Fantasy Football News

Bears TE Cole Kmet will be placed on season-ending IR with the right knee injury he suffered in Thursday's win over the Patriots, HC Ben Johnson announced. We're still waiting for details on the injury. While Kmet hasn't been a fantasy factor, he played 65% of Chicago's offensive snaps and ran a route on 37% of pass plays through Week 6. That's a sizable role that needs replacing. Rookie Sam Roush will step in as the Bears' No. 2 TE but might not assume all of Kmet's work. We might see fewer 2- and 3-TE sets from the Bears, which would be particularly good news for WR Luther Burden. Burden has run a route on just 32% of multi-TE plays so far this season.

Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson (concussion) put in a full week of practice and is off the final injury report. He’ll be ready for his usual role on Sunday and is a viable spot starter with Minnesota sporting a 24-point implied total against the Colts’ 22nd-ranked TE defense.

Vikings RB Jordan Mason (thumb) is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game vs. the Colts. He was a full participant in practice all week, so we’re expecting him to play. We’ll see if Minnesota activates him from IR on Saturday. Assuming he’s a go, Mason figures to split backfield work with RB Aaron Jones in a plus matchup against the Colts’ 26th-ranked RB defense.

Vikings WR Jordan Addison (hamstring) put in a full week of practice and is off the final injury report. He’ll be ready for his usual role on Sunday against a Colts defense missing top CB Sauce Gardner.

Falcons RB Brian Robinson (hamstring) is out for Sunday’s game vs. the 49ers. He’s averaged 8.8 carries per game on a 31% snap rate this season. Expect RB Bijan Robinson to pick up most of that work. Atlanta has RBs Khalil Herbert and Jam Miller on the practice squad.

Jets RB Breece Hall (quad) is listed as questionable for this weekend’s game vs. the Dolphins after getting in limited practices on Thursday and Friday. HC Aaron Glenn said that a decision on Hall’s status won’t come until Sunday. We wouldn’t expect a full workload for Hall in his first game back, especially with RB Braelon Allen playing well in his absence. But Hall would still be worth starting in most cases against Miami’s 30th-ranked RB defense. Allen will be a fringe RB1 if Hall remains out.

Jets WR Adonai Mitchell (finger) practiced all week, including a full workout on Friday, and is off the final injury report. He’ll play vs. the Dolphins on Sunday for the first time since Week 2. Mitchell totaled 9 catches on 15 targets over the first 2 games of the season but must now contend with WR Omar Cooper, who’s coming off a big Week 6. Both Mitchell and Cooper make for risky Week 7 fantasy plays.

Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield (thumb) is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game vs. the Panthers. He was a full-go in practice all week, though, and is on track to start. Mayfield said Thursday that his injured throwing thumb is “strong enough to play” but added that he’ll wear a glove with padding to protect the thumb. We certainly wouldn’t start Mayfield in 1-QB leagues this week, and he’s a risky start even in superflex leagues.

Buccaneers RB Sean Tucker (quad) is off the final injury report and will play vs. the Panthers this weekend. He’s not a fantasy option but could vulture goal-line work from RB Bucky Irving. Tucker and Irving both have 1 carry from the opponent’s 1-yard line this season.

Buccaneers WR Emeka Egbuka (concussion, foot) is out for Sunday’s game vs. the Panthers. It’s unclear if it’s the concussion, foot, or both keeping him out. He should clear concussion protocol next week, but we’ll see about the foot. Egbuka’s absence should mean a boost in routes for WRs Ted Hurst and Tez Johnson, but neither can be trusted in fantasy lineups. WR Chris Godwin and TE Cade Otton will also find more targets available.

Colts TE Tyler Warren (groin) is out for Sunday’s game vs. the Vikings. He was sidelined all week after hurting his groin in last Friday’s practice. Will Mallory stepped in as Indianapolis’ primary pass-catching TE last week, registering a 72% route rate and 16% target share. But he’d be a desperation fantasy play vs. Minnesota’s sixth-ranked TE defense.

TE Colston Loveland led the Bears with 12 targets and 7 catches in Thursday night’s win over the Patriots, finishing with 69 yards and a bruising 12-yard catch-and-run TD in the third quarter. Loveland’s night should have been even bigger, but he committed a pair of uncharacteristic drops. He had just 5 total drops on a 3.8% drop rate across his first 24 games, including playoffs.

Bears QB Caleb Williams turned in his second straight excellent performance in Thursday night’s win over the Patriots. He completed 22 of 33 passes (67%) for 308 yards (9.3 YPA), 2 TDs, and 0 INTs. Williams’ pocket presence and escapability were on display throughout the night. And so was the elite arm talent, most notably on a laser to a well-covered Rome Odunze to convert a third-and-nine late in the fourth quarter.

Patriots WR A.J. Brown caught 3 of 6 targets for 48 scoreless yards in Thursday night's loss to the Bears. New England went to him on its first snap, but QB Drake Maye's pass sailed over his head. Brown then disappeared from the target column until an 18-yard catch just before halftime. His four second-half targets produced catches of 16 and 14 yards, plus a pair of deep incompletions broken up in tight coverage.

Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson tallied 115 total yards and a TD in Thursday night’s loss to the Bears. He carried just 6 times for 22 yards in a game New England trailed throughout. But he led the team with 93 receiving yards on 5 catches. The vast majority of that production came on a 48-yard catch-and-run TD at the end of the first half. The Bears defense fell asleep on a short dump-off to Stevenson, allowing him to weave untouched into the end zone.

Tests on Rams WR Puka Nacua's calf revealed a minor injury, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Rapoport adds, though, that Nacua's availability for Sunday's game vs. the Raiders remains uncertain. We'll see if he's able to practice this afternoon and then how he's listed on the final injury report. It at least sounds like Nacua dodged any injury that would cost him significant time.

Ravens QB Lamar Jackson (ankle) remained limited in Thursday's practice. But the limp he had on Wednesday was gone, according to multiple beat writers. ESPN's Jamison Hensley said it looked like Jackson did more on Thursday than Wednesday. He's trending in the right direction, although his availability for this weekend's game vs. the Bengals remains uncertain. We'll get another update on Jackson tomorrow.

Falcons RB Brian Robinson (hamstring) went from a limited practice on Wednesday to no practice on Thursday. He's seemingly in danger of missing this weekend's game vs. the 49ers. Robinson's absence would likely mean even more work for RB Bijan Robinson. RBs Khalil Herbert and Jam Miller are on Atlanta's practice squad.

Eagles WR DeVonta Smith (hamstring) did not practice on Thursday. Smith, of course, missed Weeks 4 and 5 with a hamstring injury. It's unclear if he had a setback or is just getting some early-week rest, but it's worth noting that Smith was targeted on Philly's last offensive snap vs. the Panthers. We're still tentatively expecting him to play vs. the Cowboys on Monday night but will update his status again tomorrow.

Rams WR Puka Nacua was limited in Thursday's practice with a new calf injury. ESPN's Sarah Barshop confirms that Nacua suffered the injury today, putting him in danger of missing this weekend's game vs. the Raiders. We'll look for further updates and see how Nacua is listed on Friday's final injury report. With WR Davante Adams out with his hamstring injury, Nacua's absence would leave the Rams with WRs Konata Mumpfield, Jordan Whittington, and Tutu Atwell atop the depth chart -- and likely push more targets to the TEs and RBs.