Chargers want to 'be smart' about RB Ryan Mathews' workload in Week 11

Nov 14, 2014

Chargers RB Ryan Mathews has not played since a Sept. 14 contest against the Seattle Seahawks because of an MCL knee sprain. It’s probably unfair to expect Mathews to carry the ball that many times in his first game back. However, with Mathews expected to return to the field on Sunday against the Oakland Raiders, offensive coordinator Frank Reich and running back coach Ollie Wilson will be working closely with the team’s training staff to gauge how Mathews is handling his workload during the game.

Ultimately head coach Mike McCoy has final say. Chargers head trainer James Collins has been closely monitoring Mathews during practice, making sure there’s no setback in his rehabilitation process.

"We have to find out how much he’s ready to take," Reich said. "And that starts with us at the head coaching level. The trainers and Ollie and I have kind of talked about getting a feel for him during the game, and how much he can go, and that’s Ryan being honest with us.

"But he’s a big time player on this team. We want him to play as much as he can, but we want to be smart about it as well."

Fantasy Impact:

We’re not expecting he'll immediately get the 17.8 carries he averaged in 2013, but he should be good for 12-16 touches if things go well. Branden Oliver should take over the Danny Woodhead role in the offense, and is a capable runner in his own right.

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Chiefs WR Hollywood Brown's practice window to open "Friday or Monday"

Ian Rapoport

2 hours ago

Chiefs WR Hollywood Brown has received final clearance to practice, paving the way for him to play before the regular season ends.

Brown, who is recovering from surgery to repair his SC joint, should have his window opened Friday or Monday. The team will be cautious.

Fantasy Impact:

If Brown were cleared by Week 17, he would be incredibly tough to start in pretty much any sort of fantasy league with Championships on the line. However, he could be an interesting click for Playoff-only leagues if he can ramp up in time.

Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker misses second straight practice

Adam Schefter

2 hours ago

For a second straight day today, Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III didn’t practice due to his calf injury.

Related Players: Zach Charbonnet, Kenny McIntosh

Fantasy Impact:

Looks like things should be cleared out for Charbonnet once again in what could be a very close game against the Packers. If Walker misses Week 15, fire Charbs up as a high-end RB2.

49ers RB Isaac Guerendo, Nick Bosa, and Dre Greenlaw active for Week 15

Lindsey Pallares

3 hours ago

In Week 15, the red and gold have defensive lineman Nick Bosa and linebacker Dre Greenlaw active and ready for the team's second meeting with their NFC West rival, the Los Angeles Rams.

On the other side of the ball, the 49ers will have rookie running back Isaac Guerendo available against the Rams. He was listed as questionable on Wednesday on account of a foot sprain but was given the green light to play ahead of "Thursday Night Football."

Fantasy Impact:

We do expect Guerendo to handle the majority workload for TNF, but you do have to wonder if he gets the same type of workload he would have, had he avoided the injury report all week. Consider him closer to an RB3 than a locked-in RB2 he otherwise would have been.