November 2016 4for4 Player News Articles

Not ideal news for Bills that WR Sammy Watkins felt soreness in his foot today and did not practice. Watkins said coming out of Sunday's game he felt fine. Unclear at this point what Watkins' participation will be later this week.

This obviously isn't good news for Watkins or his owners, though it doesn't rule him out for Week 13. It's a reminder that he's coming off a long layoff and that he isn't fully healthy at this point in the season.

Cardinals receiver John Brown left the Sunday game against the Atlanta Falcons due to a hamstring injury, and head coach Bruce Arians said Monday the starter suffered from the same issues caused from a sickle-cell trait that kept him out of one game this year.

“John Brown had just a great week of practice, a great first half,” Arians said on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM’s Bickley and Marotta show. “We got him going to a bunch of specialists today.”

“That’s the one that’s so baffling,” Arians said Monday. “It’s not really a pull. Whatever the blood issue he has the legs tighten up.”

Related players: Michael Floyd, J.J. Nelson

Brown looks iffy for Week 13. If he is out, look for Michael Floyd and J.J. Nelson to see more consistent snaps against Washington.

Quarterback Derek Carr participated in the Oakland Raiders' pseudo walk-through practice at team headquarters on Tuesday and threw the ball with little issue, two days after dislocating his right (passing) pinkie in a 35-32 victory over the Carolina Panthers.

Carr had his finger taped up and was again wearing a black glove on his hand to help with his grip as he walked off the practice field. He said after the game, and on the radio Monday, that he did not expect any ill effects from the injury once the swelling subsided.

The league year began for New York Giants running back Orleans Darkwa with an injured leg. It ended because of a related problem to the leg.

Darkwa was placed on injured reserve Tuesday with the return of running back Shane Vereen (triceps) on the horizon. Vereen could be back as early as next week to play against the Dallas Cowboys.

Related players: Rashad Jennings

Vereen may be a forgotten player in your league as reports came out early after his injury he was done for the year. But a possible return next week may be a good enough reason to take a shot on him if he's on your wire, especially in PPR leagues. Vereen was averaging about 13 touches in his only three games of the season, and that actually included over 10 carries a game.

Eagles wide receiver Jordan Matthews should return next Sunday when the Eagles face the Bengals in Cincinnati.

Matthews sprained his right ankle in Monday night's loss to Green Bay. HC Doug Peterson said X-rays were negative and he may be held out on Wednesday's practice but should be good for the game against the Bengals.

Tomlin said he's excited about potential contributions from TE Ladarius Green moving forward. Expects increased reps moving forward.

This came from our very own Dale Lolley who is all over the Steelers, including nailing the timeline on QB Ben Roethlisberger a few weeks ago. Green had two catches for 67 yards last week on three targets and played over 25-percent of the snaps. Usually a wait-and-see approach is best in these situations, but Green may be worth grabbing off the wire if he's still available and you need help at the position.

In 2014, Tyrell Williams played through a torn right labrum during his senior year at Western Oregon. He underwent offseason surgery. Come May, the Chargers signed the undrafted rookie wide receiver to a three-year deal, and he steadily developed to earn an opportunity first on special teams and then, by season’s end, offense.

Williams has played through a right shoulder injury before.

He may need to again.

To what degree the second-year pro will be limited these final five games will be wait-and-see. This week, his status is worth monitoring. Players have a Tuesday off-day before returning to practice Wednesday leading up to Sunday’s home game against the Buccaneers.

Labrum issues can be tricky. Not all are alike, the story said. The full scope of his labrum damage is not known. Coach Mike McCoy expressed optimism Monday about his status moving forward. Williams, 24, exited in the fourth quarter Sunday against the Texans. He landed on the shoulder following an incompletion, finishing the day with a team-high eight catches for 70 yards, including a 21-yard touchdown.

The Saints’ offense scored seven touchdowns in Sunday’s win over the Rams, so surely everyone must be feeling good, right?

Wrong.

Saints receiver Brandin Cooks, who did not have a pass thrown his way on Sunday, is apparently getting upset with his role. Mike Triplett of ESPN reports that Cooks has felt a growing frustration with his usage in the offense, thinking that he ought to be the primary option.

Cooks posted a cryptic social media message this week saying, “I guess I have to turn into a businessman,” perhaps implying that if the Saints aren’t going to use him the way he thinks he should be used, he’s going to save his body for when he can hit free agency and go to a team that values his services. Still, it’s not like Cooks is being ignored in the passing game: He’s second on the team in catches (51), yards (736) and touchdowns (six). The good news is maybe the Saint go out of their way to feed Cooks this week.

Vikings HC Mike Zimmer didn't give a lot of details but mentioned RB Adrian Peterson is "ahead of schedule" from his torn meniscus.

Zimmer declined to talk about Peterson's rehab but said he's on his normal routine and added he did run before today. Zimmer said he didn't know when Peterson would be back at practice. December was the timetable when Peterson was going to return, but it's hard to say if he's close to returning to practice without input from the team. It's definitely worth monitoring and if Peterson is floating around on your wire, maybe he's worth a stash.

Mike Mularkey revealed a bit about the Titans’ strategy with Derrick Henry following their win in Chicago.

When Henry got more carries than usual, Mularkey was asked why.

“That’s kind of been our plan all year, we get into a four-minute [situation], and we run Derrick,” Mularkey said. “A little fresher. Some of the things we were running, he runs well.”

But of Henry’s eight carries for 60 yards in Sunday's win over the Bears, just two for eight yards came in 4:00 situations.

In those scenarios at the end of the first half and the game, offenses look to convert first downs and maintain possession, and above all else, making sure the other team doesn’t get the ball back.

Related players: DeMarco Murray

The story said the team hasn't been in many of those situations this season. But overall, in the final 4:00 of a half with the Titans ahead, Henry has nine carries for 28 yards. That’s only 12.8 percent of his carries and 8.9 percent of his yards. And the Titans bell cow back, DeMarco Murray, has had more work in the 4:00 situations Mularkey is saying can be earmarked for Henry. He has 10 carries for 38 in the same situations.

Browns quarterback Robert Griffin III has been cleared for contact, paving the way for him to play again this season.

Griffin has been sidelined since breaking a bone in his left shoulder late in the Sept. 11 opener against Philadelphia. He returned to practice last week, but still had to pass another medical test to make sure his injury had healed enough to absorb hits.

The Browns (0-12) have a bye this week, but Griffin will likely start the Dec. 11 game against Cincinnati. Browns coach Hue Jackson could go back to rookie Cody Kessler, but he sustained his second concussion of the season on Nov. 20 and only completed the concussion protocol on Monday.

The Browns signed Griffin to a two-year deal and would probably like to use these four games to see if he's worth bringing back as the team's starter in 2017. After trading away the number-two overall pick this past draft, and not really seeing any answers at the QB position, one would have to think the team needs to draft a QB next spring regardless of bringing back Griffin in 2017.

Vikings running back Adrian Peterson got the go-ahead to do light running as part of his rehab from surgery to repair a torn meniscus earlier this month and it appears that went well because Peterson’s workload has expanded this week.

Peterson was seen running short sprints on a side field by multiple Vikings reporters while the rest of the team went through their preparations for Thursday’s game against the Cowboys. Matt Vensel of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that Vikings head athletic trainer Eric Sugarman watched Peterson closely before the two men went back into the team’s facility.

December has been the target for Peterson’s return to action if he’s physically able to do it and there’s been no word from the team about how likely that may be, the story said.

In search of help at wide receiver, the Bears signed 2016 seventh-round pick Daniel Braverman to the active roster on Tuesday and officially placed linebacker Danny Trevathan on injured reserve.

Braverman, a true slot receiver, had 213 receptions for 2,509 yards and 19 touchdowns over three seasons at Western Michigan. Braverman also returned punts and kicks in college on special teams.

Up until Tuesday, Braverman had spent the entire 2016 season on the Bears’ practice squad.

The Bears are vulnerable at wide receiver with Eddie Royal battling a toe injury that’s limited him in recent weeks. Plus, Chicago’s wideouts dropped a staggering number of passes in last week’s 27-21 loss to Tennessee. Braverman is said to have good hands.

One of the New York Jets' toughest offseason decisions will be what to do about Brandon Marshall.

He's not the elite player he was last season, but he's still a starting-caliber wide receiver. Thing is, age (33 next year) and salary ($7.5 million) have to be considerations, along with the team's emerging talent at wide receiver.

Marshall admitted he's not sure if he'll be back for the final year of his contract.

"You never know in this business," he said Monday.

If he chooses, Marshall could walk away from football and commit to a full-time television career -- he's pretty good on TV -- but he's not ready to go there just yet.

