The Steelers have activated DL Cameron Heyward from IR. The veteran has been out since suffering a groin injury in Week 1 that required surgery. His return should boost a Pittsburgh run defense that has slipped to 14th in DVOA this season after ranking fifth in that category last year. Heyward, of course, is also a pass-rush asset at full strength. He tallied 20.5 sacks over the past two seasons and tied his career high with 23 QB hits at age 33 last year. It's tough to recommend playing Heyward in Week 9 IDP lineups after an eight-week layoff. We wouldn't be surprised if Pittsburgh brings him back at less than full playing time. But Heyward is worth stashing now in plenty of leagues for whenever he does get back to full use.
On Wednesday, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the Titans have officially ruled out QB Ryan Tannehill (ankle) for Week 9 vs. the Steelers. Rookie QB Will Levis will get the start. We'd already expected Levis to see the field on Thursday night, so this news doesn't really come as much of a shock. The former Kentucky signal-caller performed well in his NFL debut in Week 8, tossing 238 passing yards and 4 TDs against the Falcons. He'll be hard-pressed to repeat that showing against a much tougher Steelers defense. See where Levis slots in our latest QB rankings.
Titans WR DeAndre Hopkins (toe) is questionable for Thursday night's game vs. the Steelers. He was listed as a limited participant on Monday and Tuesday but did not practice on Wednesday. It's unclear if he hurt that toe this week or if he's just getting some rest on the short week. We'll look for further updates on Hopkins and will get Tennessee's inactives around 7 pm ET tomorrow.
Bills QB Josh Allen (shoulder) did not practice on Wednesday. It was initially reported that he'd be limited. Allen spoke to the media afterward and said he wants to "stay ahead" on the shoulder injury and make sure it doesn't become a long-term problem. "Every day it gets so much better," Allen added. "If I had to practice today, absolutely would have. If the game was today, I'm playing in the game." Allen can stay penciled into Week 9 fantasy lineups for now. We'll see if he practices on Thursday.
Giants TE Darren Waller admitted Wednesday that he might "potentially" miss weeks with his latest hamstring injury, per ESPN's Jordan Raanan. “It may take a little bit," Waller added. It's not a surprise considering his lengthy history of hamstring trouble. We can safely assume that Waller won't play vs. the Raiders on Sunday. We'll see if he can make it back for Week 10. It's worth noting that the Giants have a Week 13 bye.
Bills QB Josh Allen will be limited in Wednesday's practice, HC Sean McDermott said. Allen is "working through" a shoulder injury he suffered in last Thursday night's game vs. the Bucs, according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo. Allen will surely play vs. the Bengals on Sunday night, but this shoulder issue is worth keeping a close eye on.
Giants HC Brian Daboll said TE Darren Waller (hamstring) won't practice on Wednesday. Daboll didn't rule Waller out for this weekend's game vs. the Raiders, but we'd be surprised if he played considering his history of hamstring injuries.
Falcons WR Drake London (groin) won't practice on Wednesday, HC Arthur Smith said. Smith added that they'll "see how the week goes" with London and that he's "got a chance" to play vs. the Vikings this weekend. We'll keep an eye on his progress over the next few days.
