Fantasy Football News | Page 15

Rookie quarterback Hendon Hooker is now on the Lions’ 53-man roster.

Jared Goff, Teddy Bridgewater

Hooker tore his ACL in his final game at Tennessee and the third-round pick has been on the non-football injury list for the entire regular season, the story said. Hooker will still only be the team's QB3, but Hooker can continue practicing through the rest of the season. Bridgewater is planning to retire after this season, so Hooker would presumably be line for the No. 2 job next year, the story said.

The Steelers expect Mason Rudolph to start Saturday’s game against the Bengals, but Kenny Pickett is pointed in the right direction of being the backup this week.

Pickett returned to limited work Tuesday.

He has missed the past two weeks after tightrope surgery on a high ankle sprain, the story said. Pickett isn't expected to play this week despite his return to practice, however as we reported Monday, Tomlin and the Steelers have yet to officially rule Pickett out for Week 16.

The Ravens have made it official with running back Melvin Gordon.

Baltimore announced on Tuesday that the club has signed Gordon to its 53-man roster.

Related players: Gus Edwards, Justice Hill

Gordon technically replaces Keaton Mitchell on the Ravens’ 53, as he was placed on injured reserve after suffering a torn ACL during the team’s victory over Jacksonville on Sunday. Gordon has appeared in two games for Baltimore this season, taking 13 carries for 53 yards. He also caught three passes for 46 yards. Gordon will likely run behind Edwards and Hill but does have those 16 touches in two games so it's possible he jumps right into the three-man committee.

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor says wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase hasn’t been ruled out for Saturday’s game at Pittsburgh.

Asked today about a report that Chase will miss at least one game with a separated shoulder, Taylor said it’s too soon to determine that.

“We’ll see how the week goes,” Taylor said.

There were reports overnight that Chase would miss at least a week with his shoulder injury, but the Bengals are now disputing that. Hopefully the injury report this week will give owners a better clue as to what Chase's status will be. Owners will have plenty of notice to make lineup adjustments with the contest being played Saturday.

During a Tuesday appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Aaron Rodgers said that he would be pushing to play if he was 100 percent but that he has not reached that point in his recovery from a torn Achilles.

Rodgers intimated that there would be a conversation about playing without reaching that point if the Jets were still alive, but they were officially eliminated from playoff contention last Sunday and Rodgers has shifted his attention toward the future. Rodgers added that he can also see himself playing for the Jets beyond the 2024 season.

Rams running back Ronnie Rivers, who has been on IR, has been designated to return to practice per team.

Related players: Kyren Williams, Royce Freeman, Zach Evans

Rivers last played in Week 6 and was the main backup to Williams. When both backs landed on IR, the Rams went on an RB shopping spree and brought in the likes of Darrell Henderson, Freeman and Myles Gaskin. The team has since cut Henderson and Gaskin leaving Freeman as the main backup to Williams. A possible Rivers return could put him back in the RB2 spot, but that remains to be seen.

Pete Carroll reiterates on Seattle Sports that Geno Smith will have a full week of practice and play against the Titans.

Related players: Drew Lock

Smith's groin injury was expected to keep him out two weeks, so he looks to be on track to play in Week 16 - despite Lock's heroics on Monday night against the Eagles. Smith will get a favorable matchup against the Titans who were eliminated from the playoffs with their loss this past week.

Bengals star WR Ja'Marr Chase is likely to miss some time, sources said after the MRI on his separated shoulder today.

Related players: Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd, Trenton Irwin

The expectation is that he is sidelined for this week’s game against the Steelers, and it could extend beyond that, as well, the post went on to say. Owners may not be able to count on his fantasy services for the remainder of the playoffs at this point. Higgins should take over the WR1 role with Boyd and Irvin all moving up the depth chart. The Bengals are alive in the playoff race and Jake Browning has proven to be capable option at QB, so all three WRs could have some fantasy value in the playoffs if needed.

According to TheAthletic.com, the Falcons will be starting Taylor Heinicke against the Colts. It would be the second time that Smith and the Falcons have benched Ridder in favor of Heinicke this season.

Related players: Desmond Ridder

Falcons head coach Arthur Smith said on Monday that he was considering a quarterback change after the team fell to 6-8 with a 9-7 loss to the Panthers. Smith said following the bye he wanted to stick with Ridder after previously going back and forth over a span of a few weeks. But the Falcons will again make a switch after Ridder threw a terrible INT on a potential game-winning drive in what was a must-win game against the Panthers.

For what it's worth: Geno Smith took far more throws and whatnot during early warmups before inactives were announced. But Drew Lock is doing the typical first-team work right now with the whole team out there. Took snaps from starting center Evan Brown.

While Smith is active, the team has yet to announce him as a starter as of about 40 minutes before game time. Given the rain falling prior to the game, Smith having a groin injury, and the information in Gustafson's post, this is potentially a tricky situation for Smith owners needing him tonight. Owners will want to follow the situation right up to game time.