Steelers OLB Alex Highsmith (groin) is active for today's game against the Bills. He's not a high-ceiling IDP option but is available for deeper leagues.
The Steelers and EDGE T.J. Watt have agreed to a 4-year extension that will reportedly pay him $112 million. That includes $80 million in guarantees. It's a record annual average for a defensive player. Most importantly for IDP players, it takes away the only question we had about Watt heading into the season. he spent all of camp doing only position drills and then sitting out the team portion while seeking the new contract. Watt has been a full practice participant this week, though.
Steelers OLB T.J. Watt remained a limited practice participant Monday, just as he was throughout training camp, ESPN's Brooke Pryor reports. Watt took part in individual workouts but worked off to the side during team drills. He has practiced in that fashion all summer as he waits for an extension on the final year of his rookie deal. Neither the team nor Watt has said much about the situation. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler -- a Pittsburgher and former Steelers beat reporter -- believes "Week 1 feels in doubt" if Watt doesn't get a new deal. "Watt stays in excellent shape but Steelers value practice-in-order-to-play with pretty much all players," Fowler tweeted Monday. We'd have a tough time believing Pittsburgh would deactivate Watt if he's willing to play Sunday. But it's a situation we'll have to watch for IDP lineups -- as well as the upside of the Steelers' team defense.
Bears HC Matt Nagy told reporters Tuesday morning that QB Justin Fields will start the 3rd and final preseason game and play about 2 quarters. Don't get too excited, though. Nagy also said QB Andy Dalton will sit "because he's the Week 1 starter," according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. We'll gladly take the extra exposure for Fields anyway. Even with Dalton still on track to open the season, it's just a matter of time before Chicago shifts to its new franchise QB.
Bears HC Matt Nagy expects QB Justin Fields (groin) to play in Saturday's preseason game vs. the Bills. So that groin injury obviously isn't serious. Nagy also said that QB Andy Dalton will start and play at least a quarter and a half. The veteran continues to look like the favorite to start Week 1. We'll see if the rookie can make up ground this weekend.
Bears QB Justin Fields missed Wednesday's practice with a groin injury. HC Matt Nagy said the team doesn't believe it's a significant injury but that Fields might not be able to play in the 2nd preseason game vs. the Bills on Saturday. That'd hurt the rookie's chances of moving past QB Andy Dalton before Week 1.
We’ve seen Chargers coaches talking up WR Mike Williams. Sounds like the QB agrees. “We need to get him the ball more,” Justin Herbert said, via Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com. “He’s one of those guys that you just have to find out there. He’s going to get open. He’s so physical, fast and strong that he’s going to win — jump balls, deep balls and intermediate routes. I think we need to get him more involved in the short game and the quick game because he’s an incredible player.” Williams’ ADP has climbed since the beginning of draft season but he remains a solid-to-good value in most places.
Multiple reports from the Eagles beat have had RB Boston Scott catching the ball well -- specifically in reps with QB Jalen Hurts. Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports Philadelphia writes that Scott has "looked very smooth as a receiver out of the backfield" and that he has been getting more 1st-team reps than any other Eagles RB besides Miles Sanders. The pass-catching talk is particularly noteworthy because it has accompanied multiple reports of Sanders continuing to drop passes. And rookie Kenneth Gainwell arrives with receiving ability as 1 of his strengths. For now, though, it sounds like Scott is on a path to be Philly's #2 RB. We wouldn't invest too heavily in any Eagles RB right now and aren't ready to plant a flag with Scott over Gainwell. But it'll be a situation to monitor as we see usage in the preseason games.
SI Chargers reporter Fernando Ramirez says Chargers coaches believe Mike Williams "is a WR that corners can't cover ... and they feel a big breakout is coming this season," according to NFL.com's Michael Florio. We can certainly see that kind of path for Williams in his 2nd year with QB Justin Herbert. He already has a 10-TD season behind him (2018) and looks set for positive regression in that area after catching just 2 of 12 end-zone targets last year.
Steelers GM Kevin Colbert believes rookie RB Najee Harris is ready for a 3-down role right out of the gate. "Him coming in as a senior out of college, he has more experience than some of the other underclassmen, so I think that will help him transition," Colbert said. "He's coming out a traditional NFL-type offense that should help him transition." Harris has the experience and talent to capture a huge role this season. And there isn't a legitimate threat for work behind him on the depth chart. We only have 4 RBs projected for more opportunities (carries + targets) than Harris.
NFL insider Albert Breer believes Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth is "trending towards a real role" after attending training camp. "Freiermuth was a monster Saturday," Breer tweeted. "Catches everything." Rookie TEs are generally poor bets in fantasy football. And Freiermuth faces stiff target competition in TE Eric Ebron and WRs Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool and JuJu Smith-Schuster. But, if nothing else, his presence is a reason to only view Ebron as a lower-end TE2. We'll see if Freiermuth can work his way on to the fantasy radar.
The Athletic's Adam Jahns expects the Bears offense to feature more deep passes this season. "[HC Matt] Nagy’s offense has always been vertical," Jahns writes. "His practices in the offseason program and camp have featured plenty of shots down the field, including this year with [Andy] Dalton and [Justin] Fields in OTAs and minicamp. Nagy wants to be aggressive down the field. It’s in his playbook and in his nature as a coach and play-caller." QB Mitchell Trubisky struggled throwing deep over the past few seasons -- but it's a strength of Fields' game. More deep shots would be particularly good news for speedy WR Darnell Mooney.
Seahawks QB Russell Wilson talked about running a more up-tempo offense under new OC Shane Waldron, formerly of the Rams. "We have some nuances across the board that really challenge the defense, using the whole field and really expanding the offense," Wilson said via USA Today. "Just using everybody as much as possible, in all different formations and different looks and different tempos.” With Waldron on the Rams staff in 2020, Jared Goff ranked 3rd league-wide in no-huddle dropbacks, per Sports Info Solutions. So there’s some weight behind the sentiment. Entering the summer, Wilson checks in as a top-8 fantasy QB.
Cordarrelle Patterson is expected to provide "depth at RB" for the Falcons, according to insider Orlando Ledbetter. Patterson played 70% of his offensive snaps for the Bears last year at RB, finishing with 64 carries and 21 catches. Atlanta is weak at both RB and WR, so Patterson might end up contributing a bit at both spots this season. He's an intriguing late-round pick in best-ball drafts.
New Chargers OC Joe Lombardi wasn't shy when asked about WR Mike Williams' outlook in his offense. “I see a big role for him," Lombardi said. "If I were a betting man, I’d bet on nice numbers coming from him on the stat sheet, that’s for sure.” Lombardi spent 12 seasons -- including the last 5 -- working under Sean Payton in New Orleans. Williams will be playing the same 'X' receiver spot for the Chargers that Michael Thomas plays for the Saints. “As much as this offense will resemble New Orleans, he plays the ‘X’ and the ball has always kind of found the ‘X’ receiver in this offense,” Lombardi explained. “I think that there will be some natural production that comes his way because of the nature of the offense.” Don't expect anything close to Thomas-level production from Williams this season. But he looks like a nice value at his current WR50 ADP in FFPC best balls.
The forecast for today's Steelers-Browns game calls for a 30% chance of snow with winds of 27-29 mph and gusts up to 40. That wind is a significant concern. We'd avoid both kickers and downgrade the passing games, especially the guys who rely on downfield stuff. Bang it here for updated projections for the Steelers and Browns.
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