The Titans surprisingly landed WR Calvin Ridley on Wednesday with a four-year, $92 million deal, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The pact includes $50 million guaranteed, adding Ridley to a WR corps that returns DeAndre Hopkins and Treylon Burks. That's probably the strongest collection of WR talent the franchise has had since moving from Houston to Nashville. And the Ridley move just might be the strongest sign that HC Brian Callahan's Titans plan to throw the ball quite a bit more than the Mike Vrabel version. Even big-money RB Tony Pollard brings more receiving pedigree than rushing. How will all these WRs fit together by target share? Burks figures to sit a clear third, barring some gigantic steps for him this summer. Ridley hasn't been as much of a target earner as Hopkins throughout their respective careers. So we'll likely favor Hopkins between them. But expect both veteran wideouts to garner shares of 20+%. As for scheme fit, Burks enjoyed quite a bit of success from the slot at Arkansas before arriving as a first-round pick. This will be a very interesting offense heading into the 2024 season. And the biggest individual winner might be QB Will Levis. He's available late in best ball drafts (QB27 Underdog Fantasy ADP) but can at least offer high weekly ceilings. There might be top-16 season upside to Levis. Check our best ball rankings for everyone's updated numbers.
Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 in Houston reports that the Titans are expected to sign RB Tony Pollard. That'll be a surprising move for a team that drafted RB Tyjae Spears in Round 3 last year -- and a GM who talked him up at the Combine. Pollard's coming off a disappointing season in his first turn as Dallas' lead back. But it has since been reported that he spent much of 2023 still working back from his end-of-2022 leg injury. ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Tennessee is giving Pollard a three-year, $24 million deal. That obviously positions Pollard as the Titans' new lead back and crushes Spears' 2024 upside. Unfortunately, you'll probably have to hang on to the second-year runner rather than sell low in dynasty. Pollard has been going RB22 in Underdog Fantasy ADP -- four spots behind Spears in positional ADP. Expect both those numbers to change. Pollard should remain a fine best ball target at least up to RB15 range. Check our updated RB rankings to see where he and Spears settle.
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler says Jacksonville "plans to keep" WR Calvin Ridley, who is set to hit free agency in March. By allowing him to hit free agency before they re-sign him, the Jaguars would avoid upgrading to a second-rounder the third-round pick they currently owe Atlanta for the 2022 trade. We'll see exactly how this situation plays out. If you're drafting now, treat Ridley as though he's most likely to stay with the Jags -- but don't treat it as guaranteed.
The Jaguars already owe Atlanta a third-round pick in the upcoming NFL Draft from the trade that brought WR Calvin Ridley to town in 2022. If Jacksonville re-signs Ridley before then, though, the pick would become a second-rounder -- jumping from 79th overall to 48th. That might be enough to keep the Jags from returning the 29-year-old wideout. We'll find out come March's opening of free agency. For now, though, don't treat Ridley as a Jaguar if you're drafting in best ball formats.
The Titans are set to hire Brian Callahan as their new HC, according to multiple sources. It'll be the 39-year-old's first HC gig. Callahan spent the past five seasons as Cincinnati's OC, leading the Bengals to top-13 finishes in total yards and points in 2021 and 2022. Cincinnati sunk to 22nd in yards and 16th in points this past year, due in large part to QB Joe Burrow missing 7.5 games. Callahan was a pass-leaning play caller, with four of his five Bengals offenses ranking top-12 in pass rate, including a trio of top-6 finishes. That means a big shift is coming in Tennessee, where the Titans never finished higher than 25th in pass attempts in six seasons under HC Mike Vrabel. Callahan's arrival is certainly good news for the fantasy upside on QB Will Levis, WRs DeAndre Hopkins and Treylon Burks, and TE Chig Okonkwo.
The Titans fired HC Mike Vrabel. Tennessee went 41-24 over Vrabel's first four seasons, making the playoffs in 2019, 2020, and 2021. But the Titans won just 13 games total over the last two seasons and ranked bottom-5 in total offense both years. This offense might look a lot different in 2024, with a new coaching staff and potentially no Derrick Henry.
The Chiefs have ruled CB L'Jarius Sneed out for Sunday's game against the Chargers, officially benching their top DB for a meaningless finale. The team also lists LB Nick Bolton, CB Trent McDuffie, Edge George Karlaftis, and Edge Mike Danna as questionable. We've had Bolton out of the LB rankings all week and have moved the rest of those defenders way down. Try not to trust any of them in your Week 18 IDP lineup.
