Indianapolis Colts Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Colts RB Jonathan Taylor (thumb) is out for Saturday's game vs. the Steelers. HC Shane Steichen said earlier this week that Taylor is still expected to play again this season. We'll see if he can make it back for Week 16. Zack Moss gets another game as Indianapolis' feature back this weekend. He's racked up 32 carries and 11 targets over the last two weeks.

Colts RB Jonathan Taylor (thumb) did not practice on Tuesday. HC Shane Steichen said earlier in the day that Taylor is expected to play again this season -- but fantasy owners should not be counting on him in Week 15 fantasy lineups.

Colts HC Shane Steichen said Tuesday that the team is still planning for RB Jonathan Taylor (thumb) to play again this season. He's two weeks removed from a thumb surgery that's expected to keep him out for 3-5 weeks. Indianapolis dropped to 7-6 with the Week 14 loss to the Bengals but is still squarely in the mix for a Wild Card spot. Fantasy owners can't be counting on Taylor for Week 15, but a Week 16 return seems possible.

Browns HC Kevin Stefanski named QB Joe Flacco the starter for the rest of the season after Sunday's win over the Jaguars. No surprise. Flacco has given the Browns their best QB play of the season the past two weeks (and that includes Deshaun Watson). He followed a 254-2-1 passing line last week with 311 yards, three TDs, and one INT in the Week 14 win. Flacco gets doable matchups the next two weeks vs. the Bears and Texans but is really only in play in 2-QB and superflex leagues. Flacco's solid play is good news for Cleveland's skill-position players, though.

The Browns have elevated QB Joe Flacco from the practice squad and waived QB P.J. Walker. We'd guess that points to Flacco starting again, though the team has declined to name Sunday's starter yet. Dorian Thompson-Robinson would be the other option. Cleveland's WRs have to be hoping it won't go that way.

Colts RB Jonathan Taylor (thumb) is out for Sunday’s game vs. the Bengals. He remained sidelined in practice all week and is more likely than not to also miss Week 15. RB Zack Moss got workhorse usage with Tayor out last week, racking up 19 carries and three targets on a 94% snap rate. He’s a locked-in RB1 against Cincinnati’s 17th-ranked RB defense.

Colts RB Jonathan Taylor is expected to miss 3-5 weeks after undergoing thumb surgery on Wednesday, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Dr. Steven Shin used an internal brace to help repair the torn UCL, which will speed up Taylor's recovery. The Colts notably did not place JT on IR, which confirms that there's a chance he misses fewer than four games. It seems likely that he'll miss the next three vs. the Titans, Bengals, and Steelers. We'll see if Taylor can make it back for Week 16 against the Falcons. He's worth keeping stashed on fantasy benches in most cases.

Colts RB Jonathan Taylor (thumb) is officially out for Sunday’s game vs. the Titans. HC Shane Steichen said earlier this week that the team is not considering an IR stint for Taylor, which would knock him out for four games. Owner Jim Irsay said the "hope" is that JT can return in two to three weeks. His absence will put RB Zack Moss back in a feature role. He averaged 22.0 carries and 2.7 targets in three games without Taylor earlier this season.

Browns QB Joe Flacco has been getting first-team reps in practice and "could start" this weekend's game vs. the Rams, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson is in concussion protocol -- and hasn't been good in his three starts. QB P.J. Walker has been just as bad. Flacco just joined the Browns 10 days ago but is likely the team's best passer. He completed 58% of his passes at 5.5 yards per attempt with five TDs and three INTs in five appearances for the Jets last year. That included outings of 309 and 307 passing yards in the first two weeks of the season. Flacco is not a viable Week 13 fantasy play, but we'd consider him a slight upgrade for Cleveland's skill-position players.

Colts RB Jonathan Taylor needs thumb surgery, according to James Boyd of The Athletic. Owner Jim Irsay says the "hope" is that he can return in two to three weeks. That means you should expect Taylor to miss at least this week's game against the Titans and the Week 14 visit to Cincinnati. It also means there's no guarantee Taylor will return. RB Zack Moss should be on a roster in every league by this weekend and could be a season-changer. If he's available in your league, there's no bid amount too high -- especially if you need a RB. Trey Sermon sits behind Moss on the depth chart, but the backfield has belonged to Moss when Taylor missed time earlier this year. Taylor should obviously be kept as well, in case he does miss just the two games.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that Colts RB Jonathan Taylor suffered a thumb injury in Sunday's win over the Buccaneers that "puts his status in doubt going forward." Taylor reportedly played the entire second half after suffering the injury. But he's now headed for further evaluation "with all options considered." We'll obviously be watching this one closely. In the meantime, Zack Moss deserves to be claimed anywhere he might be available. You can find more potential insurance pickups among our Week 13 Waiver Wire Pickups and via your Free Agent Finder.

