NFL Player News

Jedrick Wills Jr. is active and will start at left tackle. Njoku and Conklin have now missed multiple games with various injuries. Jordan Akins will continue to fill in at tight end, though he caught only one pass in Week 2. Pierre Strong Jr.'s inactive leaves more work in the backfield for D’Onta Foreman and Jerome Ford. Dorian Thompson-Robinson will serve as the emergency third QB.

The 33-year-old veteran had played every snap this season for the Jets until injuring his neck against the Cardinals. Olumuyiwa Fashanu, the 11th overall pick, replaced him in the lineup and would seem to be the next man up against the Colts in Week 11 if Smith’s injury is serious.

Estime had 14 touches to Javonte Williams’ three on Sunday. If his role continues to grow, it’s possible that Williams and Jaleel McLaughlin become third-down backs in name with only an occasional series to their name. Payton has been forthcoming about Estime of late, saying that his workload would grow last week before it happened. It sure seems like we should be treating him as the head of the Denver backfield starting in Week 11.

Johnson has appeared in two games for the Ravens since being acquired by them before the trade deadline. Johnson has played on just 22 offensive snaps with the Ravens and has run nine routes. He was targeted twice in Week 10’s win over the Bengals, but the Ravens can’t continue to play him behind guys like Nelson Agholor and Tylan Wallace. We’d expect Johnson to see a bit more action in Week 11 when the Ravens take on the Steelers, but he’ll be hard to trust in fantasy until we see some consistency in his usage.

The Packers will open Lloyd’s 21-day practice window this week, meaning the team can activate the rookie anytime. It’s unlikely he’ll have a lot of room to run behind Josh Jacobs, who has seen a 33.3 percent opportunity share this season, but Lloyd could work in behind Emanuel Wilson once he gets up to speed. Lloyd has had a tough start to his rookie year. He dealt with injuries throughout training camp and has appeared in just one game so far. Whether he’s activated for Week 11 or not will hinge on how involved he is in practice this week.

Highsmith rolled his ankle late in the Steelers’ Week 10 win over the Commanders and needed assistance getting to the sideline. We could safely assume, based on replay, that Highsmith would miss some time with the injury, but now we have a bit of a timeline. With their bye week already passed, a 2-3 week absence would put Highsmith on pace to return in Week 14 or 15. Highsmith has totaled 19 tackles, four TFLs, and three sacks for the Steelers in six this season.

The Buccaneers’ bye week could not come at a better time. The week off will give Wirfs some time to recover without the risk of missing an extra game, and the team is still holding out hope that Mike Evans (hamstring) can return in Week 12 after the bye. Wirfs will likely miss a game or two, but it seems unlikely the team will place him on injured reserve. Still, it’s a massive loss for the Buccaneers, who will likely replace him with veteran backup Justin Skule, who replaced him on Sunday. Todd Bowles said that Wirfs has a “low grade knee sprain” and “will be week to week.”

Overshown exited Week 10’s game with a non-contact injury but was able to walk off the field under his own power. With the injury not appearing significant, Overshown is expected to undergo treatment, and seems unlikely to miss any significant time. Overshown has totaled 67 tackles, seven TFLs, and four sacks in nine games this season.

Winston crashed back to earth in Week 9, throwing for 235 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions in the Browns’ loss to the Chargers. A Week 8 win over the Ravens in which he threw for 334-3-0 has likely bought him some good grace with the team, but the Browns shouldn’t be in a hurry to pivot to Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who has a career line of 522-1-6 on 136 pass attempts. Winston gets a plus fantasy matchup in Week 11 against the Saints, who he spent the previous four seasons with. He’s a high-risk, high-reward QB2.

Harbaugh said he sees “a little bit of a three-headed monster” in the Ravens’ backfield, but we’ll take that comment with a grain of salt. Justice Hill is averaging just 6.4 opportunities/gm this season, and Henry is leading the league in rushing through the first 10 weeks. We’d expect Mitchell to get additional work in the coming weeks, but a true “three-headed monster” approach seems unlikely, especially with Lamar also handling work on the ground.

Things aren’t going well in Chicago. Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron has been put to the test as of late, as his offense has inexplicably scored just 27 points in its last three games since coming off the bye. It’s a far cry from the 31.7 points they averaged from Weeks 4-6. Waldron is in his first season as the Bears’ OC, but with Eberflus entering 2024 already on the hot seat, he can ill-afford to bank on other coaches who are underperforming in their role. A change could be in order if Eberflus hopes to save his job.