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Las Vegas Raiders 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.

The Raiders hired Chip Kelly as their OC under new HC Pete Carroll. Kelly spent this past year as Ohio State's OC, helping the Buckeyes to a 17th-place finish in points. Kelly was UCLA's HC the previous six seasons, finishing with a 35-34 record. That followed four years as an NFL HC: three with the Eagles and one with the 49ers. Kelly's first two Eagles teams finished top five in both points and total yards. The QBs on those teams ranged from Michael Vick to Nick Foles to Mark Sanchez. RB LeSean McCoy put up monster numbers across those two seasons: 2,926 rushing yards, 694 receiving yards, and 16 total TDs. Philadelphia sunk to 12th in yards and 13th in points in Kelly's final season, after McCoy was traded to Buffalo and Sam Bradford took over at QB. Kelly's lone season in San Francisco was QB Colin Kaepernick's final campaign and ended with a 2-14 record. But even that season produced a career-best 4.6 yards per carry from RB Carlos Hyde. We're bullish on Kelly's impact on Vegas' running game, although it remains to be seen who will be running the ball in 2025. The Raiders are also likely in the market for a new QB. They hold the sixth overall pick of this spring's draft.

Former Seahawks HC Pete Carroll will return to coaching as the new Raiders HC. Carroll signed a three-year deal with a fourth-year team option.

The Raiders fired HC Antonio Pierce. He gave Vegas a spark after taking over midway through last season, going 5-4 over the final nine games. But Pierce flamed out in 2024, winning just four games. The Raiders ranked bottom six in points and total yards, with WR Jakobi Meyers and TE Brock Bowers the only reliable fantasy assets. We'll see who the Raiders tab to replace Pierce -- and what they do at QB. They hold the sixth overall pick of this spring's draft.

Raiders WR Jakobi Meyers caught 5 of 9 targets for 61 yards and 1 score in Sunday's win over New Orleans. Meyers has now hit 55+ yards in five of his past six outings.

Raiders QB Aidan O'Connell (knee) put in a full week of practice and is off the final injury report for Sunday’s game vs. the Jaguars. He’s just a low-end QB2 in fantasy lineups, but O’Connell’s return is good news for WR Jakobi Meyers and TE Brock Bowers.

Raiders QB Aidan O'Connell (knee) was a full participant in Wednesday's practice. That puts him on track to return for this weekend's game vs. the Jaguars. Considering QB Desmond Ridder's performance on Monday night (59% completion rate and 5.3 yards per attempt), this is good news for TE Brock Bowers and WR Jakobi Meyers.

The Raiders placed RB Sincere McCormick on IR with the ankle injury he suffered in Monday night's loss to the Falcons. That ends his 2024 season. McCormick flashed with 4.7 yards per carry over the last four weeks, which should earn him an opportunity to win a role in this backfield this offseason. He's a low-end dynasty stash. McCormick's absence leaves Vegas' backfield to Alexander Mattison and Ameer Abdullah the rest of the way. Mattison is a volume-based RB3 option.

Raiders RB Sincere McCormick left Monday’s game vs. Atlanta with a left ankle injury. McCormick might have suffered a high-ankle sprain in the second quarter, but we should know more over the next 24 hours.

Raiders QB Aidan O'Connell (knee) is inactive as the emergency third QB for tonight's game vs. the Falcons. QB Desmond Ridder makes his first start of the season against the team that selected him in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

Raiders QB Aidan O'Connell (knee) is listed as questionable for Monday night's game vs. the Falcons. He didn't practice all week, though, so it'd be a surprise if he played. Look for QB Desmond Ridder to make his first start of the season on Monday -- against his former team. Despite the "revenge factor," Ridder sits 27th in the Week 15 QB Rankings.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Raiders Edge Maxx Crosby needs arthroscopic surgery on the ankle injury that has already knocked him out for Week 15. Crosby's expected to miss the rest of the season.

The Raiders have ruled Edge Maxx Crosby out for Monday night's game against the Falcons because of an ankle injury. That likely means more playing time for Edge K'Lavon Chaisson, but no other Raider can come close to replacing Crosby's impact. His absence makes Vegas far less attractive as a sneaky DST play. We'll see about Crosby's status for Week 16.

Raiders HC Antonio Pierce said Wednesday that RB Sincere McCormick will remain the team's lead back even when RB Alexander Mattison returns from his quad injury. "He’s deserved it," Pierce said of McCormick. "Last week, he was running his tail off, so keep running it, keep pushing those numbers up, see if we can get him to 100 [yards]." McCormick has given the Raiders their most productive running of the season over the last three weeks, totaling 175 rushing yards on 5.5 yards per carry. His upside is limited with a minimal pass-catching role on a bad offense. But McCormick could be a serviceable RB3 over the next three weeks vs. Atlanta, Jacksonville, and New Orleans.

The Raiders placed RB Zamir White (quad) on IR. That ends his 2024 season with 183 rushing yards on 2.8 yards per carry across eight games. White should have been dumped from redraft rosters weeks ago and is not a must-hold in dynasty. We'll see if RB Alexander Mattison is ready to return from his ankle injury this week, but we're expecting the Raiders to stick with Sincere McCormick as their lead back regardless.

Raiders QB Aidan O'Connell has been diagnosed with a bone bruise in his left knee, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. It's a relatively minor injury, and O'Connell hasn't even been ruled out for next Monday night's game vs. the Falcons, per Rapoport. We'll track his status throughout this week. QB Desmond Ridder will start against Atlanta if O'Connell can't. It's a situation to steer clear of, even in superflex leagues. TE Brock Bowers and WR Jakobi Meyers' outlooks won't change much based on the QB.

Raiders QB Aidan O'Connell was carted off in the third quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Bucs with his left leg in an air cast. He's been replaced by QB Desmond Ridder. We'll update O'Connell's status when we know more, but this looks like a season-ender.

Raiders WR Jakobi Meyers (ankle) is active for today’s game vs. the Buccaneers. Meyers did not practice on Thursday but returned to a limited practice on Friday. We’re expecting him to play his usual role today, making him a strong WR2 option.

Raiders WR Jakobi Meyers (ankle) is expected to play vs. the Buccaneers today, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Meyers was held out of Thursday's practice but returned to a limited workout on Friday. We never sensed that he was in real danger of missing this one. Meyers is safe to keep in Week 14 fantasy lineups.

Raiders WR Jakobi Meyers (ankle) is listed as questionable for this weekend’s game vs. the Buccaneers. He was sidelined on Thursday but returned to a limited practice on Friday. We’re tentatively expecting Meyers to play in this one. But we’ll look for further updates on his status and get Vegas’ inactives around 11:30 am ET on Sunday.

Raiders WR Jakobi Meyers (ankle) did not practice on Thursday. He wasn't on the injury report on Wednesday. Meyers missed two games with an ankle injury earlier this season, although it's unclear if this is related. We'll see if Meyers gets back on the practice field tomorrow and how he's listed on the final injury report for this weekend's game vs. the Buccaneers.

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