Fantasy Football News

Chargers HC Jim Harbaugh said Wednesday that an MRI on QB Justin Herbert's ankle revealed that the injury is "progressing." Herbert is out of his walking boot. It's still unclear whether he'll start this weekend's game against the Chiefs. Two things that might factor into that decision:

1. The Chargers are expected to be without OTs Joe Alt (knee) and Rashawn Slater (pectoral).
2. The team has an upcoming Week 5 bye.

QB Taylor Heinicke would presumably get the start if Herbert misses the Chiefs game. We'll keep you updated on the situation.

Chargers QB Justin Herbert aggravated his ankle injury in the third quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Steelers. He's officially questionable to return, but The Athletic's Daniel Popper tweets that Herbett "has a hat on, limping badly on sideline. Would be shocked if he returns to this game." QB Taylor Heinicke has replaced Herbert.

Falcons QB Taylor Heinicke hurt his left ankle in the Week 17 loss to the Bears and is uncertain for this weekend's game vs. the Saints, HC Arthur Smith said Monday. The team hopes to know whether Heinicke can play by Friday. If not, it'll be back to QB Desmond Ridder. This is not a situation you should be messing with in Week 18 fantasy lioneups.

Falcons HC Arthur Smith said Monday that he'll wait until after the Week 11 bye to name a starting QB going forward. QB Taylor Heinicke struggled in the loss to the Cardinals before exiting early in the fourth quarter with a hamstring injury. QB Desmond Ridder went four of six for 39 yards and scored a nine-yard rushing TD over the final 14 minutes. Smith praised Ridder's play in his Monday press conference, so our guess is that he'll be back under center come Week 12. But we'll let you know what Smith makes an announcement next week.

Falcons QB Taylor Heinicke suffered a hamstring injury in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Cardinals. He's remained on the sidelines but doesn't have his helmet. Heinicke is officially questionable to return but seems unlikely to do so. He's been replaced by QB Desmond Ridder.

Update: Heinicke has been ruled out.

Falcons HC Arthur Smith announced Wednesday that QB Taylor Heinicke will start Sunday against the Vikings. It's not a shocking move after the team pulled QB Desmond Ridder from the Week 8 loss to the Titans. Ridder has largely struggled outside of a 329-yard passing effort in the Week 5 win over Houston. Since that game, he has tossed just 2 TD passes vs. 3 INTs across three contests, while also taking a sack on nearly 10% of dropbacks and losing 4 fumbles. Heinicke went an OK 12-of-21 (57.1%) for 175 yards (8.3 per attempt) after taking over against Tennessee. His 9.7 average target depth in that contest -- according to Pro Football Refernce -- was about 2 yards deeper than Ridder's season rate of 7.8. Pro Football Focus credits Heinicke with a career 8.8-yard average depth of target and 9.2-yard aDOT with the Commanders last season. Heinicke's career 63.7% completion rate comes in short of Ridder's (64.8%), and we've seen enough to know he won't bring consistent efficiency. But a daring downfield thrower could boost the fantasy production of Falcons WR Drake London and TE Kyle Pitts ... if Arthur Smith will allow the offense to exploit those skills. (And assuming London's groin injury doesn't linger, of course.) We're not significantly upgrading our outlooks for any Falcons offensive pieces on this switch. But a move away from Ridder at least allows for some optimism. We'll see whether London's able to play this week -- and then how Heinicke fares in his first Atlanta start. The Minnesota matchup looks fairly neutral for Falcons passing.

Falcons HC Arthur Smith said after Sunday's loss to the Titans that QB Desmond Ridder wasn't removed from the game for "performance issues." It's unclear exactly what that means. Ridder was reportedly evaluated for a concussion but was cleared to return. No other injury was announced. “We've got a lot of confidence in Des," Smith added. We'll keep an eye on the situation this coming week. QB Taylor Heinicke played well in the second half today, completing 12 of 21 passes for 175 yards, one TDs, and 0 INTs.

Commanders QB Taylor Heinicke put forth a gutsy effort, completing 17 of 28 attempts for 249 yards and 1 TD in Sunday's loss to the Giants. Heinicke also added 33 yards on the ground. A few penalties cost Heinicke and the Commanders both real-life and fantasy points, but managers that perhaps streamed the signal-caller in superflex leagues can feel okay about the results. However, Week 16 will not be an ideal time to consider Heinicke as the Commanders are preparing for a showdown against a 49ers defense that ranks as the 3rd-toughest matchup for QBs this season. You'd have to be insanely desperate or manage an injury-riddled roster to go with Heinicke next week.

The Commanders have designated QB Carson Wentz to return to practice. That leaves 3 weeks to decide whether to activate him from IR. Wentz has been out since injuring his throwing hand in the Week 6 win at Chicago. HC Ron Rivera has recently expressed confidence in QB Taylor Heinicke, though, amid a 4-1 stretch with him behind center. Don't bet on Washington going back to Wentz until/unless the team starts losing more (barring injury, of course). Heinicke's arrival has been good for WR Terry McLaurin's target shares, but the team passing numbers are way down from where they were with Wentz: from 248.2 yards per game to 206.2.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that the Commanders will continue starting QB Taylor Heinicke. QB Carson Wentz is reportedly not yet ready to return from his finger injury, but the team plans to stick with Heinicke even after Wentz is ready. It makes sense. The team is 3-1 with Heinicke behind center this season, 2-4 with Wentz. The latter, however, does hold edges in TD rate, INT rate and passer rating. Heinicke leads Wentz in QBR and yards per attempt. He has also been good for WR Terry McLaurin's target counts, whereas Wentz's presence boosted Curtis Samuel.

Washington QB Taylor Heinicke suffered a knee injury in the 4th quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Cowboys and is officially questionable to return. QB Kyle Allen has replaced Heinicke. Stay tuned for an update.

Washington QB Ryan Fitzpatrick is expected to miss 6-8 weeks with his hip injury, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. So Fitzpatrick can be dropped from fantasy rosters, outside of deep 2-QB and Superflex leagues. QB Taylor Heinicke will get the 1st crack at replacing Fitzpatrick after holding his own in last year's playoff loss to the Bucs. QBs Kyle Allen and Kyle Shurmur are also on the roster.

Washington QB Ryan Fitzpatrick is expected to be out at least "several weeks" with his hip subluxation, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Fitzpatrick is getting an MRI on Monday to determine how much damage was done when his hip joint came out of its socket. "This could be an extremely serious injury for the Washington Football Team, where Fitzpatrick does not play at all this season. It could be relatively minor, just based on how much damage was actually caused," Rapoport adds. It sounds like we'll have a better idea of how long Fitzpatrick will be sidelined by the end of today. Stay tuned.

Washington QB Ryan Fitzpatrick left in the 1st half of Sunday’s opener against the Chargers with a hip injury. He walked off the field with trainers and headed to the locker room. We’ll watch for updates. Taylor Heinicke relieved Fitz.

Update: He is questionable to return.

Update: Fitzpatrick has been ruled out.