Fantasy Football News

49ers HC Kyle Shanahan expects 49ers WR De’Zhaun Stribling to miss about 10 weeks. Stribling sustained an ankle injury in the first quarter of the team’s Thursday Night Football game in Week 1. Stribling underwent ankle surgery and was placed on IR.

Bengals QB Joe Burrow sat out Wednesday's practice with back tightness but expects to play vs. the Texans this weekend, he told reporters. "I feel good," Burrow said. "Normal game day soreness, that's for sure. But I'll be alright." We'll keep a close eye on Burrow the rest of the week. He already sat lower than normal in our Week 2 rankings with that tough matchup against Houston. The Bengals have a quality backup QB in Joe Flacco, who averaged 273 yards and 2.2 TDs across 6 starts for the team last year.

Seahawks QB Sam Darnold (glute) has been ruled out for Sunday's game vs. the Cardinals. The team has no plans to place him on IR, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, but the early rule out doesn't bode well for Darnold's chances of making it back for Week 3. QB Drew Lock gets the start this weekend. He'll likely prove to be a downgrade from Darnold but had no problem getting the ball to WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the opener. JSN remains a must-start in Week 2, but no other Seattle pass catchers should be in fantasy lineups.

Chargers WR Ladd McConkey (rib) won't practice on Wednesday, HC Jim Harbaugh said. McConkey dodged a significant injury by all accounts, but NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said Tuesday that his status for this weekend's game vs. the Raiders is "up in the air." We'll see if McConkey can get back on the field tomorrow, but fantasy managers should start making other plans for Week 2 lineups.

The Vikings placed RB Jordan Mason on IR with a thumb injury, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. This one comes out of nowhere. Mason finished the Week 1 win over the Packers, and there was no report of an injury afterward. He's now out for at least the next four games. We'll see about his availability beyond that.

Update: HC Kevin O'Connell said Mason had surgery to fix a "small fracture" in his thumb and is expected back after 4 weeks.

Raiders TE Brock Bowers (knee) won't practice on Wednesday, HC Klint Kubiak said. Both Kubiak and the national media have suggested that Bowers has a chance to return for this weekend's game vs. the Chargers, but we're not expecting it. Bowers managers should have another option ready to go for Week 2 lineups. His absence would again make Michael Mayer a viable TE1.

The Browns placed RB Dylan Sampson on IR. We don't have any details on his knee injury or a timeline for return, but Sampson is now out for at least the next 4 games. He can be dropped from most redraft rosters.

The Cowboys signed RB Tyler Goodson from Atlanta's practice squad and released RB Israel Abanikanda. Abanikanda was a healthy scratch for the opener, leaving RB Emari Demercardo behind workhorse Javonte Williams. We'll see if Goodson gets any run going forward, but Demercardo still looks like the top (albeit relatively shaky) handcuff to Williams.

Jets WR Omar Cooper is considered "week to week" with the ankle sprain he suffered in the opener, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. The "hope" is that Cooper is able to return within 4 weeks, Rapoport adds.

Seahawks QB Sam Darnold is "looking at about a 4-week return to play" from his injury, NFL Network's Mike Garafolo said Tuesday. "Could potentially be a little bit sooner than that," Garafolo adds, who later said the timeline is "right in line with a couple of weeks." It was a loose report from Garafolo, but it was more pessimistic than the last report from NFL Network's Ian Rapoport that Darnold would likely miss just a couple of games. He's dealing with a unique glute injury, so his timetable for return still seems uncertain. Expect QB Drew Lock to start Weeks 2 and 3. We'll see about Darnold's availability beyond that.

Texans LB Henry To'oTo'o left Sunday's loss to the Bills with a left-shoulder injury. The team is expected to place him on IR, and it's not yet clear whether they'll designate him to return.

Chiefs RB Kenneth Walker III dominated the Broncos in his debut. Walker ran the ball 23 times for 173 yards, including a 60-yard TD. He also caught three of 6 targets for 18 yards and an additional TD. He looked similar to the Super Bowl MVP we saw last season with Walker and appears to be the focal point of the offense.

Eagles RB Saquon Barkley had a solid opener Sunday against Washington, averaging 5.5 yards per carry across his 15 attempts on a low-volume offensive day for Philly. The Eagles ran just 53 offensive plays to Washington's 67 and possessed the ball for 6:40 less. But Barkley didn't get much in the passing game, got iffy interior blocking, and then lost a starting guard to injury.

New Commanders OC David Blough said shortly after his promotion that he planned to build his offense "around how do we get Terry [McLaurin] 10 targets a game." First time out we instead got 4 targets, 2 catches, and just 13 yards in Sunday's loss to the Eagles. WR Stefon Diggs and rookie WR Antonio Williams tied for the team lead with 4 catches apiece and easily outpaced McLaurin in yards per catch. Diggs more than doubled McLaurin (and any other teammate) with 9 targets.

If you played Saints TE Juwan Johnson and just looked at the box score after Sunday's OT loss at Detroit, you might be worried that Johnson has a Noah Fant problem. Fant edged Johnson 8-7 in targets and 4-3 in catches and matched his 1 TD. But their playing time presented a much wider gap.

If you drafted Jameson Williams and started him against the Saints in Week 1, you're probably not too happy about his mere 4 catches for 45 yards. That landed Williams outside the top 40 across fantasy formats for the week. But his 9 targets ranked second on the team, one ahead of TE Sam LaPorta. Williams landed eighth among WRs in expected PPR points for the week.

RB Travis Etienne scored in line with his ADP in Sunday's opener at Detroit, but he did so in a way he might not be able to sustain. Etienne's 14.8 PPR points against the Lions fell just 0.1 short of his 2025 scoring average in Jacksonville and places him15th among Week 1 RBs (heading into the Monday night game). But Etienne tied for just 34th at the position with 9 carries, and one of the guys he tied with was teammate Kendre Miller.

Lions RB Isiah Pacheco had surgery Monday to "remove a body that was pressing on a nerve in his back," according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Pacheco will now need 12 weeks to recover, which puts his return date sometime in December.

Chargers HC Jim Harbaugh called WR Ladd McConkey "day to day" with the rib injury he suffered in the opener. ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that McConkey will be monitored throughout the week before a decision is made on his Week 2 availability. "Sounds like his status is up in the air against the Raiders next week," NFL Network's Ian Rapoport adds. McConkey owners should make plans to be without him this week, but it sounds like he avoided a long-term injury. McConkey's absence vs. Vegas on Sunday would leave Quentin Johnston and Tre Harris as the Chargers' top 2 WRs. Harris is worth adding in most fantasy leagues.

Raiders HC Klint Kubiak called TE Brock Bowers "day to day," just 6 days after he had his meniscus trimmed. Kubiak said the team will be smart with Bowers, but that, "If he's ready, he's gonna play." Added Kubiak, "He's working his tail off to get back out on the field. It's really important to him to play as soon as possible, and that doesn't surprise me about Brock." This jibes with ESPN's Adam Schefter's Sunday morning report that Bowers has a "realistic chance" to play vs. the Chargers in Week 2. That'd be a quick turnaround from meniscus surgery, and Bowers owners should still have other plans lined up for Week 2. But we'll keep you updated on his progress this week.