NFL Player News

After insisting fantasy managers start him in Week 8 earlier this week, Hill now appears to be dealing with a foot injury. We don’t know the severity of his injury, which makes Friday’s injury report an important one to monitor. Hill has been close to unstartable in fantasy leagues ever since Tua Tagovailoa went down with a concussion. Hill has averaged just 7.6 fantasy points per game in PPR leagues in four games without Tagovailoa, but is averaging 22.2 fantasy points per game in 31 career games with him. Hill will be a must-start in Week 8 against the Cardinals if activated, but we’ll need to see what Friday’s report holds.

In an exchange with reporters, Dave Canales explained Brooks’ current week-to-week status and seemingly acknowledged Brooks could miss the 2024 season. Canales began by saying that Brooks met this week’s goal simply by practicing three days in a row. Canales then said he wants “to make sure that [Brooks is fully confident and ready to go, and I think that’s another week... We’ll go hard next week and try to get him ready.” Canales was then asked, “does the possibility exist that [Brooks] does not play this year?” to which Canales replied, “it could—it could be. But, again, we’re just [going to] take it week-to-week right now.”

McCarthy prefaced the statement by saying, “Dalvin is ready. I really like the work he’s putting in.” The Cowboys were on bye in Week 7 so it’s possible McCarthy unveils a new, exciting, post-bye game plan featuring the the 29-year-old Cook. This is at least somewhat unlikely though. Cook averaged just 3.2 yards per carry last season although he’s managed to average 0.19 missed tackles forced per carry in each of the last three seasons. Cook likely rotates in as an unhelpful member of the Cowboys’ new three-player committee.

Engram has caught 15-of-15 targets over the last two weeks and should remain hot as a locked-in TE1 against the Packers. His hamstring is as healthy as it’s been since Week 1 and he remains a favorite of Trevor Lawrence.

Bosa has been out since Week 4 while nursing the hip injury. He practiced in a limited capacity all week and told reporters on Friday that he expects to be active against the Saints, but will likely be on a snap count. Bosa went on to say that he’s been “dealing with a glute strain that ended up affecting his sciatic nerve,” per The Athletic’s Daniel Popper. Bosa can create problems for the sack-prone Spencer Rattler, even on limited opportunities.

Chark remains on injured reserve while recovering from the groin injury he suffered just before the start of the season. With Quentin Johnston unlikely to play, Chark could earn a starting if activated over the weekend. Chark could run a bunch of routes on a Justin Herbert offense, but it’s too early for fantasy managers to spend a roster spot on him.

Dissly returned for a limited session on Friday after being held out of the first two practices of the week. Hayden Hurst is also questionable after returning to practice. He missed Week 7’s game with a groin injury. In his absence, Dissly racked up eight catches for 81 yards. Dissly has high-end TE2 potential if he is active and Hurst is out but is a touchdown-or-bust option if Hurst returns to force a committee.

Sweat was added to Thursday’s injury report as a limited participant and was unable to practice at all on Friday. While the rookie, Sweat, does not always show up in the box score, his potential loss is significant. At 6-foo-4, 366 pounds, Sweat frequently takes on double teams and despite the extra offensive attention, he has tallied three tackles for loss or no gain thus far.

McConkey was held out of practice on Wednesday and Thursday but returned for a limited session on Friday. He played through the hip issue last week, though he also practiced in all three sessions before doing so. He caught five of seven targets for 46 yards versus the Cardinals. Despite the light workload in practice, McConkey should manage to suit up this week, keeping him in the WR3 ranks barring a setback.

Levis remained limited in practice all week, allowing Mason Rudolph to take a majority of first-team repetitions. Even if Levis is active, it would be surprising to see him get the start. He is droppable in re-draft formats.

Johnston suffered an ankle injury in Week 6 and has yet to return to practice. He won’t play through the doubtful tag this week. Ladd McConkey should suit up despite being listed as questionable with a hip injury. Assuming he does, Ladd will operate as the Chargers’ top receiver and will sit in the WR3 ranks for Week 8.