Bears RB Roschon Johnson (concussion) remained sidelined for Thursday's practice. He's now a long shot to be cleared ahead of Sunday's game vs. the Raiders. Johnson's absence will leave Chicago's backfield to RBs D'Onta Foreman, Darrynton Evans, and Travis Homer, who is set to return from his hamstring injury. Foreman is the best fantasy bet but is an unexciting RB3 or flex play.
Bills QB Josh Allen (shoulder) was upgraded to full participation in Thursday's practice. It's confirmation that he'll be out there for this weekend's game vs. the Patriots. And it doesn't look like the shoulder will be an issue.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Raiders QB Jimmy Garoppolo (back) will not play vs. the Bears on Sunday. There's been no timetable given for Garoppolo's return. It's also unclear who will get the start at QB for Vegas this weekend. Rookie QB Aidan O'Connell got the nod when Garoppolo missed Week 4, struggling to 238 yards passing on 6.1 yards per attempt. Veteran QB Brian Hoyer replaced Garoppolo this past week, going 6-of-10 for 102 yards, 0 TDs, and 0 INTs. Neither guy should be in your Week 7 fantasy plans.
Giants QB Daniel Jones (neck) has not yet been cleared for contact, HC Brian Daboll said Thursday. Jones will remain limited at practice today and will obviously need to get that clearance in order to play vs. the Commanders this weekend. We'll keep you updated on his status.
Browns QB Deshaun Watson (shoulder) returned to practice on Thursday. Here's video of him throwing. This at least gives Watson a chance to play vs. the Colts this weekend, although fantasy owners should still be planning to be without him as of now. We'll keep you updated on Watson's progress over the next couple of days.
Update: Watson was officially limited in Thursday's practice.
Jaguars HC Doug Pederson told ESPN's Ed Werder that QB Trevor Lawrence is expected to start tonight's game vs. the Saints, "pending a pregame workout." ESPN's Adam Schefter adds that, "Lawrence has reported improvement in his mild left knee sprain." We'd still expect his mobility inside and outside of the pocket to be limited tonight. We'll get Jacksonville's inactives a little before 7 pm ET.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport confirms that Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs (hamstring) is trending toward returning for this weekend's game vs. the Ravens. The rookie got in a limited practice on Wednesday. He'll carry elevated risk in Week 7 fantasy lineups coming off a multi-week hamstring injury. But the Lions will need Gibbs to play a significant role with RB David Montgomery out and RB Craig Reynolds dealing with hamstring and toe injuries.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport says Bills QB Josh Allen (shoulder) "should be fine" for Sunday's game vs. the Patriots. That's been the general sentiment over the past couple of days. Allen was officially limited in practice on Wednesday. We'll see what he does on Thursday and Friday, but he can stay penciled into Week 7 fantasy lineups for now.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport says the Saints will activate RB Jamaal Williams from IR and play him tonight against the Jaguars. Williams missed the past four games with a hamstring injury. This will mark the first time this year that he and Alvin Kamara are active together. What that means for their work shares remains to be seen. We're still easily starting Kamara across formats, though, and trying to avoid Williams in fantasy football lineups. See where each player lands in our updated Week 7 RB rankings.
Asked Wednesday if rookie RB Zach Evans is on track to start Sunday against the Steelers, Rams HC Sean McVay said: "I wouldn't say that. All four of those guys are possibilities, and we're truly navigating through that." The other three, of course, are Royce Freeman, Myles Gaskin, and Darrell Henderson. McVay added that Evans has improved and said, "I'm looking forward to seeing how he handles this week." QB Matthew Stafford separately told The Athletic's Jordan Rodrigue that this is a "compete for carries" week. We'll see how the week finishes out, but you should bet on no single player controlling backfield work the way Kyren Williams has to this point. All L.A. RBs will make for risky Week 7 plays, barring word from McVay that someone has emerged as the clear leader.