"Physically, I feel like I can play well into my mid-30s," he said. "So, obviously, no plans on retiring and no plans on switching teams. I'd love to stay here and retire as a Jet."

As the story said, Marshall has been nagged by a foot injury for most of the season, but he said his body hasn't felt this good in four years. His numbers are way down from last year's record-setting season, as he has only 43 catches for 601 yards and two touchdowns. His future could be determined by how the Jets approach the offseason. If they start a youth movement, handing the position over to Quincy Enunwa, Robby Anderson, Charone Peake and Jalin Marshall, he'll be a goner, the story said. Marshall may not want to stick around in rebuilding year.

It will be an interesting week for running back Rob Kelley.

In his first three starts he running back averaged 107 yards per game and 4.8 yards per attempt. He his first dud against the Cowboys, rushing for 37 yards on 14 carries, an average of 2.64.

One bad game isn’t going to get him sent to the bench and the issues against Dallas certainly are not all his fault. But another 30-yard effort with an average of under 3 yards per carry will get the staff looking at the bench at Mack Brown and Matt Jones. Time is running short and he needs to display some consistency.

It sounds like this writer thinks the team could make a switch at some point if Kelley doesn't show a little more consistency. Unfortunately, that could be a tough task with the Cards, Eagles and Panthers all up next and all three in the top-10 in terms of allowing fantasy points to RBs.

We’re getting to the point in the NFL season when rookies are playing games beyond what they would play during a college season, which can lead to concerns about diminished returns as players hit the so-called rookie wall.

One player who could be the subject of such concern is Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott. He’s run the ball more than anyone else in the league and is on pace for 353 carries, which would be the second-most for any running back in a season since the start of the 2010 campaign.

Elliott said earlier this month that he isn’t worried about the cumulative effect of his workload and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has the same opinion.

“Not at all. The more we can give Ezekiel the ball the better,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan, via Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News.

Related players: Alfred Morris

As the story said, that’s not a surprising statement from Jones as DeMarco Murray posted the most carries since the start of 2010 when he ran 392 times during the 2014 season and Elliott’s play has been essential to Dallas’ success this season. The Cowboys let Murray walk away as a free agent that offseason, something that obviously won’t happen with Elliott, and they have Alfred Morris on hand to take work in the backfield, although neither of those things appears to be impacting their plans in the backfield.

Eagles Inactives
Nelson Agholor WR
Brandon Brooks G
Dillon Gordon OG
Taylor Hart DE
Ryan Mathews RB
Steven Means DE
Halapoulivaati Vaitai OT

Mathews, it was announced earlier in the week, would miss this game. Agholor is a healthy scratch who is replaced by Paul Turner

After 10 years of "Thursday Night Football," the NFL might finally be ready to call it quits. According to Pro Football Talk, the NFL is mulling the possibility of eliminating "Thursday Night Football," which would be a drastic move after sticking with it for more than a decade.

If the NFL isn't ready to get rid of Thursday night games, PFT added that there's also a chance that the league will limit the number of games in the near future.

Of course, it's unlikely that anything would happen before the end of the 2017 season. In February 2016, both CBS and NBC signed up for two seasons of Thursday night games in a contract that expires at the end of 2017.

After that deal runs out, the NFL could conceivably do whatever it wants with Thursday night games, including the possibility of eliminating them altogether.

Beleaguered Mike Nugent has survived another week and it looks like with five games left he’ll finish his seventh season as the Bengals kicker.

After Nugent missed his third straight extra point Sunday in Baltimore, head coach Marvin Lewis said in his Monday news conference that the club won’t bring in kickers to work out.

Browns QB Cody Kessler was cleared was cleared from the concussion protocol on Monday.

Kessler, who suffered a concussion two games ago against the Steelers, was on the field for the early portion of practice open to the media on Monday. The Browns have their bye this week, but might have all five quarterbacks to choose from when they face the Bengals.

On a day when the New Orleans Saints offense rolled, one player was noticeably absent in the box score Sunday during the Saints' 49-21 win over the Los Angeles Rams.

Nine different players recorded a target from quarterback Drew Brees, and of those nine players, eight recorded a catch against the Rams.

Brandin Cooks, however, didn't record a target or a catch, and it's not like he wasn't on the field. The third-year pro recorded 45 offensive snaps, which ranked as the second-most among wide receivers behind rookie Michael Thomas' 50.

According to the story, Cooks is apparently just fine and the Saints had plays designed to get him involved. The story went on to say while the Saints could have devised a specific scheme to get Cooks the ball if the coaching staff chose to force the issue, the offense didn't need its top downfield threat against the Rams.

The good news for Washington tight end Jordan Reed is that he doesn’t need surgery. That doesn’t mean his separated shoulder feels great, or that he’ll be able to play this week against the Cardinals.

“It’s probably about 30 percent range of motion right now,” Reed said, via J.P. Finlay of CSNMidAtlantic.com. “I don’t throw the ball, so I don’t need surgery.”

Reed was able to finish — impressively — after injuring his shoulder last week against Dallas. Coach Jay Gruden referred to it as a Grade 3 AC Joint injury, but Reed said there was no danger of making it worse last week by playing.

Reed said he is day to day and it seems like it just depends how much he can manage the pain. Vernon Davis would be a nice fill-in for Reed owners if Reed can't play, and may be worth carrying from here out if this continues to be an issue for Reed.

Eight is not enough for Todd Bowles to pull the plug on Ryan Fitzpatrick.

The Jets lost their eighth game of the season Sunday, a 22-17 loss to the Patriots, but Bowles said Monday Fitzpatrick will remain the starting quarterback next Monday, when the Jets play the Colts.

Those who cheer for the team, and perhaps even the NY media, seem to want the Jets to play Bryce Petty, the 2015 fourth-round pick, with an eye toward the future. But Bowles said that was not even a consideration after the Patriots loss. Fitz didn't play poorly most of the game but had a fumbled that pretty much sealed the fate of the Jets late in the game.

The Minnesota Vikings' injury report, already well-populated with starters, now includes their quarterback.

Sam Bradford appeared on the Vikings' first injury report of the week, before their Thursday game against the Dallas Cowboys, with an ankle injury that had him limited in practice. Bradford was participating during the open portion of practice, and also took part in Sunday's practice (when the Vikings did not have to issue an injury report), but the quarterback apparently missed some of the Vikings' practice with the injury.

The story summed this situation up well: The fact Bradford didn't sit out the entire session is probably a good sign -- if the Vikings were overly worried about the injury affecting him on Thursday night, they'd likely have held him out of practice -- but Bradford's ankle is certainly worth watching between now and Thursday.

He wasn't targeted with a pass during Thursday's loss to the Detroit Lions, but in many ways, Laquon Treadwell was more involved in the Minnesota Vikings’ offense than he has been at any point during his rookie season.

Treadwell played 31 snaps against the Lions -- just four fewer than he'd played the rest of the season -- and ran a route on 25 of those plays, according to ESPN Stats & Information. The first-round pick remains stuck on one catch, which came Nov. 6 on the only pass thrown his way this season, but coach Mike Zimmer says he sees progress from Treadwell in a number of areas. He missed the Vikings' game against the Washington Redskins on Nov. 13 with a hamstring injury, but Zimmer said Treadwell is pretty healthy now.

"I think he's kind of catching up to the NFL a little bit now," Zimmer said. "His quickness, his stops and starts, his acceleration [are better.]

Concerns about Treadwell's speed helped him drop to the 23rd overall pick, where the Vikings took him in the draft last April, but the team said it believed Treadwell would run more effectively the further removed he was from the broken leg he sustained in college. At this point, Zimmer said he thinks Treadwell is fully recovered.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady says his injured knee feels better than it did after last game.

A day after leading New England to a 22-17 win over the New York Jets , Brady said the knee was acting up during the game. But he said he hopes it will be better on Sunday, when the Patriots play the Los Angeles Rams.

It's not known when or how Brady injured the knee. He missed two practices last week because of it but returned to the field on Friday.

The team needed Brady, too. He attempted 50 passes and threw for two TDs in the win over the Jets. Brady should be fine for Sunday but we'll keep an eye on how he does this week.

Jordan Cameron was in the Miami Dolphins locker room on Monday and even though his season is over due to a concussion, what is unknown is if he will try to play again.

“That’s up in the air right now,” Cameron said.

Cameron, a tight end with six years of NFL experience, did not go into detail about what types of testing he has undergone following a fourth concussion and if or how he has progressed.

Colts HC Chuck Pagano is "optimistic" on WR T.Y. Hilton.

Hilton injured his back on Thanksgiving and the good news is he's had some extra time off. He did not practice on Monday, according to reports. The bad news is this is a Monday night game against the Jets, so owners will have to save a spot for Hilton in their lineup or at least have a backup plan.

