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Cincinnati Bengals Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Shark Bites are the latest fantasy football news & NFL updates. Draft Sharks has been in business since 1999. And when we started, redraft was the dominant form of fantasy football. Check out what we've learned about this most basic form of fantasy football along the way.

Bengals WR Tee Higgins (hamstring) did not practice on Wednesday. He returned to last week's game after hurting the hammy, but it's no lock that he plays against the Browns this weekend with Cincinnati eliminated from playoff contention. Stay tuned.

Bengals OC Brian Callahan said he believes RB Chase Brown “has a chance to be a heavy contributor” in 2024. Callahan praised Brown’s hard running and explosiveness. Despite only 46 touches, the rookie’s tallied a pair of 30+ yard gains. Joe Mixon isn’t a lock to return in 2024, so Brown's a candidate to play a rotaitonal role next fall. He sits at RB47 in our current RB dynasty rankings.

Bengals RB Chase Brown had just three rushes for 5 yards and 2 catches for 23 yards in Sunday's loss to the Chiefs. Those 5 touches marked a slight dip vs. last week but a bigger decrease from Brown's previous three games. Joe Mixon, meanwhile, rebounded from two straight 13-touch games to dominate Brown 25-5 in that category. Brown hadn't reached the point of being usable in lineups in most fantasy formats, and that should continue for Week 18. We'll see whether Cincinnati decides to cut Mixon for cap savings ahead of next season. If so, Brown could get a shot at competing for the top job in 2024. But don't treat him as the likely 2024 starter for dynasty purposes or early best-ball drafting. Keep in mind we're talking about a fifth-round pick who had just 5 total touches before December.

Bengals QB Jake Browning completed 19 of 33 passes for 197 yards and a TD in Sunday's loss to the Chiefs. He also ran for 32 yards a TD, which helped power a QB7 fantasy finish for the week. He gets an even tougher matchup in Week 18 against the Browns, who entered Week 17 as the third-toughest QB-scoring matchup by our adjusted fantasy points allowed. Expect Browning to remain outside the top 12 in our Week 18 QB rankings. Longer-term, Browning has likely established himself as a solid backup to Joe Burrow. He'll be an exclusive-rights free agent after the season, meaning he'll have to stick with Cincinnati unless then Bengals don't want him anymore.

Bengals WR Tee Higgins hurt his hamstring in the first half of Sunday's game vs. the Chiefs. He's officially questionable to return, but we'd be surprised to see him back out there today. We'll keep you updated on Higgins' status going forward.

Update: Higgins, miraculously, returned for the second half.

Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase (shoulder) is active for today’s game vs. the Chiefs. It’s unclear how big a factor that shoulder will be, but Chase obviously comes with more risk than usual in Week 17 fantasy lineups. See where he lands in the Week 17 WR Rankings.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that there's "optimism" that Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase (shoulder) will play vs. the Chiefs today. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport calls Chase "likely" to play. He'll go through a pregame workout before a final decision is made. We won't get Cincinnati's inactives until a little before 3 pm ET, so fantasy owners hoping to start Chase should have a replacement from the late games rostered as insurance.

Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase (shoulder) is listed as questionable for this weekend’s game vs. the Chiefs. He got in limited practices on Thursday and Friday. “We’ll see,” HC Zac Taylor said on Friday when asked about Chase’s availability. We won’t get Cincinnati’s inactives until a little before 3 pm ET on Sunday, but there will likely be updates on Chase between now and then.

Colts RB Zack Moss (forearm) is out for Sunday's game vs. the Raiders. That should ensure another big workload for RB Jonathan Taylor, who handled 18 carries and one target in last week's loss to the Falcons.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said he'd be surprised if Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase (shoulder) played against the Chiefs this weekend. Chase is dealing with a 2-4 week injury, according to Rapoport, and has missed just one game so far. We'll continue to monitor Chase's progress but are removing him from the Week 17 Rankings for now. His absence would be good news/bad news for WR Tee Higgins, who would get a target boost but also see more of Chiefs stud CB L'Jarius Sneed.

Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase (shoulder) did not practice on Wednesday. He was spotted stretching with the team and getting in some work on a rehab field. Chase's availability for this weekend's game vs. the Chiefs remains up in the air. Check back tomorrow for another update on his status.

Colts RB Zack Moss (forearm) got in a limited practice on Wednesday. He's not a Week 17 fantasy option, but his return could put a dent in RB Jonathan Taylor's workload vs. the Raiders.

Bengals WR Tee Higgins secured 5 of 8 targets for 140 receiving yards, including an 80-yard TD, in Week 16’s loss vs. the Steelers. After a very rocky start to 2023, Higgins has come alive of late, logging three consecutive games with at least 60 receiving yards and a trio of scores over the past two weeks. The veteran’s fantasy value in Week 16 will be somewhat contingent upon whether or not teammate Ja’Marr Chase (shoulder) is able to return to the lineup. Regardless, Higgins will face a stout Chiefs defense (seventh-toughest WR matchup per our adjusted fantasy points allowed) and should be thought of somewhere within the WR2/WR3 range.

Colts RB Zack Moss (forearm) has been downgraded to out for Sunday's game vs. the Falcons. That leaves only RBs Trey Sermon and Tyler Goodson behind Jonathan Taylor. JT carries some added risk coming off his thumb injury -- but there's a good chance that he dominates work against Atlanta. He's climbing the Week 16 RB Rankings.

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase (shoulder) has been ruled out for Week 16 vs. the Steelers. The star wideout suffered a sprained AC joint against the Vikings last week and is expected to be handled carefully by the team, so this news shouldn't come as much of a shock to fantasy managers. Without Chase in tow, there'll be increased opportunities for fellow WRs Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd to stand out against a Steelers secondary that'll likely be missing their top safeties (namely Minkah Fitzpatrick) on Saturday. See where the Bengals duo sits in our current WR rankings.

Insider Jordan Schultz confirms that Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase (shoulder) won't play vs. the Steelers on Saturday. Schultz adds that "the team is optimistic about his prognosis moving forward" but will "proceed cautiously." There's certainly a chance that Chase also misses Week 17, although he's worth keeping stashed on fantasy benches until we know more.

Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase is "likely to miss some time" with his shoulder injury, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. "The expectation is that he is sidelined for this week’s game against the Steelers, and it could extend beyond that, as well," Rapoport adds. Chase is worth keeping stashed on fantasy rosters in case he makes it back for Week 17, but fantasy owners should plan on being without him in Week 16. Chase's absence frees up targets for WRs Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd.

Colts RB Zack Moss "plans to try to play" Sunday against the Falcons, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. X-rays on the shoulder Moss injured against the Steelers on Saturday were negative, but he'll still need to progress through the practice week to be ready. We'll certainly be watching for details on that progress. In the meantime, Trey Sermon is worth a look on the waiver wire. He worked a little ahead of Tyler Goodson after Moss went down in Week 15 and would be the preferred fantasy option if Moss can't go. Don't look to Sermon as a strong fantasy play, however.

The Bengals are "bracing for Ja'Marr Chase to miss time" with his shoulder injury, according to FOX Sports' Jay Glazer. Chase was originally scheduled to get an MRI on Sunday, but his shoulder was too sore. He'll get that MRI tomorrow. We should get an update on his status then.

Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase is "day-to-day" with a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder, HC Zac Taylor said Sunday. It sounds like Chase has a chance to be ready for this coming Saturday's game vs. the Steelers. We'll track his status throughout the coming week.

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