Team news: Chicago Bears | Page 7

The Bears have re-signed RB Darrynton Evans off the Dolphins’ practice squad.

Related players: Khalil Herbert, Roschon Johnson, Travis Homer

Normally a depth RB signing isn't big fantasy news, but keep in mind the Bears lost Herbert, Johnson and Homer during Thursday night’s win over the Commanders. We already know Herbert is going to miss some time but there are still questions about Johnson clearing concussion protocol and Homer with a hamstring injury. The Bears host the Vikings in an early game in Week 6, so it's a situation to monitor in what is a potentially favorable fantasy matchup.

For a second straight day, Lions’ WR Amon-Ra St. Brown did not practice today due to his abdomen injury.

Related Players: Josh Reynolds, Jameson Williams, Sam LaPorta, Kalif Raymond

Help is on the way, in a sense, with Jameson Williams returning from his suspension, but it's hard to believe he's up-to-speed after missing so much of the preseason. Josh Reynolds could get a boost in workload if St. Brown misses, as he's been on the field on 114 of Jared Goff's 138 2023 dropbacks (82.6%).

As a result of gambling policy changes, Titans’ OT Nick Petit-Frere and Lions’ WR Jameson Williams will be reinstated effective on Monday. They each had served four-game suspensions for violations of the league’s gambling policy.

Related Players: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Josh Reynolds, Marvin Jones, Kalif Raymond

Williams could be eased back into action as he has hardly played with his offense since being taken in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, but he is a great target for your inevitable playoff run. Reynolds, Jones, and Raymond will presumably all get majorly knocked down one or two pegs of usage when the sophomore wideout returns.

I’m not expecting #Eagles RB Kenneth Gainwell (ribs) and CB James Bradberry (concussion) to face the #Vikings. Could be the same for S Reed Blankenship (ribs). But DT Fletcher Cox (ribs) is trending toward playing.

Related Players: D'Andre Swift, Rashaad Penny, Boston Scott

The Eagles backfield was surprisingly controlled by Gainwell in Week 1, as he accounted for 14 rushing attempts and four targets while Rashaad Penny was a healthy scratch. We have been in similar situations with Boston Scott, so please don't go add him in anything but incredibly deep leagues, but we should see Penny on the field, and Swift should get a giant bump as well.

Eagles RB Kenneth Gainwell didn't practice Tuesday.

Related players: Rashaad Penny, D'Andre Swift, Boston Scott

Gainwell was the team's RB1 in Week 1, much to the surprise of many. But if he can't go in Week 2, Swift could be in line for a much larger workload than the two touches he got in Week 1. Penny was inactive against the Patriots, and it's also possible he could jump in as the early down back on Thursday night with Swift the change of pace and passing down back. It's a situation to keep an eye on as we get closer to TNF. It's a good matchup for the Eagles against the Vikings at home.

Running back Kenneth Gainwell and safety Reed Blankenship are also dealing with injured ribs. Both players were on the field in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.

Related players: Rashaad Penny, D'Andre Swift, Boston Scott

As the story said, Gainwell did finish the game despite being listed as not being able to practice today. It's a short week for the Eagles and they host the Vikings on TNF. Gainwell easily led the Eagles backfield in Week 1, but now seems to be dealing with a rib injury heading into Week 2. With only two touches in Week 1, the Eagles have already talked about getting Swift more involved.

How the Eagles deploy their running backs this season was a hotly debated topic within the fantasy football community throughout the summer. D'Andre Swift, Kenny Gainwell, and Rashaad Penny will all have roles, but Swift pretty clearly showed throughout training camp that he is the most talented of the three, and I expect him to get the most touches on Sunday. We'll see.

Jimmy gets it. Kempski also remarked that Swift "caught a lot of passes out of the backfield during training camp practices" while noting that he was working with the wide receivers during Thursday's practice. In a perfect world, Swift would have the pass-catching role while Penny had the early-down and goal-line roles. But we've seen time and time again that Gainwell will work in two-minute drills, which makes the situation in total headache.

Swift can be considered a Flex play in Week 1, but we should probably take a wait-and-see approach with the other two backs in all but the deepest leagues.

The Bears have settled on a backup quarterback for the start of the regular season.

The Bears opted for experience in the No. 2 role. The team released its depth chart for this week on Tuesday and it shows Nathan Peterman behind Josh Fields with Tyson Bagent in the No. 3 role.

As the story said, Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said last week that the team had not decided whether Peterman or undrafted rookie Bagent would back up Justin Fields against the Packers. Bagent played well in the preseason and the Bears cut both Peterman and P.J. Walker on their way to setting their first 53-man roster, but re-signed Peterman after making other roster moves.