Raiders WR Davante Adams says it's not enough that the team has won its past two games. He's not happy to have only seen 9 targets over that span, with 6 receptions for 74 yards and no TDs. "When you're a player like me, mentally, my benchmark is not wins and losses -- it's greatness," he said Wednesday, according to ESPN's Paul Gutierrez. "So when I go out there, I expect to be able to have that ability to put that on tape and have an influence on the game. ... It's not about me, but I'm one of the bigger pieces as to why this offense is going to go. And if I'm not getting it, then that's obviously not according to plan." A high-level WR expressing displeasure with a lack of targets is not new. It's worth noting here, though, because we've wondered whether Adams' right-shoulder injury was to blame for his two-game downturn. Doesn't sound like it. And HC Josh McDaniels apparently has no problem with Adams' complaint. "Honestly, great players wouldn't be great if they didn't want to try to help the team win in every way they can," McDaniels said. "Our job is to make sure our best players have an opportunity to impact the game, and they can only do what they can do." The Raiders are trending toward starting a backup QB this Sunday against the Bears. Whether that's Brian Hoyer or rookie Aidan O'Connell, it's a downgrade from Jimmy Garoppolo. That hurts the WRs to some degree. But don't be surprised if Adams gets some extra attention in this week's game plan. Keep him in your lineup.
Rams HC Sean McVay labeled RB Kyren Williams "week-to-week" with his ankle injury and admitted that the team is still discussing whether to place him on short-term IR. Williams had his left ankle in a "cast-like material" and was using a scooter at practice on Wednesday, per The Athletic's Jourdan Rodrigue. At this point, it'd be a surprise if Williams played again before the Rams' Week 10 bye.
Seahawks WR D.K. Metcalf (ribs, hip) did not practice on Wednesday. He's been playing through the rib issue for a few weeks but picked up the hip injury in Sunday's loss to the Bengals. Metcalf was eventually able to return to that one and should be available for this weekend's game vs. the Cardinals. But we'll keep an eye on him over the next few days.
The Jets traded WR Mecole Hardman to the Chiefs in exchange for a swap of late-round picks in 2025, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. Hardman signed a one-year, $4 million deal with the Jets in free agency this offseason -- and wound up catching one pass for the team. Now he heads back to the team he spent his first four NFL seasons with. Hardman was largely disappointing with the Chiefs but did average 4.7 targets, 3.4 catches, and 40 yards per game across the 2021 and 2022 campaigns. Kansas City's 2023 WR corps has been completely underwhelming and just lost Justin Watson to an elbow injury. Expect to see Hardman step into a significant role rather quickly, although he's still unlikely to be an asset to fantasy football teams. He's only worth grabbing in very deep leagues.
Rams QB Matt Stafford said Wednesday that it's a "compete for carries" week, per The Athletic's Jourdan Rodrigue. RBs Kyren Williams (ankle) and Ronnie Rivers (knee) will miss Sunday's game vs. the Steelers, leaving RBs Zach Evans, Darrell Henderson, Myles Gaskin, and Royce Freeman to battle for snaps and touches. HC Sean McVay echoed Stafford's sentiment. "We've got the week to be able to evaluate," McVay said. "I would say all four of those guys are possibilities, and we're truly navigating through that." McVay added that he was "pleased" with how RB Zach Evans played in his first six offensive snaps of the season last week. We'll continue to look for clues on what Los Angeles' backfield will look like on Sunday, but we probably won't have a great idea until the game is underway.
Dolphins RB Jeff Wilson (ribs, finger) put in a full practice on Wednesday. That should have him on track to make his 2023 debut vs. the Eagles on Sunday night. It's tough to imagine Wilson stealing a ton of work out of the gate from RB Raheem Mostert, who's been awesome so far this season. But we'll keep a close eye on Wilson's role. He's worth stashing in fantasy leagues of 12+ teams.
Eagles WR DeVonta Smith (hamstring) did not practice on Wednesday. We don't have any other details right now on the hamstring or whether Smith is in danger of missing Sunday night's game vs. the Dolphins. It's worth noting that he played a full allotment of snaps in last week's loss to the Jets. We'll update Smith's status again tomorrow.
Packers RB Aaron Jones (hamstring) was limited in Wednesday's practice. He should be back for this weekend's game vs. the Broncos, but Jones would be much easier to trust in fantasy lineups if he gets in at least one full practice this week.
Seahawks RB Zach Charbonnet (hamstring) did not practice on Wednesday. It's the first we've heard of the issue, but the rookie's status for this weekend's game vs. the Cardinals is now uncertain. Charbonnet handled just two carries and two targets in last week's loss to the Bengals.
Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth (hamstring) was a full participant in Wednesday's practice. He's on track to return for this weekend's game against the Rams' 31st-ranked TE defense.
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