NFL Player News

For the second week in a row, Allgeier seemed to be turning the Falcons’ backfield into a committee, though Bijan Robinson did out-touch him 15-9. He also soundly out-gained him, 77-25. Allgeier was nevertheless featuring on third downs and seemed glued to the field late in the fourth quarter and overtime. Pro Football Focus did chart Robinson with an overall snap advantage of 58-31. Allgeier is good, but we still haven’t seen any reason to believe Robinson isn’t better. Allgeier’s “fantasy value” continues to come more in the form of what he is costing Robinson than gaining for himself.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported earlier on Friday that Taylor “likely misses time” with his ankle injury. That’s all but a lock after he failed to take the field in any of the Colts’ three practices this week. Fantasy managers rostering Taylor should plan to be without him in Week 5, while those stashing Trey Sermon should approach him as a high-end RB3 against the Jaguars.

McBride clearing protocol is great news for the Cardinals, who get back one of their top options in the passing game. Over the first three weeks of the season, McBride ranked second on the Cardinals in targets (22) while leading the team in receptions (14). He’s scored as a top-12 fantasy tight end in two of the three games he’s played in, and should be viewed as a TE1 in Week 5 against the 49ers.

This comes from ESPN’s John Keim, who said he’s “not sure how much [Robinson] actually did” after the media portion of practice ended. Still, it sounds as if Robinson got in some amount of work after being a DNP on Wednesday and Thursday, which should increase his chances of suiting up on Sunday against the Browns. If Robinson is unable to go, it will be Austin Ekeler and Jeremy McNichols splitting backfield touches, with Ekeler the favorite to handle most of the work.

Singletary has missed each of the Giants’ first two practices to open the week. Daboll said he will run Singletary through some drills later today and make a decision on his Week 5 status after practice. If Singletary is unable to go, rookie Tyrone Tracy could be in line for a busy day. Tracy has outsnapped veteran Eric Gray 63-15 on the season, and could also see extra work in the passing game with Malik Nabers (concussion) already ruled out for this week.

Nabers remains in concussion protocol and has yet to practice this week. His absence undoubtedly hurts a Giants’ passing game that is thin at receiver behind him, but it should open the door for Wan’Dale Robinson, whose 38 targets rank as fifth-most amongst all receivers, to have a busy day against the Seahawks. Robinson can be viewed as a volume-based WR2 this week.

McDaniel also said there’s a chance Odell Beckham Jr. (knee) could suit up after opening the year on the PUP list. The Dolphins plan to decide on the status of both players after Friday’s practice, so we’ll have a better sense of their availability soon. If Mostert does play, there’s a chance he eats into De’Von Achane’s workload, but McDaniel said the plan is to “modify how much [Mostert] plays in general. Achane has handled 75 of the Dolphins’ 111 running back opportunities this season and should still be viewed as the lead back until we see otherwise. Beckham, if active, is nothing more than a low-upside bench stash for the time being.

Oliver popped up on the team’s injury report Thursday and has now been ruled out for the week. The veteran lineman hopefully won’t miss more than a game, but he’s one of several Bills defenders who have already been ruled out for Week 5. In addition to Oliver, head coach Sean McDermott also said DT Austin Johnson (oblique) and S Taylor Rapp (concussion) won’t play vs. the Texans.

Shakir has yet to practice this week and has now been ruled out. He suffered his ankle injury in Week 4 against the Ravens and was reportedly “really sore” heading into this week. It doesn’t sound like there are any plans to put Shakir on injured reserve at this time, so hopefully he’ll be back after a 1-2 week absence.

Whether or not this means Cook will be elevated for Week 5’s matchup against the Steelers is to be determined, but it sounds like the Cowboys are ready to explore other internal options at running back. McCarthy also noted that Rico Dowdle and Ezekiel Elliott “haven’t been given a lot of opportunities” and “haven’t done anything to warrant their opportunities decreasing right now.” Both Dowdle and Elliott are averaging less than 4.0 YPC on the season, and its Dowdle who is currently leading the team in rushing yards (134). Cook averaged 3.2 YPC with the Jets last season and has long been trending toward washing out in the league. That he wasn’t able to be elevated to the Cowboys’ 53-man roster prior to this is somewhat concerning about where he’s at now as a player. We’ll see if he ends up taking in-game touches soon, but it sounds like Cook is slowly working his way into the Cowboys’ backfield rotation.