The Vikings have ruled S Harrison Smith (concussion) out for Sunday's game against the Lions. LB Eric Kendricks (toe) is questionable. Kendricks didn't appear on the injury report until Friday, when the issue limited his participation. That's worrisome timing for his Week 3 status. We'll keep an eye on him through Sunday morning.
Vikings S Harrison Smith is in the concussion protocol, HC Kevin O'Connell confirmed Wednesday. We'll see whether he can make it back in time. Josh Metellus and rookie Lewis Cine would be the candidates for the spot should Smith miss further time. Metellus stepped in when Smith left Monday night's loss to the Eagles.
Vikings WR Justin Jefferson drew 12 targets in Monday night's loss to the Eagles -- 4 more than his nearest teammate -- but caught just 6 of them for 48 yards. Jefferson had no gain of more than 11 yards, on a night where Eagles CB Darius Slay locked him up. WR Adam Thielen added 4-52 receiving on 7 targets, while WR K.J. Osborn drew just 2 looks.
Packers RB Aaron Jones dominated the Bears in Week 2, rushing 15 times for 132 yards and 1 score. He chipped in with 3 catches for 38 yards and another score. AJ Dillon out-carried Jones by 3, but note that Dillon handled 3 consecutive carries on Green Bay’s final, clock-killing drive…when the Packers led by 17. Per Next Gen Stats, Jones posted 4.91 rushing yards over expected per attempt — best among all Week 2 rushers. It was a much-needed bounce-back after his Week 1 dud. The upcoming schedule (at Bucs, vs. Patriots) isn’t ideal, but you can start Jones with confidence.
Rams RB Cam Akers re-emerged as a backfield contributor in Sunday's win over the Falcons. Darrell Henderson still beat him in playing time, 35 snaps to 27. But that marked a big change from the 55-12 split of Week 1. Akers carried 15 times to Henderson's 10 and drew the only targets between them. It was still Henderson leading in routes, though: 19-8, according to Pro Football Focus. Akers wasn't especially efficient, averaging 2.9 yards on the ground. He did catch 2 of 3 targets for 18 yards, though. Henderson posted a 10-47-1 rushing line (4.7 per rush). We'd bet on the split looking more like Week 2 than Week 1 going forward but will continue to watch it develop.
Vikings WR Justin Jefferson torched the Packers for 184 yards and 2 TDs on 9 catches in HC Kevin O'Connell's debut. Jefferson was clearly the focal point of the offense, garnering a 34% target share and lining up all over the field. Per ESPN, Jefferson took 41 snaps on the outside, 12 in the slot, 1 in the backfield and 1 inline. He racked up 93 yards from the outside and 91 from the slot. He also went in motion on 7 snaps. "I definitely like the motioning and just seeing the whole field," Jefferson said. "I'm pretty sure I'm going to do it a lot more." Jefferson will be battling for the WR lead in fantasy points all season.
Rams HC Sean McVay talked about RB Cam Akers on Friday, a day after Akers carried just 3 times in the opener. "There were some instances where there were some positive things and some things that he can do better, but we want to see just an increased level of urgency and accountability snap in and snap out from him," McVay said. “I know what Cam is capable of. We've all seen how talented and what a special player this guy's capable of being. And I want to see him reach his highest potential." It sure sounds like Akers has just been beaten out by RB Darrell Henderson for the starting job. That's probably not set in stone for the entire season, but Akers obviously belongs on fantasy benches for the time being.
Rams RBs Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson are "good to go," HC Sean McVay said Friday. Both backs missed time in August with soft-tissue injuries but got back on the practice field earlier this week. They're both on track to play in Thursday night's season opener vs. the Bills. Then we'll start to get an idea of what the backfield split will look like.
Rams HC Sean McVay labeled RBs Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson "full participants" in Monday's practice. “They look good," McVay added. Akers and Henderson had been sidelined since mid-August with "soft-tissue" injuries but now appear on track to be ready for the season opener vs. the Bills.
Rams RB Cam Akers was in pads for the start of Monday's practice, according to The Athletic's Jourdan Rodrigue. The media was only allowed to watch the first 20 minutes of practice, so we don't know exactly how much Akers did. But he's clearly trending in the right direction with Los Angeles' opener 10 days away. We'll continue to keep an eye on him.
Dolphins WR Trent Sherfield started ahead of WR Cedrick Wilson in Saturday night's preseason finale against the Eagles. Sherfield opened the game opposite Tyreek Hill, with Jaylen Waddle inactive. Wilson didn't enter the game until after Hill left. That points to Sherfield -- who played under HC Mike McDaniel in San Francisco -- leading the race to be #3 WR, despite Wilson getting significant money in free agency. The role gains some importance as Waddle deals with an unspecified injury. We'll see about Waddle's status as Week 1 approaches. Neither Sherfield nor Wilson should factor into most fantasy football drafts. But Sherfield could be a sneaky late addition to best-ball tournament lineups.
