Those aren’t words that are typically just said without a quarterback change — most of the quarterback switches we’ve seen this year have been handled a little bit more delicately, with the idea that they’re evaluating a change. This is a head coach outright saying his starting quarterback isn’t playing well enough. Welp! Zach Wilson and Quinn Ewers have batted the No. 2 role back and forth this year, so we can’t even say for sure who would take over. McDaniel said he would elaborate more tomorrow. Superflex managers should consider pre-emptive pickups of Wilson and Ewers.

Schefter cites the speed with which Mahomes got his torn ACL and LCL repaired — Monday, the day after it happened — as a major reason behind this. He also notes the timeline of nine months would put Mahomes in line to play in Week 2. “You know he’s going to have the absolute finest resources, care, attention, to bring him along,” Schefter continues. “He’s already set in to motion the chain of events that will bring him back sooner.” We wouldn’t be surprised if Mahomes is playing that early — see how quickly Joe Burrow came back this year from his turf toe against the initial diagnosis — but we also wouldn’t be surprised if Mahomes wasn’t quite the same player from the jump, especially as a scrambler, while he re-acclimates to what he can trust with his surgically-repaired knee.

McVay on Tuesday refused to rule out Adams following his apparently serious hamstring injury in Week 15’s win over the Lions. McVay acknowledged on Sunday night that Adams’ was in doubt for the Thursday night game, however. With almost no shot to suit up against Seattle, fantasy managers should make other plans at wideout for Week 16. The Rams are likely to be more run heavy with Adams sidelined, creating more touch-based upside for both Kyren Williams and Blake Corum.

The Athletic’s Nate Atkins said Higbee is unlikely to be active for Thursday night’s game against the Seahawks, however. Higbee has bee on IR since mid-November following a serious ankle injury against Seattle. His absence has opened up routes and targets for Colby Parkinson, who should be treated as a legit streaming option in Week 16. Parkinson and TE Terrance Ferguson led the Rams in pass routes last week against the Lions in an LA offense that uses two and three tight end sets at the NFL’s highest rate.

Jackson has appeared more like his normal, electric self over the past two weeks. In Week 15 against the Bengals Jackson threw for 150 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 26 yards. He appeared far more mobile and elusive than he did in the Ravens’ Thanksgiving night loss to the Bengals. “I believe I told you guys early on in the week that I was feeling better, like Thursday,” Jackson told reporters after Baltimore’s Week 15 win. “I guess you guys had to see it to believe it.” Apparently recovered from ankle and hamstring injuries he suffered this season, Jackson should be an excellent fantasy option in Week 16 against the Patriots in what could be a high-scoring affair.

Multiple records and milestones were reached in this one. First off, offensive coordinator Arthur Smith was full-on Arthur Smith-ing as the Steelers became the first team in NFL history with rushing scores by two different tight ends in the same game, the first scored by Connor Heyward on Pittsburgh’s version of the tush push from one yard out and the second a rushing score by former Dolphins tight end Jonnu Smith for the revenge narrative. Second, the Steelers scored on four consecutive possessions for the first time since 2018 to break the game open in the third quarter. Third, their defense held the Dolphins to -20 total yards in the third quarter, the fewest for any team in a quarter since at least 2019. And finally, Rodgers moved into third in career games with two or more touchdown passes after connecting with Marquez Valdes-Scantling and DK Metcalf in the third quarter. Rodgers was not tasked with much while attempting only 27 passes due to the defensive battle and remains an uneasy start in fantasy circles in 2025.

Achane did effectively everything for the Dolphins except find the end zone, responsible for 18 touches on a night the team ran only 48 offensive plays, four of which went down as sacks. That meant Achane accounted for 41% of the team’s available opportunities, a completely asinine workload in today’s NFL. The final box score also fails to tell the full story behind Miami’s struggles as they managed just three points through the first three quarters and somehow lost 20 yards on two possessions in the third quarter. The loss eliminates the Dolphins form postseason contention while the recent surge in workload should keep Achane firmly entrenched as a surefire first-round pick in 2026 fantasy drafts.

Reports surfaced earlier Monday that Mahomes was seeking a second opinion before the surgery was performed. That was evidently accomplished in short order considering the team announced Monday evening that the franchise quarterback underwent successful surgery on the torn ACL Monday evening. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports Mahomes also tore his LCL, although that does not necessarily influence the expected recovery timeline. Preseason and camp are almost entirely out of the question for the star quarterback, although he appears likely to push to avoid the Physically Unable to Perform list to start the 2026 regular season.

Warren was a surprise addition to the team’s injury report earlier Monday but avoided inactivity after going through pre-game workouts. It remains to be seen if he will assume a normal workload, although fantasy managers are likely forced to start Warren with this the final game of Week 15. Inactive for the Steelers are WR Roman Wilson, QB Will Howard, OL Andrus Peat, DT Brodric Martin-Rhodes, OLB T.J. Watt, and DT Derrick Harmon.

The full quote from Johnson was: “There may be a case that we need to protect him from himself a little bit so he can help us down the road.” It doesn’t sound like he’s especially likely to be ready to go against the Packers in Week 16. And the idea of a shut down possibly being in play should have Odunze-reliant managers (assuming they survived last week’s bagel) making other plans for the remainder of the fantasy playoffs.