Pittsburgh Steelers Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Falcons RB Cordarrelle Patterson missed his 2nd straight practice on Thursday. He's listed on the injury report as "resting player" and "knee," making this a confusing situation. We'll see if Patterson practices on Friday and how he's listed on the final injury report. If he can't play vs. the Browns on Sunday, rookie Tyler Allgeier would likely step in as Atlanta's lead back.

Steelers S Minkah Fitzpatrick returned to full practice Wednesday. He landed in the league concussion protocol when symptoms arose after last Thursday's loss to the Browns, but it appears Fitzpatrick is on track to play this Sunday against the Jets.

Steelers HC Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that S Minkah Fitzpatrick has entered the concussion protocol. He was diagnosed in the wake of Thursday night's loss to the Browns. We'll see whether Fitzpatrick can make it back for Sunday's game against the Jets, but plan as though you won't have him available for IDP lineups.

Falcons RB Cordarrelle Patterson ran for 141 yards and a TD on 17 carries in Sunday's win over the Seahawks. He ceded just 7 other rushing attempts to Tyler Allgeier (6) and Avery Williams (1). Patterson again didn't see much receiving work. He garnered 1 target for the 2nd straight game and ran just 2 more routes than the combined total for Allgeier and Williams. We're not sure Patterson is built to regularly log 17+ carries, as he has in 2 of the 1st 3 games. But we'll take the production from a guy whose ADP sat well outside of starter range in fantasy football drafts. A decent Week 4 matchup with Cleveland gives way to tougher defenses from Tampa Bay and San Francisco the following 2 games.

Bears QB Justin Fields logged just 17 pass attempts in Sunday's 23-20 win over the Texans, completing 8 for 106 yards, 0 INTs and 2 INTs. Through 3 weeks, Chicago has 10 fewer pass attempts than any other team in the league, with the next lowest being a Giants offense that has yet to play in Week 3. WR Darnell Mooney (6 targets) and TE Cole Kmet (3) assumed their expected positions as Chicago's target leaders, but the shares won't matter until the Bears begrudgingly throw the ball more. Each guy caught just 2 balls vs. Houston.

Panthers CB Donte Jackson (hamstring) is active for today's game against the Saints.

The Rams on Saturday placed WR Van Jefferson on IR. That's a little surprising given that he avoided IR to open the season while working back from summer knee surgery. This means he'll miss at least 3 more games beyond Sunday's clash with the Cardinals. Jefferson's continued absence means more playing time for WR Ben Skowronek and helps the target availability for WR Allen Robinson and TE Tyler Higbee. The Rams also elevated WR Jacob Harris from the practice squad Saturday.

Rams WR Van Jefferson (knee) is out for Sunday’s game vs. the Cardinals. He remained sidelined in practice all week and has no timetable for return.

Bears QB Justin Fields completed 7 of 11 attempts for 70 yards and 1 INT in Sunday’s loss at Green Bay. Laughable. The Bears ran only 41 plays, hurt by going a combined 1 for 8 on 3rd and 4th downs. There was simply nothing positive to take away from this one, outside of Fields scoring on a 3-yard run in the 1st quarter. Late in the game, he had a 6-yard rushing score wiped out following a review. He looked to get in on the next play, but the officials thought differently. He’ll look to rebound at home vs. a young Houston defense.

Broncos QB Russell Wilson completed just 14 of his 31 pass attempts for 219 yards in Sunday's win over the Texans. He threw a TD to TE Eric Saubert, but also an INT. Denver has scored just 33 points through 2 games, despite matchups with defenses that aren't likely to emerge as tough.

Falcons RB Cordarrelle Patterson ran for 41 yards on 10 carries in Sunday's loss to the Rams. Atlanta trailed for most of the game, which didn't help. But Patterson also watched rookie RB Tyler Allgeier match his carry total. Patterson added just 1 target among 13 routes. Allgeier, Avery Williams and Caleb Huntley combined to run 11 routes. We'd like to see more separation for Patterson in at least 1 of the 2 areas -- especially the passing game -- vs. the rest of the backfield. There's some sell potential here, with proximity still to his big Week 1 and/or if he has big games in matchups with Seattle and Cleveland the next 2 weeks.

Steelers RB Najee Harris (foot) isn't listed on the final Week 2 injury report. He practiced all week, including full workouts on Thursday and Friday. So it looks like Harris is ready for his usual workload in Sunday's game vs. the Patriots.

Rams WR Van Jefferson (knee) is out for Sunday's game vs. the Falcons. He still hasn't returned to practice after early-August knee surgery, so don't bank on a Week 3 return. Ben Skowronek replaced Jefferson as Los Angeles' #3 WR in the opener, turning 6 targets into 4 catches for 25 scoreless yards.

Steelers RB Najee Harris (foot) graduated to a full practice on Thursday. It's confirmation that he'll be out there for this weekend's game vs. the Patriots.

Steelers RB Najee Harris (foot) got in a limited practice on Wednesday. It's confirmation that he's on track to play vs. the Patriots this weekend. We'll continue to monitor Harris' status over the next few days.

Steelers RB Najee Harris (foot) said in a Tuesday radio appearance that he'll play vs. the Patriots this weekend. Players, of course, are always optimistic about their status. But we've heard independent reports that Harris' injury isn't serious and that he's likely to play Week 2. He can stay penciled into fantasy lineups for now.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports that Steelers EDGE T.J. Watt "is still gathering additional opinions" but that his pectoral tear is not currently believed to require surgery. That would mean Watt has a chance to heal up and return before the end of October, according to Pelissero. We'll see about the final word here and then will certainly need to keep an eye on his progress. But this is obviously great news after initial fears that Watt would miss the rest of the year.

Insider Jordan Schultz confirms that Steelers RB Najee Harris' injury is not serious. Schultz calls it a foot injury, rather than an ankle. But he reports that the Steelers believe there's a "good chance" Harris will be available for Sunday's game vs. the Patriots. We'll track his practice participation this week.

Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth racked up 10 targets in Sunday's OT win over the Bengals, accounting for 26.3% of QB Mitchell Trubisky's total attempts. Freiermuth caught half of those for 75 yards. That kind of inclusion puts Freiermuth in weekly starter consideration for fantasy football lineups.

The Bears didn't need QB Justin Fields to do much in a rain-soaked victory over the 49ers Sunday. He completed 8 of just 17 pass attempts for 121 yards and 2 TDs, plus an INT. Fields found WR Dante Pettis for a 51-yard score in the 3rd quarter and Equanimeous St. Brown from 18 yards out in the 4th. The QB added just 28 yards on 11 carries. The weather definitely dampened the Week 1 production. We'll see whether a Week 2 visit to Green Bay can help make Fields a true fantasy starting option for a Week 3 home date with Houston.