NFL Player News

The 6-foot-1, 193-pound wideout saved his team’s bacon more than once as the Wolfpack had a tougher time with Syracuse than expected. Thomas’ second touchdown, a 15-yarder from Bailey Hockman just over the hands of a Syracuse defender, pulled NC State within two points of the Orange early in the third. Two drives later, Thomas’ nine-yard TD catch in the back of the end zone answered a Syracuse score and once again pulled the Pack to within a two-point deficit. NCSU outscored Syracuse 9-0 in the fourth quarter to pull out the win. The 7-3 Wolfpack, with six conference wins, have a chance to set a new program record for ACC wins in a season next week in the regular season finale against Georgia Tech.

Backup interior lineman Ryan Bates was ruled out while starting left tackle Braxton Jones is questionable. Stop us if you’ve heard this before. The Bears could be down multiple starters along the offensive line this week.

In what is hopefully a precautionary move, the Giants downgraded Nabers from a Thursday FP to a Friday LP. Given his removal from the injury report, it is likely the team allowed Nabers to leave practice early to receive treatment on his lower-body issues. Fantasy managers can start him as a high-upside WR2.

Johnson was added to the injury report after being held out of practice on Friday. Players typically don’t miss games because of illnesses, but the late addition does put Johnson at an increased risk of missing Week 16. Johnson has seven pass breakups and two interceptions this season.

O’Connell’s return provides the requisite stability for Jakobi Meyers and Brock Bowers to return reliable fantasy value against the bottom-barrel Jaguars pass defense. O’Connell himself could flirt with mid-tier QB2 numbers in this fantasy-friendly matchup. He practiced in full on both Wednesday and Thursday.

Fellow backup running back Travis Homer is listed as doubtful. Johnson was stealing goal line work from D’Andre Swift before suffering a concussion that sidelined him for two weeks. He should reclaim that role in Week 16 while also seeing some work on passing downs, putting him on the RB3/4 border. His return puts Swift at risk of falling out for the RB2 ranks versus Minnesota.

The Bills’ defense is fairly banged up at this point. Joining Rapp in the questionable column are S Damar Hamlin, LB Matt Milano, CB Rasul Douglas, LB Baylon Specter and LB Dorian Williams. Depending on the game-day inactive list, the Patriots’ offense could have an easier time than expected.

Otton is averaging 2.5 catches for 36 since Mike Evans returned to the lineup and a bum knee isn’t going to help his cause. Even if he suits up, Otton is buried in the TE2 ranks for Week 16. Ko Kieft and Payne Durham would see extra reps at tight end if Otton is out, though neither would crack to the top 24 fantasy tight ends.

Garrett popped up on Thursday’s injury report with a back issue, but whatever he is dealing with appears minor after the team removed him from the report on Friday. The Browns will have their star pass-rusher ready to go in an AFC North tilt between two teams who are playing out their schedules as disappointing seasons draw to a close.

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.