The Steelers have already ruled S Minkah Fitzpatrick out for Thursday night's game against the Titans, in the wake of his Sunday hamstring injury. Safeties Keanu Neal (97%) and Damontae Kazee (94%) each played season-high snap shares against the Jaguars and figure to be the top two against Tennessee. Neal -- who logged 7 solo tackles in the game -- is the better fantasy bet between them. Neither approaches Fitzpatrick's upside.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that the Steelers are "keeping an open mind" about QB Kenny Pickett potentially rebounding from Sunday's rib injury to play Thursday night against the Titans. There's obviously nothing wrong with the team refusing to rule out its starting QB three days ahead of kickoff. We'd be surprised if Pickett is ready for the game, though. We're expecting Mitchell Trubisky to line up behind center against Tennessee. Of course, this situation doesn't matter a whole lot for fantasy purposes, because neither QB is very good.
Rams QB Matt Stafford is still undergoing tests on his injured right thumb, according to The Athletic's Jourdan Rodrigue. The current plan is to evaluate his grip strength throughout the week to determine whether he can play against the Packers on Sunday. "Chillier conditions in GB combined with a bye after are some details in consideration for the short term, but Rams also are not ruling out injured reserve at this point as they are still gathering information that helps discern a larger timeline for Stafford," Rodrigue adds. We should learn more about Stafford's status by the end of Monday. For now, we're assuming that he does not play vs. Green Bay this weekend. That'd leave QB Brett Rypien under center for Los Angeles.
Patriots WR Kendrick Bourne suffered a torn right ACL in Sunday's loss to the Dolphins, NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reports. That obviously ends the veteran WR's season. Bourne's also in the final year of his contract. The seventh-year vet has averaged just 2.7 receptions per game for his career, including this season's high of 4.6. Throw in the challenge of the knee recovery, and it's tough to envision a strong landing in free agency or much fantasy relevance going forward. Rookie WR Demario Douglas should find more opportunities available -- especially with WR DeVante Parker also sustaining a concussion in Sunday's game -- but temper your expectations. This has been a low-floor and low-ceiling passing offense for most of the season.
Patriots LB Ja'Whaun Bentley left Sunday's loss to the Dolphins with a hamstring injury and was ruled out before the end. That doesn't bode well for his Week 9 status against Washington, but we'll watch for further updates. Bentley has been operating as the clear leader among non-edge New England LBs. In his absence, Jahlani Tavai led the way at 94% playing time, followed by Mack Wilson (58%) and rookie Marte Mapu (23%).
The Titans are expected to start QB Will Levis on Thursday night against the Steelers, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. QB Ryan Tannehill reportedly needs more time to work past his high-ankle sprain. And Levis, of course, just finished throwing 4 TD passes in his NFL debut. So this report comes as no surprise. Check back Tuesday afternoon to see where Levis lands in our Week 9 QB rankings.
Falcons DT Grady Jarrett suffered an ACL tear in Sunday's loss to the Titans, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. He'll obviously miss the rest of the season and then try to return at age 31. The Jarrett injury, at least, shouldn't have much IDP impact. He had just 1.5 sacks and 9 solo tackles through eight games.
Giants QB Daniel Jones has been cleared for contact following his neck injury, according to Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post. That makes Jones likely to return for the team's Week 9 visit to the Raiders. Jones reportedly gained clearance Sunday, the same day fill-in QB Tyrod Taylor went down with a rib injury. We'll watch for further updates on the situation throughout the week. Here's hoping you're in good enough shape at QB that you don't need to start any Giant in Week 9.
Update: HC Brian Daboll told reporters Monday that he expects Jones to practice Wednesday.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport "didn't sense a lot of optimism" about Steelers QB Kenny Pickett's availability for Thursday night's game vs. the Titans. We're still waiting for details on the rib injury Pickett suffered in the Week 8 loss to the Jaguars, but he was always a long shot to be ready on the short turnaround. Look for QB Mitchell Trubisky to start vs. Tennessee. He's completed 63.7% of his passes at 6.6 yards per attempt with five TDs and seven INTs in nine appearances (five starts) for the Steelers since the start of 2022.
Chargers WR Keenan Allen caught 8 of 10 targets for 69 receiving yards in Sunday night’s win over the Bears. The veteran continues to be the No. 1 option in the Los Angeles offense and should be treated as such in every game moving forward, including Week 9 vs. the Saints. Beyond Allen, the most interesting takeaway is the increased involvement of WR Quentin Johnston. The rookie saw season-highs in targets (6), catches (5), and receiving yards (50). Part of this uptick can be attributed to his teammate Joshua Palmer missing a decent portion of the second offensive drive due to aggravating his knee injury. Still, Palmer ultimately returned and played on a normal complement of snaps. Johnston has been off to a slow start in 2023, but this performance should be enough for managers in deeper leagues to consider adding the first-year wideout off the waiver wire.
