NFL Player News

Fellow cornerback Michael Carter (back) also missed Wednesday’s practice. Both players look likely to miss Week 7, though the Steelers don’t have a deep cast of receivers to worry about. George Pickens will see plenty of Sauce Gardner on Sunday.

Flowers was missed on a few throws but also let a wide-open pass that would have gone for a long gain bounce off his chest. He bailed himself out of the drop when he hauled in a 16-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter, but this was a forgettable outing for Flowers, who has failed to eclipse 40 receiving yards in each of his last two games. Flowers’ six targets still led all Ravens receivers, but the Steelers provided little room for the Ravens’ passing game to operate in the defeat. Flowers will look to correct course in Week 12 against the Chargers and should project as a solid WR2 for fantasy.

It was another pitiful Jets performance, one where the first first down did not come until the 1:53 mark of the second quarter. Rodgers and company were “better” after that, but Rodgers had the looks of a player who is physically cooked, most vividly on the game-ending sack he took in Hail Mary mode. Rodgers has to work too hard for every completion, which is bad news since he can’t outrun anyone anymore when he departs the pocket. This is sadly an experiment that has run its course. When it comes to fantasy, Rodgers hasn’t cleared 233 yards in a month and has one three-touchdown day all season. Headed on bye, Gang Green does at least return to softer dates with the Seahawks, Dolphins and Jaguars, but that’s what the Colts were supposed to be, too.

It was Odunze’s highest target total since Week 3, and he was agonizingly close to doing more. A sideline pass from Caleb Williams glanced off his fingertips, and as the Bears had to throw later in the game, Odunze was clearly their No. 1 target. He’ll be a WR4/FLEX play against the Vikings next week as the Bears figure to struggle throwing the ball in that one, but the target story is looking better for him.

Henry was largely bottled up in this one. Had it not been for a 31-yard run in the second quarter, his rushing total would have looked much different in the 18-16 defeat. The league’s leading rusher lost a fumble on the second play of the game, but he did find the end zone on a one-yard run in the second quarter. Henry and the Ravens struggled against a physical Steelers defense for most of the afternoon and get another tough matchup against the Chargers in next week’s Monday night showdown. He’ll profile as an RB1, but may need a touchdown to fully deliver on those expectations.

Montgomery punched in touchdowns from six and two yards out but also ceded a goal line score to Jahmyr Gibbs. With the Lions throttling the Jags to the tune of 52 points, there were more than enough touchdowns to go around. Montgomery ultimately out-touched Gibbs 18-12, though both backs got home from a fantasy perspective. Week 12 is a similar setup for the Lions as they are set to square off with an atrocious Indianapolis run defense. Montgomery will push for an RB1 ranking alongside Gibbs next week.

He added one catch for eight yards on his only target. Johnson had not seen volume like this since Week 5’s win over the Panthers. In fact, he had just nine offensive touches the last three weeks. Johnson’s role — which looks to include at least some red zone work — should terrify D’Andre Swift rosterers. Johnson will only be a touchdown-or-bust FLEX play against the Vikings next week, but that’s more than you could say about him for most of last month.

Carr had his second straight efficient outing after throwing for 269 yards and two scores last week against Atlanta. He averaged 9.2 yards per attempt in Week 11 following his 10.8 YPA mark in Week 10. Carr targeted Taysom Hill relentlessly in the first half and connected with Marques Valdes Scantling for a 71-yard catch-and-run touchdown. He also hit TE Juwan Johnson for a short score. Carr, who hasn’t thrown an interception since Week 5, has become a reliable superflex option and a decent streaming play in one-QB leagues. He’ll be a top-15 play in Week 12 against a vulnerable Rams defense.

The Jags appeared to have a puncher’s chance at pulling off the upset on the opening drive. Jones began the day with five straight completions, all short throws, to set up Cam Little for a long field goal. That was just about the highlight of the day for Jags fans as Jones would go on to mount one more scoring drive before halftime and didn’t get any points on the board after the break. Jones rarely pushed the ball downfield and had next to no success when doing so. He had three completions of more than 10 yards and all three were to Brian Thomas Jr. Jones doesn’t have the arm talent or the decision-making to keep the offense on schedule and get points on the board. Even if Trevor Lawrence is out after the Jags’ Week 12 bye, Jones will not be on the fantasy radar.

Thomas Brown saw the backfield a little differently than Shane Waldron did. Swift had seen at least 16 carries in every game since Week 4, but Roschon Johnson came roaring out of the gates to claim a real role in the backfield — worse, Roschon saw goal line carries. Swift’s touchdown run left Xavier McKinney seeing stars, but a Johnson role expansion would be terrible news for his long-term fantasy prospects. Swift is only a borderline RB2 against the Vikings in Week 12.

Making his first start since Week 8, Richardson posted a new career high for passing by 39. The two-touchdown day on the ground was also “just” the second of his career. He also conducted a picture perfect two-minute drill that led to what proved to be the game-winning touchdown. Richardson still had several mind-numbing misses — the shorter the pass is, the less accurate Richardson becomes — but he was in greater rhythm in the intermediate areas than we are used to seeing. He found three different pass catchers for at least three grabs, including Josh Downs and Michael Pittman for five a piece. A normal day at the office for a lot of quarterbacks, but genuine progress for Richardson. He was also a complete menace with the ball in his hands, looking scarily difficult to tackle on his two- and four-yard touchdown runs. This was much more like the quarterback the Colts wanted to see before they benched Richardson for Joe Flacco. That won’t be happening again any time soon, it appears. That being said, the Lions are a significantly more difficult matchup for Week 12, albeit at home.