ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Thursday afternoon that Steelers QB Kenny Pickett (ankle) has been officially ruled out for Week 16 vs. the Bengals. Although Pickett had been able to log limited practice participation on Tuesday and Wednesday, it was widely anticipated that he would not make his return this week. HC Mike Tomlin had already named Mason Rudolph as the team's starter for Saturday several days ago, which lines up with our projections. Unless you are in desperation mode, it's best to leave Rudolph out of fantasy lineups. See where he lands in our current QB rankings.
According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase (shoulder) has been ruled out for Week 16 vs. the Steelers. The star wideout suffered a sprained AC joint against the Vikings last week and is expected to be handled carefully by the team, so this news shouldn't come as much of a shock to fantasy managers. Without Chase in tow, there'll be increased opportunities for fellow WRs Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd to stand out against a Steelers secondary that'll likely be missing their top safeties (namely Minkah Fitzpatrick) on Saturday. See where the Bengals duo sits in our current WR rankings.
Colts RB Jonathan Taylor will test his right thumb in practice on Wednesday before determining whether he can play vs. the Falcons this weekend, according to insider Mike Chappell. Taylor is expected to wear a wrap or brace on the thumb if he does play, Chappell adds. We'll keep you updated on his status. Taylor would carry some added risk but be tough to keep out of Week 16 fantasy lineups if he plays on Sunday.
The Steelers announced Thursday that DL Cameron Heyward has cleared the concussion protocol. Rather than publicly ponder whether Pittsburgh's concussion process should get league review after Heyward, T.J. Watt, and Alex HIghsmith all cleared in time for the game following their injuries ... we'll just go ahead and get Heyward into the Week 16 DL rankings. He's a decent IDP option against a Bengals team that did allow him a sack last time. But Heyward hasn't generated more than 2 pressures in a game this year. He's a solid bet for tackles -- including a tackle for loss -- but a less-good bet for sack production.
Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker (shoulder) did not practice on Wednesday. He seemed to come out of Monday night's win over the Eagles okay, so this is likely more of a rest day. We'll see if Walker gets back on the practice field tomorrow.
Raiders interim HC Antonio Pierce said Wednesday that RB Josh Jacobs (quad) is likely to return for Monday's game vs. the Chiefs. "I think he was close to last week," Pierce said. "That was a decision we all made for the best interest of him. If I had to be a betting man, I would think he would play this game." We'll track Jacobs' practice participation over the next few days. We currently have him projected to play against Kansas City. See where Jacobs lands in the Week 16 RB Rankings.
Patriots TE Hunter Henry (knee) did not practice on Wednesday. He never returned to last week's game after going down and is certainly in danger of missing Sunday's game vs. the Broncos. That'd leave New England with TEs Mike Gesicki and Pharaoh Brown. Neither would be a viable fantasy play.
Cardinals WR Marquise Brown (heel) did not practice on Wednesday. He's been dealing with this heel injury for a few weeks now and aggravated it last week. We're projecting Brown to miss Sunday's game vs. the Bears.
Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence (ankle, concussion) did not practice on Wednesday. HC Doug Pederson said earlier in the day that Lawrence is "progressing well," but the fact that he didn't practice today means that he still has a lot of progressing to do. Fantasy owners should not be banking on Lawrence playing vs. the Bucs this weekend.
Seahawks QB Geno Smith (groin) was a full participant in Wednesday's practice. That puts him on track to return for this weekend's game vs. the Titans' 15th-ranked QB defense. See where Smith sits in the Week 16 QB Rankings.
Titans QB Will Levis (ankle) did not practice on Wednesday. We're not expecting him to play vs. the Seahawks this weekend, which would presumably put QB Ryan Tannehill back at the controls for Tennessee. We're treating that as a wash for WR DeAndre Hopkins and the Titans' other pass-catchers.
Texans WR Nico Collins (calf) got in a limited practice on Wednesday. He has a chance to return for this weekend's game vs. the Browns. But Collins is obviously a less exciting fantasy play with QB Case Keenum expected to be under center again.
Packers WRs Christian Watson (hamstring) and Jayden Reed (toe, chest) did not practice on Wednesday. Both guys are looking iffy for this weekend's game vs. the Panthers. Their absences would leave Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks as Green Bay's top two WRs.
Packers RB A.J. Dillon (thumb) was limited in Wednesday's practice. We'll see if he's able to play through his broken thumb on Sunday vs. the Panthers. Dillon wouldn't be much of a fantasy option but would ding RB Aaron Jones' value.
Colts WR Michael Pittman (concussion) was listed as limited on Wednesday's injury report. So he's made some progress through the protocol and has a chance to be cleared for this weekend's game vs. the Falcons. We'll update his status again tomorrow.
Colts RB Jonathan Taylor (thumb) was listed as a full participant on Wednesday's injury report. The team didn't actually practice, so it's an estimation. But this seemingly puts Taylor on track to return for this weekend's game vs. the Falcons. RB Zack Moss (foreman) did not practice on Wednesday. We'll update this backfield again on Thursday.
Colts K Matt Gay (hip) did not practice on Wednesday. We'll track his status over the next few days, leading up to Sunday's game vs. the Falcons. But fantasy owners hoping to start Gay should be ready to add a replacement.
Chargers WR Keenan Allen (heel) remained sidelined on Wednesday. He's looking unlikely to play against the Bills on Saturday night. We'll see how Allen is listed on the final injury report tomorrow, but we've removed him from the Week 16 Rankings.
Dolphins RB De’Von Achane (toe) missed practice on Wednesday. Achane was questionable with a toe injury ahead of Week 15, then played into the fourth quarter of a blowout win. We’ll see if he’s able to get on the field tomorrow in preparation for a marquee showdown with Dallas. For now, our Week 16 RB rankings find Achane in RB2 range.
Rams WR Tutu Atwell (concussion) is not listed on the final injury report for Thursday night's game vs. the Saints. He was splitting No. 3 WR duties with Demarcus Robinson last time we saw him. Atwell and Robinson are only in play in one-game DFS contests.
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