NFL Player News

Brandon Jacobs participated and may not be listed on the injury report at all. Rookie Michael Johnson appears likely to start at strong safety against Miami. Burress was expected to miss practice, and still should start Sunday.

Bateman tweaked his knee in Week 13 but got the bye to recover before returning to action. He practiced in full this week and is good to go for Sunday’s destruction of the Giants. Bateman is a boom/bust WR5 for Week 15.

Okereke ranks second on the team in both run-defense tackles (36) and tackles for loss or no gain (nine). His absence is significant for a matchup against the Ravens’ elite rushing attack. The Giants also ruled out G Jon Runyan (ankle) and DT Rakeem Nunez-Roches (neck/shoulder). Per beat reporter Pat Leonard, “QB Drew Lock (heel/left elbow) is out of the boot and has a chance to be the emergency 3rd.”

McVay noted that Higbee still needs to make it through next week’s practices without any setbacks and nothing is finalized ye. Still, all signs point to the veteran tight end making his debut in Week 16. Higbee has been practicing in full for multiple weeks as part of his return from the torn ACL he suffered in the playoffs last season. With Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua dominating the looks for LA, Higbee is not on the fantasy radar for his 2024 debut.

It’s been a bittersweet season for Nwangwu, who was only activated from the practice squad in Week 13. He promptly earned AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 13, returning three kickoffs for 157 yards and one touchdown. The touchdown came via a 99-yard return and he finished with four total missed tackles forced on the day. The 26-year-old is scheduled to hit free agency at the end of the season.

Bitonio returned to practice on Friday after missing the first two practices of the week with the back issue. He should be able to suit up on Sunday. If he can’t, rookie guard Zak Zinter could take his place in the lineup.

Tillman returned to practice this week but was unable to clear the league’s concussion protocol in time for Sunday’s game. With David Njoku also expected to miss Week 15, the Browns will funnel the bulk of their targets to Jerry Jeudy and Elijah Moore. Jeudy is pushing for a WR1 ranking this week while Moore is in the WR2 mix.

Njoku was not spotted at Friday’s practice, marking his third DNPs this week. The Browns left the light on him with the questionable tag, but all signs point to him sitting out Sunday’s game versus the Chiefs. Jordan Akins would draw the start if Njoku is out, putting him in the low-end TE2 mix for Week 15.

This marks O’Connell’s second Week 15 DNP. He still has a chance to suit up for Monday Night Football if he can at least participate in a limited capacity on Saturday but the only positive thus far is his Wednesday walkthrough participation. Fantasy managers should plan to be without the QB2/3 for now.

It’s not exactly the most exciting revenge game narrative, but Boyd will be active to face the Bengals, with whom he spent the first eight years of his career. The long-time slot receiver was a DNP with a foot injury earlier this week, but the Titans have not ruled out any players ahead of Sunday’s game. Boyd might luck into a touchdown against his former team if the Titans prioritize getting him the ball in certain areas of the field, but there’s no fantasy upside to be had here.

This is quite the turn of events for Hall, who did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday and was reportedly “struggling a bit” with his injury as recently as Wednesday. The Jets’ RB1 will be listed as questionable heading into the weekend, but Ulbrich appears optimistic about Hall’s chances to suit up on Sunday. We’ll believe it when we see it, but for now, fantasy managers who were planning to stream Braelon Allen or Isaiah Davis will want to have backup plans in place in the event Hall is able to go.