Stopped by Vikings practice, where WR Stefon Diggs (knee) is back on the field.

Diggs was out on Sunday but this seems like a good sign he'll be available against Dallas on this week's Thursday night game.

Don't see TE Jordan Reed at Redskins practice, no surprise.

Related players: Vernon Davis

Reed has a Grade 3 shoulder separation an MRI revealed Friday, per HC Jay Gruden. Reed returned to the game on Thanksgiving, and owners probably couldn't tell he was hurt with the numbers he produced. However his status is very much in question for Week 13. The good news is he's had a few extra days. Vernon Davis could make for a very nice handcuff option.

He may not have final clearance through the concussion protocol yet, but Andrew Luck is at least back on the field.

Per Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star, the Colts quarterback was back on the field with his teammates this morning as the team resumed work for this week’s game with the Jets.

Luck was wearing a red non-contact jersey but he wears that anyway. Players have to go through workouts and emerge symptom-free as part of being cleared by an independent neurologist. He missed Thursday’s game against the Steelers.

Related players: Scott Tolzien

Luck also has the benefit of an extra day since they play the Jets Monday. Seems like he's on track to play in Week 13.

No running back in the NFL has more carries or yards than rookie Ezekiel Elliott.

Now, the Dallas Cowboys are starting to incorporate him more into their passing game.

That has to be troubling for defensive coordinators, because Elliott is starting to make the same big plays in the passing game that he's been making all season in the Cowboys’ running game.

And that makes the offense even better, impressive considering the Cowboys average 407.6 yards (fourth in the league) and 28.7 points (third in the league) per game.

Elliott has caught 24 passes for 303 yards, a 12.6 average. Only four of the NFL's top 10 rushers have more than 300 yards receiving, and Arizona’s David Johnson is the only one of those runners averaging more than 10 yards a catch. The Cowboys don't need Elliott as much as the Cards seem to need Johnson in the passing game, but Elliott has at least one 15-yard reception in eight of the past nine games.

It was both a good and a bad thing that Russell Wilson, to use the words of coach Pete Carroll, was able to run “all over the place” Sunday in a 14-5 loss at Tampa Bay.

The good was the obvious that it was another continuing sign of Wilson’s return to health and normalcy that he had 80 yards on eight carries — one more yard rushing than he had for the entire season coming into the game.

What was Wilson’s first official run of the game came in the second quarter and went for 17 yards — eight yards longer than any run he had had this season until Sunday.

So yep, it appears Wilson is pretty much back to normal after the trio of injuries that hampered him the first seven weeks of the season.

“Yeah, it felt great out there running,” Wilson said.

It's more good news for fantasy owners who have been hurt by a banged up Wilson most of this year. The Seattle offense seemed to be making strides before producing just three points this week in a 14-5 loss to Tampa.

Derek Carr’s finger wasn’t broken. He would have to deal with some pain and exclusively take snaps from the shotgun, but he was going to be okay.

The story called it a funky snap that injured his finger and the broadcast said it was dislocated but the story didn't use that word. Either way, it was good news for owners he was able to return. He seems like he'll be good to in Week 13 but it's something to monitor. It may continue to mean more snaps out of the shotgun.

Jets HC Todd Bowles wouldn’t say whether QB Ryan Fitzpatrick would be back in the lineup for Week 13.

“I’ll evaluate everything this week going forward,” Bowles said, via NJ.com. “I’m not going to make a decision today, or a rash decision one way or another. … For the most part, he was efficient. He didn’t turn the ball over until the very end. Offensively, we moved the ball. We just need to find more ways to score one more touchdown than they did.”

Related players: Bryce Petty

Fitzpatrick didn’t turn the ball over until the very end of Sunday’s game, but his late fumble was the final nail in the team’s coffin in a 22-17 loss to the Patriots. Fitzpatrick had turned in one of his best performances of the season. He ended the game 22-of-32 for 269 yards and two touchdowns. Petty would be the likely started if the team goes in a different direction from Fitz.

The Jaguars dominated on the ground, as their offensive line created big holes through which running back Chris Ivory exploded to generate 44 yards (and average 4.9 yards per carry) before leaving the game in the second quarter with a hamstring injury.

Related players: T.J. Yeldon, Denard Robinson

Ivory was having a nice day as the story indicated so this was unfortunate for owners who started Ivory. Robinson and Yeldon would be in store for a bigger workload if Ivory misses time going forward. Robinson had 13 carries in the game while Yeldon had six.

Cardinals wideout John Brown (hamstring) did not finish the game against the Falcons.

Michael Floyd was questionable entering the game, but did play, however the Cards continue to be banged up at WR.

Jags WR Allen Hurns hurt his hamstring while catching a touchdown pass and ruled out for the rest of the day.

Hurns only had one catch before he was hurt.

Dolphins WR DeVante Parker injured his back while attempting to make a catch (the play was called an incomplete pass after review) and did not return.

Parker was looking pretty good in this game and drawing praise from the broadcast crew so this is an unfortunate injury for a player who seemed to be trending up.

Texans RB Lamar Miller may have tweaked his left ankle injury on a short catch with 57 seconds remaining in the game.

The report said Miller limped off the field and did not return to the game. Coach Bill O'Brien did not say anything about the injury after the game, according to the story. Certainly something to monitor this week.

Derek Carr left the field with an apparent right hand injury early in the third quarter of the Raiders' game against the Panthers and returned with a glove on the hand after missing one series.

Related players: Matt McGloin

The speculation was a dislocated pinky finger on his throwing hand and the broadcast did a pretty good job showing the injury. Quarterback Matt McGloin replaced Carr for the series he missed early in the third, but the good news was Carr returned to the game. It's certainly something to monitor after this week, but Carr appears to be able to play through the injury.

The Patriots will be without their top offensive target for the remainder of the evening.

Tight end Rob Gronkowski went to the locker room late in the first quarter against the Jets with a back injury. He was ruled out in the third quarter.

Gronk finished with no catches on two deep targets.

Heading into Sunday's contest, Gronk was among many Patriots listed as questionable to play. The tight end suffered a perforated lung against the Seahawks in Week 10 and missed Week 11. Now there's likely more frustration for owners heading into Week 13. The good news is New England plays in a 1 p.m. home game against the Rams so owners will have time to adjust their lineups based on Gronk's status.

Raiders Inactives
David Amerson CB
Shilique Calhoun LB
Connor Cook QB
Denver Kirkland OG
Dexter McDonald CB
Perry Riley MLB
DeAndre Washington RB

Related players: Latavius Murray

Murray was expected to play through his ankle injury but struggled last week against the Texans.

Patriots Inactives
Justin Coleman CB
D.J. Foster RB
Woodrow Hamilton DT
Cyrus Jones CB
Matt Lengel TE
Matthew Slater WR
LaAdrian Waddle T

Related players: Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski

Both Brady and Gronkowski will play against the Jets despite being questionable coming into this contest. Brady is battling a knee issue so the Pats could run a bit more but Brady is still worth a start in lineups and will be helped by the return of Gronk.

In a sign of his progress after a chest injury, New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski has joined his teammates for the trip to face the New York Jets on Sunday.

Earlier this week, ESPN's Dianna Russini reported Gronkowski was not expected to play against the Jets. On Saturday, Russini reported Gronkowski "made a lot of progress in the last 24-48 hours" and cited two sources who referred to him as a "true game-time decision."

And not that there was any doubt, but Patriots quarterback Tom Brady posted a picture on Facebook that he is making the trip.

Gronkowski had been a limited participant in practice all week and is officially listed as questionable. Reporters saw him wearing a red noncontact jersey at the end of Friday's practice.

Gronkowski sustained the chest injury in a 31-24 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Nov. 13. He missed the next week of practice and didn't make the trip last weekend to San Francisco.

On Monday, Wendell Smallwood will have to be good with shouldering the load. Ryan Mathews has been ruled out with an MCL sprain and Sproles is dealing with a fractured seventh rib.

That means Smallwood, the fifth-round pick, will likely be the Eagles’ lead running back on Monday night against the Packers.

“Yeah, he is (ready),” Sproles said of Smallwood. “He’s getting everything quick. The main thing is the protection and stuff like that, but he picks that up fast, though.”

In the last two weeks, Smallwood has picked up 26 of his 57 career carries. He had 13 against Atlanta and 13 against Seattle. The only other time he had that type of workload was against Pittsburgh, when he carried the ball 17 times. On the season, Smallwood had 57 carries for 253 yards. He’s the first Eagles rookie to go over 250 yards rushing since LeSean McCoy in 2009.

