Los Angeles Chargers Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Ravens RB J.K. Dobbins will not play against the Bengals today "and instead will begin focusing on next weekend’s wild-card game." Dobbins was not listed on this week's injury report but had the August 2021 ACL tear and surgery on that same knee this October. Assuming he didn't suffer a setback over the past couple of days, Dobbins should be busy in next weekend's Wild Card game. His absence today figures to leave Gus Edwards as Baltimore's lead ball carrier, with Justice Hill and Kenyan Drake behind him.

Chargers QB Justin Herbert (left shoulder) practiced fully again on Thursday. This injury to Herbert's non-throwing shoulder seems unlikely to prevent him from playing in Week 18 vs. the Broncos. We'll check in on Herbert again tomorrow just in case.

Chargers QB Justin Herbert (left shoulder) practiced fully on Wednesday. It seems the third-year signal-caller isn't at any risk of sitting out Week 18 vs. the Broncos. We'll be sure to track this on the off chance something changes.

If the Bengals beat the Ravens -- and they're currently 7-point favorites -- in the early slate of games on Sunday, the Chargers will clinch the AFC's #5 seed and have nothing to play for vs. the Broncos in the late slate. And it sure sounds like there's a chance that HC Brandon Staley will rest starters in that case. "Once we find out about that game, then we'll make the appropriate decisions moving forward," Staley said Wednesday. The Chargers are notably 2.5-point underdogs right now, suggesting the oddsmakers are at least baking in some chance of starters not playing. We'll continue to keep an eye on the situation, but guys like QB Justin Herbert, RB Austin Ekeler and WRs Keenan Allen and Mike Williams carry elevated risk in Week 18 fantasy lineups.

Chargers HC Brandon Staley plans to play starters in Sunday's game vs. the Broncos. A win would lock up the AFC's #5 seed for the Chargers, meaning a Round 1 game vs. the Jaguars or Titans. A loss would open the door for the Ravens to take the #5 seed with a win over the Bengals. That'd push the Chargers down to #6 and mean a Round 1 game vs. Cincinnati. “Our approach is definitely going to get shot to win this ballgame and play as well as we can play heading into the playoffs,” Staley said. “I think that there’s certainly an advantage to be in the No. 5-seed, from where I stand, so we’re going to try and get there.” Staley did add that he'd consider sitting banged-up players. But, as of now, we're projecting full playing time for QB Justin Herbert, RB Austin Ekeler and WRs Keenan Allen and Mike Williams.

Responding to a question about RB Gus Edwards playing 9 snaps on Sunday night, Ravens HC John Harbaugh expressed regret. “I wasn't happy about that, Harbaugh said. “Gus should have played more.” J.K. Dobbins out-carried Edwards 17-3, a week after Dobbins held a narrow edge (12-11). Edwards won’t be a recommended Week 18 fantasy play against Cincinnati.

Ravens RB J.K. Dobbins tallied 93 yards on 17 carries in Sunday night's loss vs. the Steelers. This season has been one of ups and downs for the 3rd-year back recovering from an ACL tear in 2021. After a slow start to the year and some missed time, Dobbins has rushed for 90+ yards in 3 of 4 games since returning in Week 14 vs. the Steelers in their 1st matchup. It's safe to say Dobbins is slowly regaining his pre-ACL form. He'll certainly be a name to watch in 2023 as he becomes even further removed from injury.

Chargers QB Justin Herbert threw for just 212 yards in Sunday's win over the Rams. It was a fairly efficient outing, though, with lower passing volume than usual. Herbert threw just 28 times, his fewest of the season and 14.3 fewer than his per-game average entering the week. Herbert completed 21 (75%) and averaged 7.5 yards per attempt. The 2 TDs marked a big improvement over the previous 4 games, though, doubling his TD total for that span. It was just Herbert's 7th multi-TD game of the year. He'll close out the regular season against a Denver defense that's been toughest in the league on QB scoring.

