Chiefs TE Travis Kelce (knee) is officially inactive for tonight's opener vs. the Lions. That leaves Noah Gray as Kansas City's top TE. Chiefs WRs -- particularly Skyy Moore, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Kadarius Toney -- have more target potential with Kelce out.
Chiefs TE Travis Kelce (knee) will not play vs. the Lions tonight, according to insider Jordan Schultz. "I’m told the Chiefs’ All-Pro TE made a strong push to play after this morning’s workout, but the team did not want to risk anything with a full season of games ahead," Schultz adds. It sounds like Kelce has a good chance to make it back for Week 2, but we'll track his progress throughout next week. Noah Gray will step in as Kansas City's lead TE tonight and is an option for desperate Kelce owners.
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports that Chiefs TE Travis Kelce (knee) is a "true game-day decision" for tonight's opener vs. the Lions. "The Chiefs plan to put star TE Travis Kelce through a workout this morning to test his injured knee," Pelissero adds. This is excellent news long term. If Kelce even has a chance to play tonight, we imagine he's a strong bet to at least be back for Week 2. As for Week 1, we'll get Kansas City's inactives around 7 pm ET. Kelce will carry elevated risk if he ends up playing but would be nearly impossible to bench in fantasy football lineups.
Cardinals WR Marquise Brown was limited in Wednesday's practice with a hamstring injury. It's the first we've heard of it. We'll see how Brown progresses over the next couple of days, leading up to Sunday's opener vs. the Commanders.
The Chiefs list TE Travis Kelce (knee) as questionable for Thursday night's opener vs. the Lions. He didn't practice on Wednesday after hyperextending his knee and sustaining a bone bruise on Tuesday. We'd be very surprised if Kelce played tomorrow, but Kansas City doesn't want to rule him out yet. We'll get the inactives around 7 pm on Thursday. Kelce should be on fantasy benches for now.
Chiefs TE Travis Kelce has been diagnosed with a bone bruise, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Kelce is dealing with "significant swelling," per Rapoport, but there's no structural damage and it's not a long-term injury. Relatively good news -- but Kelce owners need to be making other plans for Week 1. We'll get Kansas City's final injury report for the opener vs. the Lions on Wednesday afternoon.
Chiefs TE Travis Kelce's knee injury is "not believed to be a long-term" issue, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Kelce's availability for Thursday night's opener vs. the Lions is "in doubt," per Rapoport, but at least we're not looking at an extended absence from the fantasy first-rounder. "They’ll wait for swelling to go down and go from there," Rapoport adds. We knocked one game off of Kelce's season-long projections and have removed him from the Week 1 rankings for now. Stay tuned for further updates.
UPDATE: ESPN's Adam Schefter tweeted on Tuesday evening that the Chiefs "believe Travis Kelce’s ACL is intact" but that there is inflammation in his knee. The team will test Kelce again tomorrow to determine his fitness for the opener.
Chiefs TE Travis Kelce hyperextended a knee in practice Tuesday, HC Andy Reid told reporters. The injury leaves Kelce's status "uncertain" for Thursday night against the Lions, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. It'll help that it's the first game of the week, so fantasy managers will still have all other lineup options available before locking in that TE starter. We'll keep tracking the situation. Backup TE Noah Gray makes sense as a waiver-wire option this week for deeper leagues.
Chiefs DT Chris Jones remains away from the team as K.C. prepares for Thursday night's opener against the Lions. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that the player and team are still "not close on a deal" for boosting Jones' contract. The situation adds obvious risk to Jones in IDP leagues. We haven't moved the veteran down our IDP rankings, though, because plenty of upside remains whenever he does return. You'll need to decide how to balance the risk with the upside on Jones at draft time. Not having Jones, of course, would hurt the Chiefs' team defense. You shouldn't be looking to use them against Detroit in Week 1 anyway, though.
The 49ers signed K Matthew Wright. He's insurance for rookie K Jake Moody, who's dealing with a quad injury. Avoid this situation in remaining fantasy drafts and Week 1 lineups.
Chiefs RB Isaiah Pacheco (shoulder, hand) shed his non-contact jersey for Monday's practice. HC Andy Reid said afterward that there's a chance Pacheco plays in Saturday's preseason finale. He's clearly on track to be ready for Week 1.
