NFL Player News

ESPN’s Adam Schefter was the first to report that the Giants have parted ways with Mills, who was on the NFI list earlier with a calf strain. Now healthy, the veteran defensive back is expected to draw interest from teams in need of secondary help. Mills totaled 45 tackles in 17 games with the Patriots last season and made eight starts. Mills has ample experience as a starter and can provide valuable experience as an eight-year vet of the league.

We would say this is a new low, but Kelce caught one pass for just five yards in the Chiefs’ Week 2 win over the Bengals. Still, it was another disappointing game for the veteran tight end, who has five games on his ledger this season in which he failed to hit 40 yards while also being kept out of the end zone. This week’s dud comes on the heels of three-straight TE1 finishes, so we’ll put the overreaction on hold a bit. Kelce is still a must-start in Week 12 against the Panthers.

Samuel was essentially a non-factor with Jauan Jennings operating as Brock Purdy’s go-to pass catcher. Samuel’s short-are usage may be limiting the 28-year-old player, who remains intimidating but has perhaps lost a step as a post-catch dominator. His 4.4-yard aDOT is Samuel’s shallowest target depth among his healthy 2024 showings. He is a volatile WR2/3 against the Packers in Week 12.

Fantasy managers who started Travis Kelce were left shouting into the void on Sunday, as Gray caught not one but two short touchdowns in Sunday’s loss to the Bills. It was the first time this season that Gray found the end zone and it also marked the first two-touchdown game of his career. Fantasy managers who feel inclined to chase the points will want to remember that in his previous three games, Gray caught five combined passes for 41 scoreless yards. There’s no reason to get cute in Week 12 against the Panthers.

Jennings functioned as the 49ers’ clear-cut passing game alpha, hoarding targets all game long, six of which came on third down. He caught all six and converted four first downs in the process. Jennings’ highlight play occurred on a successful third-and-11 reception in which Jennings dragged four Seahawks defenders past the first-down marker. He is a WR1/2 against the Packers in Week 12.

After going for 8-86-2 in his second game with the Chiefs, Hopkins has totaled just seven receptions for 85 scoreless yards in his last two games. Hopkins’ four targets tied with Travis Kelce and Samaje Perine for the second-most on the team, while Xavier Worthy and Noah Gray tied for the team lead with five targets. The splash games will be sporadic for Hopkins in this offense, which makes him difficult to profile as anything more than a WR3 in Week 12 against the Panthers.

All of Worthy’s production came in the first half. The Chiefs featured him heavily on their first touchdown drive of the evening, as Worthy caught passes of 31 and 14 yards to set himself up for an eventual 10-yard touchdown. Worthy nearly hauled in another long pass on the following drive, but was unable to get both feet in bounds. Sunday marked Worthy’s biggest game since Week four, and he’s still competing with DeAndre Hopkins for targets. He conservatively projects as a WR3 in Week 12 against the Panthers.

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.