Fantasy Football News

Steelers TE Jonnu Smith (hip) is questionable for Sunday morning’s game vs. the Vikings in Dublin. He got in limited practices on Thursday and Friday. Smith was a shaky TE1 even before this injury, but his absence would turn TE Pat Freiermuth into a potential low-end spot starter.

Steelers WR George Pickens reportedly has a Grade 2 Hamstring strain and will likely miss next week's game against the Eagles. Pickens missed yesterday's game against the Browns as a game-time decision, but the injury appears to be more severe than describing this week.

Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth (calf) is not listed on the final injury report for this weekend’s game vs. the Raiders. He was added to the injury report on Thursday but put in a full practice on Friday, so the calf shouldn’t be an issue. Freiermuth has finished as a top-15 fantasy TE in all five weeks so far.

Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth was added to Thursday's injury report as limited with a calf. That typically means the player was injured in practice. Freiermuth's availability for this weekend's game vs. the Raiders is now in question. Check back tomorrow for an update on his status.

Steelers QB Russell Wilson (calf) is inactive for today’s opener vs. the Falcons. He was pushing to play, but the team will hold him out after he aggravated his calf injury in practice this week. QB Justin Fields gets the start for Pittsburgh and is a more exciting fantasy option than Wilson. But Fields dings the fantasy value of the Steelers’ skill-position players. See where they all sit in the Week 1 Rankings.

Steelers QB Russell Wilson will start against the Falcons in Week 1, according to Fox Sports' Jay Glazer. Wilson missed a chunk of August with a calf injury, which seemingly cracked the door open for QB Justin Fields to steal the starting job. But Fields underwhelmed in the preseason. So Pittsburgh will go with Wilson at least for the opener.

ESPN's Adam Schefter believes Justin Fields has gained some ground on Russell Wilson in the race for the Steelers' starting QB job. Fields has "gotten better at practice every day," per Schefter, while Wilson missed a few days with his calf injury. "I think Russell Wilson remains in the pole position, but I also think that Justin Fields has opened some eyes, and they see the type of offense they could have," Schefter said.

Steelers QB Kenny Pickett will miss an "extended period" with his ankle injury, according to The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Gerry Dulac. We'll look for a more detailed diagnosis and timetable for Pickett's return, but it sounds like it'll be QB Mitchell Trubisky under center for the Steelers for the foreseeable future. He's completed 63.8% of his passes at 6.7 yards per attempt over the past two seasons in Pittsburgh. Trubisky will be a bottom-barrel QB2 in fantasy football but probably won't be a significant downgrade from Pickett for the offense.

Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth (hamstring) is active for today’s game vs. the Browns. He was a full-go in practice on Thursday and Friday, so Freiermuth should be ready for his usual role. But he’s a shaky Week 11 fantasy play coming off a multi-week hamstring injury and facing the league’s top-ranked TE defense.

Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth (hamstring) is listed as questionable for this weekend’s game vs. the Browns. He was a full-go on Thursday and Friday, so Freiermuth should play. But coming off a multi-week hamstring injury and facing the league’s top-ranked TE defense, Freiermuth is not a recommended season-long start.

Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth (hamstring) graduated to a full practice on Thursday. It's confirmation that he's set to return for this weekend's game vs. the Browns. Coming off a multi-week hamstring injury and in a negative matchup. Freiermuth is not a recommended TE1 this week.

The Steelers have placed TE Pat Freiermuth on IR for the hamstring injury he aggravated in practice this week. That means Freiermuth will miss at least the next four games. Fortunately, though, Pittsburgh has already had its bye. Whether to dump Freiermuth for something else or wait for him to return will depend heavily on your situation. He's worth hanging on to in many cases, given how difficult it has been to land a quality fantasy TE this year. But Freiermuth is also averaging just 2 receptions and 13.3 yards through his four appearances so far, and has yet to exceed 4 targets in a game. So he's far from a must-hold.

Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth is expected to miss 2-3 weeks with his hamstring injury, according to The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Gerry Dulac. The Steelers have a Week 6 bye, so it's possible that Freiermuth ends up missing just one game. He'll be replaced by some combination of rookie TE Darnell Washington and TE Connor Heyward. Neither guy is a recommended fantasy add.

Steelers QB Kenny Pickett "will miss some time" with his knee injury, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. How much time will depend on the results of Monday's MRI. The Steelers don't believe Pickett's ACL is damaged, but there's concern about the MCL and meniscus, Rapoport says. "The belief is that this is not a season-ending situation." We should have a more concrete timeline for Pickett's return by the end of Monday. QB Mitchell Trubisky will step in as Pittsburgh's starter for however long Pickett is out. Trubisky completed 65.0% of his passes at 7.0 yards per attempt across four starts and seven total appearances for the Steelers last year.

Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth has been knocked out of Sunday's game vs. the Texans with a hamstring injury. We'll look for an update on the severity.

The Steelers announced on Monday that WR Diontae Johnson (hamstring) is being placed on IR. The veteran wideout will now miss at least the next 4 games of the season. Johnson sustained this injury during the second half of Week 1 vs. the 49ers and didn't return to the contest. He also hadn't participated in practice at any point this week leading up to the Steelers' Week 2 primetime game vs. the Browns. Without Johnson in tow, the Steelers will look to see increased efforts from WRs Allen Robinson and Calvin Austin. Neither player is worth considering in most 10 or 12-team formats, though they are decent speculative deeper league adds. Expect to see a small bump in responsibility for TE Pat Freiermuth to supplement Johnson's contributions as a lower aDOT player in the Steelers' offense.

Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth (chest) practiced all week and isn't listed on the final injury report for Monday night's game vs. the Browns. He should be leaned on more heavily with WR Diontae Johnson out.

Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth (chest) got in a limited practice on Thursday. He was in and out of last week's game with this chest injury but should be available for Monday night's meeting with the Browns.

Steelers insider Gerry Dulac hears that WR Diontae Johnson is expected to miss four weeks with his hamstring injury. If that's the case, we could see Johnson land on IR on Saturday. He's still worth keeping stashed on fantasy benches. Johnson's absence opens up opportunity for WRs George Pickens, Allen Robinson, and Calvin Austin, plus TE Pat Freiermuth.