Ravens WR Odell Beckham (ankle) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game vs. the Steelers after a limited week of practice. Beckham said Friday that he expects to play. But seemingly still not at 100%, he'd be a shaky fantasy starter.
Ravens WR Rashod Bateman (hamstring) put in a full week of practice and isn't listed on the final Week 5 injury report. He'll be back for Sunday's game vs. the Steelers. Bateman totaled just seven catches for 59 scoreless yards over the first three weeks of the season and isn't a recommended Week 5 fantasy play.
Giants RB Saquon Barkley (ankle) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game vs. the Dolphins. He was limited in practice all week. HC Brian Daboll said Friday that Barkley could be a game-time decision. He won't be at 100% if he plays. New York will also be without offensive linemen Andrew Thomas, Shane Lemieux, and John Michael Schmitz this weekend.
Steelers RB Najee Harris was added to the injury report and limited in Friday's practice with a hamstring. He has no game designation, though, so the Steelers expect him to play vs. the Ravens. Harris can stay penciled into fantasy lineups for now. We'll let you know if something changes with his status.
Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth (hamstring) has been ruled out for Sunday’s game vs. the Ravens. Pittsburgh has a Week 6 bye, and Freiermuth should have a chance to be back for Week 7. His absence this weekend leaves TE duties to Darnell Washington and Connor Heyward. Neither is a reliable fantasy play.
Steelers QB Kenny Pickett (knee) is not listed on the final Week 5 injury report. He put in full practices on Thursday and Friday, so it’s possible that the knee isn’t an issue this weekend. Still, Pickett is a weak fantasy play vs. the Ravens.
Rams HC Sean McVay confirmed on Friday that WR Cooper Kupp (hamstring) will play vs. the Eagles this weekend. The team has seemingly played it safe with Kupp's return from his recurring hamstring injury, so we'd expect him to be at least close to 100%. It's still possible that he's on some type of snap count on Sunday, but Kupp would be tough to leave out of Week 5 fantasy lineups considering his dominance since 2021. His return is an obvious threat to WR Puka Nacua and WR Tutu Atwell's volume -- although Nacua would also be nearly impossible to bench. See where all those guys sit in the Week 5 WR Rankings.
Titans WR Treylon Burks (knee) is out for Sunday's game vs. the Colts. He's yet to practice since hurting his knee on September 27. WR DeAndre Hopkins is a good bet to dominate Titans targets this weekend.
Jaguars WR Zay Jones (knee) was limited in practice all week and is listed as questionable for Sunday morning's game vs. the Bills in London. HC Doug Pederson is optimistic that Jones will be able to play, but it doesn't look like he'll be at 100%. That leaves him as a shaky Week 5 fantasy play.
Commanders RB Brian Robinson registered season lows with six carries and 10 rushing yards in Thursday night's loss to the Bears. He struggled to find running room early on, and the Bears fell behind 17-0 early in the second quarter. Robinson's final carry came with 9:28 left in the second quarter. He at least added 33 yards on four catches, but it was still an ugly fantasy outing in what looked like a great spot. That's the risk when dealing with a game script-dependent RB. Robinson wound up getting out-snapped 38 to 25 by RB Antonio Gibson in this one. The good news is that the Commanders shouldn't face much negative game script the next two weeks vs. the Falcons and Giants. (Of course, we didn't think they'd get crushed by the Bears at home.)
Per The Athletic's Dianna Russini, the Bears are trading WR Chase Claypool and a 2025 seventh-round pick to the Dolphins in exchange for a 2025 sixth-round pick. Claypool's tenure in Chicago was short-lived, as he only appeared in 10 games after being acquired from the Steelers prior to the trade deadline last year. On Wednesday, Bears GM Ryan Poles shared in a radio interview that trading for Claypool last season "didn’t work out and we were hoping for him to be a little bit more productive," signaling that a potential move was on the horizon after marking the wideout inactive for two straight games. From a fantasy perspective, moving to the Dolphins at least keeps Claypool somewhat on the radar. He'll have a hard time finding relevance ahead of his new teammates Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, but it's never a bad thing to move to one of the NFL's highest-scoring offenses. Still, he's only worth stashing in very deep leagues for now. Most 10 or 12-team league managers shouldn't take action.
The Athletic's Dianna Russini confirms that Rams WR Cooper Kupp (hamstring) is expected to play vs. the Eagles on Sunday, barring a setback. Russini adds that Kupp has been on a snap count at practice, so it's certainly possible that he's on a snap count this weekend. Still, an active Kupp will be tough to keep out of fantasy lineups -- especially in what figures to be a pass-heavy game from the Rams.