Jesse Newell of the Kansas City Star reports that Chiefs WR Skyy Moore has worked consistently ahead of teammates Rashee Rice and Justyn Ross. He says Moore "has been with 1st every rep at training camp when KC has had 2 WRs." Rice and Ross, meanwhile, "have occasionally mixed in with 1st but overwhelmingly been with 2s." Kadarius Toney, of course, has been out since suffering a setback with the knee that has needed two operations since the end of last season. So it looks like Moore and Marquez Valdes-Scantling as the Chiefs' top two WRs at least for now. Keep that in mind for your fantasy football drafts. Moore leads all Chiefs in our WR rankings and sits much further ahead of Rice there than he does in best ball ADP.
RB Kareem Hunt did not sign with the Saints on Tuesday, despite reports that he was expected to. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that Hunt had a "great" visit in New Orleans but will now head to Indianapolis for a Wednesday meeting. The Colts recently added RB Kenyan Drake but remain without RB Jonathan Taylor (ankle/contract) and RB Zack Moss (wrist injury). We'll keep watching Hunt's travels. And Saints rookie RB Kendre Miller will certainly be interested in whether Hunt comes back to town.
Update: ESPN's Dianna Russini reports that Indy called Hunt and offered him more money before he even started working out with the Saints.
The Saints are expected to sign RB Kareem Hunt, pending a physical, ESPN's Dianna Russini reports. That will further crowd a New Orleans backfield that also includes Alvin Kamara, Jamaal Williams, and rookie Kendre Miller. Kamara, of course, is suspended for the first three games, giving the other guys a shot at useable fantasy value at the start of the season. But we'll see what happens when Kamara returns. It seems unlikely that all four RBs would even be active on game days. Hunt is coming off a disappointing 2022 season that saw him finish with career lows in yards per carry (3.8), yards per catch (6.0), and Pro Football Focus rushing grade.
Chiefs GM Brett Veach confirmed on Monday that RB Isiah Pacheco is expected to play in the season opener vs. the Lions. Pacheco underwent offseason surgeries on his shoulder and hand and missed spring workouts. He's been participating in training camp, albeit in a non-contact jersey, and has looked good by all accounts. NFL Network's James Palmer reported last week that Pacheco is expected to be fully cleared by August 20. We're projecting Pacheco as if he'll be a full-go come Week 1.
Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco has yet to shed his non-contact jersey at training camp. The team is taking is easy on Pacheco, who underwent offseason shoulder surgery. NFL Network’s James Palmer tweeted recently that Pacheco “should be cleared for contact” by August 20. The second-year rusher carries a reasonable Underdog Fantasy ADP of RB30.
NFL Network's James Palmer reports that Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco is expected to be fully cleared by August 20. He underwent offseason surgeries on his hand and shoulder. The hand has been cleared, per Palmer, but the shoulder is still a couple of weeks away. Pacheco has been participating in training camp with a non-contact jersey. It sounds like he'll be full-go by the time we get to Week 1.
Chiefs OC Matt Nagy gave his take on rookie WR Rashee Rice. “[Rice] comes from a no-huddle offense (Southern Methodist University). Yet it’s a little bit different with the tempo here and now, a huddle play,” Nagy explained. “Getting to the line of scrimmage, running your route, having conversions with it and yet being on time, jogging back and doing it again… He came in phenomenal shape here to this training camp — and I think every day, he’s made incremental improvements. It’s exciting for us because the sky’s the roof for his talent.” The Round 2 pick projects in a rotational role out of the gate, but there are snaps up for grabs in the Chiefs’ WR corps.
Chiefs reporter Pete Sweeney writes that the connection between QB Patrick Mahomes and WR Skyy Moore “seems to be getting better every day.” Moore looks poised for a prominent early-season role given the recent injury to Kadarius Toney. A Year 2 leap into WR3 range is within Moore’s range of outcomes.
Patriots HC Bill Belichick said Tuesday that WR JuJu Smith-Schuster is "ready to go" for the start of training camp. JuJu missed most of spring practices dealing with the knee injury he suffered in last year's AFC Championship Game. We'll see if it becomes an issue again at any point ahead of Week 1. Smith-Schuster isn't an exciting fantasy pick but does project as the favorite to lead New England in targets this year.
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