The Jets have ruled rookie LB Darron Lee out for Sunday's game against the Ravens with the ankle injury he suffered in Monday night's loss to the Cardinals. HC Todd Bowles said that it's too early to tell whether Lee will miss time beyond this week, according to ESPN's Rich Cimini. The defense does expect to get LB David Harris back after a hamstring injury cost him Week 6. Erin Henderson and Bruce Carter also figure to remain in the LB rotation.

Jets LB David Harris is doubtful for Monday night's game at Arizona with a hamstring injury that kept him out of practice all week. HC Todd Bowles told NJ.com that the team would rotate Darron Lee, Erin Henderson and Bruce Carter at the ILB spots in Harris' absence. Lee's the top option, though his snap counts have varied widely. He should be a strong bet to play more than 75% of the snaps against the Cardinals with Harris out.

The Rams expect CB Janoris Jenkins (concussion) to play tonight against the Bucs. He passed through the league protocol Tuesday night and is officially probable. Go ahead and use him in your IDP league if he's active. For Tampa Bay, DE Jacquies Smith (hamstring) is questionable after missing the past 2 games. He remained limited in practice all week and looks like a shaky fantasy prospect. Smith's a boom/bust option even when healthy. Try not to use him. Bucs MLB Bruce Carter is doubtful with the ankle sprain that knocked him out of last week's game. Danny Lansanah's an OK fill-in if you need him, but the Rams have presented a poor scoring matchup for LBs all season.

The Buccaneers might need to turn to their 3rd MLB in Week 15 after Bruce Carter suffered a right ankle injury in Sunday's game. He played well, delivering 8 tackles (6 solo) and a sack against the Saints. With a Thursday night kickoff in Week 15, Carter might have a tough time bouncing back for the game. Danny Lansanah would likely be the next guy up in the middle, where the Bucs already lost rookie Kwon Alexander to a PED suspension.

The league has denied the appeal of Buccaneers MLB Kwon Alexander for his PED suspension, according to the Tampa Tribune. That means the rookie will miss the final 4 games of the regular season and be eligible to play again this year only if the Bucs make the playoffs. That's a shame for Tampa and IDP owners, as Alexander had turned into a top-10 producer among fantasy LBs. HC Lovie Smith hasn't indicated whether Bruce Carter or Danny Lansanah will replace Alexander in the middle. We'd bet on Lansanah playing in passing sub packages (alongside Lavonte David) over Carter either way, though, making him the better fantasy pickup in deeper IDP leagues.

Update: Alexander actually dropped his appeal.

Bucs rookie LB Kwon Alexander lined up at MLB with the 1st team in Monday's practice, in place of free-agent addition Bruce Carter. That came after HC Lovie Smith praised the rookie for his performance in the preseason opener vs. Minnesota. “We knew about the athletic ability, but the thing that’s impressed us from the day we got Kwon is his smarts,’’ DC Leslie Frazier told the Tampa Tribune. “He works so hard in the classroom and he’s able to bring it out to the field.’’ Don't be surprised if this sticks. Carter disappointed repeatedly as an OLB in Dallas, so we never believed in him as Tampa's answer in the middle. We'll see if Alexander can prove to be a 3-down player. Strong-side starter Danny Lansanah -- who played well in the middle, including coverage, when Mason Foster got hurt last year -- continues to look like a good bet for full-time duty. Both will be interesting to watch for your IDP league.

Cowboys LB Bruce Carter broke his left ring finger in Thursday's practice, but he told the Dallas Morning News that won't keep him from playing Sunday against the Cardinals.  "We went to the hospital and let the doc look at it," Carter said. "He said it looked fine. … I'll be fine. They're just going to use kind of like this splint I have now. Wrap it up and I should be fine."  Carter should be fine to use as you normally would in your IDP league.

Cowboys LB Bruce Carter is officially probable for Monday night's game against Washington and expected to play for the 1st time since Sept. 28. Carter suffered a thigh strain in that win over the Saints and missed the past 3 games. We'll see if he takes back over the full-time role he left. He'll make for a risky IDP option, especially against a Washington team that has proved to be a negative matchup for fantasy LBs so far.

Cowboys LB Bruce Carter said Tuesday that he won't play Sunday against the Giants but expects to return for the Week 8 game against Washington.  Carter suffered a quad strain in the win over New Orleans and will miss his 3rd straight game this weekend.  "I feel good," he said, according to the Dallas Morning News.  "It's just a matter of getting my strength back and getting myself back in shape.''  Carter has been the highest-upside IDP option among Dallas LBs this year, though the whole group has dealt with injuries.

ESPN Dallas reports that Cowboys LB Bruce Carter will need to rest his strained right quad at least 10-14 days before returning to action.  Former Cowboys DE DeMarcus Ware lost 3 games last season to a quad strain, but Carter's hopeful.  "It's just something how your body responds to it," Carter said. "Some guys are different so hopefully my recovery time will be lot faster than his."  Carter has played pretty well in recent weeks, especially Sunday night against the Saints.  He should at least slide back into a starting role when he's ready to return.  He has not been a special fantasy performer outside of 1 big game, however, so Carter can be dropped for immediate help in many IDP leagues.

