The Eagles have ruled S Reed Blankenship (ribs) out for Sunday's game against the Dolphins. That means Philly will miss both starting safeties, with Justin Evans already on IR. Undrafted rookie Mekhi Garner stepped in for Blankenship last week, but rookie Sydney Brown will reportedly start in his place against Miami. The whole situation looks tough for a defense about to face Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Brown and Terrell Edmunds -- the other starter -- both make for iffy IDP options.
Eagles WR DeVonta Smith (hamstring) is not listed on the final Week 7 injury report. He got in just two limited practices this week but will evidently be ready for his usual role in Sunday’s night’s game vs. the Dolphins.
Eagles WR DeVonta Smith (hamstring) returned to practice on Thursday and said he'll play vs. the Dolphins on Sunday night. "You ain’t gotta worry bout me. I’ll be out there," Smith said, per The Philadelphia Inquirer's Josh Tolentino. We'll keep an eye on Smith over the next couple of days, but he can stay penciled into Week 7 fantasy lineups.
Eagles WR DeVonta Smith (hamstring) did not practice on Wednesday. We don't have any other details right now on the hamstring or whether Smith is in danger of missing Sunday night's game vs. the Dolphins. It's worth noting that he played a full allotment of snaps in last week's loss to the Jets. We'll update Smith's status again tomorrow.
The Eagles announced out of nowhere Tuesday that they have signed WR Julio Jones. The move likely signals that they don't expect WR Quez Watkins -- who recently landed on IR -- to return anytime soon. It's tough to imagine a significant fantasy impact from Jones, though. He caught just 3.1 passes per game with the Titans in 2021 and then 2.4 per game with last year's Buccaneers. Each set a career low. And Jones appeared in just 10 games each season. We'll be interested to see how the Eagles incorporate Jones. But we're not chasing him on redraft waivers or adjusting outlooks for any incumbents on the Philly offense.
Update: Ian Rapoport adds that Jones is joining the practice squad, but that he's likely to get quickly elevated. We'd also be surprised if Jones signed to just work on the practice squad.
Giants RB Saquon Barkley finished with 24 carries for 93 rushing yards in Week 6 vs. the Bills. He also added 4 catches on 5 targets for as many yards in the receiving game on Sunday night. It wasn’t a particularly efficient outing, as the Giants continue to have offensive struggles, but fantasy managers should feel happy with 13.8 PPR points in Barkley’s first game back since suffering an ankle injury in Week 2. Next week, Barkley will go up against a Commanders run defense that was fairly good at neutralizing the efforts of rookie RB Bijan Robinson in Week 6, but a player of Barkley’s caliber should still be thought of as a solid lineup choice.
Eagles WR A.J. Brown racked up 131 yards on 7 receptions in Sunday's loss to the Jets. He checked in just third on the team in targets (9), as QB Jalen Hurts attempted a season-high 45 passes. Brown's 7 receptions also trailed RB D'Andre Swift by 1. But his yardage nearly tripled everyone else on the team. WR DeVonta Smith ranked second with 44 yards on 5 receptions. It was Brown's fourth straight game of 127+ yards. Matchups with Miami and Washington the next two weeks hold nothing intimidating.
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts threw for 280 yards and led the team in rushing Sunday against the Jets. But he also arguably was most to blame for Philly's first loss. Hurts tossed 3 INTs in the game, his second multi-INT game of the season. Hurts did also throw for a TD and run for a score, totaling 47 yards on the ground. That all combined to save a decent fantasy day, third-best among QBs with two games to go. It's enough to make us shrug off the poor real-life play for Hurts, especially given that it came against a good defense. He'll find more favorable spots against the Dolphins and Commanders the next two weeks.
Giants RB Saquon Barkley (ankle) is active for tonight’s game vs. the Bills. He’s four weeks removed from his high-ankle sprain and probably isn’t at 100% just yet. Throw in an injury-wrecked Giants offensive line, and Barkley does not carry his usual RB1 projection this week.
The Giants are “optimistic” and “hopeful” that RB Saquon Barkley (ankle) will play vs. the Bills tonight, ESPN's Adam Schefter tweets. The Giants "want to make sure there are no setbacks," Schefter adds. "But they 'feel good about it', so signs point up." NFL Network's Ian Rapoport has a similar report, saying "it's not 100%" but that there's a "real chance" Barkley returns tonight. It'd be nice to get a sure-fire report, but it continues to sound more likely than not that Barkley plays tonight. He can stay penciled into fantasy lineups, ideally with a late-game alternative also rostered. Matt Breida, Latavius Murray, Damien Harris, and Joshua Kelley qualify.
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler hears that the Giants are “optimistic, as of Saturday morning" that RB Saquon Barkley will play vs. the Bills on Sunday night. "No firm determination yet, but chances are better this week than last, and he's had a good week of practice, no setbacks," Fowler adds. We'll look for further updates on Barkley. We won't get the Giants' inactives until a little before 7 pm ET on Sunday.
