Fantasy Football News

Rams RB Sony Michel informed HC Sean McVay that he intends to retire, The Athletic's Jourdan Rodrique reports. Michel turned just 28 in February but has endured a litany of injuries. With Michel out of the picture, the Rams are back to Cam Akers, Kyren Williams, and Zach Evans as their top three RBs.

Multiple reports on Tuesday indicate that free agent RB Sony Michel is signing with the Rams. The terms of the deal are unknown as of this writing. This will be Michel's second stint with the team, as he spent the 2021 season as a member of the Rams team that won Super Bowl LVI. The former first-round pick was a member of the Chargers in 2022, racking up 106 rushing yards on 36 carries in a limited role last year. Michel brings five seasons of NFL experience to a backfield littered with inexperienced players like Zach Evans, the Rams' 2023 sixth-round draft pick, and 2022 rookies Kyren Williams and Ronnie Rivers. While the signing of Michel certainly doesn't reflect super well on these younger backs, though it's too soon to make a big deal about the Rams bringing in a 28-year-old with an extensive injury history. Training camp will help give us an idea as to which of these players will seize the RB2 role behind presumed backfield leader Cam Akers in 2023. Still, we project Akers to have a sizable workload in this backfield this upcoming season. Take a look at where Akers appears in our current RB rankings.

Chargers RB Austin Ekeler was added to the injury report and limited on Thursday with an abdomen issue. He spoke to reporters before the workout and made no mention of an injury, so it looks like this happened during Thursday's practice. We'll see what Ekeler does in Friday's practice and how he's listed on the final injury report. His absence vs. the Falcons this weekend would leave Sony Michel as Los Angeles' likely lead back, with rookie Isaiah Spiller the #2.

Chargers RB Joshua Kelley injured his knee in the 1st half of Monday night's game vs. the Broncos and didn't return. That left Sony Michel as Los Angeles' #2 RB. We'll see about the severity of Kelley's injury. If he's going to miss multiple weeks, Michel will be worth stashing as the Austin Ekeler handcuff.

Dolphins RB Raheem Mostert (knee) "might not be ready for Week 1," according to ESPN's Marcel Louis-Jacques, because he's "still recovering from a late-season knee injury." That's news to us. Mostert had surgery in September to address a knee cartilage issue, but there had been no reports of a "late-season" injury. The 30-year-old has played in just 9 games over the past 2 seasons and is tough to like as more than a late-round flier in fantasy drafts. Dolphins RBs Chase Edmonds and Sony Michel are more attractive picks. We'll keep an eye on Mostert's status leading up to the opener.

The Rams believe RB Darrell Henderson suffered a knee sprain in today's win over the Vikings, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. "The hope is it’s minor, but he’ll have an MRI on Monday that will tell the full story," Rapoport adds. So we should learn more tomorrow. Henderson, though, is off the fantasy radar now that Sony Michel has taken over as the Rams' feature back.

Rams RB Darrell Henderson was knocked out of Sunday's game vs. the Vikings with a knee injury. That happened on his 1st carry of the game in the 4th quarter. We'll look for an update on Henderson's injury, but this is clearly Sony Michel's backfield right now.

Rams RB Darrell Henderson (thigh) remained limited in Friday's practice. We'll see what he does tomorrow and then how he's listed on the final injury report for Monday night's game vs. the Cardinals.

Rams RB Darrell Henderson suffered an ankle injury in the 1st half of Sunday night's game vs. the Titans and is officially questionable to return. We'll update his status when we know more. Sony Michel will step in as Los Angeles' lead back while Henderson is out.

Update: Henderson returned.

Rams RB Darrell Henderson (ribs) is active for today’s game vs. the Cardinals. He practiced all week, including a full workout on Friday. We’ll see if Henderson returns to the feature-back role he was playing before the injury. If he does, he’ll have RB1 upside today. Even if he cedes some work to RB Sony Michel, Henderson should still be a nice fantasy play vs. Arizona’s leaky run defense.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that the Rams expect RB Darrell Henderson to be inactive for today's game against the Buccaneers. He's officially questionable with a rib injury. If Henderson is out, we should see Sony Michel operate as L.A.'s lead back. Tampa Bay presents arguably the league's worst rushing matchup, so don't expect a big fantasy day. But Michel will be in play for lineups in need.

Rams RB Darrell Henderson (ribs) didn’t practice all week but will be a game-time decision for Sunday’s tilt vs. the Bucs. That game doesn’t kick off until 4:25 pm ET, but we’ll look for an update on Henderson on Sunday morning. Between the rib injury and a brutal matchup, he’ll be a shaky fantasy start if he plays. If Henderson is out, Sony Michel should get the majority of the Rams’ RB touches and would be in the RB2 conversation.

Rams RB Darrell Henderson suffered a rib cartilage injury in Sunday's win over the Colts, HC Sean McVay said. McVay didn't rule Henderson out for this weekend's showdown with the Bucs, according to The Athletic's Jordan Rodrigue. These rib injuries tend to be pain management issues, so this might come down to a game-time decision. RB Sony Michel, who received all 10 Rams carries after Henderson exited in Week 2, needs to be owned in just about every fantasy league.

Appearing on SiriusXM radio this morning, ESPN's Adam Schefter said Sony Michel will "probably be the lead back" in Los Angeles. It sounded like much more opinion than report -- but Schefter is obviously 1 of the most plugged-in reporters in the industry. Although he's struggled with injuries through 3 NFL seasons, it's worth remembering that Michel was the 31st overall pick of the 2018 draft. He's still only 26 years old. And he averaged 5.7 yards on 79 carries last year, ranking 26th among 76 qualifying RBs in Pro Football Focus' rushing grades. RB Darrell Henderson, by the way, finished 17th on that list. We'll be keeping a close eye on this backfield over the next couple of weeks. But, for now, both Henderson and Michel look like risk/reward RB3 targets in fantasy drafts.

Patriots HC Bill Belichick said last week that he’s been “impressed by the commitment” shown by RB Damien Harris. Belichick also said that Harris has “embraced” the competition for a “lead spot” in the backfield. Harris should be safely ahead of Sony Michel and rookie Rhamondre Stevenson, who recently came off the non-football injury list. An RB2 finish for the 24-year-old Harris is certainly within his range of outcomes.

Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson has been placed on the non-football injury list. We don't have any other details, but ESPN's Mike Reiss notes that the rookie dealt with "a couple nagging things" this spring. We'll see when Stevenson is able to get back on the field. He figures to be battling RB Sony Michel for the backup job behind RB Damien Harris.