Bengals TE Hayden Hurst (calf) put in a full week of practice and isn't listed on the final injury report for Monday night's game vs. the Bills. He'll play in that one after missing the past 3 games. Hurst has averaged 5.5 targets, 4.2 catches and 35 yards over 11 healthy games this season, ranking 8th among TEs in PPR points over that span. But the matchup against Buffalo's 2nd-ranked TE defense leaves Hurst outside our top-12 TEs for the week.

Bengals TE Hayden Hurst (calf) Hurst was a full-go in Thursday's practice. This news puts him on track to return from his calf injury for Monday night's game vs. the Bills. While the game figures to be a high-scoring affair, Hurst's individual matchup is tough against the 2nd-ranked TE defense.

The Chargers plan to activate EDGE Joey Bosa (groin) from IR ahead of Sunday's game against the Rams, HC Brandon Staley told reporters Friday, according to NFL Network's Bridget Condon. Getting Bosa back can certainly only help the defense, but he hasn't played since Week 3. So it'll be tough to trust Bosa in IDP lineups right away. We won't be adding him to the Week 17 IDP rankings.

Bengals TE Hayden Hurst (calf) fully participated in practice on Thursday. We'll keep tabs on his status ahead of Week 17's game vs. the Bengals on Monday night. Check back tomorrow for an update.

The Seahawks placed TE Will Dissly on IR with a knee injury, ending his regular season. Dissly has averaged 2.5 targets per game this season, so his absence is just a slight boost to TE Noah Fant's fantasy value.

As expected, Chargers S Derwin James won't be suspended for the hit that got him ejected from Monday night's win over the Colts. The play did put him -- as well as WR Ashton Dulin -- into the concussion protocol, though. So James will have to pass through that before getting back onto the field. We'll see whether he can do so ahead of Sunday's game against the Rams.

Chargers QB Justin Herbert threw for just 235 yards on 24-of-31 passing in Monday night's win at Indianapolis. It was his lowest yardage total since Week 10 (at San Francisco) and his 2nd-fewest attempts of the season. L.A. leaned run over a 2nd half it controlled. Herbert dropped back 22 times vs. 12 designed runs in the 1st half. For the game, he logged just 5 more dropbacks (36) than team run plays (31). We'd bet on a Week 17 rebound in passing volume against a Rams defense that sits 7th in Football Outsiders' run-defense DVOA and 21st against the pass.

Chargers S Derwin James was ejected from Monday night's game against the Colts for a hit in the 2nd quarter. He lowered his helmet and drove head-first into Colts WR Ashton Dulin, who left the field immediately after for a concussion check. We wouldn't bet on the league adding a suspension, so expect to have James back for Week 17.

Ravens RBs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards split the rushing work evenly in Sunday's win over the Falcons. Dobbins edged his teammate by 1 carry (12-11), but Edwards led the way in yardage this time. He racked up 99, averaging 9.0 per rush with a long run of 37. Dobbins tallied 59 yards (4.9 per carry). Baltimore gets a tougher rushing draw against the Steelers in Week 17, which will make it tough to love either member of this split situation.

Chargers S Derwin James (quad) got back to full practice participation Friday for the 1st time since Week 13. That should put him in line to start Monday night against the Colts. We probably won't get the game-status report for that one before the 1 p.m. ET kickoffs on Saturday, but we'd recommend trying to wait on James instead of playing a lesser guy in 1 of those games.

Bengals TE Hayden Hurst (calf) is out for Saturday's game vs. the Patriots. He was limited in practice all week and originally listed as questionable. So, unless he suffered a setback, Hurst seemingly has a good chance to return for Week 17. Mitchell Wilcox gets another game as Cincinnati's lead TE but would be a desperation fantasy play.

Bengals TE Hayden Hurst (calf) practiced in a limited fashion all week and is listed as questionable for Saturday's showdown vs. the Patriots. Should the TE receive the green light to play in Week 16, he is best viewed as a mid-TE2 option. There are likely better options available for fantasy managers looking to advance in the playoffs though.