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The release comes two years into a four-year deal signed in 2021. Mills missed seven games to injury last year, but was productive when healthy, recording two interceptions in 10 games. There was talk that Mills could be an option to replace retired FS Devin McCourty but the Patriots are taking the cap savings and moving on. Releasing Mills clears $4.9 million for the Patriots while leaving $1.3 million in dead money.

Fantasy managers who started Travis Kelce were left shouting into the void on Sunday, as Gray caught not one but two short touchdowns in Sunday’s loss to the Bills. It was the first time this season that Gray found the end zone and it also marked the first two-touchdown game of his career. Fantasy managers who feel inclined to chase the points will want to remember that in his previous three games, Gray caught five combined passes for 41 scoreless yards. There’s no reason to get cute in Week 12 against the Panthers.

Jennings functioned as the 49ers’ clear-cut passing game alpha, hoarding targets all game long, six of which came on third down. He caught all six and converted four first downs in the process. Jennings’ highlight play occurred on a successful third-and-11 reception in which Jennings dragged four Seahawks defenders past the first-down marker. He is a WR1/2 against the Packers in Week 12.

After going for 8-86-2 in his second game with the Chiefs, Hopkins has totaled just seven receptions for 85 scoreless yards in his last two games. Hopkins’ four targets tied with Travis Kelce and Samaje Perine for the second-most on the team, while Xavier Worthy and Noah Gray tied for the team lead with five targets. The splash games will be sporadic for Hopkins in this offense, which makes him difficult to profile as anything more than a WR3 in Week 12 against the Panthers.

All of Worthy’s production came in the first half. The Chiefs featured him heavily on their first touchdown drive of the evening, as Worthy caught passes of 31 and 14 yards to set himself up for an eventual 10-yard touchdown. Worthy nearly hauled in another long pass on the following drive, but was unable to get both feet in bounds. Sunday marked Worthy’s biggest game since Week four, and he’s still competing with DeAndre Hopkins for targets. He conservatively projects as a WR3 in Week 12 against the Panthers.

The 49ers’ offense played inconsistently at times but Purdy scrambled extremely efficiently and was locked in with Jauan Jennings. Purdy averaged 8.0 yards per carry against the Seahawks and put the 49ers up 7-3 in the first quarter on a diving green zone scramble. He has now forced at least one missed tackle in five straight games. Purdy is a QB1 against the Packers in Week 12.

Interestingly, Hunt did not record a catch in this one, much less a target. The veteran running back was limited strictly to the ground game in Sunday’s loss and was bottled up for most of the night outside of a 17-yard run in the fourth quarter. Hunt is expected to turn starting duties back over to Isiah Pacheco in Week 12 when the Chiefs take on the Panthers, meaning his days as a high-volume bell cow are over — for now. Hunt profiles as a fringe RB2/RB3 in a backfield split that’s expected to heavily favor Pacheco.

The Seahawks are willing to use Charbonnet in high-value situations but his workloads are insufficient for a standalone role. Charbonnet led Seahawks running backs with nine third-down snaps and was even given the ball on a late four-and-one play, in which his blocker failed to give Charbonnet the necessary protection for him to convert. Charbonnet is a bench stash at this time.

Knox has been here before. The former TE1 of the Bills found himself in a familiar role with Dalton Kincaid (knee) sidelined and made the most of his opportunity. Knox hauled in a long 24-yard pass in the second quarter that helped set up a James Cook touchdown and has now topped 40 receiving yards in three of his last four games. The Bills now head into their Week 12 bye and will return in Week 13 to face the 49ers. Assuming Kincaid is back, Knox won’t have any stand-alone value in that game.

With Keon Coleman (wrist) out, Samuel has seen increased usage in back-to-back weeks and made the most of his opportunities on Sunday against the Chiefs. Samuel’s longest play was a 21-yard reception in the second quarter, but his biggest play came early in the fourth quarter when he found the end zone on a 12-yard touchdown to put the Bills up 23-14. Samuel’s usage largely hinges on the return of Coleman, who could be back after the team’s Week 12 bye to face the 49ers in Week 13. If Coleman is active, Samuel won’t have any fantasy upside in that game.

Shakir continues to hog all the targets in a Bills offense that spread the ball around to nine different players in Sunday’s win. He hauled in two key passes on back-to-back touchdown drives late in the second half, with his biggest gain coming on a 22-yard play. Shakir briefly left with a rib injury after taking a hard hit, but returned to action soon after. Whether or not his injury lingers into next week won’t matter as the Bills head into their Week 12 bye. We’ll go ahead and assume he’ll be ready for Week 13 when the Bills return to face the 49ers.