NFL Player News

ESPN reporters, including Jeremy Fowler, confirmed what Falcons owner Arthur Blank had said in February after the team went with Raheem Morris over Belichick, the second winningest coach in NFL history. Belichick had expressed willingness to work closely with Atlanta’s front office, including general manager Terry Fontenot. He had not — as some had assumed — demanded control of all team operations, though some in the Atlanta front office worried that Belichick would eventually take control of roster building. Some in the organization viewed Belichick as “an older, stoic coach who’d blow up the building.” Blank was leaning toward hiring Belichick, according to ESPN, before talking with Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who warned Blank not to trust Belichick. A source close to Kraft told ESPN the Pats owner “found Bill to be extremely difficult and obstinate and kind of stubborn and, in the end, not worthy of his trust. And also very, very, very arrogant.” Other teams, including the Titans, were turned off by what Belichick had done to the New England offense in the years after parting ways with Tom Brady. Belichick, per ESPN, will pursue head coaching vacancies next January, including, possibly, the Cowboys.

Nailor hasn’t caught more than two passes or topped 16 in over a month. He served as the team’s No. 2 receiver early in the season when Jordan Addison was hurt but is now a rotational WR3. He will pop up for the occasional touchdown but doesn’t see the ball enough to warrant fantasy consideration.

In a nightmare scenario, Tucker capped off the Bucs’ opening drive with a one-yard scoring plunge after Bucky Irving took the offense down to the one. Inconceivably, the Bucs tried to run it back the following series, this time with Vita Vea as the lead blocker. This time, Tucker fumbled. He had saw just one more touch the rest of the afternoon, his reception. That’s despite an entire half of garbage time. Needless to say, the coaching staff must not have been too impressed with the red zone cough up even though they recovered to kick a field goal. The Bucs have seemed intent on creating a three-man committee, but Tucker simply is not good enough to consistently steal touches away from Bucky Irving and Rachaad White.

Hockenson’s role took a hit in Week 11 and he caught just two passes for 13 yards. Minnesota platooned him with Josh Oliver and even gave Johnny Mundt a few reps. Oliver missed Week 12 with an ankle issue, paving the way for Hockenson’s 2024 breakout. Hockenson cleared his previous season-high by over 40 yards and hit triple-digits for the first time since Week 10 of the 2023 season. Even if Oliver returns next week, Hockenson has done enough to maintain a high-volume role going forward. He will be in the top half of the TE1 ranks for Week 13 versus the Cardinals.

With the Bucs coming off bye, Bucky Irving saw a new season high 18 touches. That included a 12-5 first half advantage over White. Disastrously, Sean Tucker mixed in for a goal-line vulture. The Bucs tried to get him another one on the very next series, but this time Tucker fumbled. He would touch the ball only one more time all day despite the Bucs playing with a big lead. Maybe this is about to be narrowed back down to a two-man rotation again. With Irving clearly having the lead, White has settled in as a mediocre FLEX option, but one reliably positioned to see 10-12 weekly touches.

Stover has consistently been in the ancillary receiver force for the Texans, with multiple targets in every game in his last four. He scored on a busted coverage on Houston’s first play from scrimmage, and out-targeted Dalton Schultz for the first time. It’s likely that this was just a flash-in-the-pan performance, but Stover is on the field plenty for the Texans and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he eventually overtook Schultz as their main tight end in 2025.

Akers entered the week with 26 touches on a near 1B role over his past two appearances. Aaron Jones put plenty of space between himself and Akerrs versus the Bears with 22 carries to Akers’ three. He also caught three balls while Akers reeled in his only target for a six-yard gain. Akers remains the clear backup to Jones but doesn’t have standalone fantasy value heading into Week 13.

Active for the first time since injuring his hamstring in Week 7, Evans predictably led the Bucs in receiving. He was out-caught by Bucky Irving and out-targeted by Sterling Shepard, but strange things happened in a game where the Giants did not bother to compete. Evans was not snap-counted and appeared normal physically. He looks ready to contribute as a WR1/2 for the stretch run. Even with all 32 teams active for Week 13, we’ll just go ahead and label Evans as a WR1 against the Panthers.

Ojulari is in the midst of one of his best seasons as a pro. Through 11 games, the veteran pass rusher has recorded six sacks and has 28 tackles on the year to go with 10 TFLs. We don’t yet know the severity of his injury, but it’s possible the Giants will be without one of their top pass rushers in Thursday’s game against the Cowboys.

Jones opened the day with a lost fumble at the goal line. He was hit behind the line of scrimmage and had the ball knocked out while attempting a second-effort push toward the end zone. He has struggled to punch in his looks near the end zone this season but made fantasy managers whole in the third quarter with a score from three yards own. Jones also easily out-carried backup Cam Akers, who ran three times and caught his only target. Firmly ahead of Akers in the pecking order for touches, Jones is a staple of the RB2 ranks heading into Week 13 versus the Cardinals.