Falcons HC Arthur Smith announced Wednesday that QB Taylor Heinicke will start Sunday against the Vikings. It's not a shocking move after the team pulled QB Desmond Ridder from the Week 8 loss to the Titans. Ridder has largely struggled outside of a 329-yard passing effort in the Week 5 win over Houston. Since that game, he has tossed just 2 TD passes vs. 3 INTs across three contests, while also taking a sack on nearly 10% of dropbacks and losing 4 fumbles. Heinicke went an OK 12-of-21 (57.1%) for 175 yards (8.3 per attempt) after taking over against Tennessee. His 9.7 average target depth in that contest -- according to Pro Football Refernce -- was about 2 yards deeper than Ridder's season rate of 7.8. Pro Football Focus credits Heinicke with a career 8.8-yard average depth of target and 9.2-yard aDOT with the Commanders last season. Heinicke's career 63.7% completion rate comes in short of Ridder's (64.8%), and we've seen enough to know he won't bring consistent efficiency. But a daring downfield thrower could boost the fantasy production of Falcons WR Drake London and TE Kyle Pitts ... if Arthur Smith will allow the offense to exploit those skills. (And assuming London's groin injury doesn't linger, of course.) We're not significantly upgrading our outlooks for any Falcons offensive pieces on this switch. But a move away from Ridder at least allows for some optimism. We'll see whether London's able to play this week -- and then how Heinicke fares in his first Atlanta start. The Minnesota matchup looks fairly neutral for Falcons passing.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal's Vincent Bonsignore tweets that the Raiders are "leaning toward" starting QB Aidan O'Connell vs. the Giants this weekend. QB Jimmy Garoppolo was a disaster in Monday night's loss to the Lions, throwing for just 126 yards, 0 TDs, and one INT on 21 attempts. O'Connell wasn't great in his Week 4 start vs. the Chargers, averaging 6.1 yards per pass attempt with 0 TDs and one INT. But the 3-5 Raiders under interim HC Antonio Pierce are looking beyond 2023 at this point. We'll look for further updates on the Raiders' QB plans. We certainly wouldn't consider O'Connell an upgrade for Raiders pass catchers.
Update: NFL Network reports the Raiders are expected to start O'Connell "this week and going forward." We'll see how this trial goes.
Bears S Jaquan Brisker officially missed Sunday night's loss to the Chargers with an illness. But HC Matt Eberflus this week called it a "unique" situation he had never encountered before. Brisker initially got cleared via concussion checks coming off the Week 7 game. He then got sick, missed the week's practices and was eventually ruled out for Week 8. Brisker's symptoms by Monday landed him another concussion check, and he has entered the league protocol. We'll see how his Week 9 progresses, but it seems like we should bet on Brisker missing a second straight game. With S Eddie Jackson (foot) also out, Chicago started Elijah Hicks and Duron Harmon against the Chargers. Jackson finished the practice week with a full Friday, so we're assuming he's trending toward a Week 9 return unless there was a setback. We'll see about the whole situation later this week.
Early on Wednesday morning, the Raiders announced via Twitter/X that the team has fired HC Josh McDaniels and GM Dave Ziegler. The official statement from owner Mark Davis reads, "After much thought about what the Raiders need to move forward, I have decided to part ways with Josh and Dave. I want to thank them both for their hard work and wish their families nothing but the best." While the timing of this news is a bit of a surprise, the motivation behind it is understandable. The Raiders' offense ranks 30th in points per game (15.8) and 31st in total yards per game (268.3) in 2023 and held a 9-16 record over the past season and a half under McDaniels' tutelage. Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Raiders are expected to name LB coach Antonio Pierce as their interim head coach. Stay tuned for more updates regarding the fantasy fallout from this situation.
The Bills are acquiring CB Rasul Douglas from the Packers. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that Buffalo is sending a third-round pick to Green Bay for Douglas and a fifth-rounder. Expect Douglas to quickly (perhaps immediately) take over the outside spot opposite Christian Benford. That has been Dane Jackson's spot since CB Tre'Davious White went down. According to Pro Football Focus, Jackson sits tied for 56th among all CBs in coverage grade, 100th in passer rating in coverage among 129 CBs who have played at least 100 snaps. Douglas has had trouble sticking, spending time with the Eagles and Panthers before landing with the Packers the past three seasons. He has been a playmaker when on the field, though, including 10 INTs since the start of 2021. Douglas will be intriguing in a Bills offense that has faced the sixth-most pass attempts so far.
