Steelers WR Martavis Bryant dropping appeal, will be suspended for the entire 2016 season

Mar 14, 2016

Steelers WR Martavis Bryant is dropping his appeal of his suspension. He's going to be suspended a year.

Bryant is eligible to apply for reinstatement no sooner than 60 days before 1-year anniversary of the suspension.

Related players: Markus Wheaton, Ladarius Green, Darrius Heyward-Bey

Fantasy Impact:

Markus Wheaton sees the biggest bump in fantasy value with the news of Bryant's suspension. He caught 44 passes for 749 yards and five touchdowns on the season, but really came on down the stretch, averaging 4.7 catches for 79 yards and 0.67 TD (on 7.8 targets per game) over the final six games of the season. (He was the #12 fantasy receiver in that span.) Though he only gained 53 total receiving yards in two playoff games, he was targeted 13 times, so he was an integral part of the offense late in the year. Wheaton fared well on a per target basis, finishing 22nd and 27th (out of 121 eligible receivers) in fantasy points per target in standard and PPR formats, respectively. Consider Wheaton a fantasy WR3 with WR2 upside. The other players who stand to benefit are TE Ladarius Green (especially in the red zone) and deep threat Darrius Heyward-Bey.

yesterday

Chargers to sign RB J.K. Dobbins on one-year deal

Tom Pelissero

yesterday · 7:45 PM EDT

Former Ravens RB J.K. Dobbins is planning to sign with the #Chargers on a one-year deal. Electric when healthy, Dobbins — who averages 5.8 yards per carry in his career — reunites with OC Greg Roman and can hit the market again in March.

Related Players: Gus Edwards

Fantasy Impact:

Dobbins has had poor injury luck in his career, but has only managed 234 total rushes since being drafted in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. This is a low-risk, high-reward move by the Chargers and might give them a runway to wait a little longer in the '24 Draft before they address the position.

Apr 16

Cowboys sign RB Royce Freeman

Todd Archer

Apr 16 · 8:15 PM EDT

The Cowboys have signed running back Royce Freeman to a one-year deal. Freeman had 319 yards on 77 carries with 2 touchdowns last year for the Los Angeles Rams. He was 3rd round pick of Denver in '18.

Related Players: Rico Dowdle, Deuce Vaughn

Fantasy Impact:

Freeman hasn't rushed for 500 yards since 2018, his rookie season. This shouldn't have any impact on the team drafting at the position and/or bringing back Ezekiel Elliott.

Apr 15

Eagles sign WR DeVonta Smith to three-year extension

Ian Rapoport

Apr 15 · 10:45 AM EDT

The Eagles have paid another big-time, rising player. This time, WR DeVonta Smith gets a 3-year, $75M contract extension that includes $51M guaranteed.

Related Players: A.J. Brown, DeVante Parker, Parris Campbell

Fantasy Impact:

Great news for Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense as a whole. Smith will continue his 1b role in which he finished the 2023 season as fantasy's WR22.