NFL Player News

Thomas (6'5/266) had initially accepted an offer to attend and play in the Shrine Bowl but ended up accepting an offer to head to Mobile that same week. In previous years, Thomas might have been able to attend both games, as the Shrine Bowl was historically one week before the Senior Bowl. Thomas becomes the second player in the last week to make the switch, joining safety Kerby Joseph from Illinois. Thomas had an excellent season, compiling 38 tackles, eight sacks, and three forced fumbles for the Sooners, earning second-team all Big-12 honors.

Dell was added to the injury report on Friday, but still got in a limited practice. Wilson notes that Nico Collins’ status with his hamstring is still to be determined and the Texans are prepared to play with Dell as the WR1 again this week if Collins can’t go.

McDaniel added that “we’ll see” and wouldn’t say he’s optimistic or pessimistic. Hill popped up on the injury report and missed practice with the wrist injury on Friday. The Dolphins have an extra day before their matchup against the Rams on Monday Night Football. Unfortunately, it looks like Hill will need the extra time in order to have a chance to play this week. For fantasy managers, the timing is less than ideal as Hill’s status is unlikely to be determined before kickoff Sunday.

Olave has already been ruled out for Week 10 against the Falcons. Rapoport notes that the move to IR is expected to become official later today. That puts Olave on the shelf for at least four games. Rapoport even speculated that given the nature of the injury and the team’s record, Olave’s season could already be over. Olave was placed on a backboard and carted off the field after he suffered his second concussion of the season and fifth documented concussion of his football-playing career in Week 9 against the Panthers.

The Rams’ offensive line is quietly trending toward a midseason turnaround after operating as one of the league’s worst units early on. Hopefully, Jackson can stack another full practice on Saturday and suit up for the first time since Week 2. Fellow OL Steve Avila (knee) likewise practiced in full on Thursday.

Whittington is trending toward a Week 10 return from his multi-week shoulder injury. Demarcus Robinson’s hot streak likely relegates the promising rookie to that of a bench stash though.

Robinson has scored five touchdowns over his last four games, somewhat inflating his fantasy-scoring potential; he is averaging just 1.23 yards per route run during that span, which more accurately reflects his expected weekly productivity. That said, a capable player in a high-end passing offense remains WR3/4-viable, particularly with four teams on bye.

Brooks was activated from the reserve/NFI list this week and practiced in full during all three sessions. Still, head coach Dave Canales was non-committal on his status for Week 10. The good news is that fantasy managers will get to see Carolina’s inactives before every game other than Thursday’s kicks off. The bad news is that’s because the Panthers take on the Giants in Germany for a game kicking off bright and early stateside. Playing in his first game in nearly a year, Brooks will be eased back into the lineup this week if he plays at all. Fantasy managers wanting to get their full eight hours of sleep should just keep Brooks on the bench.

Sanders was back in action on Friday, practicing in full with the rest of his Panthers’ teammates. The enticing rookie tight end is averaging 2.43 yards per route run over the last three weeks and the Giants’ tight end-coverage unit is among the league’s worst. He is firmly on the streaming TE1 radar.

Hunt’s inclusion on the injury report is seemingly a formality at this point. He regularly takes it easy during the practice week before suiting up come game day. This is just the Chiefs smartly managing the 29-year-old’s repetitions. He is an RB2.

Hardman got banged up in Week 9 but returned to catch three passes for 17 yards. The gadget receiver will continue seeing a handful of schemed touches a week but is not on the fantasy radar heading into Week 10.