The Commanders are trading Edge Chase Young to the 49ers for a third-round pick. The move comes on the same day Washington sent Edge Montez Sweat to the Bears for a second-rounder. The Commanders had clearly decided they either wouldn't or couldn't re-sign either contract-year player. In Young's case, the team had already declined the fifth-year option on his rookie contract. Young joins a San Francisco defense that likely won't need him to be an every-down player, especially right away. But the 49ers clearly believe their pass rush needs an upgrade. They previously added former Broncos Edge Randy Gregory. We'll see about Young's early role with his new team, as well as whether San Francisco plans to try to keep him around beyond this season.
The Browns traded WR Donovan Peoples-Jones to the Lions in exchange for a sixth-round pick. Peoples-Jones turned in a promising 2022 season, catching 61 of 96 targets for 839 yards and three TDs. But he's been mostly invisible so far this year, totaling just eight receptions on 18 targets. He joins a Lions offense still searching for a consistent No. 2 WR behind Amon-Ra St. Brown. WR Josh Reynolds has been good in spurts this year, but WR Jameson Williams has continued to disappoint. We'll see what kind of role Peoples-Jones can carve out, but he's unlikely to emerge as a reliable fantasy option this season. The 24-year-old is set to hit free agency in March. The Browns, meanwhile, are left with WRs Marquise Goodwin, Cedric Tillman, and David Bell behind Amari Cooper and Elijah Moore.
Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell said Tuesday that QB Jaren Hall will start this weekend's game vs. the Falcons. QB Josh Dobbs will need at least a week to get up to speed in the offense. Hall replaced QB Kirk Cousins last week, completing three of four passes for 23 yards on 11 snaps. The fifth-round rookie started for BYU the past two years, completing 65% of his passes at 8.6 yards per attempt with 51 TDs vs. 11 INTs. Hall also ran for 657 yards and six TDs across those two seasons and then clocked a 4.64-second 40 time at his Pro Day. There's some rushing potential here, but Hall is just a desperation QB2 play this week. He adds obvious risk to Minnesota's pass catchers.
Steelers QB Kenny Pickett told reporters Tuesday that he's "playing for sure" Thursday night against the Titans. We had been expecting that Pickett would sit with the rib injury that knocked him out of the loss to the Jaguars. But you can now find Pickett in the Week 9 QB rankings. We don't see much difference between the QBs in terms of their impact on Steelers WR production against Tennessee.
The Vikings are trading for QB Joshua Dobbs, according to NFL Network. No word yet on what's heading back to Arizona. Dobbs got off to a nice start in Arizona this year but bottomed out the last four weeks, completing 56% of his passes at 5.3 yards per attempt with four TDs and five INTs. Dobbs should take over as Minnesota's starter soon and is likely an upgrade over the rest of their QBs. But he's still a huge step down from QB Kirk Cousins. Dobbs is only worth rostering in 2-QB and superflex leagues.
Update: The Vikings are sending a sixth-round pick to Arizona in exchange for Dobbs and a conditional seventh-rounder.
Giants QB Daniel Jones (neck) confirmed on Tuesday that's he's been medically cleared and plans to play vs. the Raiders this weekend. "Barring any setbacks this week, I'll be ready to go," Jones said. His return is well-timed with QB Tyrod Taylor sidelined with his rib injury. Jones is still only in play in 2-QB and superflex leagues.
Multiple reports say the Bears are sending a second-round pick to the Commanders for Edge Montez Sweat. The 27-year-old is working on potentially his best season yet, including 6.5 sacks, 10 tackles for loss and 11 QB hits through eight games. Sweat is also in the fifth and final year of his rookie contract. So this level of investment by the 2-6 Bears suggests they're hoping to extend Sweat before he'd hit free agency in March. It's obviously a strong addition for what has been the league's worst pass rush, as well as a big blow to a Washington defense that has stunk against the pass. For IDP purposes, Sweat faces some downside risk. He leaves one of the league's most talented D-lines to join a group that badly needs him. We'll see how quickly Sweat can assume his normal playing time and whether there's any drop-off in pass-rushing production. He'll get a neutral matchup with the Saints (18th in adjusted sack rate) this week before a better spot against Carolina in Week 10 (25th in adjusted sack rate).
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