NFL Player News

Smith mixed in with the Jets’ first-team offense in OTA practices. The 2019 UDFA came on late last season, starting the final three games, but was buried on the depth chart this offseason. The Jets re-signed Braxton Berrios and drafted Garrett Wilson with the No. 10 overall pick. Smith looks to be ahead of Denzel Mims, who would clear $1.1 million in cap space if released this preseason.

With the Cowboys not playing until Monday night, there are still two chances for Ferguson to get on the practice field. An absence due to illness seldom leads to a player missing a game, so we’ll assume Ferguson will be active for Monday’s game against the Texans.

This is great news for Lamb, who battled through a sprained AC joint in the Cowboys’ Week 10 loss to the Eagles. The star receiver should be good to go in Monday night’s game against the Texans, but expectations should be tempered after last week’s messy offensive performance. Lamb still has plenty of upside as a high-volume receiver, but Cooper Rush’s unwillingness to push the ball downfield could result in a lot of short-yardage plays for Lamb. He’s best treated as a solid WR2 in Monday’s game.

The Cowboys adding Rush to Thursday’s injury report is likely them doing their due diligence according to league rules. There have been no reports of Rush dealing with a serious neck injury, and the fact he was listed as a full participant should tell us all we need to know. Unless he suffers an unexpected setback, Rush should be good to go for Week 11 against the Texans, but fantasy managers should look to avoid him even during a tough bye week.

On Wednesday, head coach Andy Reid suggested that Smith-Schuster would be available for Week 11’s game against the Bills. His being upgraded to a full participant in Thursday’s practice suggests he is indeed trending in that direction, but we’ll know for sure when Friday’s injury report is released. In his last game played, Smith-Schuster racked up seven catches and 130 scoreless yards in Week 5 against the Saints. With DeAndre Hopkins now in the mix, we shouldn’t expect JuJu to see the kind of volume he saw that week. He’ll likely revert to more of a role player who could have added fantasy upside if Hopkins was to ever miss time.

Pacheco has been limited in both practices to start the week, but Reid has already said it’s unlikely he’ll play in Week 11 against the Bills. Kareem Hunt gets at least one more week as the team’s bell cow back, but his days in that role are limited with Pacheco rapidly approaching a return.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero was the first on the scene, reporting that Butker is expected to miss 3-4 weeks due to a meniscus injury in his left knee — which is his non-kicking knee. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport later reported that Butker is expected to have surgery to trim his meniscus, which is why the team went ahead and placed him on injured reserve. In a corresponding move, the Chiefs have already signed kicker Spencer Shrader off the Jets practice squad. Shrader is a rookie who went undrafted out of Notre Dame earlier this year. During his five years of college, he converted on 43-of-62 field goals while making 98.7 percent of his extra point attempts. He’ll now be tasked with replacing one of the most reliable kickers in the league.

This is great news for Joe Burrow and the passing game as a whole. The Bengals have a likely shootout on tap, facing the pass-happy Chargers in Week 11. Hopefully, Brown can practice in full on Friday.

Buckner popped up as a DNP on Wednesday’s report with a foot injury, but Thursday’s upgrade suggests he’ll be good to go for Week 11’s game against the Jets barring any setbacks. Buckner missed five games this season due to an ankle inury, but has been a force to be reckoned with since returning. Over his last three games, the veteran lineman has totaled 17 tackles, three TFLs, and two sacks while generating 14 pressures.

At this point, fantasy managers should not be alarmed by Thomas’ limited practice participation. This is how the Jaguars handle injured players. Fantasy managers should, unfortunately, be alarmed by Mac Jones once again starting for the Jaguars this week. Thomas is now just a volatile WR4.