The Chargers list LB Kenneth Murray Jr. (shoulder) as doubtful for Sunday's game against the Chiefs. Nick Niemann started in his place last week and delivered 11 tackles (6 solo, 1 for loss). He did so on just 68% playing time, though. So be careful about overrating Niemann for Week 18 IDP use -- especially against a very different version of the Chiefs offense than we usually see. Check our Week 18 LB rankings to see where Niemann lands.
Titans QB Will Levis (foot) did not practice on Wednesday. He admitted that he's still dealing with soreness in that foot and seems unlikely to play in Sunday's meaningless finale vs. the Jaguars. We're projecting QB Ryan Tannehill to start that one.
Chiefs CB L’Jarius Sneed (calf) is active for today's game against the Bengals. He remains a risky IDP option after missing the full week of practice. But Sneed's available if you've been waiting for him.
Titans QB Will Levis suffered a foot injury in the second quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Texans and is officially questionable to return. We'll update his status when we know more. QB Ryan Tannehill has replaced Levis.
Update: Levis has been ruled out.
Cowboys RB Tony Pollard posted another disappointing game in Week 17 vs. the Lions, accumulating 49 rushing yards on 16 carries. This performance ends his fantasy season on a skid of three consecutive games with fewer than 10 PPR points and is pretty emblematic of the year he had in a broad sense. In his first season as Dallas’ unencumbered lead back, Pollard accumulated an average of 76.9 scrimmage yards per game and 4.27 yards per opportunity, both down from his averages of 86.1 scrimmage yards and 5.94 yards per opportunity in 2022. It’s pretty difficult to argue that he holds RB1 value in dynasty formats at this point. Between his downturn in production and the fact that he’ll enter the free agent market at 27 years old, his future prospects will hinge on where he lands in 2024 and what type of role he’s able to secure, whether it be back with the Cowboys or elsewhere.
Chiefs CB L'Jarius Sneed (calf) is questionable for Sunday's game against the Bengals. He missed the entire practice week, though, and looks risky as an IDP play even if active. We already knocked him way down our Week 17 DB rankings ahead of Friday's practice and would try not to use him if possible.
Chargers LB Kenneth Murray is expected to miss Sunday's game against the Broncos with a shoulder injury. He's officially doubtful after following a limited Wednesday workout with two missed practices. This would be Murray's first missed game of the season, which makes it tough to know exactly what the fill-in plan looks like. We wouldn't play a Chargers LB beyond Eric Kendricks if you can help it.
Titans QB Will Levis (ankle) put in a full week of practice and isn’t listed on the final injury report. He’ll be back under center for Sunday’s game vs. the Texans but is only in play in 2-QB and Superflex leagues.
Chiefs CB L'Jarius Sneed is questionable for Sunday's game against the Bengals. But he missed every practice this week with his calf injury. Even if Sneed turns up active, he'll carry significant re-injury risk. Weigh that in your lineup decisions. We have moved him down the Week 17 DB rankings.
Titans QB Will Levis (ankle) was a full-go in Wednesday's practice. That should have him on track to return for this weekend's game vs. the Texans. Levis has finished better than QB15 in only one of his eight starts. He's only in play in 2-QB and Superflex leagues.
Steelers HC Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that QB Mason Rudolph is "scheduled" to start in Week 17 He added that the team will see where QB Kenny Pickett's mobility is at the end of the week. So it sounds like Pickett has a chance to return but that the team isn't expecting him to be ready. Rudolph threw for 290 yards and 2 TDs Saturday in his first start of the season. Pittsburgh will visit Seattle this Sunday. We'll bet on Rudolph falling short of his Week 16 numbers, but the Seahawks present a similarly generous defense. They rank 24th in total DVOA, 24th against the pass, and 22nd against the run.
Jaguars WR Calvin Ridley racked up 6 receptions for 90 yards and 2 TDs in Sunday's loss to the Buccaneers. That marked his biggest production since Week 11 against the Titans. That followed three straight games of 53 receiving yards or less for Ridley. So do we ignore it as an outlier? No. Ridley has drawn 9+ targets in three straight games and 8+ targets in five of the past six. He was bound for some regression. Next comes a Panthers defense that has allowed the third-fewest PPR points to WRs on the season. But Carolina sits just 17th in pass-defense DVOA and allowed TD receptions to Packers WRs Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks in Sunday's loss to the Packers. Ridley figures to land in WR2 territory in the final Week 17 rankings.
Titans TE Chig Okonkwo is active for today’s game vs. the Seahawks. He missed Friday's practice with an illness, but we’re expecting him to be ready for his usual role today.
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