Both ESPN's Brady Henderson and Philly Voice's Jimmy Kempski report that Seahawks QB Geno Smith is not on the field for final warmups. Kempski says "full rosters for both teams" are on the field (without Smith). Henderson says only Drew Lock and Sean Mannion are warming up at QB for Seattle. It sounds like Smith won't quite be ready, though that hasn't been made official yet. We'll keep watching for official word.
Seahawks CB Devon Witherspoon (hip) and S Jamal Adams (knee) are inactive for tonight's game against the Eagles. That leaves Seattle's secondary without a pair of starters vs. one of the league's best WR duos and TE Dallas Goedert. Unless Philly QB Jalen Hurts is limited by his illness -- or the team goes run-heavy -- it should be a fine-to-good night for the Eagles' passing game.
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts (illness) is active for tonight’s game vs. the Seahawks. He was so sick on Sunday that his status for this one was reportedly in real doubt. It’s possible that the illness is a factor in this one. But if you waited on Hurts, get him in your lineup.
Seahawks QB Geno Smith (groin) is active for tonight’s game vs. the Eagles. It’s a surprise after multiple reports over the last 30 hours had Smith unlikely to play. Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer said yesterday that Smith suffered a setback at some point this week. It’s safe to assume that he’ll be operating at well less than 100% tonight, making him a high-risk fantasy play.
Update: The Seahawks have not yet announced who will start tonight's game. Smith, QB Drew Lock, and QB Sean Mannion are all active tonight. That suggests at least some concern about Smith's ability to make it through the game, assuming he starts. We'll let you know if we hear who's starting before kickoff.
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reports that Titans QB Will Levis suffered a high left ankle sprain in Sunday's loss to the Texans. "Still uncertain whether Tennessee needs to sit him or for how long," Fowler says. We'll watch Levis' status this week, but we'd be leaning away from using him if possible anyway. If Levis can't play, Ryan Tannehill should get the start. That shouldn't be a downgrade for other Titans offensive pieces.
Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell announced Monday that QB Nick Mullens will start Sunday's game against the Lions. That's not a surprise after Mullens threw for 303 yards and 2 TDs in the Week 15 OT loss at Cincinnati. He also tossed 2 INTs but ranked among the top one-third of QBs for the week in expected points added per play. Mullens will carry some upside against a Detroit D that has struggled at times against the pass, but don't expect him to land among our top 12 fantasy QBs for Week 16.
Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell said Monday that RB Ty Chandler "is absolutely a guy that is going to see a featured, featured role in our offense." Chandler gave the Vikings their best rushing performance of the season in Saturday's loss to the Bengals, ripping off 132 yards and a score on 23 carries. We'll see whether RB Alexander Mattison can make it back from his ankle injury for this weekend's game vs. the Lions, but it sounds like we should expect Chandler to lead the backfield regardless. He, of course, will be a much stronger fantasy play if Mattison remains out.
Rams WR Tutu Atwell cleared concussion protocol and will be back for Thursday night's game vs. the Saints, HC Sean McVay said. Atwell split No. 3 WR duties with Demarcus Robinson in his last two healthy games. Neither guy is a Week 16 fantasy option outside of one-game DFS contests.
Ravens RB Keaton Mitchell tore his left ACL in the fourth quarter of Sunday night's win over the Jaguars. It looked like that kind of injury at the time, and HC John Harbaugh said after the game they expected Mitchell to miss the season. Multiple reports say the Ravens are optimistic for a full recovery. The timing, though, could challenge the start to Mitchell's second NFL season -- especially considering the importance of speed and explosiveness to his game. The rookie certainly remains worth stashing on dynasty rosters where possible. Mitchell won't be more than an end-of-draft flier (if that) for early 2024 best ball drafting, though. Gus Edwards and Justice Hill figure to split the backfield the rest of the way, including the playoffs. We'd also bet on Baltimore bringing RB Melvin Gordon back from the practice squad. He logged 13 carries and 3 targets across two games early this season, when the Ravens were dealing with multiple RB injuries (including Mitchell's first IR stint).
The Dolphins' "expectation and hope" is that WR Tyreek Hill (ankle) will be back for Sunday's game against the Cowboys, CBS' Tracy Wolfson said on SiriusXM on Monday. Hill seemed relatively close to playing vs. the Jets yesterday, so it tracks that he has a good chance to return for Week 16. We'll keep you updated on his status throughout this week.
Jaguars HC Doug Pederson labeled WR Zay Jones "day-to-day" with the hamstring injury he suffered in Sunday night's loss to the Ravens. It sounds like Jones dodged a serious injury, but fantasy owners can't be counting on him to play Week 16. With WR Christian Kirk also out, Jacksonville could be down to WRs Parker Washington, Jamal Agnew, Tim Jones, and Elijah Cooks behind Calvin Ridley. Ridley and TE Evan Engram should dominate targets vs. the Bucs on Sunday. We'll see whether they're catching passes from QB Trevor Lawrence (concussion) or QB C.J. Beathard.
