Detroit Lions Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: Lions RB David Montgomery scored a rushing TD. The veteran back tallied 109 rushing yards on 19 carries in addition to snagging 2 catches for 20 yards as a receiver in Week 5 vs. the Panthers. Fellow RB Craig Reynolds stepped up in the absence of Jahmyr Gibbs with 7 carries, 52 rushing yards, and a TD of his own in the contest. The Detroit backfield has delivered for fantasy all year and will look to assert their dominance again next week vs. the Buccaneers.

Lions QB Jared Goff had a tremendous performance in Sunday's win vs. the Panthers, completing 20 of 28 attempts for 236 yards and 3 TDs. Even without WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (abdomen) and RB Jahmyr Gibbs (hamstring) in the lineup, the Detroit offense fired on all cylinders in this contest. A healthier supporting cast in Week 6 vs. the Buccaneers will again make Goff an appealing fantasy option.

Lions S Kerby Joseph (hip) and CB Emmanuel Moseley (knee, hamstring) are active for today's game against the Panthers.

Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (abdomen) is inactive for today’s game vs. the Panthers. He didn't practice all week and was listed as doubtful, so he wasn’t particularly close to playing. We’ll see if he can make it back for Week 6. St. Brown’s absence leaves 26.7% of Detroit’s targets up for grabs. Josh Reynolds is the best bet to lead Lions WRs in targets today, with Kalif Raymond, Jameson Williams, and Marvin Jones behind him. TE Sam LaPorta should also benefit from St. Brown’s absence. But we’re expecting a run-heavy attack from the Lions today against a leaky Panthers run defense.

Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs (hamstring) is inactive for today’s game vs. the Panthers. We’ll see if the rookie can make it back for Week 6 after hurting his hamstring in practice on Friday. Gibbs’ absence today should mean an even bigger workload for RB David Montgomery. RBs Craig Reynolds and Zonovan Knight are active to spell Montgomery.

ESPN's Adam Schefter confirms that Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (abdomen) and RB Jahmyr Gibbs (hamstring) won't play vs. the Panthers today. Both guys are listed as doubtful. It leaves the Lions without their No. 1 and No. 4 target getters. Expect a run-heavy attack from Detroit today.

Lions WR Jameson Williams is expected to play a "limited role" in his 2023 debut vs. the Panthers today, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. "Maybe around 20 snaps," Pelissero adds. 20 snaps would be about one-third of the game. We'd expect most of Williams' snaps to come in passing situations, so he could still rack up some production today. But he'd be a desperation fantasy start in season-long leagues. Maybe you take a shot on him in a DFS tournament lineup.

Lions WR Jameson Williams has been activated from the Exempt/Commissioner Permission list. He's set to make his 2023 debut vs. the Panthers tomorrow. The Lions might be forced to play Williams more than they initially wanted with WR Amon-Ra St. Brown and RB Jahmyr Gibbs out. But Williams would still be a risky Week 5 fantasy start. He caught one of nine targets in six games last year.

On Saturday, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport tweeted that Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs (hamstring) has been officially downgraded to 'Doubtful' for Week 5's contest vs. the Panthers. The rookie was a surprise addition to the team's injury report on Friday with this ailment, and it seems now that it will take him out of the lineup this weekend. This news brings a decent-sized uptick in the potential scoring output for teammate David Montgomery. We already liked Montgomery plenty this week, but the Panthers' defense ranks as the third-easiest matchup in adjusted fantasy points allowed to RBs this season. Managers who roster Gibbs should check their waiver wire for help immediately.

The Lions have ruled DB Brian Branch (ankle) out for Sunday's game against the Panthers. They might get S Kerby Joseph (hip) and CB Emmanuel Moseley (knee, hamstring) back. Both are officially questionable but finished the practice week with full participation Friday.

Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs (hamstring) is listed as questionable for this weekend's game vs. the Panthers. He was added to the injury report on Friday and listed as questionable, so it looks like the rookie hurt his hamstring on Friday. We'll look for further updates on his status and will get Detroit's inactives around 11:30 am ET on Sunday.

Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (abdomen) is listed as doubtful for Sunday's game vs. the Panthers. He didn't practice all week and obviously needs to be on fantasy benches. His absence would leave Detroit's WR corps to Josh Reynolds, Jameson Williams, Kalif Raymond, and Marvin Jones. Reynolds (groin) and Williams (not injury related) are listed as questionable for Week 5 but should play after getting in full practices on Friday. St. Brown's absence figures to mean an even more run-heavy game plan for Detroit -- and potentially a target boost for TE Sam LaPorta.

Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown told reporters on Thursday afternoon that he expects to play vs. the Panthers this weekend. “I’m feeling pretty good," St. Brown said. "I was running today. Actually I might’ve hit one of my top speeds the other day. So, I’m feeling pretty good.” St. Brown added that his injury is more of a pain-management issue. He can stay penciled into fantasy lineups for now. We'll get another update on his status tomorrow.

Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (abdomen) did not practice on Thursday. He did get "significant work" with a trainer off to the side, according to Pride of Detroit's Jeremy Reisman. We'll see what St. Brown does on Friday and how he's listed on the final injury report for this weekend's game vs. the Panthers.

Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown was listed on Wednesday's injury report as a non-participant with an abdomen issue. The team didn't actually practice, so it's an estimated report. But HC Dan Campbell was non-committal on St. Brown's availability for this weekend's game vs. the Panthers, according to insider Dave Birkett. We'll get another update on St. Brown tomorrow.

The Lions didn't practice Wednesday but listed DB Brian Branch as a non-participant in their estimated injury report. That doesn't bode well for his Week 5 status. It's been nearly a week since Branch left the Thursday night win at Green Bay with an ankle sprain. We'll see about his status heading into the weekend, but plan on starting someone else in that slot of your IDP lineup. S Kerby Joseph (hip) was listed as limited. He's a candidate to return after missing the past two games.

Lions HC Dan Campbell confirmed that WR Jameson Williams will have a limited role in his 2023 debut vs. the Panthers on Sunday. "If he does play, he can’t play 60 plays," Campbell said. "That’s not smart. So we can’t do that to him. So we’ll see where it goes. It’s all about improvement, no different than the rest of the team. Every week we just got to get a little bit better. He just needs to get a little bit better and we’ll take it from there." Williams' big-play ability makes him an exciting stash on fantasy rosters. But he's not a viable Week 5 starter. We'll keep a close eye on how his usage evolves.

The NFL announced new guidelines on gambling rules Friday, and one of those changes will return Lions WR Jameson Williams to the field earlier. The league reduced the suspension to two games for a first-time offender betting on non-NFL events while in the workplace. Williams had been suspended six games for that offense. Instead, he'll now be reinstated after missing four. That will make Williams eligible to play in Week 5. We'll see about his initial role. Williams barely played as a rookie, coming off a January ACL tear. He continued to deal with injury and shaky performance this year in training camp and preseason. But the former first-round pick brings the speed to turn any touch into a big play. Williams is worth stashing in most fantasy formats, and we'll watch for word on Detroit's plan for him.

Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs played well behind RB David Montgomery in Thursday night's win over the Packers. Montgomery, back from his thigh injury, carried a whopping 32 times, including eight times inside Green Bay's 10-yard line. Gibbs totaled just eight carries, with none of those coming inside the 10. The rookie was efficient, totaling 40 yards on 5.0 yards per carry. And he added four catches on five targets for 11 yards. But this was not the usage fantasy owners who spent a third or fourth-round pick on Gibbs were looking for. He's now totaled just 15 carries and seven targets in two full games with Montgomery. Gibbs' role might grow over the course of the season, but the 3-1 Lions have no reason to divert from their current plan right now. Gibbs at least gets a plus Week 5 matchup vs. the Panthers' 29th-ranked RB defense, but it'll be tough to consider him more than a RB3.

RB David Montgomery returned from his one-game absence as Detroit's clear lead back, racking up a whopping 32 carries for 121 yards in Thursday night's win over the Packers. RB Jahmyr Gibbs toted it just eight times. Just as importantly, Montgomery continued to hog work near the goal line. He carried eight times inside Green Bay's 10-yard line and converted three of those into TDs. Montgomery is already up to five rushing TDs on the season, despite missing about five quarters with that thigh injury. He's now tallied 21 and 32 carries in his two full games -- and 16 carries in about three quarter's worth of action in Week 2. Montgomery looks like an easy weekly fantasy starter going forward with this type of volume. He has an excellent Week 5 matchup vs. a Panthers defense currently ranked 29th in adjusted fantasy points allowed to RBs.