Rams WR Van Jefferson (knee) is out for Thursday night's opener vs. the Bills. He didn't practice all week, so a Week 2 return doesn't look particularly likely. Jefferson's snaps are expected to be picked up by a committee of WRs Tutu Atwell, Ben Skowronek and Brandon Powell. None is a viable fantasy play outside of DFS showdown contests. WR Cooper Kupp, WR Allen Robinson and TE Tyler Higbee should be the clear focal points of the Rams' passing game against Buffalo.

Pro Football Network's Aaron Wilson confirms that Rams WR Van Jefferson (knee) won't play in Thursday night's opener vs. the Bills. But Wilson hears that Jefferson is expected back "within the first few games" of the season. We'll see if he's able to get on the practice field next week.

Rams WR Van Jefferson (knee) did not practice on Monday. He's looking like a long shot for Thursday night's opener vs. the Bills after undergoing knee surgery at the beginning of August. Jefferson's absence will leave Tutu Atwell and Ben Skowronek at the Rams' #3 and #4 WRs -- and leave extra targets for WR Cooper Kupp, WR Allen Robinson and TE Tyler Higbee.

Asked about the health of his elbow, Rams QB Matthew Stafford said Sunday, "I feel good, no limitations ... I feel great," according to NFL Network's Omar Ruiz. Stafford added, though, that he'll go week to week in determining what he'll need to do for it. HC Sean McVay reportedly added that he would have "no hesitation" with having Stafford throw 50-55 passes in a game, if needed. It's clear that Stafford's elbow isn't all the way back to 100%. But it also seems like he's good enough at least for early-season fantasy football purposes.

Rams RBs Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson are "good to go," HC Sean McVay said Friday. Both backs missed time in August with soft-tissue injuries but got back on the practice field earlier this week. They're both on track to play in Thursday night's season opener vs. the Bills. Then we'll start to get an idea of what the backfield split will look like.

Rams HC Sean McVay labeled RBs Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson "full participants" in Monday's practice. “They look good," McVay added. Akers and Henderson had been sidelined since mid-August with "soft-tissue" injuries but now appear on track to be ready for the season opener vs. the Bills.

Rams RB Cam Akers was in pads for the start of Monday's practice, according to The Athletic's Jourdan Rodrigue. The media was only allowed to watch the first 20 minutes of practice, so we don't know exactly how much Akers did. But he's clearly trending in the right direction with Los Angeles' opener 10 days away. We'll continue to keep an eye on him.

Rams RB Kyren Williams (foot) was cleared to play in Saturday's preseason finale, but HC Sean McVay opted to hold him out. Asked about that decision afterward, McVay said it's because Williams is an "integral part of the plan this season," according to The Los Angeles Times' Gary Klein. The 5th-round rookie's most likely contributions figure to come in the passing game. He'd still likely need Cam Akers or Darrell Henderson to miss time to be a fantasy factor -- but both of those guys have had trouble staying healthy and are currently sidelined with injuries. Williams is only worth considering in deep fantasy drafts, but keep him on your waiver-wire watchlist.

Rams-Bengals joint practice Thursday ended early because of an embarrassing brawl. That included Rams DT Aaron Donald swinging a helmet, an action that now has many calling for the vet to be suspended. One issue getting in the way of swift movement on this front is that the NFL reportedly isn't in charge of player behavior at practices. That responsibility falls to the teams. So the Rams would need to take action against Donald. We'll see whether their hand is forced -- or if nothing happens to Donald. We obviously can't adjust our fantasy outlook for him until something happens. It's at least a situation to be aware of in the thick of fantasy football draft season, though.

Update: The Rams tell ESPN's Sarah Barshop that "the incident will be addressed internally, and any discipline will remain in house." Doesn't sound like they'll be doing much.

Rams DL Aaron Donald told NBC's Peter King that he's committed to the Rams at least through 2023. His latest contract extension runs through 2024 but includes no penalty for leaving after 2023. Donald turned 31 in May, and there was some rumor this offseason of him contemplating retirement.