Packers at Eagles

PACKERS (Green Bay did not practice on Thursday or Saturday. The Thursday and Saturday practice reports are estimations.)

OUT
LB Kyler Fackrell (hamstring), CB Demetri Goodson (knee), G T.J. Lang (foot), LB Blake Martinez (knee), C J.C. Tretter (knee)

QUESTIONABLE
T Don Barclay (shoulder), CB Damarious Randall (groin), LB Jake Ryan (ankle)

EAGLES
OUT
RB Ryan Mathews (knee), T Halapoulivaati Vaitai (knee)

Related players: Darren Sproles, Kenjon Barner

This story broke earlier on Saturday that Mathews wouldn't suit up for Monday night. Darren Sproles is battling a rib injury but will play. Wendell Smallwood could very well end up with a bulk of the carries with Sproles and Kenjon Barner chipping in, especially in the passing game or as change of pace backs.

As the Eagles prepare for a potential elimination game against the Packers on Monday night, they won’t have two key pieces of their offense.

Running back Ryan Mathews and right tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai have been ruled out. Both have MCL sprains.

Related players: Darren Sproles, Wendell Smallwood, Kenjon Barner

The good news for the Eagles comes from the fact that all other injured players will be able to go (according to Pederson), including running back Darren Sproles, who suffered a rib injury against the Seahawks, the story said. Smallwood seems like he could be in store for a majority of the carries. Kenjon Barner likely factors in as well.

The Bills elevated Watkins from injured reserve to the 53-man roster Saturday prior to the 4 p.m. deadline.

Watkins practiced all week on a limited basis and was listed as questionable for the game on Friday, but Ryan gave strong indication that the team’s top receiver will be in the lineup on Sunday.

“I think he’s good to go,” said Ryan. “He won’t have a full workload, but we’re definitely going to get him in there.”

Watkins has been away from most on field football related activities for two months, so the week of practice was an adjustment. Sunday’s game will be another adjustment as well for Watkins as he hasn’t played since Week 2. Even though he got a good number of reps in practice this week, Watkins was on a pitch count. So the opportunity to repeat plays were limited. Watkins will likely be on a pitch count in Week 12 but one would think he'll be on the field in the red zone. Watkins is just 76th on our list and goes against the Jags who are 10th in allowing fantasy points to WRs.

Since Tom Brady's Week 5 return, the Pats have a 55-percent pass, 45-percent run balance. In only one game, the Week 6 win over Cincinnati, did the Patriots throw the ball on 60 percent of their snaps.

Compare that with 2015, when, including the playoffs, the Pats had nine games with at least a 60 percent pass/40 percent run disparity. And in five of those games, they had splits of at least 70 percent pass/30 percent run. The one-dimensional offense was great...until Denver neutralized it and the Pats did not have another dimension to visit.

This year, LeGarrette Blount is on pace for 322 carries, which would rank as the third-most in a single season by any Patriots running back, topped only by Curtis Martin in 1995 (368 carries) and Corey Dillon in 2004 (345 carries). Dion Lewis' return could decrease Blount's individual workload, but there is no reason to believe the team's rushing averages — 29.8 attempts per game — will change.

The 2015 Patriots offense, prolific as it was, had less balance than any New England offense in the Belichick-Brady era. The Pats threw on 62 percent of their offensive snaps and ran on 38 percent, the story said. Blount hasn't lost fantasy value since Brady's return this year and perhaps this is a way of helping prolong Brady's career in the long term. In the short term, Brady is dealing with a knee injury so it doesn't seem likely the team breaks away from the current split.

Redskins' TE Jordan Reed has a Grade 3 shoulder separation an MRI revealed Friday, per Jay Gruden. Questionable for next week vs Arizona.

Reed played through the injury on Thursday and has an extra few days to heal, so he may be able to play in Week 13.

Bills OC Anthony Lynn said Sammy Watkins has been on a pitch count, is running about 3/4 speed, and his conditioning wasn't there.

Through two games, Watkins has six catches for 63 yards on the year. In 12 games last season with Tyrod Taylor as the quarterback, Watkins averaged 4.6 catches for 83 yards and 0.67 touchdowns. If possible, owners should wait a week before using Watkins.

Vikings Inactives

QB Taylor Heinicke
WR Stefon Diggs
CB Terence Newman
CB Marcus Sherels
T Rashon Hill
DT Sharrif Floyd
DE Stephen Weatherly

Related players: Adam Thielen, Cordarrelle Patterson, Adam Thielen

With Diggs out, Adam Thielen and Cordarrelle Patterson become startable. Thielen is especially appealing, since he's already playing starter's snaps and racked up 7-127-1 on eight targets with Diggs out in Week 5. Thielen has found the endzone in two straight games and has cleared 50 yards and/or scored a touchdown in five of his last six games. Patterson has become more involved in the offense since Week 4, posting WR4/WR5 numbers in that span. He has averaged 6.0 targets per game in the last seven games, and that was with Diggs in the lineup for six of those games. There are some rumblings that the team may use Patterson as a runner to kickstart an anemic running game. Laquon Treadwell will draw the start in Diggs' place, but it's hard to get excited about a player who has one catch through 10 games. TE Kyle Rudolph also gets a small bump since there are a few extra targets to go around.

Mike McCarthy: Packers RB Eddie Lacy will be on IR for the season & so will Sam Shields.

Related players: James Starks, Christine Michael, Ty Montgomery

James Starks figures to be the lead back the rest of the way. He'll be backed up by Christine Michael and Ty Montgomery.

Per Patriots beat writer Jeff Howe, TE Rob Gronkowski returned to practice on Wednesday.

An earlier report from Dianna Russini stated that Gronkowski wasn't going to play in Week 12, so we don't know what to believe. The Patriots play in the late round of games (of course), but it is a road game, so if Gronkowski is listed as questionable, we should have some inkling if he'll play based on whether or not he travels with the team this weekend.

The team announced Wednesday that Robert Griffin will practice with the Browns for the first time since the opening week of the season. Griffin was placed on injured reserve with a shoulder issue back on Sept. 12 -- a day after a season-opening loss to the Eagles.

Per league rules, Griffin has three weeks to either be activated or shipped to injured reserve permanently. His lone appearance in 2016 yielded 12 completions on 26 attempts (46.15 percent) for 190 yards and an interception. Behind a haphazard offensive line, he was sacked three times for a total loss of 22 yards.

Griffin probably isn't the QB of the future in Cleveland, though he did look good in the preseason before a poor outing in Week 1.

Rob Gronkowski is not expected to play this Sunday against the Jets. The Patriots staff is prepping the offense without him per sources.

Related players: Martellus Bennett

Martellus Bennett was a dud in a prime spot against the 49ers last week, but he'll be starter-worthy again this week against a Jets team that is #26 in TE aFPA.

Saints running back Mark Ingram also landed in the concussion protocol after a hit from Panthers safety Kurt Coleman early in the third quarter of the Panthers’ 23-20 victory. It looks like Ingram has a good chance of being in the lineup for Week 12, however.

Saints coach Sean Payton said that Ingram will practice with the team on Wednesday, which indicates that he’s made good progress getting through the concussion protocol and should be on track for clearance to play against the Rams this Sunday.

Related players: Tim Hightower

It looks like Ingram may be able to play in Week 12. When he was knocked out of the game, he had 10 touches to just five for Hightower, so he had regained control of the Saints' backfield after good rushing efficiency in Week 9 (15 carries, 158 yards) and Week 10 (11 carries, 50 yards).

Bills WR Sammy Watkins has been cleared to practice Wednesday on a limited basis, GM Doug Whaley told WGR 550 on Wednesday morning. Watkins has been on injured reserve since Sept. 30; he is eligible to play in Sunday's game against the Jaguars if the Bills choose to activate him.

This doesn't mean that Watkins will play (or play effectively) in Week 12, but it's certainly good news for those owners who have stashed him away or picked him up in the last couple of weeks. Through two games, Watkins has six catches for 63 yards on the year. In 12 games last season with Tyrod Taylor as the quarterback, Watkins averaged 4.6 catches for 83 yards and 0.67 touchdowns. If possible, owners should wait a week before using Watkins.

The Eagles enter the week of preparation for Green Bay a little light at running back.

Both Ryan Mathews (knee) and Darren Sproles (rib fracture) left Sunday's game early and did not return. Head coach Doug Pederson said Mathews is day to day and Sproles won't practice early in the week but is expected to be back for the game on Monday against the Packers.

Aside from Mathews and Sproles, the Eagles have just Kenjon Barner and rookie Wendell Smallwood as their other running backs.

Based on Sunday, it seems like if Mathews isn't ready to play, Smallwood would become the Eagles' workhorse running back.

