NFL Player News

The Patriots have made it known that they are keeping an open mind throughout the pre-draft process. While it’s expected they will take a quarterback with the No. 3 overall pick; they appear to be just as open to trading the pick to acquire other assets and presumably focus on a quarterback later in the draft. With other teams in need of help at quarterback, there are several teams currently picking outside of the top five — i.e., the Vikings, Broncos, and Giants — who could make a move into the No. 3 spot to select one of the top passers in the class.

This doesn’t come as much of a surprise after it was reported earlier that the Browns will likely be without their star tight end this week. We’ll see if anything changes on Friday, but with offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey already talking about a tight end-by-committee approach against the Chiefs, it would seem this has already been decided.

An eight-year veteran of the league, Bolles has spent his entire career with the Broncos since being drafted by them with the No. 20 overall pick back in 2017. Bolles entered 2024 in the final year of a four-year extension he signed in 2020, but will now be under contract with the Broncos through the 2028 season. This year, Bolles has started all 13 games he’s appeared in, earning a PFF pass-blocking grade of 88.7 while allowing just one sack on 14 quarterback pressures. Bolles is playing some of the best football of his career, and has a chance to spend his entire career with one team after signing this new extension.

Thursday’s practice marks two straight for Downs, who appears to be trending toward a return after missing Week 13’s game against the Patriots. Downs was listed as limited on Wednesday’s injury report and will likely log another limited session on Thursday.

Greenlaw suffered a freak injury in the 49ers’ Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs when he suffered a torn Achilles while running from the sideline onto the field. The veteran linebacker is making a well-timed return for the Niners, who are currently 6-7 and likely need to win out if they hope to sneak into the NFC playoffs. Last season, Greenlaw totaled 120 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and five TFLs. He should provide immediate help for a 49ers defense that currently ranks 21st in points allowed per game. this season.

With Njoku unlikely to play in Sunday’s game against the Chiefs, Browns offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey said the team would likely go to a tight end by committee. It’s bad news all around for Njoku and his fantasy managers, who will need to have another plan in place with the star tight end likely out. Backup Jordan Akins has caught 24-of-36 targets this season for 243 yards and one touchdown, and would likely lead the Browns’ TE committee vs. the Chiefs, but there are likely better streaming options available for this first week of the fantasy playoffs.

Las Vegas Justice Court records detailed the arrest of Snowden. The third-year defensive end has appeared in 13 games for the Raiders this season, making seven starts while tallying 30 tackles, three TFLs, and 1.5 sacks.

O’Connell was believed to have been lost for the season after he was carted off with a knee injury in Week 14’s loss to the Buccaneers. Now, after an MRI revealed a bone bruise, O’Connell said he’s “hoping to get there” when asked about the possibility of playing against the Falcons. With the Raiders playing on Monday, O’Connell has some extra time to heal up in time for the game, but head coach Antonio Pierce has already named Desmond Ridder as the Week 15 starter. We’ll see if that changes based on O’Connell’s participation in practice, but for now, he should be considered a long-shot to play on Monday.

When questioned about the future of Pierce, Davis said, “I don’t even want to talk about that right now.” Pierce went 5-4 as the Raiders’ interim coach last season. The team’s decision to hire him as their head coach last offseason was partly driven by players — most notably Maxx Crosby and current Jets receiver Davante Adams. The inspired play the Raiders showed in their first nine games with Pierce last season is all but gone. Injuries to the defense and no quarterback of note hasn’t done him any favors, but the 2-11 Raiders currently ranked 27th in points per game, 30th in points allowed, and are among the worst rushing teams in the league. It wouldn’t be surprising if the Raiders decided to move on from Pierce after one season. Currently set to hold a top-five draft pick, a complete overhaul could be in order with a franchise quarterback likely to be drafted next spring.

Guerendo logged a limited session on Wednesday after being listed as a DNP on both Monday and Tuesday. The rookie has remained optimistic about his Week 15 availability, but this is something fantasy managers will want to keep an eye on up until inactives are announced 90 minutes before kickoff. If he does play, starting Guerendo would come with obvious risks of reaggravating his injury, but assuming the best, he’d make for a fringe RB1/RB2. Patrick Taylor would slide into the RB2 ranks if Guerendo were to ultimately be held out.

McBride popped up on the injury report with a knee issue Wednesday. He was able to practice in a limited capacity, indicating the issue is minor and that he should still be able to play Week 15. McBride has at least 12 targets in each of his last three games and stands as the top option in the passing game for Kyler Murray. Expect him to suit up barring setbacks as a fantasy TE1 against the Patriots.