NFL Player News

Dealing with a lingering calf injury, Burrow — who returned to practice this week as part of a top-secret plan hatched by Bengals brass — should be able to suit up for the season opener against Cleveland. A potentially gimpy Burrow will face a ferocious Browns pass rush headed by Myles Garrett. Cleveland’s defense could be a decent Week 1 option for fantasy managers, and Burrow should be started as a low-end QB1.

It was an odd game for Robinson, who left with an apparent leg/ankle injury after the first play of the game only to return to start the Commanders’ second drive. Robinson had his leg/ankle rolled up by a defender on what appeared to be an ugly play. His return to the field came as a surprise, but the third-year back wasn’t heard from after the first-half. His absence was likely due to his injury, but we’ll wait for the team to confirm that in the coming days. If Robinson is unable to go in Week 13, the Commanders could be looking at Chris Rodriguez and/or Jeremy McNichols as their lead backs with Austin Ekeler in concussion protocol.

Left wide open on an underneath drag route, Okonkwo simply continued to run right up the middle of the field and the Texans decided against tackling him. (Eric Murray, mainly, appeared to have no idea what he was doing.) Okonkwo will remain fantasy irrelevant in Week 13 after back-to-back games with one target.

Ridley torched Jimmie Ward for a 63-yard long ball on a deep crosser, but otherwise was mostly a steady underneath target for the rest of the game. Since Will Levis returned in Week 10, Ridley has averaged 78.3 yards per game on seven targets a game with two touchdowns. He’ll be a reliable WR3, maybe a low-end WR2, in most ranks heading into Week 13 against the Commanders.

For the second straight week, Gray had two scores. He found himself wide open on the first play from scrimmage for Kansas City and waltzed into the end zone for a 35-yard touchdown. Running a route on about 55 percent of Mahomes’ drop backs, Gray was tied for third in targets against the Panthers. He could be viable in larger formats next week against a Raiders defense that has been generous to opposing tight ends this year.

Ekeler saw an increased role with Brian Robinson sidelined due to an apparent leg/ankle injury he suffered in the first quarter. Ekeler ran nine times for 22 yards and caught two passes for another two yards but exited late in the game with a concussion after taking a brutal hit on a kick return. The veteran running back remained down on the ground for several minutes before eventually being helped to his feet and off the field. It was a scary scene that had an early appearance of something much worse. Ekeler will need to clear protocol if he’s to suit up in Week 13 against the Titans.

Gibbs’ third two-score day on the ground of the season was his first since Week 7. It was also the first time he reached 20 carries this year, though that had a lot to do with David Montgomery missing the final 20 minutes with a shoulder injury. Deemed questionable, Montgomery returned to the sideline still wearing his helmet, but the Lions understandably opted against risking further injury with the game comfortably in hand. Gibbs will be a Week 13 RB1 regardless of Montgomery’s Thanksgiving Day status against the Bears, but he will crash the top 3-4 if D-Mont is sidelined.

Bourne now has at least five targets in each of his last three games, which is at least something since he had eight targets combined in his first four games. He still seems to be operating behind Hunter Henry and DeMario Douglas when it comes to targets; however, he is continuing to play more snaps on the outside which could make him fantasy-relevant in deeper leagues when the Patriots are trailing since he’ll be on the field more than most other receivers.

Henry did lead the Patriots in targets, but he wasn’t able to get much going with Drake Maye seeing pressure in his face all game long. The role is here for Henry to put up solid floor production in most weeks, but the ceiling is tougher to see, which makes him more of a mid-range TE2.

Fantasy managers will take the touchdown, but the story was D-Mont departing around the 4:30 mark of the third quarter and not handling another touch the rest of the afternoon. Announced as questionable after heading to the locker room, D-Mont turn return to the sideline wearing his helmet. But with the Lions already then up multiple scores, they opted to ride Jahmyr Gibbs in close-out mode. The fact that Montgomery resurfaced at all suggests a minor injury, but this is the Lions’ annual short-week Thanksgiving game. He should probably be considered genuinely questionable for the 12:30 PM ET kickoff. His status will be updated no later than Monday afternoon.