Team news: Las Vegas Raiders | Page 5

Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr. is day to day with the bone bruise in his knee, but HC Raheem Morris told reporters that he feels “really good” about his QB for Sunday’s game against the Patriots.

Related Players: Kirk Cousins

The Falcons' offense has been quite the rollercoaster ride this season, and it could be another tough one against a good Patriots defense. Penix and Cousins can be left on benches this week, while Darnell Mooney is an interesting WR4 type regardless of who starts.

The Commanders have made a few moves on Monday to help replace their injured kicker.

Washington announced Matt Gay has been downgraded to out with a back injury. Because of that, the club signed kicker Matthew Wright to the practice squad and has elevated him for Monday’s matchup against the Chiefs.

Wright, 29, filled in for Joey Slye for one game with the Titans earlier this month. He has previously appeared in at least one game for the Chiefs, 49ers, Panthers, Steelers, and Jaguars, the story said.

Coen hinted at some lineup shifting after the bye week, saying: "We are going to play the best 11 [on each side of the ball] as much as humanly possible." He said that during an answer about assessing Travis Hunter's play and if they would be updating the plan for Hunter's usage after the bye.

Reading between the lines, it looks like Hunter is going to be a significant player in the offense going forward. That's what Coen said heading into last Sunday's game against the Rams, and then Hunter led the Jaguars in targets (14), catches (eight) and receiving yards (101) while playing a season-high 64 snaps. He now leads the team in receptions (28) and is second in receiving yards (298).

Related players: Brian Thomas Jr., Dyami Brown, Parker Washington, Tim Patrick

The story said don't be surprised if Hunter starts getting the WR1 treatment from the Jaguars in the season's second half, and that's partly due to his playmaking and run-after-the-catch ability, but also because Thomas hasn't played at that level all season. BTJ has five drops and has had really one solid fantasy game for owners this season. BTJ owners have already seen Brown, Washington and Patrick snag balls from Trevor Lawrence this season so when the team says they are going to play the best 11 players, it can't help but feel like bad news for Thomas. We just posted a story about how the Jaguars say they are not planning to trade Thomas, but it looks like he could be operating as a WR2 for the second half of the season. Hopefully for BTJ owners this is a wake-up call for the second year WR.

Jaguars HC Liam Coen, asked about WR Brian Thomas Jr:

"We have no plans on moving Brian Thomas Jr at all."

This is likely a reply to a report from The Athletic that came out Sunday saying the team was listening to calls about the WR. BTJ has struggled outside of one game this season, but the team is hoping that turns around sooner than later, and BTJ can get back to his rookie form. Hopefully the bye week will help turn things around for what was probably a high draft pick on your fantasy team.

The Raiders are bringing in another one of head coach Pete Carroll’s players from Seattle.

Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that the Raiders will sign wide receiver Tyler Lockett on Monday. Lockett was released by the Titans last week.

Related players: Jakobi Meyers, Tre Tucker, Dont'e Thornton, Jack Bech

Lockett had 10 catches for 70 yards in Tennessee, but his 661 catches for 8,594 yards and 61 touchdowns as a Seahawk all rank second in franchise history, the story pointed out. It's hard to imagine Lockett jumping right into fantasy relevance, but he could have some value in deeper leagues at some point, especially considering the rumors about a potential Meyers trade continue to swirl around the team.

Falcons QB Kirk Cousins is “highly likely” to get the start Sunday against the Dolphins, in place of the injured Michael Penix Jr.

Cousins worked with the first team all week in practice as Penix was limited with a bone bruise in his knee. It would make Cousins’ first start since Week 15 of last season, before the Falcons made the switch to Penix in Week 16. Cousins draws a Miami defense that has ranks dead last in expected points added per play. It’s far from the worst streaming option this week with six teams on a bye.

Falcons HC Raheem Morris told reporters that Michael Penix has bone bruise in his foot that now will leave him day to day.

Related players: Kirk Cousins

The Falcons play an early Sunday game at home against the Dolphins, which is a great matchup. Considering it's a week with six NFL teams on their bye, Penix owners may want to pick up Cousins just to be safe. The earlier start will give owners time to make adjustments if they need to.

Raiders head coach Pete Carroll said TE Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers should be ready to go after the bye week.

Bowers is dealing with the knee injury and Meyers has both knee and toe issues. The Raiders could certainly use both back in the offense. Bowers owners are hoping he can return to last year's form, and he did have five targets for 108 yards in Week 1.

Jaguars coach Liam Coen said earlier in the week that he needed to get Travis Hunter more involved in the offense, and the touchdown was a natural part of that. Hunter set career highs in targets (14), receptions (eight) and receiving yards (101) against the Rams. He also played just 12 snaps on defense, down from last week's 22.

"There definitely was a plan going into the game that we wanted to utilize him more on the offensive side of the ball, specifically trying to get the ball into his hands," Coen said. "Then the first half was just kind of funky the way we couldn't get anybody the ball consistently and get into a rhythm and then he was able to make some plays in the second half."

Related players: Brian Thomas Jr.

BTJ was dealing with the injury at the end of the game as well, and it remains to be seen what his status is going forward. But outside of one week, Thomas hasn't stood out and if the injury causes him to miss time, Hunter could have an even bigger role in the offense. It definitely seems the team is purposely trying to get Hunter the ball, which is good news for fantasy owners.

TE Brock Bowers is listed as doubtful and WR Jakobi Meyers is questionable for Sunday’s game in Kansas City.

Related Players: Michael Mayer, Tre Tucker, Dont'e Thornton, Jack Bech

Mayer is a good streaming candidate this week, but the other ancillary pieces are a little risky to depend on. Tucker could be an interesting WR4 option without Jakobi, but Geno Smith can be ignored in leagues of all sizes.