NFL Player News

The Patriots are bringing back Grier just as quickly as they let him go. Right before their Week 12 game against the Giants, they released Grier and proceeded to let Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe battle it out. Unfortunately neither did well against a lowly Giants’ team and the Patriots quarterback room is now in shambles. Don’t be shocked if you see Grier in action soon, the last time we saw him he was having a solid preseason with the Cowboys.

McCarthy didn’t officially rule out Parsons, but it’s obvious where this one is headed. Parsons won’t practice on Thursday and will presumably be a DNP on Friday, barring a surprise development. The start pass-rusher will miss his fourth-straight game due to his high-ankle sprain and will now target Week 10’s game against the Eagles as a potential return date.

Pacheco suffered a fractured leg in Week 2 against the Bengals, and it was reported later that he also suffered significant ligament damage. He was reportedly looking at a 6-8 week recovery, but Reid didn’t rule out the possibility of Pacheco’s season being over. It now sounds like Pacheco will return at some point this season, but it’s hard to say when that will be. Even when the team opens his 21-day return window, we could still be several weeks away from seeing him back on the field. Things remain wait-and-see for the time being.

Diggs missing both practices to start the week isn’t great for his Week 9 outlook, but he downplayed the severity of his injury on Wednesday, so the team may be taking a cautious approach with him for the time being. We’ll have a good sense of his Week 9 availability when the team releases its final injury report on Friday.

Hockenson will play in Week 9, how much he plays remains the question. The Vikings pushed his 21-day return window to the limit but activated him last Friday after Thursday’s loss to the Rams. Hockenson caught 95 passes for 960 yards and five touchdowns in his first full season with the Vikings and is expected to play a big role in the offense once he returns to the field. Fantasy managers who stashed him can start him against the Colts, but shouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t play a full assortment of snaps right out of the gate.

With the Bucs not playing until Monday night, Thursday’s practice marks the team’s first practice of the week. We’ll see what the team’s official injury report shows, but it’s worth noting that Irving did miss practice time last week with a toe injury that he wound up playing through in Week 8. His absence would lead to bigger workloads for Rachaad White and Sean Tucker, but it’s too early to say whether or not Irving is a legitimate risk to miss Week 9’s contest against the Chiefs.

Van Pelt wouldn’t dive into Maye’s progression through the league’s concussion protocol, leaving us little to go on for the time being. Maye was concussed in Week 8’s win over the Patriots and did not practice on Wednesday. While Van Pelt remains hopeful, it’s not uncommon to see recently concussed players miss their team’s game the following week. We’ll see if Maye can get on the field Thursday, but there’s a good chance we are looking at another Jacoby Brissett start in Week 9.

Getsy’s questionable play-calling while with the Bears led to his dismissal after the 2023 season. It’s no surprise to see him struggling with the Raiders’ and their less-talented roster and assortment of quarterbacks. The Raiders rank 26th in the league in points per game (18.0) and have scored 20 or more points in just one of their last four games. They also rank dead last in EPA per play (-0.190) and are 24th in offensive success rate. There’s no telling how long Getsy’s leash could be at this point, but with half the season still to go, a change could be in order for the 2-6 Raiders, who will face the Bengals in Week 9.

A knee injury may have been to blame for Zuerlein’s recent struggles, as the veteran kicker has converted on just three of his last seven field goal attempts. Now on injured reserve, Zuerlein will miss at least the next four games while recovering from his injury and won’t be eligible to come off IR until Week 14 when the Jets visit the Dolphins. The Jets signed kickers Riley Patterson and Spencer Shrader to their practice squad earlier this week, with the expectation that one of them will kick in place for Zuerlein in Thursday night’s game against the Texans.

Love tweaked his groin in the Packers’ Week 8 win over the Jaguars and did not practice on Wednesday. With his injury not considered serious, the Packers’ QB1 isn’t ready to rule himself out for Week 9’s matchup against the Lions. However, that decision will ultimately come down to the doctors and coaching staff. There’s plenty of incentive to sit Love with the Packers coming up on their Week 10 bye. He could have two full weeks of rest and return in Week 11 primed for a playoff push, but him suiting up in Week 9 gives the team a chance to gain ground on the 6-1 Lions in a tight NFC North race. We’ll see how things go for Love throughout the remainder of the week. It wouldn’t be surprising if the team let him test his groin in pre-game warmups before deciding on his Week 9 availability, but he may need to log at least one practice for that to become an option.