NFL Player News

McKenzie suffered a knee laceration and right foot injury in the Giants’ third preseason game. The 29-year-old vet played in 13 games for the Colts last season before being suspended three games for conduct detrimental to the team. The Giants signed him in March to add to a slot-heavy receiving corps. He had a role as returner, and his injury will open up special teams snaps and some slot snaps. Gunner Olszewski, the Giants’ other returner, is recovering from a groin injury. Wan’Dale Robinson stands to benefit from getting increased kick-returning and slot-receiving snaps.

Brooks has been practicing for a few weeks and even got in three full practices before being ruled out for Week 9. Brooks suffered a torn ACL in his final season at Texas and began his rookie season on the PUP list. The Panthers have been taking his return to action extremely slowly and he will likely see just a few touches in his 2024 debut. Chuba Hubbard will remain the starter for Week 10, though his bell-cow status will be gone once Brooks is officially activated from PUP.

Despite failing to practice once this week, Pollard is in the lineup this week. He gets a matchup at home versus a weak New England defense and his team is favored by bookmakers. If it weren’t for the injury, this would be a smash spot for the veteran back. Even if Pollard’s touches are limited, he should be able to make them most of them en route to an RB2 fantasy performance this week. Julius Chestnut will back him up with Tyjae Spears sidelined.

Both Osborn and Thornton are healthy scratches and are rumored to be trade candidates ahead of Tuesday’s deadline. That should mean more snaps/potential targets for Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker, but the New England passing game is one to avoid right now.

Levis got in three limited practices but didn’t progress well enough to get the start against the Patriots on Sunday. Mason Rudolph will get that nod with Trevor Siemian serving as the backup.

Raiders declared RB Dylan Laube, CB Sam Webb, S Trey Taylor, C Andre James, and DE Janarius Robinson inactive for Week 9 against the Bengals. With White ready to go against the Bengals, Laube was deemed inactive as Alexander Mattison and White will continue to be the Raiders’ top backs. Andre James (ankle) is the Raiders’ major injury inactive as the center will miss his first game of the season. EDGE Maxx Crosby (ankle) and LB Robert Spillane (knee) both did not practice Friday but are good to go.

Tremble was listed as questionable with a back injury, but won’t be able to go against the New Orleans defense. That should lead to more snaps — and hopefully more targets — for Ja’Tavion Sanders.

Diggs did not practice all week with what Jerry Jones deemed a calf “tear,” but will give it a go as the Cowboys try to get back to .500 against Atlanta. Eric Kendricks (shoulder), Linval Joseph (back), and Zach Martin (shoulder) are also active off the questionable line. Inactive for the Cowboys are Micah Parsons, Ezekiel Elliott, Andrew Booth, DaRon Bland, KJ Henry, Matt Waltezko, and Trey Lance. Elliott was deemed out for disciplinary reasons on Saturday. Bland and Parsons were ruled out on Friday with injuries. Lance is the third quarterback. The other three are healthy scratches.

Rattler goes from being the starter to the emergency QB with the return of David Carr (oblique). Williams was already listed out with his groin injury, so it’ll be Jordan Mims as the backup tailback against Carolina on Sunday.

OL Chris Lindstrom (knee) is active, which is great news for Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier. Andersen was questionable with a knee and has not played since September. Bertrand was declared out on Friday with a concussion. Everyone else on the Atlanta inactives list is a healthy scratch.

Per Schultz, teams still view Richardson as a franchise quarterback. His sources called the young passer’s benching “premature.” As Schultz notes, a midseason trade for the former No. 4 overall pick is unlikely, but that won’t stop teams from trying to score a deal on a physically gifted quarterback who was benched after just 10 starts. If Richardson were to be traded, it would almost certainly come after the season, when Indy can make plans to move forward beyond a few Joe Flacco spot starts.