NFL Player News

The Chargers’ defense got decimated by injury in Sunday’s overtime loss to the Ravens as seven players left early. 2011 second-round pick Jonas Mouton is expected to be active this week and could see the majority of snaps on early downs.

Mason suffered an AC joint sprain in the 49ers’ Week 6 win over Seattle. Luckily for Mason, that game was on Thursday, giving him a few extra days to recover. The fact that Mason didn’t even receive a token questionable tag suggests he is fairly healthy heading into Week 7. Mason will remain in the RB1 ranks for his matchup with Kansas City, though backup Isaac Guerendo is still worth stashing in deeper leagues.

The team is also expected to elevate Anders Carlson from the practice squad. The 49ers’ kicker injury luck has been terrible thus far but hopefully, Carlson can provide some stability.

We will get White’s status for Week 7 when the Bucs release their final injury report on Saturday, but two limited sessions to start the week put him on the right side of questionable heading into the weekend. With both Sean Tucker and Bucky Irving playing well during his Week 6 absence, the outlook for this backfield is a nightmare for fantasy players. Offensive coordinator Liam Coen didn’t make things any better when he said all three backs will get a series early in the game and the Bucs will ride the hot hand from there. The ambiguity will keep White deep in the RB2 ranks if he is cleared for action over the weekend.

The Texans also ruled out Henry To’oTo’o (concussion) and S Jimmie Ward (groin). Expect the Packers to attack the Texans’ centerfield defense as a result. This defense is currently one to target for fantasy purposes.

Mixon practiced in full on Friday and can be safely expected to handle his typical full-time role. The Texans’ game against the Packers profiles as one of Week 7’s most fantasy-friendly contests. Mixon is an RB1.

Sermon popped up on the injury report as a DNP on Wednesday but practiced in full by Friday. He will draw his third start of the year with Jonathan Taylor sidelined once again. Sermon has 34 touches for 92 yards and a touchdown across two starts. He is a volume-based RB3 for his upcoming game against the Dolphins.

Pierce missed Thursday’s practice with the shoulder injury but was listed as a full participant on Friday. The DNP was likely a precaution and he should be able to play through the issue on Sunday. Downs has been surprisingly effective as a big-play threat for both Joe Flacco and Anthony Richardson this year. Predicting the timing of his spike weeks is a fool’s errand, but fantasy managers can do worse than Pierce as a high-ceiling FLEX play.

Alexander’s groin issue continues to trend in the right direction. He will be active for his second consecutive game, taking on the Texans’ potent passing game this week.

Downs missed Wednesday’s practice before logging two limited sessions. He played through the toe issue last week after practicing once, so he should be able to do so again this time around. The second-year wideout has 24 grabs for 217 yards over the past three weeks. Even with Anthony Richardson returning, Downs should see enough targets to stay in the WR3 ranks for Week 7.

The Packers’ training staff often takes the conservative route so Kraft’s limited practice participation makes sense. The playmaker has produced exactly one explosive pass play in 5-of-6 games this season and makes for a wise TE1 in an expectedly high-scoring game against the Texans.