Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence (shoulder) is "pushing to play" vs. the Titans on Sunday, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. "He's not at risk of reinjury," Rapoport adds. "It's about what he can deal with, and toughness has never been an issue." We're expecting Lawrence to play in this must-win game but will continue to track the situation.
Packers TE Luke Musgrave (kidney) has been activated from IR, putting him in line to play vs. the Bears on Sunday. Musgrave has been out since Week 11. He was Green Bay's lead TE before going down, but it's unclear how snaps will be divvied between Musgrave and Tucker Kraft against the Bears. Neither guy is a safe fantasy play in Week 18.
Ravens S Kyle Hamilton (knee) is inactive for today's game against the Steelers. He officially entered the day questionable, but we're betting this is more of a rest day in a meaningless game than a true injury issue. We've had Hamilton out of the DB rankings all week.
Steelers S Minkah Fitzpatrick (knee) is inactive for today's game against the Ravens. LB Elandon Roberts (pec) is active.
Ravens WR Zay Flowers (calf) is inactive for today’s game vs. the Steelers. He joins QB Lamar Jackson and WR Odell Beckham on the sidelines for this one. QB Tyler Huntley starts with WRs Rashod Bateman, Nelson Agholor, Laquon Treadwell, and Tylan Wallace.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that the Jaguars plan to activate WR Christian Kirk from IR ahead of Sunday's game against the Titans. Kirk has been out a month following core-muscle surgery. He's questionable for the game and considered a game-time decision. We'd guess that if Kirk is active, he should be ready for something close to his normal role. Of course, we can all only guess at that, barring further reports of his expected use. The month off plus QB Trevor Lawrence's right-shoulder injury compound the risk for Kirk as a fantasy play. He's interesting as a DFS flier -- because of extremely cheap salaries on both DraftKings and FanDuel -- but you'll have to consider the risk-reward of playing Kirk in season-long formats.
Saints backup QB Jameis Winston agreed to a restructured contract that adds two years to his deal, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reports. But the move was reportedly done merely to spread out his cap hits. Those two extra years void "early in the new league year," according to Fowler. That means Winston can still hit free agency this spring. The 30-year-old will be interesting to watch on the market. Winston is stashable in dynasty leagues now (where possible) in case he lands behind a shaky starter. That seems more likely than Winston getting a shot to be some team's bridge QB. Winston previously hit the market in 2020, 2021, and 2022. His most recent New Orleans contract came with a starting opportunity ($28 million over two years), but the Saints stuck with Andy Dalton in 2022 even after Winston got healthy and then imported Derek Carr for 2023.
Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco (quad, shoulder) is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game vs. the Chargers. There’s no reason for him to play much, if at all, with his team locked into the AFC’s No. 3 seed. Pacheco should not be in Week 18 fantasy lineups. We’ll see which RBs end up active for the Chiefs on Sunday.
Raiders TE Michael Mayer (toe) is out for Sunday’s finale vs. the Broncos. He wraps up his rookie campaign with a 27-304-2 line across 14 games. It felt underwhelming, especially compared to fellow rookie TEs Sam LaPorta and Dalton Kincaid. But we’ve seen plenty of TEs struggle in year one before going on to have strong careers. Dynasty leaguers should see if they can buy low on Mayer this offseason. Austin Hooper will close out this season as Vegas’ lead TE.
Raiders RB Josh Jacobs (quad) is out for Sunday's finale vs. the Broncos. He finishes the season with 805 rushing yards on a career-low 3.5 yards per carry across 13 games. Jacobs is set to hit free agency in March at 26 years old. RB Zamir White will close out the year as Vegas' feature back. He's racked up 59 carries and 11 targets over the last three weeks.
The Browns have ruled Edge Myles Garrett out for Sunday's game against the Bengals. He did sit out Friday's practice and is officially listed with shoulder and hamstring issues. But Garrett's sitting because Cleveland doesn't need this game. Beware of other Browns starting defenders in this game for that reason. Missing Garrett also makes Cleveland a worse team-defense play.
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.
Saints TE Juwan Johnson (chest) is listed as questionable for this weekend’s game vs. the Falcons. He got in limited practices on Thursday and Friday. Johnson should be able to play come Sunday, but we’ll find out for sure when New Orleans’ inactives come out around 11:30 am ET.
Saints RB Alvin Kamara (ankle) is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game vs. the Falcons. He didn’t practice all week, but HC Dennis Allen said Friday that they’ll wait until game day before making a final decision on Kamara’s status. His absence would leave Jamaal Williams as New Orleans’ lead back. RB Kendre Miller (ankle, illness) is also listed as questionable for Week 18.
Eagles RB D’Andre Swift (illness) is questionable for this weekend’s game vs. the Giants. He was added to the injury report on Friday and limited in practice. Swift should be fine come Sunday, but you’ll need to make sure he’s active around 3 pm ET.
Eagles WR DeVonta Smith (ankle) is out for Sunday’s game vs. the Giants. He didn’t practice all week, which puts his availability for the Wild Card round in question. Julio Jones figures to step in as Philadelphia’s No. 2 WR on Sunday.
The Texans have ruled Edge Jonathan Greenard (ankle) out for Saturday's game against the Colts. Edge Will Anderson Jr. (ankle) is questionable for the second straight week. He followed the same practice schedule as Week 17, sitting out the first two days before returning to a limited workout. Anderson played through the questionable tag for normal duty and good production last week. You can find him in a usable range in our Week 18 DL rankings.
Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle (ankle) practiced all week and is off the final injury report for Sunday’s game vs. the Commanders. He’ll be back to serve as Dallas’ No. 2 RB after missing Week 17.
The Ravens have ruled CB Marlon Humphrey (calf) out for Saturday's game against the Steelers. They list S Kyle Hamilton (knee), CB Brandon Stephens (ankle), and CB Ronald Darby (illness) as questionable. We've had Humphrey, Hamilton, and Stephens out of the DB rankings all week. Even if Hamilton and/or Stephens plays, there's little reason for Baltimore to keep either starter on the field for usual full-time duty. Darby remains in there because he's a fill-in level DB. If he's active, he'll be OK to use in deeper IDP leagues.
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