Per Bills HC Sean McDermott, RB Zack Moss won’t practice on Wednesday due to a hamstring injury suffered in Tuesday’s practice. The team will approach Moss’ injury “one day at a time.” The missed time will give more first-time reps to Devin Singletary and Matt Breida. We’ll let you know when Moss returns to the practice field.
The Dolphins have activated TE Mike Gesicki from the reserve/COVID-19 list. He ended up missing over a week of practice. The Fins are traveling north for a joint practice with the Bears on Wednesday, and Gesicki is expected to participate, per beat writer Armando Salguero. The 25-year-old remains a low-end TE1.
The Athletic's Paul Dehner lists WR Ja'Marr Chase as 1 of the fallers of the first couple of weeks of Bengals training camp. "His skill set is that unique. You see flashes of that early, but you also see somebody tentatively getting used to a new offense, new league and not playing football since January 2020," Dehner writes. "He has endured a string of drops, on short and long passes, with another coming Sunday. He has not shown as much separation as you’d hope, and the contested balls haven’t gone his way much, either." It's not a major surprise that Chase is off to a slow start after opting out of the 2020 season -- but it is at least part of the reason that we have him as overvalued at his 4th- or 5th-round price tag.
Bills RB Zack Moss has "consistently been the best running back at training camp," according to The Athletic's Matthew Fairburn. "From what we’ve seen, Moss should have a path to a bigger role this season. But [OC] Brian Daboll is intent on dividing carries and riding the hot hand, so it’s too soon to push the panic button on [Devin] Singletary." This will be a committee backfield in 1 of the league's pass-heaviest offense, so there's not a ton of fantasy production to be mined here. But Moss continues to look like a better bet than Singletary.
The Bengals offense has struggled early in training camp, according to The Athletic. QB Joe Burrow, in particular, has struggled with turnovers and accuracy. "It’s just not good right now," insiders Jay Morrison and Paul Dehner write. "Throws that felt like layups last year are dropping harmlessly away from receivers or easily broken up by multiple defenders." It's early August. And Burrow, of course, is returning from last year's multi-ligament injury. So we're not hitting the panic button yet. But this has certainly become a situation to monitor over the next month.
Dolphins TE Mike Gesicki has been placed on the COVID list, along with TEs Adam Shaheen and Cethan Carter. All 3 were reportedly close contacts of OC George Godsey, who tested positive for the virus. This shouldn't impact Gesicki's status for the start of the season, but we'll let you know when he's cleared to get back on the field.
Before the 1st practice of Bengals training camp Wednesday, QB Joe Burrow said: “I’m just about 100 percent. Feeling great, still getting stronger in my legs. Going to continue to lift throughout camp, keep getting stronger, so I just feel great going into Week One.” Burrow also said that he wants to play in a preseason game, but we'll see what the team decides to do. We wouldn't be surprised if they deny the franchise QB that wish. Still, signs continue to look positive for the health of Burrow's knee heading into his 2nd season.
Sal Maiorana of the (Rochester, N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle says his “hunch is that [Zack] Moss is going to become the No. 1 back, but his snap count will remain pretty close with [Devin] Singletary.” That seems to be the general feeling and lines up with where their ADPs have run. Singletary might be the better best-ball value in the later rounds, but we tend to prefer Moss’ ceiling. Don’t target either too early in your drafts
Bengals QB Joe Burrow (knee) will participate on day 1 of training camp. He’s avoided the PUP or NFI list, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. If his knee continues to cooperate, there’s no question Burrow could pay off his QB13 FFPC ADP. See where he sits in our 2021 QB rankings.
Bengals WR Tee Higgins has been the talk of minicamp. QB Joe Burrow said Tuesday that Higgins looks "completely different" than he did as a rookie and is "going to have a big year." Then OC Brian Callahan said the next day that Higgins has gotten "markedly more explosive." The Clemson product is coming off an excellent rookie season, tallying 67 catches, 908 yards and 6 TDs. He faces increased target competition with the arrival of rookie WR Ja'Marr Chase. But there's room for all 3 Bengals WRs (including Tyler Boyd) in what figures to be a pass-leaning offense without a real threat at TE.
Bengals QB Joe Burrow expects his surgically repaired left knee to be back to 100% for the start of training camp. "The knee still has a little ways to go, but my upper body, my right leg, everything else feels better than it ever has before," Burrow said. "When I'm on the field and executing, I'm playing better than I ever have before. So I'll continue the program we were on and get back to 100% before camp." Burrow was able to get on the field for minicamp. And while we thought he still looked a bit hobbled, he was moving around and throwing with nice velocity. We'll continue to keep a close eye on his progress leading up to Week 1.
Bills RB Zack Moss has worn a red, non-contact jersey throughout offseason practices, per team beat writer Matt Parrino. It’s a reminder that he’s still working back from January ankle surgery. If he’s a full-go for training camp, Moss will be in a good spot to lead this backfield in touches ahead of Devin Singletary and Matt Breida.
Update: Per Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic, Bills HC Sean McDermott said the team is "looking forward to getting Moss back for training camp for drill work." McDermott added that Moss has done a "phenomenal job" with rehab.
Bills RB Zack Moss left Saturday's win over the Colts with an ankle injury and is expected to miss some time, according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo. It remains to be seen just how long, as we await an official diagnosis. Obviously, it'll also depend some on how far the Bills advance. We'll watch for updates. In the meantime, Devin Singletary gains fantasy upside.
Bengals WR Tee Higgins (hamstring) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Cowboys after a limited week of practice. We're expecting the rookie to play. But between the hammy and Cincinnati's QB play, Higgins isn't a recommended Week 14 fantasy starter.
The forecast for today's Titans-Bengals game calls for winds of 20-30 mph. That's just past the threshold of when we start to worry about the passing and kicking games. We're lowering our projections for both passing games a tad and would avoid both kickers in this game. Note that the Bengals will be without all 5 of their starting offensive linemen from Week 1 today. Their implied total has sunk from 25.75 to 21.5.
The forecast for today's Bengals-Browns game calls for 1-3 inches of snow and winds of 10-20 mph. We start to worry about the passing games when winds get over 15 mph, so this is a slight concern. Both teams figured to go run-heavy anyway, and the weather will only push them farther in that direction.
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