The story speculates Mathews won't be ready. We've already seen Sproles take 10-15 carries this year while Mathews was dealing with a tooth issue but Sproles now has a rib problem. Smallwood will likely be a big pickup this week and should get enough touches to warrant a start as long as Mathews is out. He'll still come with risks with Sproles and Barner in the mix for touches. Keep in mind this game is Monday night.

The San Diego Chargers added depth to their backfield by signing former Broncos and Vikings running back Ronnie Hillman.

Hillman, a former San Diego State Aztec, was released by the Vikings this week after playing in five games for them. The Chargers released WR Griff Whalen in a corresponding move.

Hillman has been in the league for five years (debuted in 2012), and crazy enough is still only 25 years old.

The Chargers don't have much depth behind Melvin Gordon who has seen a big workload this year but especially the last few weeks. The team talked about getting Kenneth Farrow more work but it hasn't happened. Hillman struggled in Minnesota but could provide the Chargers some depth at the position, and they should be pretty familiar with Hillman seeing him twice a year the last couple of seasons.

49ers WR Torrey Smith (shoulder) looked like he has at least made progress in the portion of Tuesday's practice open to the media.

Smith, who didn't practice last Tuesday and was limited the rest of the week before sitting out Sunday, was in a blue no-contact jersey, but was at least able to run around and do some work the story said.

There probably won't be a miracle recovery in Indianapolis this week. Andrew Luck, who was placed in the concussion protocol on Monday, will probably not be healthy in time for the Colts' Thanksgiving game against the Steelers.

That's according to Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton, who indicated to reporters Tuesday that Luck will not play. Here's what ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported:

Asked on a conference call when the Colts found out Andrew Luck wasn't playing, T.Y. Hilton said, "we found out in the team meeting room when he wasn't there. Coach brought it to our attention." Talked about wanting to "win for him."

Related players: Scott Tolzien

The Colts haven't officially declared Luck out, but he doesn't seem likely to play. The story said only Davante Adams of the Packers has been cleared on a short week following a concussion this year. Scott Tolzien would start in place of Luck if he's not cleared.

Giants wide receiver Roger Lewis is in the concussion protocol after taking a hit to the head on an 8-yard catch in the second quarter of Sunday's game.

Related players: Victor Cruz

The hit knocked Lewis out of the game and forced Victor Cruz to play 60-of-67 snaps in his return from a sprained ankle. If Lewis can't go, it could mean more time for Cruz again in Week 12.

Giants HC Ben McAdoo did not express concern about wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who appeared to injure his hand on Sunday.

"He may have caught a finger in the turf, stubbed it a little bit," McAdoo said. "I'm not 100 percent certain."

Looks like Beckham will be good to go for Week 12.

The Steelers will face the Indianapolis Colts on a short week, but it isn't taking much time for the players to become well-versed on their defense.

Indianapolis defensive coordinator Ted Monachino was hired in the off-season after spending the past six years as a linebackers coach with the Baltimore Ravens. The Colts already ran an attacking 3-4 scheme before Monachino's arrival, and he's since implemented several Ravens-based concepts.

"We're seeing a lot of Baltimore looks," Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said Wednesday morning.

While it may seem like bad news for Big Ben owners, the story goes on to say for as much as the Colts defense resembles Baltimore in tendencies, it lacks in production. The Ravens are second in the league in total defense, but the Colts are 30th, giving up a league-worst 284 passing yards-per-game. Roethlisberger has torched Indianapolis over the last two seasons, finishing with a combined 886 yards, 10 touchdowns and zero interceptions in two lopsided wins.

Jay Cutler is believed to have a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder and is expected to miss the rest of the season, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport and NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported.

Related players: Matt Barkley, Cameron Meredith, Eddie Royal, Jordan Howard, David Fales

Cutler is seeking a second opinion, which he's hoping produces a different prognosis, the story said. Cutler injured his thumb earlier in the season, missing five games. With Brian Hoyer having a broken arm, Matt Barkley is up next on the depth chart. The Bears have already signed David Fales off the Ravens practice squad, a report said. It's a downgrade for any Bear weapons who remain healthy - mostly Eddie Royal and Cameron Meredith. The team is without suspended Alshon Jeffery and lost TE Zach Miller to a broken foot in Week 11. The team could look to run the ball more with Jordan Howard, but Barkley doesn't present much of a threat to hurt a defense in the passing game so opponents may be able to stuff the run going forward. It's not shaping up to be a pretty situation for the Bears offense for the remainder of the season.

After WR A.J. Green went out on the second play of the game, TE Tyler Eifert noticed the Bills began to send more double teams his way. It's something Green has dealt with often in his career and had to fight through several times this season when Eifert was out with an injury the first six games.

"Even A.J. said something like, 'It's not fun, is it?'" Eifert said, laughing. "But I've got to find a way to get open and make plays."

The Bills were effective in stopping Eifert on Sunday, limiting him to only three receptions for 37 yards and no touchdowns.

Eifert's effectiveness isn't in the amount of yards he generates. His usefulness has come in the red zone, as he led the team with 13 touchdowns last season. But even though Eifert is the team's best red-zone threat, the offense has truly belonged to Green since he was drafted in 2011. On the Bengals' best days, they have given defensive coordinators headaches trying to stop them both. However, Eifert said he hasn't been the centerpiece of an offense since his college days at Notre Dame. Now, with the Bengals' go-to weapon out for an unknown amount of time, it's likely Eifert is going to see a lot more double teams come his way. The Bengals best receiving options after him are Brandon LaFell and rookie Tyler Boyd, the story all said.

Three years after his breakout rookie season, Cordarrelle Patterson again is a fixture in the Vikings' offense, getting almost as many opportunities in the offense on a week-to-week basis as he did during his first year. Patterson has 38 touches in 10 games this season, after totaling just 47 in 2014 and 2015 combined. He had 39 touches, according to ESPN Stats & Information, in the final eight games of the 2013 season, when his role in the offense grew significantly.

But while Patterson's 2016 season so far hasn't included the headline-grabbing runs and catches that his rookie year did, he's getting the ball in a manner that looks much like how the Vikings used him in 2013.

Patterson is averaging only 3.24 yards per target, according to ESPN Stats & Information, as the Vikings look for him on the bubble screens and quick slants they used to great effect in 2013. The story added his involvement could get him a new contract with the Vikings. He's averaging just over three catches per game on just over four targets per game.

All eyes are on Rex Burkhead, Giovani Bernard’s good friend (and they’re all his good friend because Bernard is that kind of guy) because he’s the guy that is going to take his place as that jack-of-all-trades-third-down back that must catch run, catch, and block.

And there is enormous confidence in the 5-10, 214-pounds Burkhead. He’s an example of how deep the Bengals believe their roster is, a versatile sort promoted to slot receiver in the week between the 2014 regular-season finale and the Wild Card Game when Green couldn’t play with a concussion.

“More than capable,” Jeremy Hill said.

He’s emerged as a special teams staple the past two seasons, where he’s showed his reliability and smarts, and he’s their teams leading tackler this season. His hands have been on display every preseason and there has been a murmur after that stint in the slot to get him on the field more, the story said. Bernard was averaging 13 touches a game, including just over nine carries a game. It's hard to say if Burkhead will jump right in to that kind of a workload but the potential is certainly there.

The Kansas City Chiefs headed into this season thinking it would be the best yet for quarterback Alex Smith, but it isn’t turning out that way. Many of Smith’s key statistics are down from last season, including yards per attempt (7.4 last year to 6.9), touchdown percentage (4.3 to 3), passer rating (95.4 to 91.2) and rushing (31 yards per game to 6).

Throw in the Chiefs’ scoring struggles -- they have two or fewer offensive touchdowns in six of the eight full games in which Smith has played this season -- and it’s easy to conclude Smith’s game has regressed this season.

Coach Andy Reid isn’t concluding that, at least not publicly.

Smith’s struggles have showed up most noticeably when they hurt the most: on third down and inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. Smith is the NFL’s 26th-rated passer on third down. The Chiefs are 31st at scoring touchdowns from the red zone. They’ve had three games where they’ve kicked four field goals, including the one against the Jaguars in which Foles played.

Running back Tevin Coleman and cornerback Desmond Trufant were the ones returning to on-field activities. Coleman missed three games with a hamstring injury and Trufant missed the loss to the Eagles before the bye due to a shoulder injury, but coach Dan Quinn said both looked good on Monday.

“Both of them looked extremely fast,” Quinn said, via the team’s website. “That’s what we were checking to see with Tev. Would he have the speed to get in and out of his breaks that makes him such a unique player. We wanted to see Tru with the ball skills and moving around like he did. Both of those guys were off to a good start today.”

Coleman should go back to having his normal value. He was averaging over 11 touches a game, including over eight carries per game.