Chargers RB Austin Ekeler bounced back in a big way on Sunday night, finishing with 7 catches for a team-leading 94 yards and a TD vs. the Bears. The veteran wasn’t as effective as a runner in the contest (15 carries, 29 rushing yards), though the fantasy points ultimately count all the same. Ekeler’s 23.3 PPR points from Sunday are his highest since Week 1 and out-pace his last two outings combined. Any concerns about his sluggishness returning from the ankle injury that kept him out for a while should be out the window now. Next week, he’ll take on the Jets and should be considered a high-end RB1.
Chargers QB Justin Herbert completed 31 of 40 passes for 298 yards with 3 TDs in Week 8’s victory over the Bears. After a string of struggles over his last three outings, including throwing 3 INTs in that span, Herbert’s 24 fantasy points are his highest output since Week 3 vs. the Vikings. He’ll be a solid QB1 option in Week 9 vs. the Jets.
The lone bright spot in Sunday night’s loss vs. the Chargers, Bears TE Cole Kmet hauled all 10 targets for a team-leading 79 receiving yards. This is the third time in five games that the former second-round pick has recorded at least 15 or more PPR points. His teammate WR D.J. Moore also had a fine outing, logging 4 catches on 6 targets for 55 yards in the contest. The Bears’ offense has struggled of late without the presence of QB Justin Fields. Should he return for Week 9 vs. the Saints, we’d be more excited to play them in lineups, but each pass-catcher is still a lower-end starter regardless of who’s under center.
The Bears’ running game was unsuccessful on Sunday night vs. the Chargers. Veteran back D’Onta Foreman led the team with 9 carries for 34 yards in the Week 8 contest. Rookie Roschon Johnson didn’t fare much better, accumulating 31 total yards on 9 touches. The only Chicago runner who produced fantasy-relevant numbers was Darrynton Evans. The former Titan caught 3 passes for 22 receiving yards and found the end zone on an 11-yard run late in the second quarter. On top of being a mess, this committee backfield is going up against a stout Saints run defense (13th in run defense DVOA entering this weekend) next Sunday. We’re not keen on starting any of them as more than flex options.
Bears QB Tyson Bagent completed 25 of 37 passes for 232 yards with 0 TDs and 2 INTs in Week 8’s loss vs. the Chargers. The rookie UDFA also added a rushing score on Sunday, raising his overall fantasy output to double-digit scoring. Still, he was not remarkably effective in this contest. Should normal starter Justin Fields (thumb) not be cleared to suit up again, Bagent is nothing more than a desperation superflex league option in Week 9 vs. the Saints.
Niners WR Brandon Aiyuk tallied 5 receptions for 109 yards in Sunday's loss to the Bengals. His 9 targets ranked second on the team, while he accounted for 29.9% of the team's receiving yards. It was Aiyuk's third game of the season with 100+ yards. The 9 targets were his second-most this season. We'll see whether WR Deebo Samuel can get back onto the field after the Week 9 bye and how that affects target shares.
Niners TE George Kittle set season highs in Sunday's loss to the Bengals in targets (11), receptions (9), and receiving yards (149). He drew a target on 35.5% of QB Brock Purdy's pass attempts and accounted for 40.9% of the team's receptions and 40.8% of receiving yardage. Kittle clearly benefited from WR Deebo Samuel missing a second straight game. We'll see about Samuel's status coming out of the Week 9 bye.
The 49ers scored just two TDs in Sunday's loss to the Bengals, and RB Christian McCaffrey accounted for both. He ran the first in from 2 yards out late in the first quarter. McCaffrey then caught a 4-yard TD pass in the middle of the fourth quarter. Overall, he totaled a 12-54 rushing line, plus 6-64 receiving on 7 targets. McCaffrey has averaged 12.7 carries in losses over the past three games after averaging 19.8 in five victories to open the season. RB Elijah Mitchell drew just 3 carries against Cincinnati after 1 against the Browns in Week 7. So it's not as though McCaffrey is ceding more work to teammate. If San Francisco can rebound after the Week 9 bye, McCaffrey's rushing workload would seem in line to rebound as well.
Niners QB Brock Purdy threw for a career-high 365 yards in Sunday's loss to the Bengals, but that didn't stop it from being a rough outing. He hit just 1 TD pass while turning the ball over three times. Purdy threw a pair of INTs and lost a fumble. It's just the second multi-INT game of his career, but they've come over the past two weeks. San Francisco gets a Week 9 bye, then matchups with Jacksonville and Tampa Bay that have been negative for QB scoring, according to our adjusted fantasy points allowed. After that, however, come four straight positive matchups for QB scoring.
If you started Bengals WR Tyler Boyd in Week 8, then he rewarded you with a TD. But he also drew just 3 targets despite playing more snaps and running more routes than WR Tee Higgins. Boyd caught all three for 40 yards -- including the TD. Higgins trailed Boyd but closed the playing-time gap vs. their Week 6 roles, before the bye. We'd bet on Higgins moving past Boyd in Week 9, which should be his second straight game off the injury report. Boyd goes back to being a handcuff-level WR ,with a chance to score in any given week.
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