Eagles LB Nakobe Dean finished the week with a full Friday practice and looks ready to return from the foot injury that has kept him out since Week 1. The team still must officially activate him before 4 p.m. ET Saturday, but that seems likely. It's not yet clear whether Nicholas Morrow or Zach Cunningham will leave the lineup for Dean's return. But practice video showed Dean and Cunningham working together during the week. Cunningham was the starter next to Dean to open the season. You'll find Dean highest among Eagles LBs in our Week 6 rankings, though still projected cautiously for his first game back.
Giants RB Saquon Barkley (ankle) is listed as questionable for Sunday night's game vs. the Bills. He remained limited in practice all week but said Thursday that he feels better this week than last. We'll look for further updates on Barkley. We won't get New York's inactives until around 7 pm ET on Sunday.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that the Eagles might miss DT Jalen Carter and CB Darius Slay for Sunday's matchup with the Jets. Carter sprained an ankle in practice this week, while Slay is dealing with an ankle injury. We'll watch for official game statuses on both players later today. It doesn't sound like either injury is overly serious. And neither is a high-level IDP, though there's upside to the Zach Wilson matchup.
Patriots insider Greg Bedard believes the team will give QB Will Grier a shot if QB Mac Jones continues to struggle. "From talking to people around the team, I think if Mac Jones doesn’t succeed this week, if he doesn’t retain his job, I think it’s Will Grier’s," Bedard said in a Tuesday radio appearance. Grier has thrown 52 regular-season passes since being selected in the third round of the 2019 draft -- and none since his 2019 rookie season. He would not be an exciting fantasy option if he does take over in New England, but he might be worth stashing in deep superflex and 2-QB leagues.
Giants RB Saquon Barkley (ankle) remained limited in Thursday's practice. "I feel like I'm trending every week," Barkley said. "Feel better this Wednesday and Thursday than last Wednesday and Thursday. ... Take it day-by-day." We'll see what Barkley does on Friday and how he's listed on the final injury report for Sunday night's game vs. the Bills.
Giants RB Saquon Barkley (ankle) was limited in Wednesday's practice. He was limited all last week before missing the Dolphins game, so Barkley's availability for Sunday night's game vs. the Bills remains uncertain. We'll update Barkley's status again tomorrow.
The Eagles are opening the 21-day practice window on LB Nakobe Dean this week. Dean spent the past four games on IR after suffering a foot injury in Week 1. We'll see how soon he's ready to return to game action, but it's obviously positive that he's ready to practice at his earliest eligibility. Dean opened the season wearing the green helmet dot and calling plays in the defensive huddle. We'd bet on the second-year LB returning to that full-time role as soon as he's physically ready. We'll see what that means for the playing time of LBs Nicholas Morrow and Zach Cunningham. Morrow began the year on the practice squad, with Cunningham starting alongside Dean. But Morrow has performed well in Dean's absence, grading out better than Cunningham in every category, according to Pro Football Focus. Cunningham previously played his way out of starting opportunities in Houston and Tennessee. Dean is worth grabbing this week on waivers if stashing him makes sense in your IDP league.
Eagles WR A.J. Brown delivered 8 receptions for a team-high 127 yards in Sunday's win over the Rams. It was his third straight game with at least that many yards. Brown didn't even lead the team in targets this time. His 8 trailed TE Dallas Goedert by one and accounted for a lower-than-usual 21% of QB Jalen Hurts' total pass attempts. But it marked the fourth time in five games that Brown tallied at least 8 targets and 7 receptions. He's on pace for 125 catches and 1,839 yards. We'll take the under on those numbers, but we'll also gladly take Brown occupying a weekly starting spot across fantasy formats. WR DeVonta Smith, meanwhile, remained well behind Brown's share. He caught just one of 5 targets in Sunday's win. Smith has drawn a 20.2% target share through five games, compared with 30.4% for Brown.
Eagles TE Dallas Goedert racked up an 8-117-1 receiving line in Sunday's win over the Rams, easily his biggest fantasy outing through the first five games. Goedert drew a team-high 9 targets, led the team in receptions, and claimed the only TD reception. The yardage more than doubled his season total, which stood at just 88 entering the game. The upturn was somewhat predictable, at least, after HC Nick Sirianni said earlier this week that "we've got to do our jobs as coaches to get him going." Goedert probably won't have many more games as big as this one, but he should be a weekly starter in most fantasy lineups with TE slots. A Week 6 matchup with the Jets has been positive for TE scoring this season. After that comes a potential shootout with Miami. Washington and Dallas matchups beyond that have been negative for TE scoring. We'll see about Goedert's outlook as we get closer to those.
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