Chargers coach Mike McCoy gave his players the entire bye week off with the hope that some of the injured players could heal up and make it back to the practice field.

With players returning to Chargers Park for a Monday practice, it appears that McCoy accomplished his goal.

Receiver Travis Benjamin, who missed San Diego’s loss to the Miami Dolphins two weeks ago with a sprained right knee, practiced on Monday and appears on track to play on Sunday against the Houston Texans.

Benjamin said he got time to relax and get healthy during the bye week, and felt good getting back to practice.

Steve L Smith Sr. has vowed that this season will be the last of his 16-year career as a wide receiver. But fellow wideout Mike Wallace said he would love to continue playing with Smith.

“Sixteen years is a long time, but if anybody can keep playing, it’s him,” Wallace said Sunday. “It’s just an honor to be on the team with him. Every day to see the way he works and see how we carries himself, I just love it. I wish I would have had more time with him.”

Harbaugh admitted that trying to persuade Smith to return “has crossed my mind.”

“If he wants to come back, he’s welcome. Absolutely,” Harbaugh said. “You’d like every good football player you can get. But I don’t want to speak for Steve. He’s had an unbelievably awesome career. He got his 1,000th catch so he should be commended for that. Congratulations to Steve on that accomplishment."

The oldest receiver in the league at 37 years, Smith ranks second on the team in yards (516) and touchdown catches (threes) and third in receptions (44). In Sunday’s loss, he paced the offense with eight catches for 99 yards and one score and reached the 1,000-reception plateau.

The Bucs continue to get key players back from injury, and RB Jacquizz Rodgers, out three games with a foot injury, could be next. Coach Dirk Koetter said Rodgers could return to practice when the Bucs resume drills Wednesday.

"We'll see what Wednesday brings. I glanced outside, and Jacquizz was out working on the field with trainers. We'll see," said Koetter, who said the topic of Rodgers' return came up as GM Jason Licht got a medical update Monday morning.

Related players: Doug Martin

The Bucs have had starting RB Doug Martin back for the past two games after he missed six with a hamstring injury, but Rodgers had two 100-yard games filling in for Martin and would add depth to the Bucs' running attack. Charles Sims, on injured reserve for the past six weeks with a knee injury, can return to practice this week, though he's not eligible to play until Week 14, after two more games.

Texans Inactives
Oday Aboushi G
Alfred Blue RB
Brandon Dunn DT
Jonathan Grimes RB
Jaelen Strong WR
Josh Walker OG
Brandon Weeden QB

Related players: Will Fuller

Fuller is dealing with a knee but had a pretty good chance to play leading up to the game. He hasn't done a whole lot since Week 4 so he's a risky play and is active tonight.

Raiders Inactives
Vadal Alexander OT
Connor Cook QB
Antonio Hamilton DB
Johnny Holton WR
Matt McCants T
Dexter McDonald CB
Ryan O'Malley TE

Related players: Latavius Murray

Murray is dealing with an ankle injury and was limited last week but is good to go tonight against the Texans.

The Colts could be without Andrew Luck when they play the Steelers at home on Thanksgiving Day.

The team announced that the quarterback is in the concussion protocol.

Related players: Scott Tolzien, T.Y. Hilton, Phillip Dorsett, Donte Moncrief

The timing is bad for the Colts who will be on a short week. It's a night game against the Steelers on Thanksgiving, so owners should probably have a backup plan. It will also downgrade the Indy receiving weapons. Scott Tolzien would get the start if Luck can't play.

“With Robert Woods the official report is a knee sprain we’ll see how he progresses through the week, but it’s probably doubtful he’ll be playing this week,” HC Rex Ryan said.

Related players: Sammy Watkins, Percy Harvin, Marquise Goodwin

With the status of Sammy Watkins, who is still on injured reserve, up in the air concerning a possible return, Buffalo would be reduced to Marquise Goodwin, Percy Harvin, Justin Hunter and Brandon Tate in their receiving corps.

The Bills didn’t waste any time getting LeSean McCoy’s dislocated left thumb properly back in place. The feature back underwent a surgical procedure on Sunday night and will have a chance to play on Sunday against Jacksonville.

“We’ll see how he progresses through the week,” said head coach Rex Ryan. “It would be big for us (to have him play) obviously. I think right now he’s playing as well as any back in the league. That would be nice if he actually is going to play. That would be great for us.”

McCoy got off to a fast start this past Sunday against Cincinnati averaging more than six and a half yards a carry with a touchdown, but dislocated his thumb late in the first half and didn’t return when the medical staff couldn’t pop his thumb joint back in.

Ryan would not put a percentage on McCoy’s chances of playing Sunday against the Jaguars, but admitted he was more encouraged.

Mike McCarthy intends to get RB Christine Michael ready for the Philly game.

Michael would likely cut into the workload of Ty Montgomery and James Starks making it a bit of a tricky situation. According to the Sunday night broadcast, the Packers seem to like Michael's touchdown totals with Seattle (6 rushing, 1 receiving) so it's possible he's used in the red zone.

Jaguars HC Gus Bradley isn’t optimistic about running back T.J. Yeldon, who suffered a sprained right ankle during the loss to the Lions and will be day-to-day.

Related players: Chris Ivory

Yeldon was injured late in the first quarter, as well. He ran four times for 16 yards and caught two passes for 16 yards before leaving the game.

The sprained right shoulder that Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles suffered during Sunday’s loss to the Detroit Lions isn’t expected to keep him from playing against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.

Bortles will get treatment throughout the week and will appear on the team’s injury report, but coach Gus Bradley said Monday, "Just what I heard today, it sounds like he should be in good shape."

Bortles was hurt when he was hit by Lions defensive end Ezekiel Ansah and safety Miles Killebrew after a 2-yard gain late in the first quarter. He left the field early before halftime to get his shoulder evaluated -- Chad Henne took the Jaguars’ final snap, a kneel-down -- but played the entire second half.

A nightmare-inducing season for the Chicago Bears has brought more frightening news to coach John Fox.

Jay Cutler is undergoing tests for a shoulder injury sustained in Sunday's loss to the New York Giants, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported, via a source informed of the injury. The starting quarterback is expected to miss time, per Rapoport. The team will know more Tuesday, with one source acknowledging the possibility that the injury could be serious in nature.

The Chicago Tribune first reported the development.

Related players: Matt Barkley

As NFL Network's Mike Garafolo pointed out, Fox told reporters there were severals reasons Cutler couldn't take advantage of the Giants' defense stacking the box. A shoulder issue would certainly qualify as one of those factors. This is Cutler's second injury of the season. He missed five games in September and October with a sprained thumb. The Bears have already lost quarterbacks Connor Shaw (broken leg) and Brian Hoyer (broken arm) to major injuries, leaving journeyman third-stringer Matt Barkley as the lone in-house replacement for Cutler.

Josh McCown will start at quarterback for the winless Cleveland Browns on Sunday against the New York Giants.

Coach Hue Jackson said that although Robert Griffin III will practice, he has not been cleared for contact or to play in a game. Rookie Cody Kessler had his second concussion in five games and is out indefinitely.

The team could shut down Kessler for a while according to a report we had earlier today. With RGIII not ready to get back into action, McCown gets the start in Week 12.

Bengals rule A.J. Green out for Sunday at Baltimore with a hamstring strain.

The hamstring injury isn't believe to be as serious as first reported and this report called it a strain as opposed to a tear, which is what was reported last night and this morning. Certainly good news for owners on a possible return this season, however we're getting closer to the fantasy playoffs so it doesn't leave much recovery time for those counting on Green. Consider Green in very much in question for Week 13 as well.

Ronnie Hillman wasn’t able to add anything to the worst rushing game in the league, so now he’s looking for work again.

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Vikings waived the former Broncos running back.

Hillman had just 18 carries for 50 yards in five games with the Vikings, and hasn’t cracked the Jerick McKinnon–Matt Asiata rotation.

The Vikings are last in the league at 70.0 rushing yards per game and 2.7 yards per carry and are without Adrian Peterson. Peterson could be back early next month.

Ryan Fitzpatrick will be the New York Jets' starting quarterback Sunday against the New England Patriots.

Coach Todd Bowles made the announcement after practice Monday, the players' first day back at the facility since last Tuesday following a bye-week break.

Related players: Bryce Petty

Fitzpatrick sat out the Jets' previous game against Los Angeles on Nov. 13 with a sprained left knee. Bryce Petty made his first regular-season NFL start and went 19 of 32 for 163 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the 9-6 loss. Bowles said last week that he would consider which quarterback would give the Jets (3-7) the best chance of winning against the Patriots (8-2). The coach says the fact Fitzpatrick is healthy again contributed to his decision, adding that he's the starter "and we're going forward with that," the story said.

