Fantasy Football News

Good injury news on the way. Taysom Hill, Cesar Ruiz, Pete Werner and Chris Olave could all be back this week.

The Saints are hurting with injuries on offense so getting back both Hill and Olave will be a big deal. The Saints visit the Chargers in Week 8 in what is a later Sunday game. Owners will want to monitor their status heading into the week, especially if they are trending toward a game-time call. The team is still unsure of the status of QB Derek Carr, but if Carr can't go it will be Spencer Rattler under center we reported Monday.

Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that the Raiders will sign Desmond Ridder off of Arizona’s practice squad. Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew are the only other quarterbacks on the active roster and they have rookie Carter Bradley on the practice squad.

The Raiders didn’t confirm that quarterback O’Connell will be placed on injured reserve with a fractured thumb on Monday, but they are making a roster move that makes it clear they are short of healthy quarterbacks this week, the story pointed out. Ridder is probably best left on wires in typical leagues, but of course in deeper two QB or superflex leagues, any quarterback is worth stashing away on your roster.

With the Vikings playing the Rams on Thursday night, it stands to reason that T.J. Hockenson will be activated this week. But head coach Kevin O’Connell did not commit to the tight end playing when asked about him and guard Dalton Risner — who is also returning from a back injury — on Monday.

“It’s early. We’ll make that determination kind of as these next couple of days [go by],” O’Connell said in his news conference. “As we put together game plans, we want to have a good feel for that. But, very much a possibility.”

The Vikings have been methodical in bringing back Hockenson from the torn ACL and MCL he suffered late last season. But his 21-day practice window is coming to a close, the story pointed out. Hock would be a nice boost for the Vikings and their offense. Even if he plays on Thursday, it would remain to be seen how much he's on the field and if he's on any kind of a pitch count, so it may be best to "wait-and-see" before putting him right in fantasy lineups for his first game back.

Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams is facing a suspension. Again.

Williams is reportedly set to be suspended for two games for violating the NFL's Performance-Enhancing Substances policy, according to ESPN's Eric Woodyward.

Related players: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Kalif Raymond, Isaiah Williams, Tim Patrick, Sam LaPorta, Jahmyr Gibbs

Williams was also suspended for six games at the start of the 2023 season for violating the league's gambling policy when he made bets on sports at the Lions' facility, but not on the NFL, but the suspension was eventually reduced when the NFL changed its policy. He missed the first four games of the season, the story went on to say. With Williams out, Raymond, Williams and Patrick all move up the depth chart, but the Lions could end up giving more targets to TE LaPorta and RB Gibbs.

Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said postgame that the "early indication" is wide receiver Chris Godwin suffered an ankle dislocation in the team's 41-31 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night.

"He's got an ankle, early indication is that it's dislocated," Bowles told reporters. "It doesn't look good."

Related players: Mike Evans, Sterling Shepard, Jalen McMillan, Trey Palmer, Cade Otton, Rachaad White, Bucky Irving

Bowles did not say whether Godwin was transported to a hospital after the game. Though the exact severity and recovery time for the injury is not yet known, Bowles' words indicate that the Buccaneers might have to prepare to be without one of their star receivers for a significant amount of time, the story went on to say. The problem for the Bucs is Evans also left the game with a hamstring injury. Assuming Evans and Godwin are out, the team will have to go with Shepard, McMillian and Palmer as their likely top-three WRs. TE Otton could also be a big factor going forward and had a big game on MNF. You can also expect the Bucs to continue to involve their RBs in the passing game as White caught six balls for 71 yards and two TDs with Irving catching three for 54 yards.

Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans scored his 100th career receiving touchdown in the first quarter. He departed for the locker room in the second quarter after re-injuring his hamstring.

Evans entered with a hamstring injury, missing two practices before returning to limited work in the Saturday session, the story said. Evans was in a lot of pain and slowly made his way to the locker room before being ruled out of the game. As the broadcast team said, the hope is Evans didn't do more damage to the injury, which could cause him to miss time or be placed on IR. We'll hopefully know more after the game or later in the week.

The illness that sidelined Deebo Samuel yesterday is pneumonia. He's in the hospital.

Related players: Brandon Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings, Ricky Pearsall, Chris Conley, Ronnie Bell, Jacob Cowing, George Kittle

When the team realized Deebo had fluid in his lungs, he was sent to the hospital, Lombardi said in another post. Another beat writer, Nick Wagoner, reported Samuel was struggling to breathe which is why he wasn't in the game very long. Aiyuk is out for the season so the Niners now find themselves very thin at the WR position. There is no timetable for Samuel's return at this point. Reports say the team should get Jennings (hip) back in Week 8, but rookies like Pearsall and Cowing could very well be factors in the short term until Samuel is able to return.

After Sunday’s win over the Falcons, Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said receiver DK Metcalf’s knee injury “doesn’t look too bad.”

There’s now some more clarity on Metcalf’s situation.

Per Adam Schefter of ESPN, Metcalf suffered a Grade 1 MCL sprain and is considered week-to-week.

Metcalf, 26, has recorded 35 receptions for 568 yards with three touchdowns so far this season. The Seahawks host the Bills in Week 8 and the Rams in Week 9 before their Week 10 bye. Seattle will issue its first injury report of the week on Wednesday, the story said. Generally, week to week really puts into doubt a players status, so owners may want to begin thinking about another plan in the event Metcalf can't go. The looming bye week could easily mean the team at least sits him out one, if not two, weeks. But, as the story said, the injury report could give us a better idea. Metcalf is a later Sunday game so it could get tricky for adjusting lineups.

Sources: 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk suffered a season-ending knee injury on Sunday, tests confirmed.

Related players: Deebo Samuel, Jauan Jennings, Ricky Pearsall, Chris Conley, Ronnie Bell, Jacob Cowing, Trent Taylor, George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey

Anyone who held on to Jennings should be in good shape as he will likely slide in as the team's WR2 behind Deebo. Jennings didn't play in Week 7 because of a hip injury but the team is hoping to have in back for Week 8, according to reports. Pearsall was active for the first time and caught three balls for 21 yards. Cowing had two catches for 50 yards. Both rookies could be options behind Samuel, Kittle and likely Jennings, but may not be consistent fantasy producers. We reported McCaffrey is looking to return on Nov. 10 and it's possible he's counted on as a receiver more than a rusher once he's back.

During Sunday’s win over the Vikings, Lions running back David Montgomery had to exit the contest in the first half due to a knee injury.

But Montgomery was able to come back in during the second half and contribute to the victory.

Related players: Jahmyr Gibbs

In his Monday news conference, head coach Dan Campbell said that there’s no long-term concern with Montgomery’s knee and he should be fine going forward, the story said. He was quoted as saying, “He’s good. Obviously, he had pain. And he knows it’s in that area around the knee. And it’s kind of in the back. So you’re trying to figure it out and it’s painful. And once we got him off, tested it, looked at it, he started feeling better." Monty was able to come back and had nine carries and three catches, but it was Gibbs who carried 15 times and added four receptions.