Texans WR Noah Brown has been placed on IR with the shoulder injury he suffered in Saturday's Wild Card win over the Browns. He'll miss the rest of the postseason. Brown flashed a few times during the 2023 season but was unable to string together more than a handful of healthy games at a time. The 28-year-old is due to hit free agency in March.
The Rams believe TE Tyler Higbee tore his right ACL when he took a direct shot to that knee from Lions S Kerby Joseph in Sunday night's Wild Card loss, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. Higbee is scheduled for an MRI on Monday. If the torn ACL is confirmed, Higbee will be up against it to be ready for the start of the 2024 campaign. The 31-year-old is signed with the Rams for two more seasons. Fifth-round rookie TE Davis Allen flashed a bit down the stretch this year and will have an opportunity to earn a bigger role in 2024, although the Rams are likely to add to the position this offseason.
Update: The ACL tear has been confirmed. HC Sean McVay said that Higbee also tore the MCL in his right knee.
Browns HC Kevin Stefanski said at Sunday's season-ending press conference that the team still has a "ton of confidence" in QB Deshaun Watson. Injuries limited Watson to just six games this season -- the last of which was a broken glenoid in his throwing shoulder that required surgery in November. “He’s doing great in rehab," Stefanski said. "I’m confident he’ll be ready to roll this spring. He’s chomping at the bit, but he’s doing everything he’s supposed to do when it comes to what the doctors are telling him and as he rehabs through this, but he’ll be ready to roll.” Watson's recovery from that surgery is one question heading into 2024. But the bigger one is his ability at this point. Watson put more bad than good on tape this past year, finishing with a 61.4% completion rate and 6.5 yards per attempt. QB Joe Flacco was much more productive in the same offense down the stretch. Watson can't be considered more than a QB2 in early fantasy drafts. We'll track his rehab.
Rams TE Tyler Higbee (shoulder) is active for tonight's Wild Card game vs. the Lions. He was limited in practice all week and carries some re-injury risk. But this is a plus matchup against Detroit's 24th-ranked TE defense.
Lions TE Sam LaPorta (knee) is active for tonight's Wild Card game vs. the Rams. He'll reportedly play with a brace on that injured knee and probably won't be close to 100%. You're likely banking on a TD if you use LaPorta in fantasy football tonight.
Packers RB A.J. Dillon (thumb, neck) is inactive for today's Wild Card game vs. the Cowboys. That should leave RB Aaron Jones in a workhorse role, with RBs Patrick Taylor and Emanuel Wilson behind him.
Packers WR Christian Watson (hamstring) is active for today's Wild Card game vs. the Cowboys. He was reportedly a true game-time decision after a limited week of practice. When Watson returned from his first hamstring injury of the season back in Week 4, he played just 46% of Green Bay's offensive snaps. It's certainly possible that he's on a limited snap count again today.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport hears that Lions TE Sam LaPorta (knee) is "trending in the right direction to play" vs. the Rams tonight. "Very limited in practice, LaPorta will likely wear a brace," Rapoport adds. LaPorta will certainly be at less than 100% and a strong candidate to be on a snap count if he does end up active for this one. We'll get Detroit's inactives around 6:45 pm ET tonight.
Packers WR Christian Watson will test his injured hamstring in pre-game warmups before a decision is made on his availability for today's Wild Card game vs. the Cowboys, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. "For the first time in a month, there is some optimism that he can go," Rapoport adds. "But the workout is key." We'd expect Watson to be on some type of snap count if he does end up playing. We'll get Green Bay's inactives around 3 pm ET today.
Dolphins WR Jaylen Waddle (ankle) is active for tonight's Wild Card game vs. the Chiefs. He's still just three weeks removed from his high-ankle sprain, so don't expect Waddle to be at 100% for this one. He was limited in practice all week.
Dolphins RB Raheem Mostert (knee, ankle) is active for tonight's Wild Card game vs. the Chiefs. He got in three limited practices this week, so we're expecting him to be ready for something close to his usual role.
Chiefs WR Kadarius Toney (hip, ankle) is inactive for tonight's Wild Card game vs. the Dolphins. Hopefully he wasn't part of your playoff plans. WR Justyn Ross (hamstring) is also inactive.
Texans WR Noah Brown suffered a shoulder injury in the first half of Saturday's game vs. the Browns and has been ruled out. That leaves WRs Robert Woods, John Metchie, and Xavier Hutchinson behind alpha dog Nico Collins.
Bucs QB Baker Mayfield (ribs, ankle) is expected to play vs. the Eagles on Monday night, according to The Athletic's Jeff Howe. Mayfield only got in limited practices on Friday and Saturday and is listed as questionable, so he'll clearly be at less than 100% for this win-or-go-home game. The matchup against Philadelphia's 31st-ranked QB defense still gives Mayfield some DFS tournament appeal.
Bucs QB Baker Mayfield (ankle, ribs) is listed as questionable for Monday night's playoff game vs. the Eagles. He got in limited practices on Friday and Saturday. We'd be surprised if Mayfield did not play on Monday, but we'll continue to keep you updated on his status. QB Kyle Trask is Mayfield's backup.
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts (finger) is not listed on the final injury report for Monday night's Wild Card game vs. the Bucs. He put in full practices on Friday and Saturday, which would seemingly suggest that his right finger injury will not be a major problem. We'll look for further updates on his status ahead of kickoff.
Eagles WR DeVonta Smith (ankle) put in a full week of practice and is not listed on the final injury report for Monday night's game vs. the Bucs. It looks like he'll be at least close to 100% for that one and has a chance to see a big target share with WR A.J. Brown out.
Browns RB Pierre Strong (back) is inactive for today's Wild Card game vs. the Texans. That leaves a few extra touches to go around for RBs Jerome Ford and Kareem Hunt.
Texans WRs Robert Woods (hip) and Noah Brown (back) are active for today's game vs. the Browns. Neither guy figures to be operating at 100%, so they're not attractive DFS or playoff contest plays.
The Steelers-Bills game originally scheduled for 1 pm ET on Sunday has been moved to 4:30 pm ET on Monday. Buffalo is expecting heavy snow and wind gusts up to 60 mph on Sunday. The forecast for Monday calls for light snow, sustained winds around 15 mph, and gusts up to 30 mph. That's still tough weather for the passing and kicking games -- but significantly better than it would have been on Sunday. We're adjusting our projections for this game.
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