After attending Rams practice on Wednesday, insider Peter King said QB Matt Stafford's arm "has not fallen off." Added King, "He really threw the ball well. ... The zip on the ball was very good. I think the reports of the death of his arm have been greatly exaggerated." It's certainly sounding like Stafford's right elbow issue is more of a pain-management thing, and not something that'll impact his play this season.

Rams QB Matt Stafford said Wednesday that his right elbow "feels good" and is "right on track." He admitted that he's not sure when the soreness in that elbow will go away, but he doesn't think it'll impact his performance. "I'm just going out there, doing my work [and] trusting the process that we have," Stafford said. "I know that I'm able to go out there and function at a high level right now. So whatever it feels like, hopefully, continues to keep getting better as it has. But I know that functionally, I feel like I can do everything I need to do. So just trying to continue on that road."

Rams RB Cam Akers' soft-tissue injury is not considered serious, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. "Rams taking preventative measures by holding him out of preseason practices but that’s the extent of it," Fowler adds. He makes no mention of the severity of RB Darrell Henderson's injury. We'll see when the Rams backs are able to return to practice.

Rams QB Matt Stafford (elbow) was a full participant in Tuesday's scrimmage. He had “great energy, great command… threw the ball incredibly accurately… Really activated all parts of our pass game," HC Sean McVay said afterward. Reports on Stafford's right elbow have trended up over the last week. We'll continue to keep a close eye on him leading up to Week 1.

Rams HC Sean McVay told reporters after Monday’s practice that QB Matthew Stafford had been a full participant. That came in a shorter-than-usual session. But ProFootballTalk reports that McVay said the plan will be the same for Tuesday’s longer workout. It’s obviously good news for Stafford, who has seen managed workloads while he deals with right-elbow trouble

Rams RBs Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson are dealing with “soft tissue” injuries, per HC Sean McVay. Neither guy will practice until they can be “full speed” in team drills, per reporter Sarah Barshop. No timeline was given by McVay. We’ll track this situation, but it’s at least a bit worrisome considering the injury histories on both guys. We’ll let you know when they’re back in action.

The Saints have cut veteran RB Malcolm Brown. He last only a couple of weeks on the roster. For now, New Orleans will roll with Mark Ingram, Tony Jones, Abram Smith, Dwayne Washington, and Devine Ozigbo behind Alvin Kamara.

Rams QB Matt Stafford (elbow) threw in full-team, 11-on-11 work in Tuesday's practice for the 1st time in training camp, ESPN's Sarah Barshop reports. The Rams have Stafford on a pitch count as he deals with a right elbow issue that we still don't know much about. But if the team was truly concerned, they wouldn't have him throwing at all in early August. We'll continue to keep an eye on this situation, but it hasn't impacted our Rams projections yet.

Rams WR Van Jefferson has started the rehab process after undergoing knee surgery and "has a chance" to play Week 1, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. That jibes with a previous report from The Athletic's Jourdan Rodrigue. We'll continue to monitor Jefferson's progress leading up to the Thursday night opener vs. the Bills.

Rams HC Sean McVay spoke about QB Matthew Stafford's right elbow issue on Thursday. McVay called it "a tricky deal," "abnormal for a QB” and "things that MLB pitchers deal with," per The Athletic's Jourdan Rodrigue. McVay added that the team explored different treatment options to alleviate the pain this offseason and that the team wasn't caught off guard by the situation when camp opened. “Could he (push through)? Yes. Is that the best thing? We didn’t think so," McVay said. Here's Rodrigue's take after listening to McVay: "While arm pain is never NOT a concern my sense is after some treatment early spring they decided to go with this onload/deload plan which has been on schedule per McVay." Until we hear that the pain in Stafford's elbow is gone -- or at least know exactly what he's dealing with -- he'll carry some elevated risk in fantasy drafts. His situation, of course, also impacts Cooper Kupp, Allen Robinson and the rest of the Rams' skill-position guys.