Team news: Arizona Cardinals | Page 10

Make that another day of practice for Arizona Cardinals RBs James Conner and Trey Benson.

A good sign for their respective statuses this Saturday.

Related Players: Michael Carter

If both are cleared ahead of kickoff, we should assume a pretty standard split, with Benson probably taking a slight uptick in work. Consider them respective RB2 and RB4s if that is the case.

Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon did not rule out RBs James Conner or Trey Benson, adding they still have a chance to play this week.

Related players: Michael Carter

That being said, Carter would be in for a larger workload if they have to miss Saturday, the post went on to say. The Cardinals play on Saturday in the late game so owners will have plenty of time to make the decision on any of these players. Carter did get five carries for 18 yards and also caught five balls for 30 yards.

Rams TE Tyler Higbee (knee/illness) is off the injury report and set to make his season debut Sunday vs. the Jets.

Related Players: Colby Parkinson, Hunter Long, Davis Allen

This is awesome news for Higbee, who had a brutal injury last January but should see the field here in Week 16. This is a complete stay-away in typical fantasy leagues, but he's an interesting target in playoff-only formats, depending on whether or not you believe the Rams will be contenders.

Browns Kevin Stefanski said he's not sure yet if Nick Chubb will need surgery on his broken foot but said it's a "shorter-term recovery time" for Chubb.

Related players: Jerome Ford, D'Onta Foreman, Pierre Strong Jr.

Chubb will still be out for the season but it seems like he'll be ready to hit the field for the 2025 season, wherever that will end up being for Chubb. For this season, Ford took over for Chubb and ran seven times for 84 yards and a TD, including a 62-yard burst. He had two catches for 20 as well. He should be the team's RB1 going forward and could even be on your waiver wire.

Cardinals TE Trey McBride (knee) is off the injury report and good to go for Sunday vs. the Patriots.

Related Players: Elijah Higgins

You know the drill by now. Start McBride absolutely everywhere.

Looking ahead to 2025, the Raiders will find themselves searching for an answer at quarterback for the third offseason in a row.

Related players: Aidan O'Connell, Gardner Minshew, Desmond Ridder

The author said O'Connell is the best bet to be in the mix, but it's only because he hasn't really played much. Minshew is under contract for next season, but hasn't played well in his time this season. The Raiders are on pace to have one of the top picks in the NFL Draft, but also could opt to go another direction and take the best player, much like they did last draft with Brock Bowers at TE. The author said the Raiders could once again explore the available veterans: Sam Darnold, Russell Wilson, Justin Fields and Jameis Winston are scheduled to be free agents. Either way, it appears the Raiders will probably have a new starting QB in 2025.

With Gardner Minshew suffering a season-ending injury during Sunday’s loss to the Broncos, Las Vegas is going to turn back to Aidan O’Connell.

Per Tom Pelissero of NFL Media, the Raiders are preparing to start O’Connell against the Chiefs on Friday afternoon.

Related players: Desmond Ridder

We reported Monday that Raider beat reporters were saying O'Connell would play in this week's Black Friday game against the Chiefs. O’Connell replaced Minshew in the starting lineup in Week 6, but suffered a broken thumb in the loss to the Rams in Week 7. O’Connell had been sidelined ever since, but Las Vegas opened his 21-day practice window on Monday, the story said.

Jones said there’s a good chance Brandin Cooks and Tyler Smith will be able to play Thursday. Trevon Diggs also has a chance. It’s “a little more of a long shot” for Zack Martin and Jake Ferguson.

Related players: CeeDee Lamb, Jalen Tolbert, Jalen Brooks, KaVontae Turpin, Luke Schoonmaker

Cooks practiced last week but ended up not playing in Week 12. Ferguson is in protocol and it seems like the early week game will keep him out once again. Lamb collected 12 targets to lead the team by far against the Commander and Schoonmaker and Tolbert each had four. It's no lock that Cooks steps right into a big role, even in a good matchup against the Giants on Thanksgiving. Schoonmaker would be worth a start for those needing TE help.

Can confirm that Raiders QB Gardner Minshew has a broken collarbone and is done for the season. Tashan Reed and I expect Aidan O'Connell to be back for Friday's game against the Chiefs.

Related players: Desmond Ridder

O'Connell can come off the IR with his thumb issue and the timing works out pretty well for the Raiders if this is true. We'll wait for the team to make an official announcement, but Tafur is pretty dialed in on everything Raiders, so it looks like O'Connell will be back under center. It's a special Black Friday game against the Chiefs.

A quick update on Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew: he suffered a broken collarbone against the Broncos and is out for the season.

We had just posted the quote from head coach Antonio Pierce, saying it didn’t look good. It turned out it wasn’t good. Minshew looked like he was in a lot of pain after taking the his late in the game. Now we have an understanding of that pain. Desmond Ridder came on in relief and the team is expected to activate Aidan O’Connell this week from injured reserve. The Raiders visit Kansas City on Friday.