Philadelphia Eagles running backs Darren Sproles and Ryan Mathews are both considered day-to-day after suffering injuries in Sunday's loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Coach Doug Pederson told reporters Monday that Sproles has a rib fracture, but he sounded optimistic that the 33-year-old would be able to suit up Monday night against the Green Bay Packers. Mathews will also try to get back after sustaining an MCL sprain in his right knee. After the game, he was spotted wearing a brace around that leg.

Related players: Wendell Smallwood, Kenjon Barner

Wendell Smallwood and Kenjon Barner are next up on the depth chart. Smallwood would likely see a much bigger role, especially if Mathews can't play in Week 12. This is a Monday night game so it's going to be risky waiting to play any Eagle RB unless we get a better idea of statuses before that. But as Washington's Rob Kelley proved Sunday night, this is potentially a nice matchup for the run-first Eagles.

Head coach Doug Pederson announced at his Monday press conference that the Eagles have signed wide receiver Paul Turner.

Tuner had a great preseason, and while it was only the preseason, he showed good hands, something the Eagle WRs have struggled with this whole year. It could mean bad news for Nelson Agholor, who continues to drop balls and had a poor Week 11 against Seattle. For now, Turner is just a guy to keep an eye on but he certainly has potential for playing time a position that's been a nightmare for the team so far to this point.

It’s not every day a team can add the fourth-leading rusher in the NFL from the previous season to its roster, but that’s what the Dallas Cowboys will do this week.

Darren McFadden, who ran for 1,089 yards last season, will begin practice this week after spending the first 11 weeks of the season on the non-football injury list because of a broken elbow suffered in the spring.

The Cowboys will be able to have McFadden practice for three weeks before having to add him to the 53-man roster or moving him to injured reserve. If he is not activated by the Dec. 18 meeting against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he will not be eligible to play this season.

The news was not kind to Chicago Bears tight end Zach Miller after the game on Sunday afternoon. Jeremy Stoltz of @BearReport tweeted Bears HC John Fox says Miller has a broken foot.

The Bears have not given out an official report, but it sounds more than likely that Miller will not be able to return this season if he broke his foot.

Related players: Logan Paulsen, Ben Baunecker

Miller finished the game with three catches for 61 yards with one interception. He and quarterback Jay Cutler appeared to click early in the game, and Chicago's offense scuffled in the second half without Miller on the field. Logan Paulsen and
Ben Braunecker are up next on the depth chart.

Bills LB Preston Brown in locker room said "we got Sammy Watkins probably coming back next week."

Brown was being asked about the loss of WR Robert Woods and the tweet concluded there's a belief among some players Watkins could be back. Obviously this isn't set in stone, but it's something for owners to monitor as the week goes on.

Per source Bills RB LeSean McCoy had a procedure on his thumb and will play Sunday barring something unexpected.

This is certainly good news but also worth monitoring this week. McCoy was poised for a pretty nice day before leaving with a dislocated thumb and never returning in Week 11.

Bengals tailback Giovani Bernard suffered an ACL tear, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, via a source informed of the player's situation.

Bernard will undergo surgery and miss the remainder of the 2016 season.

Related players: Rex Burkhead, Jeremy Hill

Although the output on the ground has been disappointing, Bernard has remained a key cog in Andy Dalton's intermittent aerial attack. Among all running backs, Bernard ranks in the top 10 for receptions (39) and receiving yards (336) this season. He's been one of the NFL's premier pass-catching backs since entering the league as a second-round draft pick in 2013. Now that Bernard is out of the backfield rotation, Rex Burkhead is an obvious candidate to pick up snaps in obvious passing situations while Jeremy Hill shoulders more of the running workload.

The Bengals' already fleeting playoff hopes sustained a significant blow Sunday.

Following a 16-12 loss to the Buffalo Bills, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported wide receiver A.J. Green sustained a tear in his hamstring, with the simple prognosis being "not good."

The injury appeared serious from the start when Green was carted off. Green will undergo an MRI early this week for more clarity on the injury, but Rapoport adds the fear is the injury will cause Green to miss the remainder of the season. This story said a report from the team's official web site also feared a torn hamstring. Owners should probably prepare to not have Green at least for the foreseeable future.

The New England Patriots took a smart, patient approach to integrate running back Dion Lewis back into the mix in Sunday's 30-17 victory over the San Francisco 49ers, playing him 22 snaps in his season debut.

"It was like riding a bike," Lewis said of the first game he's played since tearing his left ACL on Nov. 8, 2015. "I've been playing this game for a long time."

Meanwhile, fellow passing back James White played 24, which foreshadows how Lewis' return will slice into White's playing time.

Lewis finished with five carries for 23 yards, while adding three catches for 26. His ability to make defenders miss was hard to miss, even if he's still not back at pre-injury levels at this point, the story said. In an attempt to get him going right away, the Patriots had him start and targeted him on their first and third passes. As for the snaps, it was just about an even split which could mean Lewis eventually starts to get more than White. Keep in mind, the Pats RB situation isn't always easy to predict, but Lewis sure looks like he's worth hanging on to at least in PPR leagues.

Hue Jackson can't stand watching his rookie quarterback Cody Kessler get drilled anymore.

In fact, he might advocate shutting him down for an extended period after Kessler suffered his second concussion in 29 days during Sunday's 24-9 loss to the Steelers. With five games left, that could mean the season.

"It's a possibility,'' said Jackson. "We'll see. I'm definitely going to talk to our medical staff because this is about a young man's career and future so we have to do the right thing."

At the very least, Kessler will most likely sit out Sunday's game against the Giants. The concussion could foil the Browns' plans to determine if Kessler can be their quarterback of the future. Jackson said Josh McCown will start against the Giants if Kessler can't go. The last time Kessler suffered a concussion, against the Bengals Oct. 23, he sat out the following week against the Jets.

Seahawks rookie running back C.J. Prosise has a “scapula issue” and will miss some time, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll told reporters after Sunday’s game.

Carroll said Prosise could return this year “but it will be a while.” The Seahawks figure to know more about his status in the coming days.

Related players: Thomas Rawls, Alex Collins

Reports are saying Prosise could be out eight weeks which certainly ends his regular season. Thomas Rawls is now poised for a potential huge workload going forward and if he's still on your wire for some reason, he's a must-add. Alex Collins was inactive for Sunday’s game but will likely get some work behind Rawls and is next up on the depth chart.

Seahawks star all-purpose back C.J. Prosise had to leave the Week 11 game with a shoulder injury and was questionable to return.

Related players: Thomas Rawls, Alex Collins

Thomas Rawls is just coming back from an injury but did look good in his time on the field and this would mean a big boost for him if Prosise has to miss time. The game was pretty much in control for Seattle so there perhaps wasn't a need to put Prosise back on the field. He was questionable to return but never did. Rookie Alex Collins is up next on the depth chart with the departure of Christine Michael.

Eagles RB Darren Sproles injured his ribs on a punt return late in the second quarter and did not come back out of the locker room after halftime.

Without both Sproles and Ryan Mathews, the Eagles had to turn to backups Kenjon Barner and Wendell Smallwood.

As we stated in the news piece about Mathews, the injury to both players could mean Smallwood and Barner get a big workload in Week 12 against the Packers. Mathews' injury is a MCL sprain and he seems likely to miss some time. Smallwood had a big game back in Week 3 against the Steelers and would likely get more of a workload without Mathews and Sproles in the lineup.

Initial word on Eagles RB Ryan Mathews: MCL sprain, source said. He'll be further evaluated over next 24 hours.

Mathews is certainly in danger of missing some time. Keep in mind Darren Sproles also left the Eagles Week 11 game with a rib injury. It could very well mean Wendell Smallwood gets a big share of carries in a Week 12, Monday night game against the Packers. Kenjon Barner could also factor in.

Redskins Inactives
Blaine Clausell T
Matthew Ioannidis DT
Matt Jones RB
Arie Kouandjio OG
Rashad Ross WR
Nate Sudfeld QB
Nick Sundberg LS

Related players: DeSean Jackson

Jackson (shoulder) will be active tonight in a matchup against the Packers. If anything, it could mean less targets for guys like WR Jamison Crowder and TE Vernon Davis.

Packers Inactives
Jay Elliott LB
T.J. Lang G
Christine Michael RB
Damarious Randall CB
Christian Ringo DE
Jake Ryan ILB
JC Tretter C

Cook makes his return after being inactive since Week 4. Richard Rodgers has not played well in his absence, so Cook will be given every opportunity to win the job outright but may not be fully involved this week.

When the Buffalo Bills began the second half in Cincinnati, LeSean McCoy remained in the locker room.

