Rams WR Cooper Kupp (foot) returned to a limited practice on Thursday. It sounds like he'll be fine for this weekend's game vs. the Rams, but we'll get another update on his status tomorrow.
Bills HC Sean McDermott said ahead of Wednesday's practice that CB Tre'Davious White would be returning to the field this week but that he won't play in Sunday's game against the Chiefs. White has been on the PUP while continuing to work back from last season's ACL tear. We'll see when he's ready for game action.
Rams WR Cooper Kupp didn't practice Wednesday because of a foot injury. TE Tyler Higbee (ankle) and DL Aaron Donald (foot) also sat out. HC Sean McVay said afterward that the team will "be smart" with all the dinged up starters. We'll track the status of all 3 key fantasy contributors throughout the week.
Rams QB Matthew Stafford technically threw for 308 yards in Sunday's loss to the Cowboys. But 75 yards of that (and his only TD) came via a short throw and long run by WR Cooper Kupp. Outside of that play, Stafford averaged just 5.7 yards per pass attempt. He remains a weak fantasy option. Kupp's long TD beefed up a receiving line that finished at 7-125-1 on 10 targets. TE Tyler Higbee got another 10 targets and caught 7 balls for 46 yards. WR Ben Skowronek checked in 3rd with 8 targets, 6 receptions and 41 yards. And Allen Robinson did just enough to remind us that he's alive.
Rams QB Matt Stafford couldn't overcome the 49ers defense in Week 4, throwing for 254 scoreless yards and 1 INT. He attempted 48 passes but couldn’t solve a strong pass rush that finished with 7 sacks. The veteran passer has now tossed 0 or 1 TD pass in 3 of 4 outings. Making matters worse: Van Jefferson's return from a knee injury isn't imminent. And the upcoming schedule (Cowboys, Panthers, 49ers, Bucs) looks tough.
Rams TE Tyler Higbee lit up the box score in Week 4 with 10 catches for 73 yards. Believe it or not, the catches don't mark a career-high for Higbee, who hit 12 against the Cowboys in 2019. As for Monday night — Higbee's outing made him the PPR TE4 league-wide. Of course, he benefited from 48 Matt Stafford passes, but a target share of 20.8% is still solid. He’s certainly benefiting from the slow start by Allen Robinson, too. Higbee’s now hit 10 PPR points in 3 straight and remains a no-doubt TE1. He’ll look for his first TD of the season Sunday against Dallas.
Rams RB Malcolm Brown was promoted from the practice squad and is active for tonight's game vs. the 49ers. He spent 2017-2020 with the Rams under HC Sean McVay, so he has plenty of experience in the offense. We'll see exactly how much action Brown siphons from RBs Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson tonight. We'd be trying to avoid this backfield.
Rams S Jordan Fuller (hamstring) is questionable for Sunday's game against the Cardinals. He sustained the injury Thursday and then missed Friday's practice. Fuller actually worked behind S Nick Scott (who started alongside S Taylor Rapp) in Week 2, so this shouldn't impact IDP decisions. The team has also ruled CB David Long out for Sunday's game.
Rams QB Matthew Stafford threw for 272 yards and 3 TDs in Sunday's win over the Falcons. He also tossed a pair of INTs. Stafford's scores went to, of course, Cooper Kupp (twice) and Allen Robinson. He targeted Kupp (14) or Tyler Higbee (9) on 63.9% of his pass attempts.
Commanders S Kamren Curl is questionable for Sunday's game against the Lions. Curl put in limited practices this week with the thumb injury that cost him Week 1, but ESPN's John Keim said he didn't test the thumb by catching passes. Keim added that Curl says the ligament in the thumb needs to heal. It sounds like we should expect Curl not to play. If that's the case, Darrick Forrest will fill in again. Forrest tallied 5 tackles (4 solo) with an INT, a 2nd pass defensed and a forced fumble in the Week 1 win over the Jaguars.
Rams RB Kyren Williams suffered a high-ankle sprain in Thursday night's opener vs. the Bills, ESPN's Field Yates reports. Williams is expected to miss "up to 6 weeks," which is a standard timetable for this injury. Williams isn't worth stashing in redraft leagues.
