NFL Player News

Bell’s absence is a blow for a Carolina secondary that has mostly been solid in 2023 while the rush defense has been devoured by opponents. Bell being sidelined creates a slightly better matchup for Derek Carr and the New Orleans pass catchers.

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.

Walker turned in his third straight inefficient rushing day but not for a lack of trying. He forced seven missed tackles at a 0.5 per-carry rate. Both figures are his second-best marks of the year. Fantasy managers should expect Walker to produce a high-end RB1 outing against the Cardinals’ pushover run defense in Week 12.

Cooper hauled in passes of 25 and 30 yards in this one. Despite the two-catch outing, there’s no denying Cooper’s impact, as the Bills punched in two touchdowns on the two drives where he recorded a long catch. The veteran receiver battled through a wrist injury but did not appear to suffer any setbacks. He now as the Week 12 bye to get right, and should be good to go for Week 13 against the 49ers.

The Raiders kept things close through two quarters but started taking on water in the second half, forcing them to cut Gardner Minshew loose. For Minshew, that meant peppering Bowers with easy looks to keep the chains moving. In turn, Bowers did nearly all of his damage in the final two quarters. He only had one catch for 14 yards through 30 minutes of action and then lit the Dolphins up for a dozen catches, 112 yards, and a touchdown in the second half. Staring down a likely loss to the Broncos next week, we should expect a similar game script for the Raiders in Week 12. Bowers will remain a contender for the TE1 overall rank next week.

Cook was bottled up by the Chiefs all night long. He averaged just 1.9 yards per touch on the evening but pulled through for his fantasy managers with two short rushing touchdowns. Cook was out-rushed by Josh Allen but played well ahead of Ty Johnson and Ray Davis — per usual. Now entering their Week 12 bye, Cook and the Bills will return in Week 13 to face the 49ers.