Seahawks RB Ken Walker III totaled 79 rushing yards and 1 TD on 17 carries in Week 4’s win vs. the Giants. Rookie Zach Charbonnet saw minimal work, receiving 5 carries for 31 yards on the ground with 1 catch for 9 yards in the contest. Walker III has now seen at least 17 carries in each of the last three games. This backfield is very much in the control of the second-year back, though we’ll see if there’s a plan to involve Charbonnet more following the team’s bye week in Week 5.
Seahawks QB Geno Smith completed 13 of 20 passes for 110 yards with 1 TD vs. the Giants on Monday night. He briefly exited the contest for a series due to a knee injury, but he played in the majority of the game. Smith’s numbers on the week accomplished very little for fantasy managers, but lots of credit goes to the Seattle defense for putting this game away early. Rookie CB Devon Witherspoon’s 97-yard INT return for a TD stands out as a prime moment in the game. Next week, the Seahawks will be on their bye week.
Giants RB Matt Breida tallied 14 carries for 30 yards in Week 4’s loss vs. the Seahawks. He also added 5 catches for a team-leading 48 receiving yards in the contest. TE Darren Waller posted meager numbers again, catching all 3 of his targets for just 21 yards. Though he ranks t-ninth among TEs in targets (23), Waller has only one game with over 3 receptions. This Giants team is simply lost. They’ve now played three primetime games this season, and they’ve been outscored 94-15. Yikes. We might feel comfortable starting RB Saquon Barkley if he’s able to return from injury in Week 5 vs. the Dolphins, but he’d be the only one.
Giants QB Daniel Jones experienced yet another dreadful primetime nightmare. He was sacked a career-high 10 times, threw 2 INTs, and lost a fumble in Week 4 vs. the Seahawks. Including Monday night, Jones has recorded less than 10 fantasy points in three of four games. It’s fairly evident that the Giants’ offensive line has a lot of issues, and being without RB Saquon Barkley doesn’t help. Still, it’s going to be difficult to trust him in 1QB leagues at any point soon. Their next two games are against the Dolphins in Week 5 and the Bills in Week 6, neither of which are appealing matchups.
Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth is expected to miss 2-3 weeks with his hamstring injury, according to The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Gerry Dulac. The Steelers have a Week 6 bye, so it's possible that Freiermuth ends up missing just one game. He'll be replaced by some combination of rookie TE Darnell Washington and TE Connor Heyward. Neither guy is a recommended fantasy add.
Seahawks QB Geno Smith injured a knee in the second quarter of Monday night's game vs. the Giants. He headed to the medical tent and eventually back to the locker room on a cart. He's officially questionable to return. We'll update Smith's status when we know more. He's been replaced by QB Drew Lock.
Update: Smith returned for the start of the second half.
Seahawks S Jamal Adams left just a few plays into his return game against the Giants on Monday night with a concussion. It was Adams' first action since he suffered a quad tear in Week 1 of last season. Frankly, it was his own fault. Adams went stupidly low with a tackle attempt on a running Daniel Jones and took a knee to the top of his head. That will likely keep Adams out for Week 5, but we'll watch his progress through the league protocol.
Rams RB Kyren Williams suffered a hip contusion in Sunday's win over the Colts, HC Sean McVay said. Williams was able to play through the issue in Indianapolis, and McVay confirmed that Williams is expected to be fine for this weekend's game vs. the Eagles. We'll keep an eye on him.
Rams QB Matthew Stafford suffered a hip contusion in the Week 4 win over the Colts, HC Sean McVay said Monday. "We'll be smart with him, but he should be good to go [for Week 5]," McVay said. "He's a stud, and obviously we saw him gut through that yesterday. Definitely took a good shot there. But we feel like he should be good to go." We'll keep tabs on Stafford's status throughout the week, but it sounds like he'll be available for Sunday's game vs. the Eagles.
Seahawks TE Noah Fant (knee) is active for tonight's game vs. the Giants. He didn't practice on Saturday but is evidently healthy enough to suit up for this one. Fant is a shaky fantasy option, even in one-game DFS contests.
Giants RB Saquon Barkley (ankle) is officially inactive for tonight's game vs. the Seahawks. He put in three limited practices this week and has a shot to return for Week 5. Matt Breida figures to serve as New York's lead back tonight after playing 82% of the offensive snaps last week. RBs Gary Brightwell and Eric Gray are also active.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Steelers QB Kenny Pickett "is not expected to miss much if any time" with the knee injury that knocked him out of Sunday's game. Pickett could "try to push" to play this Sunday against Baltimore. A Week 6 bye after that could factor into the decision, though. We'll watch reports this week to see if Pickett or Mitchell Trubisky will start the divisional game.
Colts Edge Kwity Paye suffered a concussion in Sunday's loss to the Rams. He didn't leave the contest but developed symptoms afterward. We'll watch his status this week, but landing in the protocol nearly always means missing at least one game. Edge Dayo Odeyingbo played a season-high 59% of the snaps in Week 4 and delivered the biggest stat line of his young career: 7 tackles (5 solo), 1.5 sacks, 4 QB hits, 1 forced fumble and 1 pass deflection. Odeyingbo should see at least similar playing time against the Titans in Week 6 and carries intriguing upside. The third-year player has just 7 career sacks across 31 games. But he has tallied 1.5 sacks or more three times in his past eight outings, dating back to last year.
Bills HC Sean McDermott has said Edge Von Miller will begin practicing this week. Miller opened the year on the PUP list after tearing his right ACL late last season. We'll see how soon the veteran is ready for game action, and we'd bet on the team limiting Miller's snaps early on. But it's obviously a positive that he's set to practice as soon as he's eligible to do so.
Colts RB Jonathan Taylor will practice on Wednesday, HC Shane Steichen said. Steichen didn't ruled out Taylor playing against the Titans this weekend, according to ESPN's Stephen Holder, adding that the decision will come down to how ready Taylor looks in practice. We'll keep you updated on Taylor's status throughout the week.
Bengals WR Tee Higgins doesn't expect his rib fracture to cost him much time. "I plan to be back maybe this week, maybe next week," he told the media on Monday. “It’s painful, but we’ll be alright.” It's good news, but Higgins owners should at least plan on being without him for Week 5. It's worth noting that Cincinnati has a Week 7 bye, which might factor into Higgins' return timeline.
Bears HC Matt Eberflus said Monday that WR Chase Claypool won't be with the team this week. He was a healthy scratch for the Week 4 loss to Denver. Claypool and the Bears seem headed for a split. We'll see if it's via release or trade, but he's not worth hanging on to in redraft fantasy leagues.
Chargers QB Justin Herbert suffered a fractured finger and a "gruesome nail injury" on his left hand in Sunday's win over the Raiders, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. That's Herbert's non-throwing hand. He now gets a Week 5 bye and "should not miss time," per Rapoport.
Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle was knocked out of Sunday's win over the Patriots with a hip injury. X-rays came back clean, but Dowdle will undergo an MRI on Monday, according to Patrick Walker of the team's official site. We'll update Dowdle's status when we know more. His absence would leave rookie Deuce Vaughn as Dallas' No. 2 RB.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport doesn't expect Chargers QB Justin Herbert's left hand injury to be a "major issue going forward." Herbert was able to return to the Week 4 game vs. the Raiders with his hand taped and his middle finger in a splint. He now gets a well-timed Week 5 bye to heal up. We'll look for further updates on his status, but don't expect Herbert to miss time with this injury.
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