The Ravens are acquiring LB Roquan Smith from the Bears for 2nd- and 5th-round NFL Draft picks. Smith is in the final year of his rookie contract, so we'd bet on an extension with Baltimore following. His arrival likely means the end of full playing time for Ravens LB Patrick Queen. They'll likely start together, but the move for Smith signals dissatisfaction with the middle of the defense. Queen has become a full-timer this season after seeing 80% and then 76% the previous 2 seasons. Smith's departure from Chicago leaves tackle upside for LB Nicholas Morrow, who was already playing full-time snaps. Joe Thomas stands 3rd among Bears LBs in playing time currently and might be the top candidate to absorb vacated snaps.

Update: The Ravens are also sending LB A.J. Klein to the Bears, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. He'll likely get at least a shot at stepping into Smith's vacated role.

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The Cowboys have activated LB Leighton Vander Esch from IR. That falls in line with last week's word from HC Mike McCarthy that Vander Esch was trending toward facing the Cardinals tonight. We'll confirm LVE's active status closer to game time. It's tough to know whether he'll jump back to full playing time right away. But Vander Esch's activation puts him ahead of Joe Thomas as an IDP option for Week 6.

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Cowboys LB Leighton Vander Esch has returned to the practice field this week. CBS Sports reports that he's on track to play Monday night against the Cardinals. Dallas, however, has yet to list him on this week's injury report, which means the team has yet to activate him from IR. Vander Esch suffered a collarbone fracture in Week 1, so playing in Week 6 would mark a surprisingly quick return. Players typically take half a season to return from that surgery. We'll see about Vander Esch's status for Monday night as we move into the weekend. He's at least worth picking up now where available, though, assuming that he'll be ready to play Washington in Week 7. His return will push Joe Thomas back out of the starting lineup.

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Cowboys LB Leighton Vander Esch will have surgery on his fractured collarbone and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks, according to ESPN's Todd Archer. Joe Thomas played full-time snaps filling in for Vander Esch on Sunday night and is an option for deep IDP leagues. LB Jaylon Smith and SS Darian Thompson also gain tackle upside with LVE out.

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