Update: HC Sean McVay said Williams will have surgery on his high-ankle sprain and be sidelined 6-8 weeks.
Mixed results for Rams TE Tyler Higbee in Thursday night's opener vs. the Bills. He didn't deliver much for fantasy owners, catching 5 balls for just 39 yards with a couple of drops. But the usage was strong. Higbee ran a route on 92% of pass plays and saw 11 targets (26.8% share). If he continues to get anywhere close to that kind of playing time and volume, he'll be a strong bet to finish the season as a top-12 fantasy TE.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Rams QB Matthew Stafford had a "procedure" on his right elbow in the offseason "to deal with the pain he experienced last season and to help prepare for this season." Schefter's sources say Stafford's throwing elbow now feels better than it did a year ago. That corroborates last week's words from the QB and HC Sean McVay that Stafford's heading into the season with no limitations. At this point, all we can do is trust the Rams' words on their QB. We haven't lowered Stafford or his pass-catchers in our projections.
Asked about the health of his elbow, Rams QB Matthew Stafford said Sunday, "I feel good, no limitations ... I feel great," according to NFL Network's Omar Ruiz. Stafford added, though, that he'll go week to week in determining what he'll need to do for it. HC Sean McVay reportedly added that he would have "no hesitation" with having Stafford throw 50-55 passes in a game, if needed. It's clear that Stafford's elbow isn't all the way back to 100%. But it also seems like he's good enough at least for early-season fantasy football purposes.
The Texans on Wednesday claimed WR Tyler Johnson, who failed to make Tampa Bay's regular-season roster. Whereas Johnson got nudged out by a loaded Buccaneers WR depth chart, he faces much more opportunity in Houston. Only WR Brandin Cooks exceeded 60 targets for last year's squad, and WR Nico Collins is the only other returnee who reached 40 looks. Second-round pick John Metchie is out following his leukemia diagnosis. So there's room for Johnson to climb as high as 3rd on the Houston WR depth chart. He'll likely need an injury to Cooks or Collins to have a real shot at fantasy relevance, though.
The Bills have placed CB Tre'Davious White on the regular-season PUP list, meaning he'll miss at least the first 4 games. White is still working back from a Nov. 25 ACL tear. Dane Jackson will start at 1 corner, with rookies Kaiir Elam and Christian Benford competing for the other outside spot. Taron Johnson returns as the lead slot man. Missing White certainly doesn't help the Buffalo defense. It does help the individual matchup for opponent #1 WRs.
The Cowboys are releasing K Brett Maher, but Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News reports that the expect to re-sign him pretty quickly. The move is reportedly being made to allow for other roster moves in setting the initial 53-man roster. So Maher still looks like Dallas' Week 1 kicker.
The Buccaneers are releasing WR Tyler Johnson, according to multiple reports. The 3rd-year wideout looks good enough to land on a roster somewhere but lost out to a loaded WR corps in Tampa. A release instead of a trade, though, could indicate limited interest around the league.
The 49ers and QB Jimmy Garoppolo are finalizing a new deal that will make him the "highest paid backup in the NFL," according to NFL Network. It's a surprising move after the 'Niners basically said all offseason that Garoppolo had no future with the team. San Francisco has committed to QB Trey Lance as the starter -- but Garoppolo's presence will make it easier to bench Lance if he struggles this year. We're not moving Lance in the QB rankings, but his fantasy floor is now a little low.
Update: ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Garoppolo is getting $6.5 million guaranteed with "playtime bonuses that can boost it another nearly $9 million." So it's a backup-level deal with upside in case Garoppolo ends up playing more than expected.
Rams RB Kyren Williams (foot) was cleared to play in Saturday's preseason finale, but HC Sean McVay opted to hold him out. Asked about that decision afterward, McVay said it's because Williams is an "integral part of the plan this season," according to The Los Angeles Times' Gary Klein. The 5th-round rookie's most likely contributions figure to come in the passing game. He'd still likely need Cam Akers or Darrell Henderson to miss time to be a fantasy factor -- but both of those guys have had trouble staying healthy and are currently sidelined with injuries. Williams is only worth considering in deep fantasy drafts, but keep him on your waiver-wire watchlist.
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