Raiders QB Aidan O'Connell (knee) was a full participant in Wednesday's practice. That puts him on track to return for this weekend's game vs. the Jaguars. Considering QB Desmond Ridder's performance on Monday night (59% completion rate and 5.3 yards per attempt), this is good news for TE Brock Bowers and WR Jakobi Meyers.
Seahawks WR D.K. Metcalf (shoulder) did not practice on Wednesday. He's been on the injury report with a shoulder since Week 13 but hasn't missed a game. We're expecting Metcalf to be fine for Sunday's game vs. the Vikings but will keep an eye on him over the next few days.
Seahawks QB Geno Smith (knee) was a full participant in Wednesday's practice. He's clearly on track to start this weekend's game vs. the Vikings -- and it looks like he'll be closer to 100% than we thought. Smith still isn't a recommended QB1 play (he's finished outside the top 18 QBs in fantasy points in five straight), but his availability is good news for Seattle's skill-position players.
Seahawks RBs Ken Walker (calf) and Zach Charbonnet (oblique) did not practice on Wednesday. HC Mike Macdonald said that Walker participated in the walkthrough and that he's "optimistic" about his status for Sunday's game vs. the Vikings. We'll see if he practices tomorrow. We don't have any details on Charbonnet, but we're guessing this is more of a maintenance day for a guy who's handled 38 touches over the last two weeks. Check back tomorrow for another update on this backfield.
Commanders TE Zach Ertz (concussion) did not practice on Wednesday. He's unlikely to be cleared in time for this weekend's game vs. the Eagles. Rookie Ben Sinnott led Washington TEs in pass routes last week but is not a recommended Week 16 fantasy play against Philadelphia's eighth-ranked TE defense.
Colts WRs Michael Pittman (back) and Alec Pierce (concussion) did not practice on Wednesday. Pittman has been playing through this back issue for a while now, although he was a full-go at practice all last week. We're still tentatively expecting him to play vs. the Titans this weekend but will keep you posted on his status. Pierce is unlikely to clear protocol in time to play on Sunday.
Titans RB Tony Pollard (ankle) did not practice on Wednesday. He appeared to aggravate this ankle injury early in last week's game but was able to return. We're tentatively expecting him to play vs. the Colts this weekend but will continue to monitor his status. RB Tyjae Spears should be rostered in virtually all fantasy leagues in case Pollard ends up missing one of these last few games.
Browns WR Cedric Tillman (concussion) remained limited in practice on Wednesday. He was limited all three days last week before missing the Chiefs game. We'll see if Tillman can clear protocol in time for this weekend's game vs. the Bengals, but he'd be a shaky fantasy play with QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson under center.
Browns TE David Njoku (hamstring) did not practice on Wednesday. "He’s pushing himself, he’s trying to get there," HC Kevin Stefanski said of Njoku's status for this weekend's game vs. the Bengals. We'll see if he's able to get back on the practice field tomorrow, but fantasy owners should be lining up an alternative for Week 16.
Bears RB Roschon Johnson (concussion) was a full participant in Wednesday's practice. That puts him on track to return for this weekend's game vs. the Lions and siphon some passing-down and short-yardage work from RB D'Andre Swift.
Cardinals RB Trey Benson (ankle) did not practice on Wednesday. RB Emari Demercado landed on IR last week, so Arizona would be down to DeeJay Dallas as its No. 2 RB if Benson can't play vs. the Panthers this weekend. That'd mean a very busy day for RB James Conner.
Chargers TE Will Dissly (shoulder) is out for Thursday night's game vs. the Broncos. He remained sidelined in practice all week, so consider him iffy for Week 17. TE Hayden Hurst (hip) is listed as questionable after being designated to return from IR earlier this week. He's not a Week 16 fantasy option, but his return would make TE Stone Smartt a riskier fantasy play. We'll get the Chargers' inactives a little before 7 pm ET tomorrow.
Broncos RB Jaleel McLaughlin (quad) is out for Thursday night's game vs. the Chargers. That turns this from a three-man committee to a two-man committee, raising the ceilings and floors on both RB Javonte Williams and RB Audric Estime. It's still a backfield we'd rather avoid in fantasy lineups, but Williams lands inside the top 35 RBs in the Week 16 Rankings.
Steelers WR George Pickens (hamstring) remained sidelined for Wednesday's practice. We'll see if he's able to get on the field for the final practice of the week tomorrow, but Pickens looks unlikely to play against the Ravens on Saturday.
The Raiders placed RB Sincere McCormick on IR with the ankle injury he suffered in Monday night's loss to the Falcons. That ends his 2024 season. McCormick flashed with 4.7 yards per carry over the last four weeks, which should earn him an opportunity to win a role in this backfield this offseason. He's a low-end dynasty stash. McCormick's absence leaves Vegas' backfield to Alexander Mattison and Ameer Abdullah the rest of the way. Mattison is a volume-based RB3 option.
The Falcons are placing K Younghoe Koo on IR, ending his regular season. He'll be replaced by K Riley Patterson, who kicked for the Jets and Browns for a game apiece earlier this season. He's connected on 88% of his career FG tries. Kicking indoors for a Falcons team with a 25.25-point implied total, Patterson is a viable Week 16 fantasy start.
Giants QB Drew Lock will start Sunday's game vs. the Falcons, HC Brian Daboll said. QB Tommy DeVito is in concussion protocol, while Tim Boyle ... is Tim Boyle. Lock hasn't been any good this year, completing 51% of his passes at 4.6 yards per attempt with 0 TDs and 2 INTs. He at least targeted WR Malik Nabers 23 times on a 28.4% share in his two full games. Nabers caught 13 of those passes for 148 yards. He remains a fine WR2 play this week. Lock should be nowhere near fantasy lineups.
The Falcons are benching QB Kirk Cousins and going to QB Michael Penix, according to both NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and ESPN's Adam Schefter. Atlanta stuck with Cousins for too long, losing four of the last five and falling out of first place in the NFC South. They beat the Raiders on Monday night in spite of Cousins, who completed just 11 of 17 passes for 112 yards, one TD, and one INT. Penix obviously lacks Cousins' experience but should prove to be a big upgrade in terms of arm talent. We'd still expect the Falcons to be a run-heavy offense going forward, especially as big favorites over the Giants this weekend.
Steelers WR George Pickens (hamstring) did not practice on Tuesday. He hasn't practiced since hurting his hamstring the Friday prior to Week 14. We'll continue to keep you updated on Pickens' status, but fantasy owners should not be counting on him in Week 16 fantasy lineups.
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes (ankle) was listed as a full participant in Tuesday's practice. It was likely a light workout just two days removed from the win over the Browns, but this obviously bodes well for Mahomes' chances of playing against the Texans on Saturday. The line on that game has moved from Texans - 2 to Chiefs -3 over the last 12 hours. We'll update Mahomes' status again tomorrow. If he does suit up vs. Houston, he'll be a shaky QB1 play at less than 100% against a quality defense.
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