Steelers WR Diontae Johnson (knee) returned to a limited practice on Wednesday. It's excellent news considering he missed last week's game with a knee injury we still don't know anything about. Johnson appears to have a chance to play vs. the Packers on Sunday. We'll get another update tomorrow.
Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster (ribs) did not practice on Wednesday. Smith-Schuster is considered "day to day" with bruised ribs but shouldn't be considered a lock to play vs. the Packers this weekend. We'll get another update on his status tomorrow.
Colts TE Jack Doyle didn't practice on Wednesday and is on the injury report with a back. The veteran has gotten some practices off early this season, but this is the 1st time he's been listed with an injury. We'll keep an eye on his status over the next few days. If Doyle can't play vs. the Dolphins this weekend, TE Mo Alie-Cox would be a low-level spot-start option.
Colts RB Jonathan Taylor (knee) was limited in Wednesday's practice. This is probably more of a rest day than anything else, but check back tomorrow for another update.
Panthers HC Matt Rhule said the team is "optimistic" RB Christian McCaffrey (hamstring) will miss 3 games, according to insider Joe Person. McCaffrey hasn't been placed on IR, so Carolina must think there's at least a chance he's back before Week 7. But it sounds like our expectation should be that he misses the next 3 games vs. the Cowboys, Eagles and Vikings. We'll get our 1st look at the McCaffrey-less backfield on Sunday. We're projecting RB Chuba Hubbard to produce RB2 numbers with RB1 upside.
Giants WRs Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton missed Wednesday's practice with their hamstring injuries. There's been no update on the severity of those injuries, but fantasy owners should be planning on them missing this weekend's game vs. the Saints. That'd leave Kenny Golladay, Kadarius Toney, Collin Johnson and C.J. Board as New York's top 4 WRs.
Bucs WR Antonio Brown is set to be activated from the COVID list on Thursday, HC Bruce Arians said. So Brown should be back for Sunday night's game vs. the Patriots. We'll continue to keep an eye on the situation.
Bucs TE Rob Gronkowski (ribs) was held out of Wednesday's practice. Gronk might not practice much this week after taking a big shot to the midsection this past Sunday, but he's expected to be available for Sunday night's game vs. the Patriots. We'd be surprised if he missed that one.
Bucs RB Gio Bernard (knee) did not practice on Wednesday. His MCL sprain is supposedly minor, but consider him no better than 50/50 to play vs. the Patriots on Sunday night. Bernard's absence would be a boost to RB Leonard Fournette's fantasy stock.
Patriots WR N'Keal Harry (shoulder) has been activated from IR and practiced on Wednesday. The former 1st-round pick was reportedly having a strong camp before going down. We'll see how big a role he can earn for himself, but Harry remains off the fantasy radar for now.
Washington WR Curtis Samuel (groin) has been activated from IR and will practice on Wednesday, according to The Washington Post's Nicki Jhabvala. Samuel has barely practiced since injuring his groin back in June. He appeared to aggravate the injury a few days prior to the season opener. We'll see if the issue is finally behind him now. Samuel is a fine stash in deeper fantasy leagues but shouldn't be in starting lineups until we know he's a full go.
Titans WR Julio Jones' availability for Sunday's game against the Jets is "up in the air" due to a leg injury, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. We don't have any other details on the issue -- but we know that it limited Jones' Week 3 playing time. We'll keep an eye on his practice participation this week. With WR A.J. Brown (hamstring) likely out for Week 4, Tennessee might be down to WRs Chester Rogers, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Cameron Batson, Josh Reynolds and Racey McMath. RB Derrick Henry might carry it 40 times.
Titans WR A.J. Brown "may miss a week or 2" with his hamstring injury, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. It's at least looking like Brown avoided a major injury. But fantasy owners should plan on being without him for Sunday's game vs. the Jets.
Ravens WR Rashod Bateman (core) has been activated from IR. That makes him eligible to play this weekend -- but doesn't necessarily mean that he will. We'll keep an eye on Bateman's practice participation this week. The rookie makes a nice stash in fantasy leagues of 12+ teams. Baltimore also activated WR Miles Boykin (hamstring) from IR.
Bengals WR Tee Higgins (shoulder) remained sidelined for Tuesday's practice. Fantasy owners shouldn't plan on him playing against the Jaguars on Thursday night, but we'll get another update on his status tomorrow.
Colts DE Kwity Paye left Sunday's loss to the Titans early with a hamstring injury. He made it through just 10% of the defensive snaps before leaving. We'll see about Paye's outlook this week.
The Lions have released LB Jamie Collins. The team tried to trade him, but teams were likely scared off by the big contract. The veteran will now be free to sign with whomever, and will likely find a suitor. We'll see if he can recapture IDP value.
The Colts and RB Marlon Mack have "agreed to mutually seek a trade," NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports. Mack made it back from last year's Achilles tear for Week 1 but has carried just 5 times so far this season. He was a healthy scratch last week. We'll see where this goes, but Mack is only worth stashing in deep fantasy leagues.
S Tracy Walker remained a starter for the Lions in Week 3, but his playing time fell from 98% and 100% in the first 2 games to just 67% in the loss to Baltimore. Dean Marlowe and Will Harris tied at 76% to lead the position for the Lions. Each played 5 more snaps than Walker. We'll see where this goes, but it'll be tough to trust Walker against the Bears next Sunday.
X-rays on Bucs TE Rob Gronkowski's ribs came back clean, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. Gronk returned to Sunday's game vs. the Rams, and Schefter calls Gronk "likely" to play vs. his former Patriots squad on Sunday night.
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