Dallas Cowboys Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

49ers QB Trey Lance (finger) got in a limited practice on Wednesday. QB Jimmy Garoppolo will start this weekend's opener vs. Detroit, but it remains to be seen if Lance will be ready for a Taysom Hill-esque role behind Garoppolo.

Cowboys QB Dak Prescott (shoulder) was listed as a full participant on the 1st official practice report of the season on Monday. His surgically repaired ankle isn't even on the injury report. It's confirmation that Prescott will be under center for Thursday night's opener vs. the Bucs.

The Cowboys will be without RG Zack Martin for Thursday night's season opener at Tampa Bay. HC Mike McCarthy announced Sunday that Martin has tested positive for COVID. We'll see whether that also jeopardizes his availability for Week 2. Losing Martin figures to impact RB Ezekiel Elliott the most, from a fantasy standpoint. It's a particularly tough blow against a Bucs defense that has consistently ranked at or near the top of the league in run defense in recent seasons. Don't be surprised if we get a slow statistical start for Elliott. At the same time, we're not going to recommend immediately benching a RB you likely drafted in Round 1 -- unless you're loaded at the position. Check our full Week 1 rankings to see exactly where Elliott lands.

The Panthers have claimed RB Royce Freeman off waivers from the Broncos. He joins a thin depth chart behind Christian McCaffrey. Freeman's not likely to find fantasy relevance in Carolina, but he could challenge rookie Chuba Hubbard for touches behind McCaffrey.

Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb has been activated from the COVID list. He'll be ready to rock for next Thursday's opener vs. the Bucs.

49ers QB Trey Lance is "trending in the right direction" in his recovery from a small chip to 1 of the fingers on his right hand, GM John Lynch said Wednesday. The 'Niners are still hoping to get Lance back at practice on Monday -- although Lynch admitted that's "kind of the optimistic" timetable. This injury has likely killed any chance Lance had of winning the Week 1 starting job. But we're still expecting to see the rookie under center by the midway point of the season.

The Broncos are cutting RB Royce Freeman, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. The move follows "a couple of waiver claims and the need for space on the roster." We're a little surprised Denver couldn't find a trade partner here and would bet on Freeman landing somewhere pretty quickly. Atlanta seems like an obvious candidate, while several other teams ended up with shallow RB depth charts after cutting rosters down to 53.

The Patriots have placed CB Stephon Gilmore on the PUP list to open the regular season, as he continues to work back from quad surgery at the end of 2020. The designation means Gilmore will miss at least the 1st 6 games. That leaves room for Jalen Mills to open the year as a full-time player. A CB-safety hybrid at this point, Mills carries some late intrigue in IDP drafts.

49ers QB Trey Lance has a small “chip” in his finger, per HC Kyle Shanahan. The rookie is expected to miss about 1 week. That puts him back in time for Week 1. Even if Jimmy Garoppolo starts, the preseason showed us that the Niners might give Lance a handful of snaps right away.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Sunday that QB Dak Prescott (shoulder) is "good to go" for the start of the season after a nice week of practice. “He really turned it loose and was none the worse for it," Jones said. Prescott got limited practice reps this offseason as he rehabbed ankle and then shoulder injuries. But he's returning to the same offense with the same group of weapons. There's more risk with Prescott than the rest of the top-end fantasy QBs -- but his ceiling easily climbs into the top 3.

Cowboys QB Dak Prescott is back to full practice participation. “I thought he looked great,'' OC Kellen Moore said Thursday, referring to Prescott's Wednesday workout. "We’re not looking at anything from a limitation standpoint ... We're just playing ball at this point. We're fired up." Obviously, there's always chance of a re-injury, but Dallas has clearly been playing it cautiously with their franchise passer. It sounds like we should feel confident in drafting Prescott in fantasy football leagues.

Cowboys QB Dak Prescott (shoulder) is expected to throw in 7-on-7 drills in Wednesday's practice, David Helman of the team's official website reports. It'll be Prescott's 1st competitive reps since the 1st week of training camp. He continues to trend toward being ready to rock come Week 1.

The Cowboys have started rookie Micah Parsons and converted S Keanu Neal at LB in each of their past 2 preseason games. It looks as though that pair will lead the playing time at the position. Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch did mix in heavily with the 1st-team defense against Houston on Saturday, though. The ascension of the 2 new guys is noteworthy. Smith has been a full-time player and carries 1 of the league's largest cap numbers among off-ball LBs (nearly $10 million), and LVE is a former 1st-round pick who has dealt with injuries the past couple of years. Parsons, of course, arrived in Round 1 of this year's draft. Neal has history with new DC Dan Quinn, having played for him in Atlanta. The exact playing-time breakdown in this crowded corps is likely still working out, so we're wary of over-committing to any Dallas LB in IDP leagues. Parsons looks like the player with the highest upside and makes for a nice LB3 option (if he lasts). Neal could be a worthwhile late flier in deeper drafts. We've updated our projections for the group this week.

Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb has landed on the COVID list. The Dallas Morning News' Calvin Watkins reports that Lamb is fully vaccinated, so it should be a short stay. We'll keep you updated, but consider Lamb's fantasy stock unaffected for now.

Cowboys QB Dak Prescott (shoulder) told NFL Network's Tom Pelissero that he has "no doubt" he'll be 100% for Week 1. Pelissero adds that Prescott has had no setbacks in his rehab and could have played vs. Houston on Saturday night if it was a regular-season game. Dallas reportedly plans to ramp up Prescott's reps in practice this coming week and have him be a full-go during the week leading up to the Thursday night opener vs. the Bucs

Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy expects QB Dak Prescott (shoulder) to ramp up in practice next week. "He’ll definitely be involved in some form of practice more than this week," McCarthy said. "But to stand here and tell you he'd be full go and take all the reps, I’m not there yet.” We'll continue to keep a close eye on Prescott, with the season opener now 3 weeks away. All indications are that Dak will be good to go for Week 1.

Cowboys QB Dak Prescott (shoulder) was a limited participant in Wednesday's practice, doing some light throwing. HC Mike McCarthy conceded that Prescott "probably" won't play in the preseason, but he remains on track for Week 1.

Niners HC Kyle Shanahan told reporters Sunday that there is no imminent plan to increase 1st-team reps or QB Trey Lance. “I don’t know,” Shanahan said, according to Pro Football Talk. “I haven’t really defined that for myself either. Just when I think it feels right, when he seems ready, when I think the team seems ready. I mean, we’ll continue to mix him in there. But I don’t plan on just doing that completely." Lance completed 5 of 14 passes in his preseason debut Saturday, including an 80-yard TD to WR Trent Sherfield on his 2nd throw. Shanahan said after the game that the rookie produced "some good and some bad" in his 1st action.

Cowboys QB Dak Prescott's Saturday MRI on his strained shoulder showed that his injury is "healing well," according to ESPN's Todd Archer. The QB did some on-field throwing before Friday night's game against Arizona and emerged without issue. He reportedly hopes to practice this week and potentially play against Houston in the next preseason game.

Cowboys QB Dak Prescott told reporters Wednesday that he's getting another MRI on his strained shoulder this weekend. The QB said that there's been no setback in his rehab and that his body has responded well to the recent return to light throwing. He said the team is working to make sure the issue doesn't linger, and he still expects to be ready for the opener. "Once Sept. 9 comes, I'll move forward and won't think about this again," he said, according to the team website. We'll have to keep watching for updates/changes on Prescott's situation. He's holding at his current spot in our QB rankings, though.