When we last saw Colts RB Jonathan Taylor in Week 10, he played 88% of the offensive snaps and out-carried RB Zack Moss 23 to one. Coming out of the bye week, the Colts went back to a committee backfield in the win over the Bucs. Taylor registered a 58% snap rate to Moss' 41%. Taylor out-carried Moss 15 to eight, but Moss saw the only three RB targets. We'll see if this was a one-game blip or if the Colts will stick with this arrangement the rest of the way. Taylor is a weekly fantasy starter regardless. But he's more of a high-end RB2 on this week's usage vs. a potential league-winner on that Week 10 usage. Moss could jump back into the RB3 discussion if he continues getting ~40% of the snaps.

Colts WR Michael Pittman racked up 10 catches for 107 yards in the Week 12 win over the Bucs. His 13 targets tied for the team lead and were 31.7% of QB Gardner Minshew's 41 total attempts. Pittman has now averaged 10.8 targets, 7.5 catches, 81.2 yards, and 0.33 TDs in his last six games with Minshew. He has a chance to continue delivering WR1 level production the next three games with plus matchups against the Titans, Bengals, and Steelers.

Colts WR Josh Downs tied for the team lead with 13 targets in Sunday's win over the Bucs. He caught just five of them for 43 yards. QB Gardner Minshew wasn't very good in this one and had multiple misfires and miscommunications with Downs. One of them resulted in a Carlton Davis INT. It was a frustrating outing from Downs -- but encouraging for his going-forward outlook. The rookie has now averaged 8.4 targets per game over his last five healthy outings with Minshew. Downs gets three straight plus matchups the next three weeks against the Titans, Bengals, and Steelers.

Colts WR Josh Downs is not listed on the Week 12 injury report. He battled a knee injury the past couple of games but is evidently ready to go coming off the bye week. Downs gets a great matchup on Sunday vs. Tampa Bay's 27th-ranked WR defense.

Colts TE Jelani Woods has been on IR with a hamstring injury since August. Recently, he suffered a new hamstring injury to the other leg. “Jelani, actually, had a setback with his other hamstring during the rehab,” HC Shane Steichen said Monday. The first-year HC wouldn’t commit to Woods returning in 2023. Mo Alie-Cox and Kylen Granson shared TE duties before Indy’s Week 11 bye, but neither guy is an intriguing fantasy add.

Multiple reports on Sunday evening indicate that the Browns are signing free agent QB Joe Flacco to their practice squad. The former Super Bowl XLVII MVP visited with Cleveland on Friday, and it's expected that he'll be elevated to the active roster shortly. This move adds much-needed positional depth in the aftermath of the announcement of starter Deshaun Watson's season-ending shoulder surgery. Fantasy managers in deeper 2QB/superflex leagues can consider throwing light FAAB or a speculative waiver claim on Flacco, though it would be wise to temper expectations. It's still entirely possible that the Browns will stick with rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson under center, and they do still have backup P.J. Walker on the roster as well. Stay tuned for further updates.

On Saturday, ESPN's Adam Schefter tweeted that Bears RB Khalil Herbert has been officially activated off IR ahead of Week 11 vs. the Lions. Herbert's return to action will mark his first game back since injuring his ankle in Week 5 vs. the Commanders. This news lowers the fantasy upside of fellow RBs D'Onta Foreman and Roschon Johnson as we expect the Bears' backfield to be deployed in more of a committee approach. See where each player appears in our current RB rankings for Week 11.

Bears RB Khalil Herbert (ankle, shin) is not listed on the final Week 11 injury report. He got in full practices on Thursday and Friday and will play vs. the Lions this weekend for the first time since Week 5. RB D'Onta Foreman (ankle) is listed as questionable for that one after a limited week of practice. We're betting on Foreman playing, but it sure looks like Herbert is the healthier player right now. That makes him the preferred fantasy start in this backfield, although neither guy is an exciting play vs. Detroit's eighth-ranked RB defense.

Bears RB Khalil Herbert (ankle, shin) was upgraded to full participation in Thursday's practice. He was a full-go all last week before missing the Thursday nighter vs. the Panthers, so we can't say yet that Herbert will definitely play vs. the Lions this weekend. We'll see how he's listed on the final injury report tomorrow.