Cowboys HC Jason Garrett said Monday that LB Bruce Carter is day-to-day with the quad strain that forced him out of Sunday night's win over New Orleans.  That means we'll need to watch the practice reports this week to see if Carter will make it back for a Week 5 meeting with Houston.  He might prove a risky IDP option even if active.  The Texans have provided a slightly positive matchup for LB scoring so far.

Cowboys LB Bruce Carter left Sunday night's game in the 2nd half with a quad injury.  Carter sped down the field to catch Saints RB Khiry Robinson during a long run but then pulled up lame instead of making the tackle.  He hobbled off the field and did not return.  Carter stood on the sideline the rest of the way, though, in a game his team led by double digits.  We'll see during the week how serious the injury is.  Carter had been playing well, collecting 6 tackles and 2 pass breakups against New Orleans after a big Week 3.

Cowboys OLB Bruce Carter told reporters Monday that he expects to start on the strong side and play the weak side in the nickel sub packages, according to the Dallas Morning News.  He also said Justin Durant will start on the weak side and Rolando McClain in the middle.  None is worth chasing in IDP leagues right now, but Carter's athletic ability and apparent 3-down role give him the most upside.

The Cowboys worked LB Rolando McClain in the middle with the 1st team at Tuesday's practice and slid LB Justin Durant out to the weak side.  That put regular 1st-team WLB Bruce Carter on the sideline.  But does that mean he's being demoted?  “No, I don’t think so,” Carter said, via ESPN Dallas. “I just think we need depth. Especially Ro, he needs to get his reps at Mike. … So they’re just trying, I guess, to see what the rotations are going to be. I don’t know.”  We think Carter's in denial.  The Cowboys easily could have slid Durant to the strong side or off the field when getting McClain into the lineup, but they didn't.  They removed a guy who never matched his 2013 performance to his considerable talent or his coaches' considerable expectations.  It sure seems as though Dallas would prefer to not have to rely on Carter this year.  Whether he sticks with the 1st team or not through the rest of camp, Carter doesn't make for much of an IDP target in your fantasy football draft.  He began well out of starter range in our 2014 IDP rankings and has slid even further down this week.  Carter needs to give us reason for optimism at this point.  McClain and Durant, on the other hand, will be worth looks on sheer potential tackle volume if they stick in their Tuesday roles.  This is a bad defense that will be on the field a lot.

Dallas coaches have been impressed by Cowboys LB Bruce Carter's dedication this offseason.  HC Jason Garrett told ESPN.com that he thinks Sean Lee's absence might help the OLB by forcing Carter to step up and fill some of the leadership void.  Garrett also said that Carter has showed the desire to become a "really good football player."  LBs coach Matt Eberflus echoed the sentiment, saying: "He's meeting with me as much as he can. Studying the tape, giving him clear and concise goals daily for practice and he's doing a good job of attaining those goals each and every day."  We pushed Carter too high up the IDP rankings in 2013 in all the excitement over him taking on Derrick Brooks' old role in Monte Kiffin's "Tampa 2" scheme.  But the talent has always been there.  If Carter proves this summer that he's honed his game, he could turn into a strong post-hype sleeper in the 2014 IDP rankings.  We'll be watching him in training camp and the preseason.  It's also worth noting that he's in a contract year.

The Cowboys have ruled out MLB Sean Lee (neck) and OLB Bruce Carter for Sunday's game against the Packers.  Expect Justin Durant to start in Lee's place and Ernie Sims to step in for Carter.  Those 2 swaps only hurt an already terrible defense -- and help the fantasy outlooks of Packers offensive players.

As the Cowboys return from their bye without MLB Sean Lee, OLB Bruce Carter has taken over play-calling duties on the defense.  That only makes him a better bet to stay on the field in all situations, which Carter did in playing all 84 defensive snaps in the loss to the Saints.  Regardless of whether Carter improves his assignment/performance issues, his athleticism and role will give him tremendous IDP upside every week.  Below-average LB Ernie Sims steps in for Lee in the middle, with Justin Durant also hurt.  Carter's worth another shot in most IDP leagues.

Cowboys LB Sean Lee said Tuesday that his hamstring injury is a pull rather than a tear.  He told ESPN.com that he hopes to rehab and get back on the field before the expected 3-4 week layoff.  Lee's optimism is reason enough for IDP owners to hang on to the Dallas defensive star.  Even 4 weeks off would return him for the final 2 weeks of most fantasy seasons.  In the meantime, the Cowboys will also be missing LB Justin Durant to his own hamstring injury.  That figures to leave more tackle opportunities for LB Bruce Carter and will likely press LB Ernie Sims into starting duty in the middle.