New England Patriots Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Patriots S Adrian Phillips (ribs) and LB Raekwon McMillan (thumb) are active for today's game against the Steelers. Neither is a high-level IDP play.

Patriots S Adrian Phillips (ribs) is questionable for Sunday's game against the Steelers. He was limited all week in practice. We'll see about his status Sunday morning.

Titans TE Austin Hooper trailed teammate Geoff Swaim in both snaps (69% vs. 62%) and targets (4-2) in Sunday's loss to the Giants. Swaim turned his 4 looks into a 3-19 receiving line, with Hooper catching just 1 ball for 6 yards. Rookie TE Chig Okonkwo added 1 catch for 11 yards and a carry for minus-4 while playing 15% of snaps. This looks like a committee situation to avoid as much as possible in fantasy football lineups.

In a refreshing turn of events, Washington RB Antonio Gibson snagged a career-high 7 passes (on 8 targets) for 72 yards. Compare that to the 3 grabs (on 3 targets) for receiving back J.D. McKissic. Gibson added 14 carries for 58 yards. His main highlight came in the passing game, as he beat the defense vertically for a 26-yard gain out of the backfield. Critically, he also managed to avoid fumbling. Following a tumultuous offseason, Week 1 was clearly a huge win for the young RB. Next up is a Lions defense that just allowed 4 rushing TDs to the Eagles.

Patriots S Adrian Phillips left Sunday's loss to the Dolphins with a rib injury. We'll see about the severity, though don't be surprised if details are lacking. (It's the Patriots.)

NESN's Zack Cox expects Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson to open the season as the "1B to [Damien] Harris' 1A." But, Cox adds, "it wouldn’t shock me if [Stevenson] eventually leapfrogs Harris and becomes New England’s top early-down option." Cox also says he expects "a much larger role in the passing game" for Stevenson this season. He'll be just a RB3 in fantasy lineups out of the gate, but there's upside well beyond that as we move deeper into the season.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Titans EDGE Harold Landry suffered an ACL tear in Wednesday's practice. That would obviously end the season for Tennessee's top pass-rusher, an especially big blow for that defense. Landry had ranked inside the top 10 D-linemen in our IDP rankings, where he carries that designation.

The Athletic's Chad Graff expects Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson to get the "bulk" of the passing-down snaps early in the season, assuming RB Ty Montgomery (ankle) is out. "And his performance in the first few weeks could dictate how much Montgomery sees the field," Graff writes. We're expecting Stevenson and Damien Harris to split carries fairly evenly this year, but Stevenson's pass-catching upside makes him the more appealing fantasy pick.

When asked whether RB Antonio Gibson will enter the season as Commanders lead kick returner, here's what HC Ron Rivera had to say: “I think you still need to see some more stuff, but you know, I think he is. I do. I think he’s done a nice job.” That's nice. Wanna guess how many total kickoffs and punts Gibson returned over his 1st 2 NFL seasons? Zero. To be fair, Tony Pollard and Cordarrelle Patterson factored heavily into their teams' kick-return plans last year. But it sure seems like another signal of a downgrade to Gibson's standing within the offense.

Chargers CB J.C. Jackson had ankle surgery Tuesday and is expected to miss the next 2-4 weeks, according to multiple reports. Sounds like a relatively minor procedure, but this timeline obviously could spill over into missed regular-season games.

The Athletic's Chad Graff lists WR Kendrick Bourne as a "faller" and WR Nelson Agholor as a "riser." Graff believes Bourne is now behind Jakobi Meyers, DeVante Parker and Agholor on the depth chart. Agholor "has been the Patriots’ best wide receiver in most practices and has shown an improved connection with Jones," Graff writes. We're not overly interested in any of these guys as draft targets, but we'll continue to monitor the pecking order.

According to multiple accounts, Patriots TE Hunter Henry left Tuesday morning's practice early. We have yet to see details on an injury but will keep watch for updates.

Commanders RB Antonio Gibson was working on the punt protection team in Tuesday's practice, according to ESPN's John Keim. This, of course, follows a rough preseason opener that saw Gibson get yanked after losing a fumble on his 2nd carry. For what it's worth, Gibson played zero snaps on special teams across his first 2 NFL seasons. We'll see exactly where this goes, but Gibson is trending in the wrong direction.

Patriots HC Bill Belichick said Tuesday that RB Rhamondre Stevenson "has done a real good job improving his pass-game skills," especially as a pass protector. Stevenson said back in June that his primary focus this offseason was in the passing game, and it sounds like the work has paid off. New England's pass-catching role is up for grabs with RB James White's retirement. It sounds like Stevenson, Ty Montgomery and rookie Pierre Strong are the top contenders for that job.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler believes Titans TE Austin Hooper “should see a healthy red-zone [target] share.” Hooper’s never topped 6 TDs in a season. But he joined a Titans squad this summer that lost ~45 red zone targets to trade (A.J. Brown) and free agency. QB Ryan Tannehill has also posted a top-3 TD rate in 2 of the past 3 seasons (2019 and 2020). Ultimately, Hooper enters the year as a TE2.

Patriots DB Kyle Dugger did not start in Friday night's simulated intrasquad scrimmage. NESN reports that he rotated in with slot CB Jonathan Jones on the "blue" team, which featured 1st-stringers. It's obviously early in the process, but this doesn't seem good for the playing time of the 3rd-year player. Dugger spent most of last season playing near full time. He came in short of 75% playing time just twice across the 1st 12 games, exceeding 80% 6 times. But his final 3 regular-season outings checked in at just 56%, 63% and 51%. Dugger rebounded to 83% in the playoff loss at Buffalo. If he continues to be more of a sub-package player through the preseason, Dugger might be hard pressed to reach 70% playing time consistently without injury to a teammate. That, in turn, would make it tough for him to deliver regularly useful fantasy points. We've knocked Dugger way down the IDP rankings for now.

New Titans TE Austin Hooper has been getting extra reps with QB Ryan Tannehill after practice. "Chemistry is just repetitions over time," he told reporters afterward. Titans TEs have disappointed with their target shares over the past couple of years, and Hooper might face a challenge from buzzy rookie TE Chig Okonkwo. But he also faces nice opportunity in a Tennessee offense that traded away WR A.J. Brown and released WR Julio Jones since last season. Hooper has consistently gone in TE3 range of drafts.

Commanders RB Antonio Gibson (hamstring) returned to position drills Monday, according to Ben Standig of The Athletic. We'll keep an eye on his status -- as well as specific role -- going forward.

"My guess after being around this team a little is that Rhamondre Stevenson probably will get the bulk of the carries," NBC Sports' Peter King said after attending Patriots training camp. It's a tepid prediction -- and King reminded us that "you're not gonna have any Patriots RB run it 300 times. That's just not the way Bill Belichick wants to use his personnel in the backfield." But it's still noteworthy considering RB Damien Harris is going a round or 2 ahead of Stevenson in fantasy drafts. We'll be keeping a close eye on this backfield in the preseason.

Pats RB Rhamondre Stevenson has slimmed down to 225 pounds, per insider Doug Kyed. He’s listed at 230 pounds on NFL.com, so it’s not a drastic cut. The move is believed to be because of an increased emphasis on the passing game. Per Kyed, Stevenson said he has a better understanding of 3rd-down concepts entering year 2. With James White’s health a question mark, Stevenson looks like the Pats’ primary receiving back in 2022.