NFL Player News

Allen picked up the shoulder injury in the Chargers’ Week 10 loss to the Lions. He finished the game, but starts out the week not participating in practice. Quentin Johnston would benefit if Allen were to miss any time, but injury reports later in the week will further detail Allen’s health and status for the Chargers’ Week 11 game against the Packers.

With Chris Olave (concussion) out and Rashid Shaheed done for the year, fifth-round rookie Means rotated snaps and targets with fellow rookie Mason Tipton and journeyman Cedrick Wilson. Needless to say, it was not an ideal offensive environment. Means could be forced into plenty more work down the stretch, but he didn’t show enough tonight to earn top-60 status for Week 8 against the Chargers even if Derek Carr is ready to return from injury.

The five carries doubled the fifth-round rookie’s previous season total, but his fourth quarter fumble could be the only thing coach Sean Payton remembers. Trying to put the game away, Estime instead gave the Saints a lifeline when he let the ball get ripped out. Estime carries were a point of emphasis when he was in the game, as PFF charted him as getting the rock on 5-of-6 snaps. Good, but almost certainly outweighed by the bad of the giveaway looking ahead to Week 8 against the Panthers.

Once again a distant No. 2 behind Javonte Williams, McLaughlin did remain ahead of Audric Estime. That should remain the case for at least Week 8 against the Panthers after the rookie lost a fumble this evening. Held to nine scoreless touches over the past two weeks, McLaughlin isn’t looking like much of a hold in 12-team re-draft leagues since even a Williams injury would probably just result in a committee.

With overmatched rookie Spencer Rattler missing his top two receivers on a short week against an elite defense, there was nowhere for the Saints’ offense to hide. Every Kamara touch was predictable and typically resulted in a huge hit. The “highlight” was two late second quarter checkdowns that so disgusted Kamara he started yelling at the sideline. On to the next one. Speaking of the next one, we have no idea who might be available for the Saints. The Chargers are a tough matchup, but the offensive environment will be better if at least some of Derek Carr, Chris Olave and Taysom Hill can return from injury.

The doughnut was not only Sutton’s first of the season, it was the first time he drew fewer than four looks. With the game never really competitive, Bo Nix seemed more focused on attempting to develop a connection with fellow rookie Troy Franklin. As usual, the Broncos’ offense badly bogged down in the red zone. You would think they might have looked Sutton’s way there, but we digress. Sutton is going to produce WR4 statlines more weeks than not, but the ceiling potential is so limited in this offense that he’s not really someone you want to be jamming into your lineup on a weekly basis. That being said, the Panthers are an A+ Week 8 matchup.

Rattler’s second fumble was really more of a pick-six where he coughed the ball up into the air under pressure. He was lucky it wasn’t his second fumble-six of the evening, as he had an earlier one called back by an offsides penalty. Rattler was hit while throwing on his first cough up. That one thankfully didn’t result in a Broncos house call. That was the only good news of the night for an overmatched rookie who took a seat late and watched Jake Haener promptly lead a touchdown drive. Rattler’s supporting cast made for a hopeless situation, but he failed to overcome it to the degree that it’s fair to wonder if Haener gets the call in Week 8 against the Chargers if Derek Carr isn’t ready to return. More than anything, Rattler was making really poor reads.

The scoreless start was Nix’s first in four weeks, but the 75 yards rushing were a new career high and give him 136 over the past two games. He is averaging 8.5 yards per carry in the process. That was the highlight. The lowlight was Nix missing multiple wide-open receivers in the first half, including several down the field. He missed Lucas Krull for what probably would have been a 41-yard touchdown on the Broncos’ opening drive. No matter, as the Saints and Spencer Rattler were so, so much worse. Nix’s limited supporting cast has been a huge hurdle to him gaining true dual-threat QB2 status, but he seems like he’s building toward a potential fantasy eruption. Maybe it will come in Week 8 against the Panthers’ bottom-barrel defense.

Coming off an awful day against the Chargers, Williams rebounded with just the second two-touchdown game of his career, and first since 2021. His 111 yards from scrimmage matched his season high from two weeks ago against the Raiders. Perhaps most promisingly for Williams? Rookie Audric Estime lost a soft fumble this evening and seems unlikely to challenge Williams’ early-down supremacy any time soon. Williams is severely game-script sensitive in this limited offense, but the Panthers are a cake Week 8 matchup that should get him into the top 24.

Oh dear. Lattimore has already dealt with hamstring issues this season, while his loss comes the same evening fellow CB Paulson Adebo appeared to suffer a season-ending knee injury. The only good news for Lattimore is that he has 10 days to get healthy for Week 8 against the Chargers, but considering the sorry state of the Saints’ season, he might not be rushed back at this point.