The Lions have ruled DB Brian Branch (ankle) out for Sunday's game against the Panthers. They might get S Kerby Joseph (hip) and CB Emmanuel Moseley (knee, hamstring) back. Both are officially questionable but finished the practice week with full participation Friday.
Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs (hamstring) is listed as questionable for this weekend's game vs. the Panthers. He was added to the injury report on Friday and listed as questionable, so it looks like the rookie hurt his hamstring on Friday. We'll look for further updates on his status and will get Detroit's inactives around 11:30 am ET on Sunday.
Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (abdomen) is listed as doubtful for Sunday's game vs. the Panthers. He didn't practice all week and obviously needs to be on fantasy benches. His absence would leave Detroit's WR corps to Josh Reynolds, Jameson Williams, Kalif Raymond, and Marvin Jones. Reynolds (groin) and Williams (not injury related) are listed as questionable for Week 5 but should play after getting in full practices on Friday. St. Brown's absence figures to mean an even more run-heavy game plan for Detroit -- and potentially a target boost for TE Sam LaPorta.
Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown told reporters on Thursday afternoon that he expects to play vs. the Panthers this weekend. “I’m feeling pretty good," St. Brown said. "I was running today. Actually I might’ve hit one of my top speeds the other day. So, I’m feeling pretty good.” St. Brown added that his injury is more of a pain-management issue. He can stay penciled into fantasy lineups for now. We'll get another update on his status tomorrow.
Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (abdomen) did not practice on Thursday. He did get "significant work" with a trainer off to the side, according to Pride of Detroit's Jeremy Reisman. We'll see what St. Brown does on Friday and how he's listed on the final injury report for this weekend's game vs. the Panthers.
Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown was listed on Wednesday's injury report as a non-participant with an abdomen issue. The team didn't actually practice, so it's an estimated report. But HC Dan Campbell was non-committal on St. Brown's availability for this weekend's game vs. the Panthers, according to insider Dave Birkett. We'll get another update on St. Brown tomorrow.
The Lions didn't practice Wednesday but listed DB Brian Branch as a non-participant in their estimated injury report. That doesn't bode well for his Week 5 status. It's been nearly a week since Branch left the Thursday night win at Green Bay with an ankle sprain. We'll see about his status heading into the weekend, but plan on starting someone else in that slot of your IDP lineup. S Kerby Joseph (hip) was listed as limited. He's a candidate to return after missing the past two games.
Lions HC Dan Campbell confirmed that WR Jameson Williams will have a limited role in his 2023 debut vs. the Panthers on Sunday. "If he does play, he can’t play 60 plays," Campbell said. "That’s not smart. So we can’t do that to him. So we’ll see where it goes. It’s all about improvement, no different than the rest of the team. Every week we just got to get a little bit better. He just needs to get a little bit better and we’ll take it from there." Williams' big-play ability makes him an exciting stash on fantasy rosters. But he's not a viable Week 5 starter. We'll keep a close eye on how his usage evolves.
The NFL announced new guidelines on gambling rules Friday, and one of those changes will return Lions WR Jameson Williams to the field earlier. The league reduced the suspension to two games for a first-time offender betting on non-NFL events while in the workplace. Williams had been suspended six games for that offense. Instead, he'll now be reinstated after missing four. That will make Williams eligible to play in Week 5. We'll see about his initial role. Williams barely played as a rookie, coming off a January ACL tear. He continued to deal with injury and shaky performance this year in training camp and preseason. But the former first-round pick brings the speed to turn any touch into a big play. Williams is worth stashing in most fantasy formats, and we'll watch for word on Detroit's plan for him.
Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs played well behind RB David Montgomery in Thursday night's win over the Packers. Montgomery, back from his thigh injury, carried a whopping 32 times, including eight times inside Green Bay's 10-yard line. Gibbs totaled just eight carries, with none of those coming inside the 10. The rookie was efficient, totaling 40 yards on 5.0 yards per carry. And he added four catches on five targets for 11 yards. But this was not the usage fantasy owners who spent a third or fourth-round pick on Gibbs were looking for. He's now totaled just 15 carries and seven targets in two full games with Montgomery. Gibbs' role might grow over the course of the season, but the 3-1 Lions have no reason to divert from their current plan right now. Gibbs at least gets a plus Week 5 matchup vs. the Panthers' 29th-ranked RB defense, but it'll be tough to consider him more than a RB3.
