NFL Player News

Craig Steltz will get the start against Denver and will probably spend the entire day in the box, making him an intriguing one-game IDP sleeper. Chris Conte has been the Bears’ starting free safety. Brandon Meriweather is No. 3.

Schultz finishes the regular season never having more than five catches or 66 yards in a game. Given how banged up the Texans receiving corps has been, it’s kind of an indictment of either Schultz, Bobby Slowik, or both of them that he wasn’t more involved down the stretch. Schultz will remain touchdown-or-bust in Wild Card Round DFS and playoff best ball leagues.

Hollins was one of three active wide receivers for the Bills who didn’t play Khalil Shakir for any snaps on Sunday. Hollins was used early in the game but was on the bench for most of the second half. The veteran has been an important part of the receiving corps in Buffalo this season, operating as the team’s best blocking receiver and the ultimate “locker room guy.” He figures to play a decent amount of snaps in the playoffs given his intangibles and blocking prowess.

He fumbled one of them away. The Texans weren’t exactly throwing the ball downfield after being stacked to a 13-0 lead early in this one, but Woods is probably more of an “extension of the run game” player for this offense at this point. That he ends with that line despite 32 snaps speaks loudly about his fantasy value being low going forward.

This makes back-to-back disappointing seasons for Hyatt, who was drafted by the Giants in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. The speedy receiver has caught just 31 passes for 435 scoreless yards in his first two years as a pro, struggling to find his footing in a Giants offense that is short on receiver talent outside of Malik Nabers. With Darius Slayton likely to depart in the offseason, a role could open up for Hyatt in 2025, but we wouldn’t hold our collective breaths. Both Nabers and Wan’Dale Robinson should have solidified roles for next season, leaving Hyatt to compete with whoever else is brought in during the offseason.

Love left the game after taking a hit to the funny bone in the second quarter. The Packers, who were only playing for seeding, opted to have Love miss most of the rest of the game after getting stretched out on the sideline. We wouldn’t be stunned if Love wound up on the injury report this week, but it looks like the Packers have dodged a serious injury.

The Bills wanted to keep their rookie on the field in Week 18 since he missed five weeks due to injury just a short time ago. Coleman was targeted aggressively down the field by both Mitchell Trubisky and Mike White, but he was unable to win any of his jump balls. Some of that can be attributed to the inaccurate passes he was seeing from two backup quarterbacks, but Coleman was also going up against reserve cornerbacks and wasn’t able to win his contested catches. With a fully healthy receiving corps, Coleman should be operating behind Khalil Shakir, Amari Cooper, and Dalton Kincaid in the postseason, but the Bills will hope he can come down with some of those tough catches in the playoffs.

Watson suffered a non-contact injury to his right knee that sent him tumbling to the ground. He was eventually carted off the field and appeared to be in tears, leaving many to speculate the worst ahead of the Packers’ NFC Wild Card round. LaFleur clearly isn’t rushing to reveal the nature of Watson’s injury, but it wouldn’t be surprising if the worst was confirmed in the coming days. If Watson can’t go, Dontavyion Wicks would stand to see more work come playoff time.

Johnson saw some work as a passing-downs specialist, but his role waned in the back half of the season. He was even a healthy scratch for a few weeks before returning to the lineup in December. He finished the year with 239 yards on 44 touches. Johnson is a depth option on offense but also brings special teams expertise to the table. That should be enough to get him another one-year deal in free agency this spring.

Despite this game not being meaningful for Buffalo from a standing’s perspective, they were intent on getting Samuel involved after the veteran missed plenty of time this year due to injury. Most of Samuel’s catches were screens or short routes where they hoped he could make defenders miss in space. The overall numbers aren’t impressive, and the workload isn’t indicative of what we should expect in the postseason, but it’s important for Buffalo that Samuel appears healthy enough to be a contributor for them in the playoffs.

Davis was the primary ball carrier for the Bills in a game where most of their starters were firmly planted on the sideline. The rookie’s statline isn’t eye-popping, but he ran well behind a backup offensive line and hauled in a two-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter on a fourth down conversion. The fourth-round pick has been a hit for Buffalo this season and remains a solid part of their running back rotation for the playoffs.