QB Sam Howell and the Commanders were pathetic in the first half of Thursday night's game vs. the Bears, digging themselves a 27-3 hole. Howell headed into the break with just 71 yards, 0 TDs, and 1 INT on 9-of-13 passing. He chucked it another 38 times in catch-up mode in the second half, though, and threw for 317 yards and a pair of scores to finish with a 388-2-1 passing line. It wound up being a strong fantasy outing -- but it's tough to feel good about Howell moving forward after this performance. He failed to get WR Terry McLaurin (4-49-0) or WR Jahan Dotson (3-30-0) going and took another five sacks against a Bears defense that had TOTALED two sacks over the first four weeks. Howell gets favorable matchups again the next two weeks vs. the Falcons and Giants but won't be a recommended QB1 play.
Bears TE Cole Kmet was on the receiving end of the third of QB Justin Fields' four passing scores in Thursday night's win over the Commanders. Kmet easily beat LB Cody Barton on a crossing route for the four-yard TD. He finished the night with five catches on five targets for 42 yards and the score. WR D.J. Moore dominated in this one, but Kmet finished second on the team in targets, catches, and yards. His 17.2% target share was actually his second-lowest mark through the first five games of the season. He's averaging 5.8 targets on a 19.1% share for the year. With that type of volume -- and QB Justin Fields looking more comfortable as a passer -- Kmet should be viewed as a weekly low-end TE1.
Bears WR D.J. Moore racked up 230 receiving yards and a single-game franchise record three TDs in Thursday night's win over the Commanders. He got going early with a 58-yard deep reception and a 20-yard TD on Chicago's first possession. Moore's assault continued throughout the night with a strong combination of route running and after-catch skills. In fact, he racked up a whopping 141 yards after the catch, per Pro Football Focus. His second TD came on an impressive contested grab from 11 yards out in the second quarter; the third a relatively easy 56-yard catch and run after CB Kendall Fuller tried to jump Moore's route for an INT. Moore has now topped 100 yards in two straight games and three of the last four. More importantly, he's racked up 32 targets on a 27.8% share over the past four weeks. Don't expect the Bears passing game to continue producing anywhere close to how it has these past two weeks. But QB Justin Fields looks improved and can certainly support Moore as at least a WR2 on this type of volume. Plus, Moore has three more favorable matchups on tap vs. the Vikings, Raiders, and Chargers.
Bears QB Justin Fields threw four TDs for the second straight game in Thursday night's easy win over the Commanders. He'd thrown four TDs in exactly 0 NFL games prior to these last two -- and only reached three TDs once. Fields was locked onto top WR D.J. Moore against Washington, connecting with him on eight of 10 throws for 230 yards and three scores. Fields' other TD went to TE Cole Kmet. There was a lot of bad defense from the Commanders in this one, but Fields is certainly looking more comfortable in the pocket and throwing downfield a lot more than he did last season. He added 57 rushing yards on 11 carries in this one for a monster fantasy day. Fields has a good chance to stay hot going forward in favorable upcoming matchups vs. the Vikings, Raiders, and Chargers.
San Francisco CB Charvarius Ward returned to limited practice Thursday after sitting out Wednesday with a heel injury. We'll see about his outlook for Sunday night's game against the Cowboys.
Niners LB Dre Greenlaw opened this week by missing Wednesday's practice and then returning for a limited Thursday. It's the same way he opened Week 4's practice slate after hurting an ankle in Week 3. Greenlaw played through the injury last Sunday and tallied 10 tackles in the win over Arizona. We'd bet on him being ready for this week's clash against Dallas. We'll watch for confirmation.
Broncos LB Josey Jewell (hip) returned to full practice Thursday. That certainly points to him playing Sunday against the Jets, after missing Week 4. We should get confirmation Friday afternoon, but plan to have Jewell available for your IDP lineups. Jewell's return figures to knock down LB Drew Sanders' playing time. We'll see exactly what the rookie's role looks like, though. He was pegged for an increased role in the Week 3 loss to the Dolphins that Jewell left early with the injury.
Chiefs LB Nick Bolton (ankle) put in limited practices Wednesday and Thursday. That's noteworthy because he missed every practice the past two weeks, along with both games. We'll see about Bolton's game status after Friday's practice. His return would send LB Drue Tranquill back to a part-time role.
Search
