Team news: New York Jets | Page 18

As the Patriots try to avoid falling to 1-6 on Sunday against the Bills, Mac Jones will once again be the starting quarterback.

Via Dakota Randall of NESN.com, offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien told reporters on Tuesday that Jones will retain his job.

“Yes,” O’Brien said in response to the question of whether Jones will continue to start.

Related players: Malik Cunningham, Bailey Zappe, Will Grier

The story went to say O’Brien said Cunningham’s role will be determined on a “week to week” basis. Cunningham has leapfrogged Zappe, who served as the emergency quarterback on Sunday. Cunningham played on just six snaps last week.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick has decided to have four quarterbacks on the 53-player roster, with Malik Cunningham now joining a roster that already had Mac Jones, Bailey Zappe and Will Grier. But Belichick isn’t saying what role Cunningham will play going forward.

“Malik’s improved a lot during the course of the year, both at receiver and in the kicking game and some of the snaps he’s taken at quarterback,” Belichick said. “Didn’t really get too much of a chance to see him [against the Raiders] but he’s been good to work with, he’s made a lot of improvement, and we’ll see where it goes.”

Belichick did say the athletic Cunningham has shown he belongs, even though on Sunday against the Raiders he was sacked on his only pass attempt and otherwise never got involved in the offense. The Patriots are desperate to improve the offense and win a game so anything can happen. For now, Cunningham should probably only be considered in deep leagues and dynasty leagues. But as always, keep an eye on what's going on in New England.

Bears RBs Khalil Herbert, Roschon Johnson and Travis Homer are all officially out for Sunday's game vs. Minnesota.

Related Players: D'Onta Foreman, Darrynton Evans

With at least some familiarity in the offense, Foreman can be considered an RB3 for desperate fantasy managers.

Panthers ruled out RB Miles Sanders for Sunday’s game vs. the Dolphins due to his shoulder injury.

Related Players: Chuba Hubbard, Raheem Blackshear, Laviska Shenault

Sanders has once again been one of the least-efficient backs in the league, while Hubbard has looked above-average on his limited touches. The latter should be considered an RB2 while the veteran misses time.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick is asked if Mac Jones is the team's starting QB this week: "Yeah, we're not making any changes."

Related Players: Bailey Zappe

New England clearly needs to change something up after their back-to-back blowout losses, but it remains to be seen exactly what that will entail. Jones will start Week 6 despite being benched in both of his two prior games.

QB Mac Jones is expected to start Sunday.

Related players: Will Grier, Bailey Zappe, Malik Cunningham

Howe also reported he's being told this is still an important week of practice for Jones as the Patriots evaluate every position on the roster on the heels of the worst two losses of Bill Belichick’s career. Jones has six turnovers in those two losses. Zappe hasn't shown much in his time either, so the Patriots may feel they don't have another choice but to stick with Jones. Grier and Cunningham could be considered at some point the way this season has gone in New England.

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.

Lions’ HC Dan Campbell said WR Amon-Ra St. Brown will not practice again today due to his abdomen injury, and the team expects to know more about his status for Sunday’s game vs. the Panthers in the next 24 hours.

Related Players: Josh Reynolds, Sam LaPorta, Jameson Williams, Marvin Jones

It's likely time to start considering contingency plans, as this is St. Brown's third-straight missed practice of the week. It would be interesting to see Jameson Williams immediately step into a heightened role, but considering he's been away from the team for most of the last year-and-a-half, that seems unlikely. Reynolds and LaPorta need to be boosted up your lineup considerations.