NFL Player News

As the Pac-12 returns, so are a number of players who had previously opted out. Bynum, one of the best DBs in the country and certainly among the Pac-12’s elite, has decided to come back to play this season instead of prepare for the draft. Considering Bynum (6'0/200) is already expected by many to be a Day 2 pick, coming back to play this season means he gets his chance to fight for a first-round spot. Bynum earned 26 passes defended and five interceptions in his first three years of play.

There isn’t super notable outside of the fact that Dorian Thompson-Robinson may not go the distance against the Bengals. The second-year quarterback has thrown for 540-1-7 in 12 career games while completing 51.4 percent of his passes. He’s almost certainly a downgrade from the turnover-prone Winston, and could test Stefanski’s patience enough for him to pivot back to Winston mid-game if he deems it necessary. Neither quarterback should be counted on from a fantasy perspective.

Per Ulbrich, the team will take things all the way down until kickoff with Williams, meaning he will officially be listed as questionable on the final injury report of the week. Williams has six sacks and eight TFLs this season. Losing him would be a massive blow to a Jets defense that has already collapsed since firing defensive-minded head coach Robert Saleh.

Whether or not Tillman plays comes down to him clearing the concussion protocol. The second-year receiver has missed the last three games with a concussion he suffered in Week 12 and will miss a fourth-straight game if he can’t get cleared before Sunday. Even if he’s active, Tillman will be hard to trust as anything more than a WR4 with Jameis Winston back on the bench.

Hall was cleared from the injury report entirely for the first time in a few weeks, indicating that he is in a better spot health-wise than he was heading into Week 15’s game against the Jags. Hall only ran nine times for 30 yards in that game while catching two passes. His role could grow in Week 16, but fantasy managers should still treat him as an RB2 with the expectation that Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis each get a few touches.

Njoku only logged one practice this week, but head coach Kevin Stefanski said the team will see how he responds to practice before making a decision on his Week 16 availability. Njoku’s return would be great for the Browns and his fantasy managers, but it’s hard to ignore the downgrade that comes with Dorian Thompson-Robinson under center. If he’s active, Njoku should be viewed as more of a fringe TE1/TE2 than a must-start TE1.

Brown was added to the injury report with a knee issue this week, though the team also listed him as getting a rest day, so there never seemed to be much risk of him sitting on Sunday. He told reporters on Friday that the knee injury won’t affect him before saying point blank, “I’m playing.” Brown remains in the WR1 ranks for Philly’s NFC East showdown with Washington this week.

This doesn’t come as much of a surprise. Sneed’s quad injury has been plaguing him for Weeks and officially landed him on injured reserve back on November 22nd. Between the injury and the Titans’ 3-11 record, there’s no reason to force Sneed back on the field even if the team did think he was well enough to play. Sneed is in the first year of a four-year contract extension he signed this offseason. He played in just five games in his first year with the Titans, totaling 23 tackles and two TFLs while earning a PFF coverage grade of 36.8 — a career-low. One of the league’s premiere corners will hope for better fortunes in his second year with the team next season.

According to Breer, Bateman will meet with the team on Saturday to decide whether or not he will play in Week 16’s game against the Steelers. We don’t know the specifics of his injury, but we do know that Bateman was spotted around the team facilities on Thursday wearing a boot. Bateman is considered questionable heading into Saturday. While his injury may not be as bad as initially thought, we wouldn’t rule out the possibility of him missing at least one game.

Brown has missed over a month with knee and fibula injuries. Cody Ford will stay at left tackle if Brown doesn’t play through the questionable tag.

Head coach Brian Callahan called Folk a game-time call. The veteran kicker has had a few spike weeks with the Titans but could miss Week 16 with an abdomen injury that is likely an extension of the groin issue he dealt with in previous games. The risk isn’t worth the reward for fantasy purposes. Brayden Narveson would take his place in the lineup if Folk sits.