RB David Montgomery returned from his one-game absence as Detroit's clear lead back, racking up a whopping 32 carries for 121 yards in Thursday night's win over the Packers. RB Jahmyr Gibbs toted it just eight times. Just as importantly, Montgomery continued to hog work near the goal line. He carried eight times inside Green Bay's 10-yard line and converted three of those into TDs. Montgomery is already up to five rushing TDs on the season, despite missing about five quarters with that thigh injury. He's now tallied 21 and 32 carries in his two full games -- and 16 carries in about three quarter's worth of action in Week 2. Montgomery looks like an easy weekly fantasy starter going forward with this type of volume. He has an excellent Week 5 matchup vs. a Panthers defense currently ranked 29th in adjusted fantasy points allowed to RBs.
Lions S Kerby Joseph (hip) and CB Emmanuel Moseley (knee, hamstring) are inactive for tonight's game against the Packers. Joseph's absence -- for the second straight week -- should mean more playing time for rookie Brian Branch once again. He went from 68% and 69% snap shares the first two games to playing every snap last week. That helped Branch rack up 11 solo tackles, 3 tackles for loss, and 2 passes defensed in the win over the Falcons. He has moved up our Week 4 DB rankings.
Lions RB David Montgomery (thigh) is active for tonight’s game vs. the Packers. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero said this morning that Montgomery will be returning as Detroit’s “lead back.” He’s a solid RB2 against a beatable Green Bay run defense missing LB De’Vondre Campbell.
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero now reports that (via miscommunication) he was incorrect this morning on the status of RB David Montgomery. The Lions RB is expected to return from his thigh injury for Thursday night's game against the Packers. Assuming this proves true, Montgomery should be back in the low-RB2 mix for fantasy football lineups. Rookie RB Jahmyr Gibbs, meanwhile, should see a big decrease in his rushing share vs. Sunday's game. Craig Reynolds and Zonovan Knight can go back to being guys we forget are there. Detroit is also expected to get LT Taylor Decker back, which can only help both the run and pass offense.
Update: Pelissero adds that Montgomery will be the "lead back," with "plenty" still in the plan for Gibbs as well. We'll trust that he's not working off miscommunication this time. Check your Team Intel page or the Week 4 rankings before setting your lineup.
Lions RB David Montgomery (thigh) was a limited participant in practice again on Wednesday and is listed as questionable for Thursday night's game vs. the Packers. HC Dan Campbell expressed optimism about Montgomery's status for that one on Tuesday, so we're tentatively expecting him to play. We'll get Detroit's inactives around 7 pm ET tomorrow.
Lions S Kerby Joseph (hip) and CB Emmanuel Moseley (knee, hamstring) are questionable for Thursday night's game against the Packers. Joseph missed last Sunday's game after sitting out the whole practice week. He returned to limited workouts this week but remains a question mark and is probably not worth the risk in IDP lineups. Moseley has yet to play in a game this year and didn't get any live practices in this short week. He shouldn't be in IDP lineups yet but sported some upside when he started with the 49ers.
Lions RB David Montgomery (thigh) was listed as a limited participant on Tuesday's injury report. It was just a walkthrough on the short week, but Montgomery said he's hoping to make it back for Thursday night's game vs. the Packers. "We've been doing everything right as far as preparing myself in the training room, mentally being there," Montgomery said. "We are just taking it day by day, but I'm ready for whatever." We'll see how Montgomery is listed on the final injury report tomorrow.
Buccaneers CB Carlton Davis (toe) is inactive for tonight's game against the Eagles. That can only help the matchup for Philly's WRs. LB Devin White (groin) is active. He arrived questionable after a groin injury popped up during the practice week.
Lions TE Sam LaPorta went off for eight catches on 11 targets for 84 yards and a score in Sunday's win over the Falcons. A big chunk of that production came on a blown coverage that resulted in an easy 45-yard score. But LaPorta's 11 targets were second on the team behind only WR Amon-Ra St. Brown's 12 and were a huge 33.3% of the team total. LaPorta now has 22 targets through three games. And his 18 catches are the most ever by a rookie TE through his first three games. LaPorta is an easy weekly starter and has a chance to finish the season as a top-six fantasy TE.
Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs racked up 17 carries in Sunday's win over the Falcons vs. just seven total for RBs Craig Reynolds and Zonovan Knight. The rookie totaled 80 rushing yards for a solid 4.7 yards per carry. But he didn't find the end zone, despite three carries inside the Atlanta 10-yard line. And Gibbs surprisingly caught just one of two targets for two yards. It was an underwhelming fantasy outing but encouraging usage. If RB David Montgomery remains out for Week 4, Gibbs will again land in RB1 territory in our rankings.
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