Steelers WR George Pickens (shin) is not listed on the final Week 12 injury report. He went from no practice on Wednesday to limited participation on Thursday to full participation on Friday. The shin shouldn’t be an issue in this weekend’s game vs. the Bengals.
Steelers WR George Pickens (shin) returned to a limited practice on Thursday after being sidelined on Wednesday. We'll see what he does tomorrow and how he's listed on the final injury report for this weekend's game vs. the Bengals.
Steelers WR George Pickens (shin) did not practice on Wednesday. We don't have any other details on the shin injury. We'll see if Pickens is able to get back on the practice field tomorrow, ahead of Sunday's game vs. the Bengals.
The Steelers have fired OC Matt Canada, who has been running the unit since 2021. In that time, Pittsburgh has ranked 21st, 26th, and 28th (so far this year) in scoring. Each season has found the offense ranking 28th in yards per play. NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports that the team plans to promote RBs coach Eddie Faulkner to OC but hand play-calling duties to QBs coach Mike Sullivan. Faulkner has coached Steelers RBs since 2019 (and previously served in the same role for the team in 2012). His only OC experience to date has been with Ball State in 2009-10. Sullivan has been coaching at the college level or higher for 30 years. He has been in the NFL since 2002, including stints as Buccaneers OC (2012-13) and Giants OC (2016-17). Those offenses finished -- in order -- 13th, 30th, 26th, and 31st in scoring; eighth, 32nd, 24th, and 25th in yards per play. Sullivan didn't get great QB play across those offenses. He started with fourth-season Josh Freeman in Tampa, and then got primarily Mike Glennon the following year. His two seasons at the Giants' offensive helm came in Eli Manning's age-35 and age-36 campaigns. NFL Network's Mike Garafolo says Sullivan has a "strong relationship" with Steelers QB Kenny Pickett, but the new guy probably isn't an upgrade on those previous situations. The switch should be positive for usable skill-position Steelers, though. Canada never won as a play caller and often sported questionable run-pass splits given the output. This year's Steelers also should find upside in a softening schedule. According to FTN's Aaron Schatz, Pittsburgh faced the league's toughest schedule so far this year by total defensive DVOA. Over a full season, the 2023 schedule to date would rank third-toughest of any team since 1981. You can see the negative fantasy impacts of those opponents on our Strength of Schedule pages. The remaining schedule ranks fifth-best for RB scoring and ninth-best for WRs. (Just 17th for TEs, though.) We'll see whether the run-pass splits change. That question plus Pickett's limitations make the WRs tough to get excited about. RB Najee Harris looks interesting, though -- especially because his trade cost has been driven down by meager production and Jaylen Warren's recent numbers.
Steelers RB Jaylen Warren exploded in Week 11, logging 129 rushing yards on 9 carries vs. the Browns. To emphasize his impressive performance, consider that Warren recorded a 74-yard TD run early in the third quarter. Even if you remove that play from Warren’s performance, he still would’ve had nearly twice as many total yards (71) on the 11 other touches than his teammate Najee Harris did (36) on 13 touches in the contest. Still, the Steelers held Warren to a 44.8% snap share on Sunday. This is still a frustratingly split backfield. It’s feasible, however, that back-to-back 100-yard efforts from the former UDFA could push Pittsburgh to give Warren more work over Harris moving forward. It’ll be intriguing to see how the workload is distributed in Week 12 against a softer Bengals defense (29th in run-defense DVOA in 2023).
Bears QB Justin Fields made his return from a thumb injury in Week 11 vs. Detroit. He instantly paid off for fantasy managers, posting 169-1 passing and 104 rushing yards on 18(!) attempts. (Those 18 attempts matched a career-high.) His lone score came on a beautiful deep ball to D.J. Moore, who led the team with 9 targets, 7 catches, and 96 yards. Week 12 turns up a neutral matchup vs. the Vikings, followed by a Week 13 bye. Fields will be a no-doubt QB1 down the stretch, especially for matchups with Detroit (Week 14), Arizona (Week 16) and Atlanta (Week 17).
Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth (hamstring) is active for today’s game vs. the Browns. He was a full-go in practice on Thursday and Friday, so Freiermuth should be ready for his usual role. But he’s a shaky Week 11 fantasy play coming off a multi-week hamstring injury and facing the league’s top-ranked TE defense.
Steelers S Minkah Fitzpatrick (hamstring) will miss his third straight game. Pittsburgh has ruled him out again after another week of no practice. Pittsburgh has also ruled S Keanu Neal (rib) out for the game. That should leave Elijah Riley joining Damontae Kazee at safety in the starting lineup.
Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth (hamstring) is listed as questionable for this weekend’s game vs. the Browns. He was a full-go on Thursday and Friday, so Freiermuth should play. But coming off a multi-week hamstring injury and facing the league’s top-ranked TE defense, Freiermuth is not a recommended season-long start.
Bears QB Justin Fields (thumb) put in a full week of practice and isn’t listed on the final Week 11 injury report. He’ll be back for Sunday’s game against the Lions after missing the past four. Fields carries elevated risk coming off the throwing-thumb injury. But the full practices are encouraging. And, of course, Fields derives much of his fantasy value from his rushing production. See where he sits in the Week 11 QB Rankings.
Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth (hamstring) graduated to a full practice on Thursday. It's confirmation that he's set to return for this weekend's game vs. the Browns. Coming off a multi-week hamstring injury and in a negative matchup. Freiermuth is not a recommended TE1 this week.
Bears QB Justin Fields (thumb) was a full participant in Wednesday's practice. It's confirmation that he's on track to return for this weekend's game vs. the Lions -- and a good sign that the thumb shouldn't be a major factor. See where Fields sits in the Week 11 QB Rankings.
Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth (hamstring) was limited in Wednesday's practice. He's eligible and reportedly on track to play vs. the Browns this weekend. We'll see how he progresses over the next few days.
Bears QB Justin Fields (thumb) is expected to return for Sunday's game vs. the Lions, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Fields has been out since hurting his right thumb in Week 6. As long as he proves he's regained enough grip strength in practice this week, per Rapoport, he'll be cleared to return. Fields posted massive 335-4-1 and 282-4-0 passing lines in his last two healthy games -- although they came in superb matchups against the Broncos and Commanders. He's also remained a major contributor on the ground, averaging 7.8 carries and 39.5 rushing yards per game. Fields will be a risk/reward Week 11 fantasy play coming off the throwing-thumb injury. See where he sits in the Week 11 Rankings.
Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth (hamstring) has been designated to return from IR and is on track to play vs. the Browns this weekend, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Freiermuth originally hurt his hamstring in Week 4, missed Week 5, and then re-injured the hamstring in practice ahead of Week 7. He totaled just five catches on nine targets in three games to open the season. Freiermuth is certainly worth rostering in fantasy leagues of 12+ teams, but he's not a recommended Week 11 starter against Cleveland's top-ranked TE defense.
Week 10 provided fantasy managers with a pair of quality performances from Steelers RBs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren. The duo split playing time in the contest (33 snaps apiece), saw a near-identical share of touches (Harris 20, Warren 19) on Sunday, and each scored a rushing TD. Harris’ 96 total yards in Week 10 notch the second-highest sum he’s recorded all season, and Warren’s 101 rushing yards marks his career-high. As exciting as these achievements are, fantasy managers should be wary of the tandem in Week 11 vs. a Browns defense that ranks as the fourth-toughest matchup per our adjusted fantasy points allowed.
The Steelers have ruled S Minkah Fitzpatrick (hamstring) out for the second straight game Sunday against the Browns. That'll mean another start for Keanu Neal, who played 97% and 89% of defensive snaps the past two weeks. He has managed a just-OK 7 total tackles in each game. Neal sits in DB3 territory of our Week 10 rankings.
Bears QB Justin Fields (thumb) is inactive for tonight’s game vs. the Panthers. He remained limited in practice all week. We’ll see if he can make it back for the Week 11 meeting with the Lions. QB Tyson Bagent makes his fourth straight start tonight. He’s finished QB20, QB23, and QB7 the past three weeks.
Bears QB Justin Fields is doubtful for Thursday night's game against the Panthers with his right thumb injury. He continued limited practice participation this week after returning to that level last Friday. We'll see whether he can take the next step and return to game action in Week 11. QB Tyson Bagent will get his fourth straight start against Carolina. His presence has meant shorter passing than what the Bears have done with Fields this year. But the rookie has also completed passes at a higher rate (67.3% vs. 61.7%). The switch has lowered the fantasy ceiling for WR D.J. Moore and produced a lower passing-TD rate. But it otherwise doesn't seem to be negatively impacting the Chicago passing game.
Falcons RB Cordarrelle Patterson hurt his ankle in the first half of Sunday's game vs. the Vikings and is questionable to return. We'll update his status when we know more.
Update: Patterson returned to the game.
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