NFL Player News

Head coach Brian Callahan told reporters he expects Spears to play on Sunday. Spears said the same thing to reporters earlier this week. Fantasy managers can cautiously move forward with Spears in their lineups. The second-year back saw eight touches in roughly three quarters of action last week. Callahan has talked about getting Spears a larger share of the backfield multiple times. A possible increase in his workload keeps him on the RB3 radar for Week 3.

After managing just 19 yards in the Commanders’ Week 9 win over the Giants, McLaurin got back on track against the Steelers. The veteran receiver led the Commanders with 113 receiving yards, with 70 of those yards coming on the first drive of the second half. McLaurin kicked off the drive with a 54-yard reception and later hauled in a 16-yard pass to set Jeremy McNichols up for a one-yard touchdown run. McLaurin has had 53 or more yards in five of his last six games and has gone for 98-plus in four of those games. He’ll be a high-end WR2 in Week 11 against the Eagles.

Henry had a low-production day, seeing four targets and catching one for 14 yards. He split targets with Austin Hooper, who caught more of his deeper targets. Henry has been the more consistent tight end with a rapport with Drake Maye. He is a TE2 for Week 11.

It was setting up to be a big game for Kincaid before he injured his knee in the second quarter. He tried to put on a brace and play through the pain but he was unable to and left the game for good in the third quarter. With the Bills having their bye week after next week’s game against the Chiefs, it’s possible that the team could hold Kincaid out for next week to make sure he gets healthy. If that were the case, Dawson Knox would re-emerge into a large role in the passing game.

Continuing to steadily regress, this was just Darnold’s second scoreless outing of the season. It was also his second straight multi-INT start after he previously went seven games without doing so. Trying to jam the ball to Justin Jefferson on all three picks, Darnold just wasn’t seeing the field all that well against a Jags D that had been easy pickings for other signal callers. Darnold went as far as to throw a fourth pick, but it got overturned by an illegal hands to the face penalty. Of the three INTs Darnold “converted,” two came in the end zone/goal line area. Not great, especially since it isn’t coming out of nowhere. Darnold has looked more and more like “Jets Darnold” of late, though he’s hardly in “benching” territory. He is in “needs to show more” territory for a Week 11 road trip to Tennessee. The Titans have played quietly strong pass defense this year.

Knox got extra playing time with Dalton Kincaid battling a knee injury for a good chunk of the game. On one of the drives without Kincaid, Knox made a beautiful over-the-shoulder catch on a 34-yard pass into the red zone. If Kincaid were to miss next week’s game against the Chiefs, Knox could be on the radar for deeper formats.

The Patriots are seemingly prioritizing their younger wideouts forming a rapport with Drake Maye in what is all but a lost season. Bourne was active but did not see the field in Week 10 against the Bears. DeMario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte were Maye’s most targeted receivers while Ja’Lynn Polk scored a touchdown. K.J. Osborn is the other veteran receiver on the squad and he saw just one target on the day. Fantasy managers can safely cut Osborn and Bourne from fantasy rosters unless in the deepest of leagues.

The Bills were clearly trying to get Samuel going in Week 10 with both Keon Coleman and Amari Cooper sidelined but it never quite happened. Samuel made a few catches early on but he also dropped a potential third-down conversion and was targeted on one of Josh Allen’s two interceptions. The two have struggled to get any sort of rhythm going this season, and the 28-year-old Samuel is shaping up to be a bit of a free-agent bust for the Bills this year.

Jones did manage a QB sneak score on the ground, but when you add in his three sacks for 24 yards, he finished under 100 yards net passing. He was as bad as the box score looked, which also included a lost fumble on a bad snap. So inept he found no pass catcher for more than 40 yards and only one for more than 25, Jones was a fantasy-killer for all involved. An elite Vikings defense had a lot to do with that, but a Week 11 Lions road trip would arguably be even more daunting were Trevor Lawrence (shoulder) to remain sidelined. It’s possible coach Doug Pederson is fired this week, but our early lean is that Lawrence returns and McCorkle sits.

Warren also caught two passes for 29 additional yards, looking like the more explosive running back for the Steelers in Sunday’s win. Warren had a chance to punch in a go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter but lost the ball on his way to the ground, which resulted in a recovered fumble by the Commanders. Despite Cordarrelle Patterson being active, Warren set season highs in touches and yards in this one. He’ll have some upside as an RB3 in a challenging Week 11 matchup against the Ravens.