider Doug Kyed reports that Packers WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling (hamstring) is tentatively expected back for Thursday night's game vs. the Cardinals. He's been out since hurting his hamstring late in Week 3. Valdes-Scantling's return would be excellent timing for a Green Bay squad down WRs Davante Adams and Allen Lazard. MVS could step right back into a significant role, although he also carries some risk in his 1st game off a 4-week absence.
The Chargers released K Tristan Vizcaino and signed K Dustin Hopkins. It's surprising Vizcaino lasted this long considering he missed 5 XPs and 1 FG through 6 games. Hopkins was dumped by Washington last week after missing 2 XPs and 2 FGs in 6 games. But he sports a career 84.0% FG conversion rate and should bring more stability to the position for Los Angeles. Hopkins should also be a decent fantasy option in this high-scoring offense.
Packers WR Allen Lazard has joined WR Davante Adams on the COVID list. Both guys are virtual locks to miss Thursday night's game vs. the Cardinals. We'll see if Green Bay loses anyone else for that one. The Packers are currently down to WRs Randall Cobb, Equanimeous St. Brown and Amari Rodgers on the active roster. WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling is eligible to come off IR. WRs Juwann Winfree and Chris Blair are on the practice squad. RB Aaron Jones and TE Robert Tonyan figure to play big roles in the passing game on Thursday night.
The Dolphins have signed RB Duke Johnson to their practice squad. The 28-year-old spent a couple of weeks on Jacksonville's practice squad in September but has otherwise been unemployed since being released by the Texans in February. There's opportunity in after RB Malcolm Brown was placed on IR, but Johnson is only worth adding in the deepest of fantasy leagues right now. We'll see if he gets promoted to the active roster.
Eagles HC Nick Sirianni labeled RB Miles Sanders "week to week" with his ankle injury. Sirianni wouldn't rule Sanders out for Sunday's game vs. the Lions but admitted that he's unlikely to be available for that one. Sanders' absence would leave Philly with RBs Kenneth Gainwell, Boston Scott and potentially Jordan Howard, who's currently on the practice squad.
NFL Network's James Palmer confirms that Broncos WR Jerry Jeudy will be back for Sunday's game vs. Washington. He's been out since suffering a high-ankle sprain back in Week 1. Jeudy racked up 6 catches on 7 targets for 72 yards in a little more than 1 half of action in the opener. He returns for a meeting with the league's worst defense in terms of adjusted fantasy points allowed to WRs.
Saints K Wil Lutz announced that he suffered a setback in his rehab from core-muscle surgery and will miss the rest of the 2021 season. That leaves the starting job to K Brian Johnson, who made his lone XP and both FGs -- including the 33-yard game winner -- in his NFL debut against the Seahawks on Monday night.
The Jets acquired QB Joe Flacco from the Eagles in exchange for a 2022 6th-round pick that can become a 5th-rounder based on how much Flacco plays for New York, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. Flacco spent 2020 with the Jets, but that was under a different coaching staff. ESPN's Rich Cimini expects QB Mike White to start Sunday's game vs. the Bengals. QB Zach Wilson is slated to miss 2-4 weeks with his knee injury.
After a non-committal press conference on Sunday, 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan named QB Jimmy Garoppolo his Week 8 starter on Monday. "We didn't go into that game thinking that Jimmy was one bad game away from losing his job or anything like that," Shanahan explained. "Jimmy didn't play as good as he could, which he knows that and I know that. I think there were some pretty hard circumstances for him -- for both quarterbacks, considering some of the weather. But I definitely thought he could play better." QB Trey Lance (knee) is expected to practice on Wednesday, so he'll presumably be available for this weekend's game vs. the Bears. But it'll be in a gadget role, not as the starter.
The Saints have activated LB Kwon Alexander and DE Marcus Davenport. Both players are active for tonight's game against the Seahawks. We'd still go ahead and use LB Pete Werner ahead of Alexander in IDP lineups if you were planning to.
Seahawks DE Darrell Taylor is inactive for tonight's game against the Saints. He was a game-time decision with the neck injury that had him leaving last Sunday night's game in Pittsburgh on a stretcher. Taylor seems like he should make it back for Seattle's Week 8 contest.
Seahawks RBs Alex Collins (groin) and Rashaad Penny (calf) are active for tonight's game vs. the Saints. Collins got in just 1 limited practice this week, so it's safe to assume he's not at 100% tonight. It's Penny's 1st game since Week 1. RBs DeeJay Dallas and Travis Homer are also active for Seattle.
Cowboys WR Michael Gallup (calf) has been designated to return from IR. He's now eligible to practice, but we'll see if he's ready to play vs. the Vikings this weekend. Gallup is about 6.5 weeks removed from what was supposed to be a 3-5 week injury.
The Cardinals on Monday activated EDGE Chandler Jones from the COVID list. Their lead pass rusher missed the past 2 games but should be available for Thursday night's clash with the Packers. Arizona also activated DE Zach Allen from the COVID list.
As expected, the Seahawks have activated RB Rashaad Penny from IR. That makes him available to play against the Saints tonight. We certainly expect him to factor into the backfield work. Penny would get an upside boost if Alex Collins turns up inactive. He's questionable with a groin injury, but HC Pete Carroll said after Saturday's practice that Collins "looked good today, so he's ready to go," according to the team website. We'd bet on Collins leading the backfield tonight after he performed surprisingly well at Pittsburgh.
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