NFL Player News

McPherson walked off the field but didn’t play afterwards. We wonder if the funny incident hurt McPherson’s chances of making the team.

Addison was also targeted on a failed two-point conversion try which doesn’t show up in his box score. It was a quiet day for the speedy receiver until he came down with a 51-yard heave from Sam Darnold in the fourth quarter. Justin Jefferson predictably dominated the Vikings’ targets with eight and Jalen Nailor popped up with five looks. Nailor has mostly been an afterthought with Addison healthy, so that isn’t a trend we should expect to continue in Week 8. Addison will sit in the WR3 ranks as a high-ceiling, low-floor play versus the Rams on Thursday Night Football.

He earned six total opportunities on the day, which was just three fewer than what Tyrone Tracy saw after Tracy led the backfield in Weeks 5 and 6. Neither back was particularly effective, but Singletary’s fantasy value will take a massive hit if this backfield split in a bottom-five offense continues into Week 8 against the Steelers.

Smith-Njigba had a down day after recording 17 cathces over the past three games. Geno Smith nearly hit Smith-Njigba for a long gain in the first half — a rare deep look for slot guys JSN. Smith-Njigba should continue as a decent WR3 option in a pass-heavy Seattle offense against the Bills in Week 8. His 6.5 yards per target makes JSN something of a PPR scam.

Nailor entered this game with two receptions in three games with Jordan Addison healthy. He was an afterthought when Minnesota was at full strength. That wasn’t the case versus Detroit as he saw one more target than Addison, though the second-year wideout still managed three grabs for 66 yards. Nailor is a good option as an NFL team’s No. 3 receiver, but his splash plays are too infrequent for fantasy managers to count on going forward.

Reed also confirmed Ian Rapoport’s report that starter Aidan O’Connell indeed broke his throwing-hand thumb. The news comes just as Minshew loses a fumble that Rams S Kamren Curl recovers and returns for a 33-yard touchdown. Minshew will barely be QB2-viable moving forward.

Chubb returned to play for the first time in 13 months, when he suffered a severe knee injury where multiple ligaments were impacted. He saw over half the backfield snaps in the first half, getting 10 carries and running 10 routes. This culminated in a touchdown for the Browns’ only score of the day with Chubb punching it in to roaring cheers from the Cleveland crowd. He was limited in the second half and was inefficient, as expected for a back coming back from the injury he suffered. Chubb will continue to ease back in and will be in the high-end RB3 mix Week 8 against the Ravens.

Jones suffered what appeared to be a hip injury in Week 5 before the Vikings’ bye week. The injury was later revised to a hamstring issue. He did not practice on Wednesday coming out of the bye and appeared unlikely to play in Week 7. Jones then turned the corner with two practices and played through a questionable tag on Sunday. He looked as healthy and as explosive as ever, averaging 6.6 yards per attempt while out-carrying Ty Chandler 14-2. Jones found paydirt early with a 34-yard spring to the end zone on Minnesota’s opening drive. Somehow near full strength, Jones will rank as a RB2 in Week 8 against the Rams.

McCloud has an afterthought in the game plan outside of a strange designed play on the first offensive snap of the game for Atlanta. That makes two straight low-yardage games for McCloud, who continues operating in three-wideout sets and can be interesting for fantasy in high-volume outings for Kirk Cousins and the Falcons offense. He’ll be a WR4 option in Week 8 against Tampa.

Per usual, the Lions’ offense ran through their ground game and Amon-Ra St. Brown this week, leaving the rest of the pass-catchers fighting for scraps. Kalif Raymond came out on top with three grabs for 39 yards and a score. Williams looked like a 1B to St. Browns’ 1A early in the year but has since regressed to No. 2 receiver usage. He has seven catches over his past two weeks. He did, however, top 80 yards from scrimmage and score two touchdowns over that stretch. Williams will fall back into the WR3 ranks for his Week 8 game against the Titans.