NFL Player News

Alabama was thought to be a potential front-runner for Stephens’ services before he committed to Stanford in the fall, so we’ll see if the 6-foot, 200-pound recruit--No. 20 RB in the country by 247Sports’ composite rankings--opts for the Crimson Tide. He’s also been chased by Big-12 rivals Texas and Oklahoma. As a senior at Plano High in Texas, Stephens rushed for 1,389 yards (6.3 YPC) and 15 touchdowns.

They are Fant’s first practice reps of the month of November after he got hurt in Week 8. Encouraging, though a “limited” tag after that lengthy layoff — including a Wednesday DNP — hardly guarantees the seam stretcher will be back against the 49ers. We would probably consider Week 13 more likely. Even if Fant does suit up, he is no longer in the top 20 mix at tight end.

“He was still limited today, he didn’t do as much yesterday but did a little bit more today,” Shanny claimed. “He went out there and did a little bit then went back in about halfway through and rested up. Hopefully it will be feeling great on Sunday.” Although it’s clear the 49ers will do whatever it takes to get Purdy in game shape for Sunday’s Seahawks showdown, it’s also clear they might be waging a losing battle against time. At this point, we don’t seem terribly likely to gain Friday clarity. Purdy’s status could come down to the weekend wire.

Highsmith’s absence was already known. Aside from the linebacker, this is about as quiet as a mid-season inactives list is going to get. Highsmith is week to week with what seems to be a high-ankle sprain.

All signs continue to point toward both White and Alexander Mattison (ankle) showing up on the Week 12 inactives list vs. the Broncos. On the one hand, it’s a nightmare for the Raiders against a strong pass defense. On the other, maybe Ameer Abdullah and Dylan Laube can’t actually be worse. It doesn’t matter either way for fantasy managers, who need to steer clear of this backfield even with six teams on bye.

As did Zamir White (quad). It’s making for a doomsday scenario for the Raiders against the Broncos’ excellent pass defense, not that Mattison and White are threatening anyone on the ground. Their likely absences still mean also-rans Ameer Abdullah and Dylan Laube will now be forced into legitimate workloads. It’s not a good situation for an already struggling offense.

Even with snowy, swirling conditions descending on Cleveland for Thursday Night Football, the Browns decided they didn’t need Foreman active as an extra pair of legs out of the backfield. The 28-year-old is going to have a frosty free agent market next March.

Kittle still appears on pace to return after missing only one game. The bigger question is becoming the health of his quarterback after Brock Purdy remained highly limited with a shoulder issue on Thursday. Kittle would fall to more of the TE7-8 range were Purdy to be sidelined against the Seahawks.

The Athletic’s Matt Barrows has more context on what that means. “No 49ers quarterback will speak today, which is when the starter usually speaks,” Barrows reported. “That suggests the team does t know who’s starting in Green Bay. The quarterback — whoever he is — will talk to reporters tomorrow.” This is obviously just one man’s opinion. For all we know, Purdy skipped the media availability to get extra work done on his shoulder. But it’s definitely something to keep monitoring after he was highly limited in Wednesday and Thursday’s sessions. Purdy could be trending toward something like a game-time decision. We’ll get more updates over the next 24 hours.

Hill was upgraded to full after being limited on Wednesday. The star receiver has been playing through the same injury for most of this season and should be good to go for Week 12’s game against the Patriots, barring any setbacks. Hill has had a disappointing fantasy season thus far, finishing as a WR3 or worse in PPR leagues in eight of his 10 games played. He’s best thought of as a solid WR2 until further notice.

With the Ravens not playing until Monday night, Hill has some extra time to make it through concussion protocol to be active for Week 12. Even if active, Hill’s fantasy value is too spotty to rely on. The veteran running back has just two top-24 fantasy finishes in PPR leagues this season and is averaging 7.8 fantasy points per game. He’s a full fade regardless of availability.