Patriots S Adrian Phillips (ribs) is questionable for Sunday's game against the Steelers. He was limited all week in practice. We'll see about his status Sunday morning.
After a strong Chiefs debut last week, WR JuJu Smith-Schuster mustered just 3 catches for 10 yards in Thursday night's win over the Chargers. His 3 targets tied for 5th on the team and were just 9% of the team total. He ran a route on 79% of pass plays after posting an 80% route rate in Week 1, so this was just a matter of not drawing targets. Smith-Schuster remains a fantasy starter going forward, but he figures to be inconsistent on a Chiefs offense that is intent on spreading the ball around.
Patriots LB Ja'Whaun Bentley missed Wednesday's practice with a toe injury. We'll watch his participation the rest of the week. If Bentley misses Sunday's game at Pittsburgh, then Raekwon McMillan would presumably lead New England off-ball LBs in playing time.
Titans TE Austin Hooper trailed teammate Geoff Swaim in both snaps (69% vs. 62%) and targets (4-2) in Sunday's loss to the Giants. Swaim turned his 4 looks into a 3-19 receiving line, with Hooper catching just 1 ball for 6 yards. Rookie TE Chig Okonkwo added 1 catch for 11 yards and a carry for minus-4 while playing 15% of snaps. This looks like a committee situation to avoid as much as possible in fantasy football lineups.
In a refreshing turn of events, Washington RB Antonio Gibson snagged a career-high 7 passes (on 8 targets) for 72 yards. Compare that to the 3 grabs (on 3 targets) for receiving back J.D. McKissic. Gibson added 14 carries for 58 yards. His main highlight came in the passing game, as he beat the defense vertically for a 26-yard gain out of the backfield. Critically, he also managed to avoid fumbling. Following a tumultuous offseason, Week 1 was clearly a huge win for the young RB. Next up is a Lions defense that just allowed 4 rushing TDs to the Eagles.
Bucs RB Ke'Shawn Vaughn is a healthy scratch for tonight's game vs. the Cowboys. Tampa is rolling with RBs Leonard Fournette, Rachaad White and Gio Bernard.
Patriots S Adrian Phillips left Sunday's loss to the Dolphins with a rib injury. We'll see about the severity, though don't be surprised if details are lacking. (It's the Patriots.)
Chiefs WR JuJu Smith-Schuster (knee) put in a full practice on Wednesday. It's confirmation that he's ready to rock for Sunday's opener vs. the Cardinals.
NESN's Zack Cox expects Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson to open the season as the "1B to [Damien] Harris' 1A." But, Cox adds, "it wouldn’t shock me if [Stevenson] eventually leapfrogs Harris and becomes New England’s top early-down option." Cox also says he expects "a much larger role in the passing game" for Stevenson this season. He'll be just a RB3 in fantasy lineups out of the gate, but there's upside well beyond that as we move deeper into the season.
The Patriots placed WR Tyquan Thornton (collarbone) on IR, knocking him out for at least the first 4 games of the season. It's a procedural move with Thornton expected to be sidelined until mid-October. The rookie could make an impact in the 2nd half of the season, but he's not worth stashing on redraft benches.
The Athletic's Chad Graff expects Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson to get the "bulk" of the passing-down snaps early in the season, assuming RB Ty Montgomery (ankle) is out. "And his performance in the first few weeks could dictate how much Montgomery sees the field," Graff writes. We're expecting Stevenson and Damien Harris to split carries fairly evenly this year, but Stevenson's pass-catching upside makes him the more appealing fantasy pick.
The Vikings are acquiring WR Jalen Reagor from the Eagles. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that Minnesota is giving a 7th-round pick in 2023 (acquired from Houston in a separate trade this week) and a conditional 4th-rounder in 2024. That part will probably be determined by Reagor's performance in at least the coming season. The former 1st-round pick busted his way out of Philadelphia. He interestingly now becomes teammates with Justin Jefferson, whom Minnesota selected just after. It's tough to see Reagor climbing higher than 4th on the Vikings' WR depth chart without injury to someone in the top 3. So don't expect fantasy relevance this season.
Chiefs WR JuJu Smith-Schuster was back on the practice field Monday. He missed a little over a week with what the team called a "sore knee." But, barring a setback, he should be ready to roll for the start of the season.
When asked whether RB Antonio Gibson will enter the season as Commanders lead kick returner, here's what HC Ron Rivera had to say: “I think you still need to see some more stuff, but you know, I think he is. I do. I think he’s done a nice job.” That's nice. Wanna guess how many total kickoffs and punts Gibson returned over his 1st 2 NFL seasons? Zero. To be fair, Tony Pollard and Cordarrelle Patterson factored heavily into their teams' kick-return plans last year. But it sure seems like another signal of a downgrade to Gibson's standing within the offense.
ESPN's Field Yates reports that the Chiefs and WR JuJu Smith-Schuster have adjusted the wideout's contract to double his per-game roster bonus from $30,000 to $60,000. Smith-Schuster signed his original 1-year deal before the team traded WR Tyreek Hill to Miami, so clearly he has gained value to the Chiefs simply because of that move. This seems like a relative good-faith gesture: We'll reward you better if you produce. We're not sure there's any projections adjustment needed on this news, though.
Chiefs HC Andy Reid didn't sound concerned about WR JuJu Smith-Schuster's sore knee and expects him to be ready for the start of the season, according to insider Herbie Teope. Smith-Schuster has been sidelined since the day after Kansas City's preseason opener but recently "turned the corner" in his recovery, Reid said. We'll keep an eye on JuJu but haven't adjusted his 2022 projections.
Chargers CB J.C. Jackson had ankle surgery Tuesday and is expected to miss the next 2-4 weeks, according to multiple reports. Sounds like a relatively minor procedure, but this timeline obviously could spill over into missed regular-season games.
Patriots WR Tyquan Thornton is expected to miss about 8 weeks with the collarbone injury he suffered in Friday's preseason game, according to NFL Network's Mike Giardi. That'd put Thornton back sometime around Week 6 or 7. It'll likely be another few weeks beyond that before Thornton has any chance of being a real fantasy factor. The rookie can be left on the waiver wire in all redraft leagues.
The Athletic's Chad Graff lists WR Kendrick Bourne as a "faller" and WR Nelson Agholor as a "riser." Graff believes Bourne is now behind Jakobi Meyers, DeVante Parker and Agholor on the depth chart. Agholor "has been the Patriots’ best wide receiver in most practices and has shown an improved connection with Jones," Graff writes. We're not overly interested in any of these guys as draft targets, but we'll continue to monitor the pecking order.
Patriots WR Tyquan Thornton suffered a collarbone injury in Friday night's preseason game, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Rapoport doesn't say Thornton's collarbone is broken, but it sure sounds like that's the case. Thornton's season is "now put on hold, though based on his timetable, the injury to the speedster is not season ending." We'll look for a more concrete timeline, but Thornton isn't worth a roster spot in redraft leagues. His absence leaves Jakobi Meyers, DeVante Parker, Kendrick Bourne and Nelson Agholor as New England's clear top 4 WRs.
Update: NFL Network's Mike Giardi reports that Thornton is expected to miss "around 8 weeks."
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