NFL Player News

Hanson (6’4/303) was a four-year starting center at Oregon who earned an All-Pac 12 honorable mention every season. His experience and competitiveness have him on the NFL’s radar, but he’s a well below-average athlete. He ran the 40-yard dash in 5.50 seconds and lacked the strength to be put in one-on-one situations on tape. Hanson will compete for a final roster spot this offseason as a 23-year-old rookie. It’s clear the Packers made offensive line depth a priority over receiver depth in this draft.

That’s an upgrade for Otton after he didn’t practice Wednesday. The 25-year-old tight end wasn’t able to play in Week 17 against the Panthers, but has a chance to return and help Tampa Bay qualify for the playoffs in a Week 18 showdown with the Saints.

Irving has now been limited in consecutive practices. It appears to be more about maintenance at this point, as it’d be an upset if the 22-year-old rookie wasn’t able to go for Sunday’s (essentially) must-win game against the Saints.

Ali gets his chance to operate in the No. 2 role with Justice Hill sidelined (concussion/illness) this week. Ali has delivered mixed results since debuting in Week 15 following a stint on injured reserve, though he has flashed intriguing tackle-breaking traits at times. Ali does not need to be in re-draft lineups but could be considered in single-game DFS tournaments.

Conlin has now missed back-to-back practices with the calf issue. He’s been one of the few Jets who have had any sort of fantasy success the previous few weeks, but it appears that the 29-year-old is in danger of missing the finale against the Dolphins. That’d likely mean more snaps for Jeremy Ruckert.

Waddle has now gotten in back-to-back practices, even if they are with the “LP” designation. That seems to point to the 26-year-old being able to play after the star wideout missed the previous two contests. Fantasy managers obviously will want to wait-and-see and have a backup plan, but it does appear there’s a good shot of Waddle being on the field for Week 18 against the Jets.

Hill was completely unable to practice this week and will unfortunately miss Week 18 as the Ravens attempt to hold the No. 3 playoff seed. Backup rookie RB Rasheen Ali (hip) practiced in full on Thursday and has been cleared for action. He will replace Hill in the lineup.

Tagovailoa has now been listed as a limited participant in back-to-back practices. Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel told reporters Wednesday that he doesn’t expect Tagovailoa to be ready for the Week 18 battle against the Jets, so even with the southpaw able to practice, it’ll still likely be Tyler Huntley under center for that season finale.

Brown wasn’t able to work Wednesday and he missed Sunday’s showdown with the Falcons, but the fact he was able to get even a limited session is a good sign. The 25-year-old will likely be closer to a game-time decision in the season finale against the Cowboys.

McLaurin missed Wednesday’s practice, but it appears to just have been a maintenance day for the 29-year-old. He should be good to go for Week 18 against the Cowboys and in fantasy lineups.

With offseason wrist surgery likely looming and the season already a lost cause at 4-12, the Panthers would be wise to shut Legette down. It remains to be seen whether they will do that though and the rookie receiver will undoubtedly push to play through the two issues.