NFL Player News

Pickens was locked down for most of the evening by a Cowboys secondary that funneled most of the production to ancillary pieces of the Pittsburgh offense. Quarterback Justin Fields targeted eight different pass-catchers on his pedestrian 27 pass attempts, largely due to the control the Steelers defense exerted on the game environment. Pickens should find more room against the floundering Raiders in Week 6.

It’s worth noting that this is Reiss’ opinion based on his experience of having sat through many press conferences with Mayo. Reiss notes, “Mayo said last week the way the team won its only game was ‘unsustainable’,” which was a Week 1 one over the Bengals in which Jacoby Brissett threw for 121 scoreless yards. The Patriots are amongst the worst passing teams in the league. Brissett has thrown for 696 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception this season while completing only 58.5 percent of his passes. Playing behind one of the league’s worst offensive lines isn’t doing him any added favors, but the younger, more athletic Maye could help extend plays and give the Patriots more of a vertical passing attack. We’ll see how things unfold throughout the week, but Brissett’s time as the team’s start appears to be drawing to a close.

Rice will undergo a procedure on Monday and hope to get a “final determination of Rice’s status” shortly after. Schefter states, “Nothing will be determined early next week at the earliest.” The Chiefs are clearly trying to explore all options with their star receiver after he suffered a devastating knee injury in Week 4’s win over the Chargers. He will undoubtedly miss an extended period of time, but even an eight week absence would put Rice on track to return some time around late-November/early-December.

According to police, Peppers was arrested after officers responded to a disturbance at a home during an altercation between two people. Khait also reports Peppers is believed to have been in possession of a class “B” substance that is thought to be Cocaine. Peppers, who is dealing with a shoulder injury, did not play in the team’s Week 5 loss to the Dolphins, and is scheduled to appear in court on Monday. The Patriots released a statement saying they are aware of the investigation and have no additional comment at this time.

Rapoport reports the Vikings don’t believe this to be a severe injury to Jones and that with the team now heading into their bye week, he may miss little to no time with the injury. The MRI will confirm the exact severity of the injury, so everything is wait-and-see at this point. If Jones would be unavailable for Week 7’s game against the Lions, Ty Chandler, who led the team with 14 carries, would serve as the lead back.

Rodgers suffered a low-ankle sprain in Sunday’s loss to the Vikings — which is far better than the dreaded high-ankle sprain that has been known to sideline players for extended lengths of time. Saleh didn’t appear overly concerned when discussing the injury to his quarterback, saying he’s going through “all the preliminary stuff” and will “be fine.” We’ll see what the team’s injury report shows on Thursday, but for now, we’d expect to see Rodgers next Monday night against the Bills.

Collins will have all week to get right before suiting up for Week 6 against the Patriots. The Texans’ No. 1 receiver exited early in the second quarter of Sunday’s win and did not return to the field. Collins didn’t speak with the media after the game, but for now, it sounds like he’ll have a chance to play against the Patriots, although, the injury report could hint at something different. If he were to miss any time, both Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell would see boosts to their weekly outlooks.

Freiermuth salvaged his fantasy day on a shuttle pass in the fourth quarter, which he took into the end zone from six yards out to give the Steelers a 17-13 lead with under five minutes remaining. Even so, the modest volume appears to be a consistent trend for the veteran tight end, particularly if Justin Fields continues to start under center. Freiermuth’s next chance to return a usable fantasy week comes in Week 6 when the Steelers travel to Las Vegas to face the Raiders.

Harris handled the bulk of the backfield work for a Steelers team playing without Jaylen Warren and Cordarrelle Patterson. That said, he remained inefficient against a Cowboys team that had surrendered 145.8 rush yards per game over the first four games of the season. Harris’ fantasy managers are likely better off searching for additional help in the backfield either through trade or the waiver wire.

The Steelers controlled the game environment throughout with a suffocating defense, taking their first lead of the game on the opening possession of the second half after the teams combined for just nine points during the first two quarters of play. Fields has demonstrated improved ball security, taking just one interception into Week 6. That said, he did put the ball on the ground again against the Cowboys but recovered the fumble. A Dallas defense missing both EDGE players was able to generate consistent pressure on Fields in the backfield, even after losing another EDGE in the second quarter. Even so, the pedestrian performance sees the Steelers drop to 3-2 after consecutive losses, made possible by a late game-winning touchdown by Jalen Tolbert on fourth-and-goal with under 30 seconds remaining to play. Fields’ hold on the starting quarterback job appears to be safe as the team prepares to face the Raiders on the road in Week 6.

Ferguson finished third on the team in targets behind Jalen Tolbert and CeeDee Lamb but outproduced the veteran alpha wider receiver in the yardage column thanks to consistent blanket coverage. Ferguson should see more consistent target totals in the immediate future with Brandin Cooks on injured reserve, something that is likely to manifest again in Week 6 when the Cowboys host the Lions.