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Pittsburgh Steelers 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.

Seahawks WR D.K. Metcalf (ribs) missed his second straight practice on Thursday. HC Pete Carroll said earlier this week that he expected Metcalf to play vs. the Panthers on Sunday, but his status is worth checking back on tomorrow.

Seahawks WR D.K. Metcalf (ribs) did not practice on Wednesday. Both he and HC Pete Carroll said that Metcalf will be available for this weekend's game vs. the Panthers. He can stay penciled into fantasy lineups, but we'll track his status over the next few days.

Steelers HC Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that RB Jaylen Warren deserves more touches going forward. He racked up 86 yards on 10 touches in Monday night's win over the Browns, while Najee Harris totaled 44 yards on his 11 touches. "You know, he's just making plays when given the opportunity," Tomlin said of Warren. "And I think that's a reasonable expectation. There's a guy that did similar things as a young guy a year ago and as a rookie and has done some really good things in the team development process. And so, it's probably a natural maturation process for it to transpire in stadium, and it's probably a natural maturation process for us to give him more opportunities for it to transpire in stadium." You'll find Harris and Warren extremely close in our Rest-of-Season RB Rankings.

Steelers S Minkah Fitzpatrick left Monday night's win over the Browns with a chest injury. He was ruled out before the end. We'll see about the severity, but that doesn't bode well for Week 3 at least.

Seahawks WR D.K. Metcalf suffered a rib injury in the first half of Sunday's game vs. the Lions and is questionable to return. We'll update his status when we know more.

Update: Metcalf returned to the game later in the first half

Falcons RB Cordarrelle Patterson is inactive for today’s game vs. the Packers. He was left off the final injury report, so this is a healthy scratch. It’s good news for RBs Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier.

Jets QB Aaron Rodgers (Achilles) is targeting a return for the NFL playoffs, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Rodgers underwent an "innovative" surgery on Wednesday "designed to accelerate the normal rehabilitation process," Rapoport writes. The procedure could reportedly have Rodgers back on the field in four months, which would be mid-January. The playoffs start on January 13. Rodgers is still not worth stashing in any redraft fantasy leagues. But, for dynasty owners, it's clear that he's hoping to continue his NFL career.

Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth (chest) practiced all week and isn't listed on the final injury report for Monday night's game vs. the Browns. He should be leaned on more heavily with WR Diontae Johnson out.

Falcons RB Cordarrelle Patterson (thigh) put in a full week of practice and isn’t listed on the final injury report. He’ll make his 2023 debut vs. the Packers on Sunday. Patterson isn’t a viable fantasy option, but we’ll see how much work he steals from RBs Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier.

Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth (chest) got in a limited practice on Thursday. He was in and out of last week's game with this chest injury but should be available for Monday night's meeting with the Browns.

Falcons RB Cordarrelle Patterson (thigh) was a full participant in Wednesday's practice. He's on track to make his 2023 debut vs. the Packers this weekend. Patterson isn't a viable fantasy option but figures to steal at least a few touches from RBs Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier.

The Eagles have ruled RB Kenneth Gainwell out for Thursday night's game against the Vikings with the rib injury that has kept him out of practice each day. The short turnaround from Sunday's opener certainly doesn't help the guy who dominated backfield work for Philly against the Patriots. D'Andre Swift and Boston Scott each figure to get more snaps in his absence. We're also betting Rashaad Penny gets activated for this game. (He was a healthy scratch in Week 1.) We'll all obviously be guessing on touch distribution with the Week 1 leader out. Swift seems like the top bet, but be careful not to overcommit to any Philly RB.

Eagles RB Kenneth Gainwell (ribs) did not practice on Tuesday. "Gainwell remains a wait and see issue" for Thursday night's game vs. the Vikings, insider Derrick Gunn tweeted. Gainwell's absence would leave Philly's backfield to D'Andre Swift, Boston Scott, and likely Rashaad Penny, who was a healthy scratch for the opener. Check back tomorrow for another update on Gainwell. This doesn't sound like a long-term injury, so he remains a strong target on waiver wires.

The Eagles didn't practice Monday, but they had to project a practice report because of their Thursday night game against the Vikings in Week 2. That report listed RB Kenneth Gainwell not participating because of a rib injury. Gainwell stayed involved to the end of Sunday's win against the Patriots, so there's no indication this is serious. But we'll obviously keep tracking it through the short week. If Gainwell were to go inactive, we'd bet on Rashaad Penny taking the game-day roster spot. In that case, we'd all have to guess at the work distribution, which Gainwell dominated in Week 1. D'Andre Swift and Boston Scott were active but minimally involved at New England. The short turnaround could mean a wider spread of Week 2 opportunities even if Gainwell is good to go.

An MRI confirmed that Jets QB Aaron Rodgers has a torn Achilles, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. That ends Rodgers' season after just four snaps. Turning 40 in December, Rodgers' football future is uncertain. He's signed with the Jets for two more seasons, although he carries a $51.5 million cap hit in 2025. The Rodgers injury puts Zach Wilson back under center for now. We'll see if the Jets -- with Super Bowl aspirations -- make a move at QB. For now, all Jets skill-position players are fantasy losers.

Jets HC Robert Saleh said after Monday night's win over the Bills that the team fears QB Aaron Rodgers has a torn Achilles. He's scheduled for an MRI on Monday to confirm. "It's not good," Saleh added. A torn Achilles would end Rodgers' season -- and put the 39-year-old's football future in serious doubt. It'd also leave QB Zach Wilson as New York's starter. That'd obviously be a significant downgrade for all of the Jets' skill-position players.

Jets QB Aaron Rodgers suffered an apparent left leg injury on his first possession in Monday night's game vs. the Bills. He headed immediately into the blue medical tent and was then carted back to the locker room. We'll update his status when we know more.

Update: The Jets say Rodgers has an ankle injury and is questionable to return.

Update: Rodgers went for X-rays and now has a boot on his left foot, according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo.

Update: Rodgers has been ruled out. X-rays on the ankle came back clean, ESPN's Lisa Salters reports.

Steelers DL Cameron Heyward is expected to land on IR for the groin injury he suffered in Sunday's loss to the 49ers, NFL Network reports. it's not yet clear how long Heyward will be out, and surgery remains an option. We'll watch for further updates, but you shouldn't plan to have Heyward available to your IDP lineup for the foreseeable future. We're not taking the veteran completely out of our rest-of-season rankings just yet. But he'll likely be droppable in most IDP formats. And you shouldn't look to the Steelers depth chart for a replacement. No Pittsburgh interior lineman played more than 63% of the snaps in the opener, with Larry Ogunjobi the leader.

Update: Heyward will have surgery and is expected to miss up to eight weeks, according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Eagles RB Kenneth Gainwell controlled the backfield in Sunday's win over the Patriots. He took 14 of the team's 16 RB carries, gaining 54 yards. Gainwell also ranked third on the team with 4 targets, catching all of them for 20 yards. D'Andre Swift contributed just 3 yards on 1 carry and caught 1 of 2 targets for 0 yards. Boston Scott carried once for 3 yards and caught his lone target for 7 yards. Rashaad Penny was a healthy scratch. We wouldn't expect the workload distribution to remain quite so divided. But Gainwell obviously heads toward Week 2 as the only usable Eagles RB. His mere 4.1 yards per touch in the opener isn't especially worrisome against a Patriots defense that we expect to rank among the league's best.

Steelers DL Cameron Heyward left Sunday's loss to the 49ers with a groin injury. He tried to return but left again shortly thereafter and missed the rest of the game. We'll see about the severity heading into Week 2.

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