Fantasy Football News | Page 1

DeVonta Smith hadn’t been practicing in full because of a knee injury. This latest inclusion on the report is for a new knee injury he suffered in the game.

Related Players: A.J. Brown, Julio Jones, Quez Watkins, Olamide Zaccheaus

A.J. Brown could me in for a monster workload as the Eagles begin the easiest stretch of their season. None of the receiving options behind him should be trusted if Smith were to miss this week.

Mike Tomlin officially ruled out QB Kenny Pickett for Saturday’s game vs. Cincinnati. Steelers’ QB Mason Rudolph officially starts.

Related Players: Mitch Trubisky

It is very unlikely that Rudolph hits the ground running to bolster this anemic offense. The last time we saw a Mason Rudolph start was in Week 10 of the 2021 season, when it took him 52 dropbacks to grind out 242 yards, with 4.8 yards per attempt. He is a desperation-play Superflex option, even in a good matchup against the Bengals defense.

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.

Eagles QB Jalen Hurts, questionable with an illness, will play tonight against the Seahawks.

The post said Hurts is feeling well enough to go. It seemed to be touch a go for a while as Hurts was feeling worse and was downgraded to questionable over the weekend. He flew behind the team on a separate plane to not get anyone else sick, and it looks like he'll play in a good matchup against the Seahawks.

The Chargers signed QB Will Grier off the Patriots' practice squad, per source.

The first significant move by interim GM JoJo Wooden.

Related players: Easton Stick, Mac Jones, Bailey Zappe

Grier will likely backup Stick, who is coming off a 63-21 thumping where threw three TDs and one INT for collecting 257 yards through the air. On the Patriots side, it looks like their QB carousel is getting smaller as they lose another quarterback after Malik Cunningham signed with the Ravens last week.

The Steelers are benching QB Mitch Trubisky and going with Mason Rudolph this week, coach Mike Tomlin announced.

Related players: Mitch Trubisky, Kenny Pickett

Rudolph will get to lead the Steelers sleigh just in time for Christmas. But, there likely isn't going to be a dramatic change in the offense when all is said an done. Rudolph got the call with about six minutes left in the game after Trubisky threw a bad interception with the team trailing 27-13 and needing a quick score. Rudolph was just 2 for 3 for three yards in his time. One thing to note is other reports say Tomlin said Pickett is improving and hasn't been ruled out. The Steelers play another Saturday game, this time against the Bengals at home.

Ian Rapoport said Eagles QB Jalen Hurts is still dealing with an illness, but speculated that most players who deal with an illness tend to play.

Related players: Marcus Mariota

Rapoport said Hurts was seemingly was OK, but then got worse and was listed as questionable. Hurts flew separate from the team to Seattle to avoid spreading the illness. We'll likely know more about Hurts' status as the day goes on.

WR/PR Pop Douglas has cleared concussion protocol, per Bill Belichick.

Barring a setback in Friday’s practice, the path is clear for Douglas’ return after missing the last two games.

Related Players: Tyquan Thornton, DeVante Parker

The Patriots had an offensive explosion in Week 14, scoring 21 points. Which is a funny sentence to type in 2023. Douglas could very well return to the WR1 role in New England, but that only makes him a FLEX option in deep leagues.

Patriots injury report:

Did not participate: RB Rhamondre Stevenson (ankle)

Limited participation: DT Christian Barmore (shoulder), WR Kayshon Boutte (shoulder), OT Trent Brown (ankle/hand), WR Pop Douglas (concussion), WR DeVante Parker (knee), WR JuJu Smith-Schuster (ankle)

Related Players: Ezekiel Elliott

It Looks like it's setting up for another Zeke week, after the veteran handled 100% of the RB workload in Week 14. That kind of usage would make him a very solid RB2, regardless of how close his yards per attempt is to 3.0.

Steelers’ HC Mike Tomlin ruled out QB Kenny Pickett for Saturday’s game vs. the Colts. Mitch Trubisky starts again.

Trubisky threw for a TD and ran for another one last week against a tough Patriot defense that was coming off a stellar performance against the Chargers at home in Week 13. This week, Trubisky gets the Colts on the road on a Saturday game, which should at least be a better matchup on paper. However, Trubisky is a risky start in anything other than deeper, two QB or superflex leagues.