The Chiefs are expecting to get RB Isiah Pacheco (shoulder) back for next Monday's game vs. the Raiders. "He'll be back this week," HC Andy Reid said Monday. "He'll be good to go this week, unless there's further setbacks. But right now, everything's positive for him to go." Pacheco had emerged as Kansas City's feature back before hurting his shoulder, averaging 17.0 carries and 2.8 targets over his last four games. Expect him back in a similar role in Week 16 and beyond, barring another injury. Pacheco can be penciled back into fantasy lineups, while Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Jerick McKinnon should go back to benches.
Steelers HC Mike Tomlin said Monday that S Minkah Fitzpatrick will miss Saturday's game against the Bengals with the knee injury that knocked him out of the Week 15 loss to the Colts. Trenton Thompson filled in and led Pittsburgh safeties in playing time in a game that also saw S Damontae Kazee ejected. CB Patrick Peterson also shifted over to safety for most of the game. Tomlin on Monday mentioned Eric Rowe and Elijah Riley as potential safety help for Week 16. The group is likely not worth your attention for IDP purposes this week. You can find a steadier option.
Update: The NFL has suspended Kazee for the rest of the season for "repeated violations of playing rules intended to protect the health and safety of players," according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. That leaves Pittsburgh without its top two current safeties, with Keanu Neal also not ready to return from IR.
The Steelers placed DL Cameron Heyward in the concussion protocol after Saturday's loss to the Colts. That'll challenge his availability for next Saturday's matchup with the Bengals. We'll watch Heyward's progress through the week.
Colts RB Zack Moss "plans to try to play" Sunday against the Falcons, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. X-rays on the shoulder Moss injured against the Steelers on Saturday were negative, but he'll still need to progress through the practice week to be ready. We'll certainly be watching for details on that progress. In the meantime, Trey Sermon is worth a look on the waiver wire. He worked a little ahead of Tyler Goodson after Moss went down in Week 15 and would be the preferred fantasy option if Moss can't go. Don't look to Sermon as a strong fantasy play, however.
Steelers HC Mike Tomlin said Monday that QB Mason Rudolph will start Saturday's game against the Bengals. Actually, he said, "As I stand here today, Mason Rudolph is the guy with the ball," according to ESPN's Brooke Pryor. Tomlin also didn't rule out QB Kenny Pickett being ready to return. Tomlin said that Pickett would not only need medical clearance following surgery for his high-ankle sprain but also need to show he can protect himself and "be sharp," according to Dale Lolley of Steelers.com. We'll keep an eye on the situation throughout the week, but there's not a whole lot of fantasy value to squeeze from this pass offense either way. Here's hoping you have better lineup options at QB, WR, and TE for Week 16.
Buccaneers LB Devin White entered Sunday questionable with a foot injury. So when he turned up inactive against the Packers, that seemed to be the reason. But Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports that Bucs coaches told White ahead of the game that he wouldn't start. He responded that he "couldn't go," and was thus a healthy scratch. Barring some public change on that story, it's tough to see why Tampa would go back to White for Week 16. So don't plan to have the veteran LB available for IDP use. K.J. Britt took White's spot but collected only 6 tackles (3 solo, 1 tackle for loss). Lavonte David should be the only Bucs LB in your fantasy considerations the next two weeks.
Titans RB Derrick Henry assessed his future following Sunday’s loss to Houston. Henry is slated to hit free agency in 2024. “Yeah, definitely today you had that feeling [that it could be the end of my career with the Titans]," said Henry. "I had hope of kind of slipping in there [the playoffs], and then being eliminated with three games left. I've been here my whole career. Definitely wanted to go out strong, which that isn't the case.” Per ESPN's Turon Davenport, the Titans have $91.8 million in projected cap space, so money isn't an issue. Henry, though, might want a change of scenery at 30 years old (in January). Tennessee ends the season against Seattle, Houston, and Jacksonville.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport confirms that Seahawks QB Geno Smith (groin) is a "long shot" to play against the Eagles tonight. FOX Sports' Jay Glazer had a similar report just before the 1 pm ET games kicked off on Sunday. Smith hasn't been ruled out yet, but "he's gotta improve a lot from now until game time to be able to play," per Rapoport. It'll be QB Drew Lock under center for Seattle if Smith is out. Lock played well vs. the 49ers last week, throwing for 269 yards, two TDs, and two INTs on a 71% completion rate and 8.7 yards per attempt. But he also has three seasons of underwhelming play for the Broncos on his resume. Lock would certainly add some downside to Seattle's offense tonight.
Ravens HC John Harbaugh said after Sunday night's win over the Jaguars that RB Keaton. Mitchell's left knee injury is expected to end the rookie's season. The team hasn't yet supplied details of the injury, but that's likely awaiting a Monday MRI. The rookie left the field with a lot of help, though, putting no weight on the joint and rode a cart to the locker room. We'll see what kind of return timeline Mitchell faces once the details become clear. Gus Edwards and Justice Hill worked near evenly after Mitchell left in the fourth quarter. Each had four carries before Edwards handled all three runs on Baltimore's final possession to run out the clock. Both will likely land in RB3 territory of our rankings for a Week 16 matchup with the 49ers. A Week 17 home date with the Dolphins looks a bit more RB-friendly.
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