The veteran running back injured his left thumb late in the first half against the Bengals on Sunday while falling out of bounds.

McCoy caught a short pass from Tyrod Taylor for an 8-yard gain and headed to the sideline with 1:51 remaining in the second quarter. He got hit by Bengals safety Shawn Williams and tried to brace his fall with his left hand. McCoy popped back up, but pointed to the Bills staff to remove him from the game. The Bills ruled him out early in the second half.

Patriots Inactives
Justin Coleman CB
D.J. Foster RB
Rob Gronkowski TE
Woodrow Hamilton DT
Chris Hogan WR
Jabaal Sheard DE
LaAdrian Waddle T

Related players: Dion Lewis

Lewis will play this week but is a bit of a risky fantasy start. He's likely to be eased back in. Of course, Rob Gronkowski and Chris Hogan were already ruled out.

Eagles Inactives
Josh Andrews G
Terrence Brooks DB
Dillon Gordon OG
Aaron Grymes DB
Taylor Hart DE
Steven Means DE
Matt Tobin G

Related players: Jordan Matthews, Zach Ertz

Matthews had a back issues and Ertz a hamstring. Both were expected to play and will do just that in a tough matchup on the road at Seattle.

The Buffalo Bills have lost wide receiver Robert Woods for the rest of Sunday's game against the Bengals because of a knee injury.

Woods was hurt with less than 3 minutes to play in the first quarter when his left leg got bet awkwardly underneath him after a 13-yard reception. Woods was hit by Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict on the play.

The injury leaves the Bills without their No. 1 receiver and comes as Woods was playing his best football of the season. Coming off a 10-catch, 162-yard performance against the Seattle Seahawks in Week Nine, Woods had three catches for 41 yards in the first quarter before getting hurt.

With Woods out, the Bills are left with Marquise Goodwin, Percy Harvin, Justin Hunter and Brandon Tate at wide receiver.

The Cincinnati Bengals lost one of their top playmakers on the second play from scrimmage Sunday.

Wide receiver A.J. Green was the intended target for Andy Dalton on second-and-15. The pass was a little high and Green was hit by Buffalo Bills cornerback Stephon Gilmore. As Green fell to the turf at Paul Brown Stadium, he immediately grabbed the back of his right leg.

After Green was carted off the field, the Bengals reported he had a hamstring injury and that his return was questionable. He was eventually downgraded to out.

The reality for owners is this looks like a pretty significant injury that could cost Green some time, however we won't know anything for sure until at least after the game, and maybe not until later in the week.

Rams Inactives
Jamon Brown OG
Blake Countess CB
Temarrick Hemingway TE
Troy Hill CB
Sean Mannion QB
Pace Murphy OT

Related players: Todd Gurley

Gurley was a late-week downgrade but will suit up today despite a thigh issue.

Dolphins Inactives
Branden Albert OT
Thomas Duarte TE
Xavien Howard CB
Jelani Jenkins OLB
Mike Pouncey C
Mario Williams DE
Nick Williams DT

Related players: Kenny Stills, Jarvis Landry

Stills and Landry both practiced in full this week and weren't really in doubt but it's now official both are active.

The Green Bay Packers have signed linebacker Carl Bradford from their practice squad and released tight end Justin Perillo, a move that signals the likely return of starting tight end Jared Cook.

The 6-foot-4 Cook has been out since Week 3 with an ankle injury.

Cook could give quarterback Aaron Rodgers a big target sorely needed over the middle help open up the field for receivers Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb and Davante Adams. Without Perillo, Richard Rodgers is the only other tight end on the Packers' active roster.

Cook (ankle, questionable) took full practice reps all week and is questionable for Week 11. Cook may be able to return this week as the story indicated. Richard Rodgers has not played well in his absence, so Cook will be given every opportunity to win the job outright.

Patriots RB Dion Lewis made the trip to SF.

Lewis will still be a risky play, but perhaps with TE Rob Gronkowski out this week, it's another receiving option for QB Tom Brady. If Lewis is, in fact, active, those who follow the team feel he's going to be eased back into action after being out for so long. The 49ers seems like an ideal situation for this but owners should probably still take a wait-and-see approach.

The Steelers also placed wide receiver Markus Wheaton and defensive end Cameron Heyward on their injured-reserve list and promoted running back Daryl Richardson from the practice squad.

Wheaton injured his shoulder in practice prior to last week’s game, while Heyward suffered a torn pectoral in last week’s game. Richardson could play Sunday as veteran running back DeAngelo Williams is still recovering from knee surgery.

Related players: Sammie Coates, Eli Rogers, Cobi Hamilton, Ladarius Green

The move clears the path at WR for Eli Rogers to pretty much be the team's WR2 option, at least until Sammie Coates can recover from a couple of broken fingers on the same hand. Cobi Hamilton should also be involved in the offense, but it could also opens the door for TE Ladarius Green to be more involved once he can get back into game shape.

TEXANS at RAIDERS
Texans
OUT
RB Alfred Blue (calf), RB Jonathan Grimes (illness), WR Jaelen Strong (ankle)

QUESTIONABLE
WR Will Fuller (knee), RB Jay Prosch (hamstring), DT Vince Wilfork (groin)

Raiders
QUESTIONABLE
WR Amari Cooper (back), C Rodney Hudson (knee), DT Stacy McGee (ankle), RB Latavius Murray (ankle), G Kelechi Osemele (knee), CB Sean Smith (shoulder)

For the Texans Fuller (knee) is questionable and was limited in practice. HC Bill O’Brien says he feels “pretty” good about Fuller’s chances, but since the Texans play on Monday night, it’s a tough sell for fantasy owners. RB Lamar Miller was also limited but is not on the injury report.

For the Raiders Cooper (back) is questionable heading into Monday night but is expected to play through his back injury.

On the Seattle Seahawks' second offensive play last week, Russell Wilson decided to take a shot deep to wide receiver Tyler Lockett, who was matched up with New England Patriots cornerback Justin Coleman.

"It was just being able to try to get an outside or inside release, just be aggressive and give him something," Lockett said. "He jumped outside, so I slipped him inside and tried to get vertical and stack him, and Russell put a great ball on [me]. The safety was coming, he got his hand in there, but I was able to secure it and get the first down."

It was Lockett's first explosive play since Week 2, when he suffered a knee injury in a loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

The injury clearly has slowed Lockett down, but he showed signs in last week's game to suggest he's making significant improvement, the story said. It also quoted HC Pete Carroll as saying Lockett is finally back and running fast and confident and able to practice at a high level. This week's matchup is a nice one against an Eagles secondary that is a bit banged up.

For a team with a former seventh-round draft pick starting at quarterback (Trevor Siemian) a former undrafted player who is a Pro Bowl player at cornerback (Chris Harris Jr.) and a sixth-rounder starting at center (Matt Paradis), the fact that the Denver Broncos sent a fifth-round pick during the season to an AFC rival to get A.J. Derby says it all.

It says the Broncos had a need big enough that they didn’t want to wait until next year to fill it. Which is why Derby was a New England backup one day, and a Broncos tight end poised for playing time the next.

"I’m definitely lucky there, both teams, New England and Denver, have Super Bowl experience," Derby said. "I can’t complain there at all. You obviously know the success they’ve had in New England, and to then come to a team that won the Super Bowl (to close out 2015 season), so I was surprised when they said 'you’re traded,' but at the same time, when they tell you Denver, just excited for the opportunity."

Related players: Virgil Green

Derby's playing time has reflected his work. He was inactive for the Broncos' Oct. 30 game against the Chargers, played five plays in the Broncos’ loss to the Raiders the next week, and was on the field for 44 plays in the Broncos' win this past Sunday in New Orleans. Derby finished the game with two catches for 22 yards, and flashed the speed the Broncos traded to acquire. He's probably hard to trust in lineups right now, but seems as if he's trending up and may be poised for a break out game.

The Minnesota Vikings have had many struggles as of late, but none bigger than the run game. With averaging just 2.7 yards per carry, the Vikes could really use their future Pro Football Hall of Fame running back. That may be sooner than anticipated, as Adrian Peterson has resumed light running and is now eligible for the team to activate from the IR.

Minnesota has found it hard to find offensive success during their 4 game losing streak and their run game has been no help. Without a solid run game, a good passing game is near impossible. Unfortunately, the Vikings are finding that out the hard way.

Without the presence of a run game, defenders can blitz QB Sam Bradford at will and not worry about a late hand-off or pitch. Due to this, Bradford has been hit a lot and is now forced to release the football a lot earlier than he wants to, the story all said. As of now, the only thing the story knew Peterson is running again, according to NBC Sports, but that is a huge step towards a possible early December.