NFL Player News

With Rice sidelined for a while, Fowler said Smith-Schuster — who has two catches for 17 yards on the season — will become a starter in the KC offense. The team, Fowlers said, wants to “use Smith-Schuster in the short and midrange areas of the field, where Rice was doing his damage.” Fowler added that “Smith-Schuster knows the offense from having played in it two seasons ago, and Patrick Mahomes looked to him in key spots during that Super Bowl run.” Smith-Schuster, 27, could suffice as a low-ceiling fantasy option while Travis Kelce functions as the Chiefs’ de facto WR1.

Colbert has not played in a regular season game since 2022, when he appeared in two games for the Bears. The 31-year-old has spent parts of the last seven years with the 49ers, Dolphins, Giants, Jets, Browns, and Bears. He has been in and out of Chicago over the last two season and now returns as the Bears add depth to their secondary.

Highsmith missed Week 11 against the Ravens and has been out since Week 10 due to an ankle injury. Mike Tomlin said last week that Highsmith would be week-to-week and he has not been placed on injured reserve. He has three sacks in six games this season, grading out as one of the Steelers’ best pass-rushers. With back-to-back DNPs to begin the week, expect Highsmith to miss Thursday’s Week 12 game against the Browns, though the mini-bye may allow him to recover enough for Week 13.

Cooks has not played since Week 4 and has little fantasy value to offer in a Cooper Rush-driven offense. The 31-year-old has not been activated off injured reserve yet. Even deep leagues probably have to look at the idea of him providing fantasy value skeptically at this point.

Desperate PPR-scam desirers at tight end can start with Luke Schoonmaker, who caught 6-of-10 targets for 56 yards on Monday night. Dallas’ offensive ceiling is probably 20 points right now, but Schoonmaker has made the most of his opportunities when Ferguson has missed time this year, with 12 catches in two games against the Saints and Texans.

But there will also be a package of plays for Trey Lance. Ultimately this may make neither player superflex viable if they are splitting into each other’s time. Only truly desperate times would call for starting either player against a Commanders defense that is on the upswing in Week 12.

Bailey has been a special-teams-only player for Arizona this year. He’s mainly played as a depth linebacker for the Bengals on run downs in his NFL career after they drafted him with a seventh-round pick in 2020. Bailey will be eligible to return at the end of the season, but it wouldn’t be surprising if the Cardinals moved on given his sparse role for the team.

It’s the second waiver claim on Wilson in as many years, as the Patriots claimed him in the middle of last season from the Cardinals. Wilson has yet to deliver above a 61.2 PFF coverage grade in his four years in the NFL, but with DJ Turner (clavicle) down, the Bengals clearly needed depth at corner.

It’s a depth shuffling for New England, who put Curtis Jacobs (head) on injured reserve and waived Ochaun Mathis. Leo has no NFL snaps yet as a 2023 sixth-round pick for the Colts. He did have a 64.1 PFF preseason grade in 2023.

Moore’s status for Week 12 doesn’t seem overly endangered at this point after a pair of limited practices ahead of Thursday night. Bye week attrition means he’ll be on the WR3/FLEX line even against the Steelers defense. Moore has 29 targets in three weeks with Jameis Winston.

We’ve heard almost nothing from beat reporters or Browns media about Njoku missing this game, so we’ll stick with believing he’s just being managed for the moment. Njoku caught 9-of-10 targets for 81 yards last week against the Saints and played a season-high 86 percent of the snaps.