Panthers QB Sam Darnold suffered a nasty looking left ankle injury in Friday night's preseason game vs. the Bills. He was quickly ruled out for the game. We'll pass along an update on Darnold when we get one, but this had the look of a long-term injury. Darnold, of course, had already lost the starting job to QB Baker Mayfield.
Update: It's a high-ankle sprain, per multiple reports.
Giants QB Daniel Jones revealed that he underwent a "non-football-related procedure" on his neck this offseason. "I saw there was something about it," Jones added. "It was completely unrelated, but I feel good. Neck is great." Jones, of course, missed the final 6 games of last season with a disc injury in his neck. Whether this procedure was related to that injury or not, it's worth remembering that Giants insider Dan Schneier told us on the Draft Sharks podcast that Jones appears to have lost velocity on his throws this summer. It'll be something to watch closely early this season. Jones is no more than a risk/reward QB2 in fantasy drafts.
Rams RB Cam Akers' soft-tissue injury is not considered serious, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. "Rams taking preventative measures by holding him out of preseason practices but that’s the extent of it," Fowler adds. He makes no mention of the severity of RB Darrell Henderson's injury. We'll see when the Rams backs are able to return to practice.
Rams RBs Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson are dealing with “soft tissue” injuries, per HC Sean McVay. Neither guy will practice until they can be “full speed” in team drills, per reporter Sarah Barshop. No timeline was given by McVay. We’ll track this situation, but it’s at least a bit worrisome considering the injury histories on both guys. We’ll let you know when they’re back in action.
Giants QB Daniel Jones saw his 1st game action Thursday night since a November neck injury ended his 2021 season. “It felt good to get out there and it was just like it used to be,” Jones said afterward, according to ProFootballTalk. “I didn’t think a whole lot about the neck or anything like that. I felt good and it was just football.” Jones said he thought the offense got off to a good start. The QB went 6-of-10 for 69 yards over 2 series before leaving. The Giants came away with 1 FG over that span. Jones also ran once for 6 yards. He was going without Kadarius Toney, who figure to be the top WR come Week 1. We'll keep evaluating Jones as the regular season approaches.
"Something's up with the velocity on [Daniel Jones'] throws," Giants insider Dan Schneier told us on the latest Draft Sharks podcast. "Ball placement is something that's been waning for him since his rookie season ... it seems to be only getting worse. The velocity is a weird thing." Schneier wonders if the dip in velocity is related to the neck injury that Jones suffered last year. Schneier also notes that Jones has seemed to struggle with HC Brian Daboll's offense and with getting on the same page as his receivers so far in camp. There's plenty of time for that stuff to get ironed out, but the arm strength note is concerning. Jones is cheap enough in fantasy drafts that you can keep taking shots on him. But we're less excited about his 2022 value now than we were before talking to Schneier.
SNY’s Connor Hughes expressed concern over the Giants’ pass protection. “The pass protection, ever since the Giants strapped on the pads, is becoming a problem, Hughes wrote. “The severity of which has the potential to derail any [Daniel] Jones evaluation.” HC Brian Daboll admitted that this unit still has “a long way to go,” adding that he believes “they’re moving in the right direction.” We’ll see how this unit looks in preseason action. But it’s worth noting that they’re going up against one of the game’s most aggressive DCs in practice (Wink Martindale). New York’s also breaking in several new starters — including rookie RT Evan Neal.
Rams HC Sean McVay talked up RBs Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson over the weekend. “I look at it as we’ve got two starting backs,” McVay said. “Those guys are great complements (to) one another, but I see them as both starting-caliber players. We need to get them involved. They need to be on the field. I think it’s healthy for them to be able to supplement one another.” This, of course, doesn't tell us anything about the Rams' specific plans for splitting the backfield work between Akers and Henderson. But The Athletic's Jourdan Rodrigue says Akers and Henderson have been "splitting first-team snaps pretty evenly so far" in training camp. We'll continue to keep a close eye on the situation through the rest of camp and preseason action. Akers is 7 rounds ahead of Henderson in recent ADP.
Rams HC Sean McVay talked Monday about the fill-in WR plans while Van Jefferson is out for knee surgery. One player he brought up was Brandon Powell. "He's one of those guys, a great competitor, good football player," McVay said, per Rams Wire's Cameron DaSilva. "Seen really positive things from him from the slot." Powell's primary usage so far has come as a return man, across 3 franchises over the past 4 years. He got onto the field for just 3 offensive snaps with the Rams last season, so odds appear to be against him finding a significant role there this year. But we'll see how things go for both Jefferson's knee and those behind him on the depth chart.
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