NFL Player News

A former heralded four-star recruit who ranked as the third best DT in the 2017 high school class, Tufele (6'2/305) was a 2017 All-American Bowl selection before embarking on a notable three-year career at USC. He was consistently productive if not consistently dominant. In his lone year of starting experience before opting out, Tufele recorded 42 tackles, 26 pressures, 26 stops and 4.5 sacks in 672 snaps, mostly lining up at three-tech. Tufele struggled to put together consistent pass rush moves but developed a club/rip technique that played well off his hard-charging bull rush. Tufele can get overwhelmed by double-teams but excels when shooting gaps and pursuing the ball carrier on run plays. His high motor, power and athleticism despite being undersized for a nose tackle invite comparisons to former Vikings DL Chris Hovan.

Morris was evasive on Kirk Cousins’ status as starter on Tuesday but has now benched Cousins in favor of the rookie eight overall pick out of Washington.

Bridgewater last played in the NFL for the Lions last season, playing just three snaps in a reserve role. The 32-year-old was last a full-time starter for the Broncos in 2021, battling injuries since being drafted by the Vikings in 2014. He retired to coach his high school alma mater and came away with a state championship. Now, he tells Pelissero and Rapoport “we’ll see how [the] next week and a half, two weeks play out, might be signing with a team or something.” The likelihood Bridgewater becomes a contributor at this point of the NFL season is low, but he has the desire to return to an NFL quarterback room. With 15,120 career passing yards and 75 touchdowns, Bridgewater would bring a veteran presence to any team that signs him.

The Cardinals sign Baker for $18 million per year, the third largest among safeties in NFL history. The $54 million total includes $30 million guaranteed over three years for the 28-year-old. Baker is a two-time first-team All-Pro, one-time second-team All-Pro, and six-time Pro Bowler initially drafted by the Cardinals in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft. He has been an every-day starter since 2018 and has tallied 879 combined tackles, 9.5 sacks, and seven interceptions over eight seasons. Baker is having another solid season and the Cardinals get him signed through 2027 before his impending free agency in the offseason.

Dissly was not seen on the practice field Tuesday as he continues to nurse a shoulder injury. Two straight DNP listings to start the week indicate he is unlikely to play in the Chargers’ Week 16 Thursday game against the Broncos. Stone Smartt will start again if Dissly does indeed miss the game.

Agholor has been operating as the Ravens’ No. 3 wide receiver for much of the season, catching 14 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns. He starts out the week not practicing with a concussion, putting his status for Saturday’s game against the Steelers in jeopardy. If Agholor does miss Week 16, Tylan Wallace and Devontez Walker will see increased snaps.

This follows a post-game presser where he again clearly said “We have to play better at the quarterback position.” It would seem that the door is being at least cracked a little for a Michael Penix Jr. switch down the stretch. Cousins has thrown one touchdown and nine interceptions in his last five starts, and has appeared to be dealing with diminished arm strength as well. The Falcons host the Giants in Week 16 and Penix Jr., if he’s chosen to start, would make for an appealing QB2 streamer in superflex leagues for his first start if given the opportunity. Morris had been defiantly answering questions about Cousins with affirmative proclamations about how he was the team’s starter. That is no longer the case.

Metchie played 21 of 50 snaps against the Dolphins in Week 15, dropping a long C.J. Stroud touchdown. If he can’t go against the Chiefs in Week 16, Xavier Hutchinson will step into the Texans WR4 role. Neither will be interesting in fantasy football outside of the deepest leagues.

This would seem to get him in line to play against the Texans in Week 16. The Chiefs are conducting lower-intensity practices ahead of the game so it’s possible there’s a little gamesmanship in these listings. Brown won’t be a fantasy football factor until it’s established that he’s playing a full workload in a Chiefs passing game that spreads the ball around.

Mahomes met with reporters — another sign of optimism towards him playing — and told them he won’t push the ankle if he feels he can’t play the way he wants. Andy Reid told reporters: “The doctor will talk to me. If he can go, he’ll go. If he can’t, he can’t. It’s that simple. That’s how we’ll roll. I’ll just take it day by day and see how he does.” We’d still be wary of Mahomes playing in Week 16, and this was just a light walkthrough for the Chiefs, but this is definitely a more optimistic update than we expected today.

Higbee is not a recommended waiver target with Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua producing and commanding heavy target volumes, but it’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility that he can come back and be a low-end TE1 for the remainder of the season. He tore his ACL in January and spent almost the entire allotment of his 21-day window practicing with the team before being activated.