New England Patriots Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Titans TE Austin Hooper (neck) did not practice on Wednesday. Hooper has been a non-factor in fantasy so far, but his absence could free up a few targets for Tennessee's WRs.

Commanders RB Antonio Gibson played his fewest snaps and saw his fewest touches yet this season in Sunday's loss to the Eagles. He carried 12 times for 38 yards and caught his lone target for 2 yards. Gibson did convert a 1-yard 4th-quarter TD run to salvage his fantasy day. But he continued to purge receiving opportunities. Gibson led the backfield in Week 1 targets. He trailed J.D. McKissic in that category in Week 2 but still led his teammate in routes. Gibson trailed McKissic there, too, against Philly, running just 16 routes to McKissic's 31. With RB Brian Robinson working toward a return, now would be a good time to see what you can trade Gibson for. McKissic tied for 2nd against the Eagles with 9 targets, catching 6 for 32 yards. He remained minimally involved in the ground game.

Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson edged RB Damien Harris in carries (12-11) and touches (16-13) in Sunday's loss to the Ravens. He also outproduced his backfield mate, averaging 6.1 yards per rush to Harris' 3.7. Stevenson added 4-28 receiving (7.0 per catch) vs. Harris' 2-5 (2.5). Each scored a rushing TD. This marked the 2nd straight game in which Stevenson led Harris by more than 15 total snaps and more than doubled his route rate. Although Harris opened the game in the lineup, Stevenson looks like the 1st guy to use going forward. (Of course, it's Bill Belichick's team. So we'll watch to see if that changes.)

Chiefs WR JuJu Smith-Schuster tied Travis Kelce for the target lead (8) in Sunday's loss to the Colts, tied Clyde Edwards-Helaire for the reception lead (5) and paced the team with 89 receiving yards. He remained close to Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Mecole Hardman in routes: 35 for MVS, 33 for Smith-Schuster and 28 for Hardman. Valdes-Scantling drew 7 targets for the 2nd straight game, while Hardman garnered just 1. QB Patrick Mahomes spread his attempts around less than in the Week 2 win over the Chargers. With Hardman back healthy -- he was in and out of the Week 2 contest -- WR Justin Watson played just 10 snaps; Skyy Moore 8.

Patriots S Kyle Dugger (knee) is inactive for today's game against the Ravens. S Adrian Phillips (rib) and CB Jalen Mills (hamstring) are active, after heading in questionable.

Patriots S Kyle Dugger (knee), S Adrian Phillips (ribs) and CB Jalen Mills (hamstring) are questionable for Sunday's game against the Ravens. Dugger missed the 1st 2 practices before returning for a limited Friday workout. Phillips put in limited practices all week and played through his injury in Week 2. Mills popped up on the injury report as limited Thursday but made it for another limited workout Friday. We'll check their statuses Sunday morning. DT Davon Godchaux (back) and LB Raekwon McMillan (thumb) are also questionable.

Commanders RB Antonio Gibson managed just 28 yards on 14 carries in Sunday's loss to the Lions. He did score from 1-yard out in the 4th quarter to save his fantasy line. Gibson also watched J.D. McKissic run more routes, a change from the way they operated in the passing game in Week 1. McKissic ranked 3rd on the team with 7 targets against Detroit, while Gibson garnered just 4. He caught 2 for 13 yards.

Patriots LB Ja'Whaun Bentley left Sunday's game with a back injury and is questionable to return. We'll see about the severity. He showed up on the injury report this week with a toe issue but was back to full practice by Friday.

Patriots S Kyle Dugger left in the 1st half of Sunday's game at Pittsburgh with a knee injury. He is questionable to return.

Patriots S Adrian Phillips (ribs) and LB Raekwon McMillan (thumb) are active for today's game against the Steelers. Neither is a high-level IDP play.

Patriots S Adrian Phillips (ribs) is questionable for Sunday's game against the Steelers. He was limited all week in practice. We'll see about his status Sunday morning.

After a strong Chiefs debut last week, WR JuJu Smith-Schuster mustered just 3 catches for 10 yards in Thursday night's win over the Chargers. His 3 targets tied for 5th on the team and were just 9% of the team total. He ran a route on 79% of pass plays after posting an 80% route rate in Week 1, so this was just a matter of not drawing targets. Smith-Schuster remains a fantasy starter going forward, but he figures to be inconsistent on a Chiefs offense that is intent on spreading the ball around.

Patriots LB Ja'Whaun Bentley missed Wednesday's practice with a toe injury. We'll watch his participation the rest of the week. If Bentley misses Sunday's game at Pittsburgh, then Raekwon McMillan would presumably lead New England off-ball LBs in playing time.

Titans TE Austin Hooper trailed teammate Geoff Swaim in both snaps (69% vs. 62%) and targets (4-2) in Sunday's loss to the Giants. Swaim turned his 4 looks into a 3-19 receiving line, with Hooper catching just 1 ball for 6 yards. Rookie TE Chig Okonkwo added 1 catch for 11 yards and a carry for minus-4 while playing 15% of snaps. This looks like a committee situation to avoid as much as possible in fantasy football lineups.

In a refreshing turn of events, Washington RB Antonio Gibson snagged a career-high 7 passes (on 8 targets) for 72 yards. Compare that to the 3 grabs (on 3 targets) for receiving back J.D. McKissic. Gibson added 14 carries for 58 yards. His main highlight came in the passing game, as he beat the defense vertically for a 26-yard gain out of the backfield. Critically, he also managed to avoid fumbling. Following a tumultuous offseason, Week 1 was clearly a huge win for the young RB. Next up is a Lions defense that just allowed 4 rushing TDs to the Eagles.

Bucs RB Ke'Shawn Vaughn is a healthy scratch for tonight's game vs. the Cowboys. Tampa is rolling with RBs Leonard Fournette, Rachaad White and Gio Bernard.

Patriots S Adrian Phillips left Sunday's loss to the Dolphins with a rib injury. We'll see about the severity, though don't be surprised if details are lacking. (It's the Patriots.)

Chiefs WR JuJu Smith-Schuster (knee) put in a full practice on Wednesday. It's confirmation that he's ready to rock for Sunday's opener vs. the Cardinals.

NESN's Zack Cox expects Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson to open the season as the "1B to [Damien] Harris' 1A." But, Cox adds, "it wouldn’t shock me if [Stevenson] eventually leapfrogs Harris and becomes New England’s top early-down option." Cox also says he expects "a much larger role in the passing game" for Stevenson this season. He'll be just a RB3 in fantasy lineups out of the gate, but there's upside well beyond that as we move deeper into the season.

The Patriots placed WR Tyquan Thornton (collarbone) on IR, knocking him out for at least the first 4 games of the season. It's a procedural move with Thornton expected to be sidelined until mid-October. The rookie could make an impact in the 2nd half of the season, but he's not worth stashing on redraft benches.