NFL Player News

Dalton was involved in a car crash early last week. He was not hospitalized but did suffer a sprained thumb, forcing him to miss Sunday’s game against the Broncos. Bryce Young returned to the lineup with predictably disappointing results. Denver bludgeoned Carolina in a 28-14 win for the Broncos. Dave Canales didn’t commit to a starting quarterback on Monday. If healthy, Dalton will presumably return to the starting lineup. Xavier Legette and Jalen Coker will move up the wide receiver rankings with Dalton under center.

Mitchell appears to be on track for a Week 9 return against the Broncos. Unless workload guarantees are provided by the coaching staff, it is safe to assume Mitchell is gradually eased into things in a fantasy-unfriendly manner. Mitchell is worth stashing on benches, to find out if he’s retained his game-breaking speed post-injury.

Thomas’ teammate Travis Etienne has practiced in a limited capacity before being deactivated on Sunday’s with a hamstring injury for two weeks now, so it is extremely difficult to decipher Thomas’ status at this time. Initial reports suggested Thomas could miss multiple weeks but he is no considered day-to-day. Stay tuned.

Etienne has steadily and bizarrely remained a limited practice participant since straining his hamstring in Week 6. He would be an extremely volatile flex play in Week 9, if active, given his extended absence and Tank Bigsby’s ascension.

Thursday’s injury report should clarify whether Bigsby is at risk of missing the team’s Week 9 game against the Eagles. If Bigsby was limited because he suffered the injury in practice, then this suddenly becomes a situation to monitor but if he picked it up in Week 8 and is already practicing in a limited capacity, that is a great sign for his Week 9 availability. His backfield mate Travis Etienne Jr. (hamstring) remains limited by a hamstring strain.

With Rashid Shaheed done for the year and Bub Means nursing an ankle injury, the Saints are drastically thin at wide receiver. Mason Tipton will continue to serve as the team’s No. 2 wide receiver for Week 9 against the Panthers. With Derek Carr expected to return, Tipton should sneak into the WR5 ranks this week.

This is welcome news for a Broncos secondary who could be without S P.J. Locke (thumb), who was unable to practice. Turner-Yell returns from a brutal December 31st, 2023 ACL tear. Whether he can play in Week 9 remains to be seen but the unit could be receiving reinforcements soon.

Lattimore dealt with hamstring issues early in the year. Just when it seemed like he was past the injury, his hamstring flared up in Week 7 versus the Broncos. He left the game and did not return. Lattimore attempted to play through the injury in Week 8 but re-aggravated the issue once again. Given the persistence of his injury, Lattimore may need to sit for a week or two before taking the field again.

Miller was maligned for his inability to stay healthy by Saints head coach Dennis Allen in the offseason. He opened the year on injured reserve because of a hamstring issue and only lasted two games before suffering another hamstring injury. His timeline to return is unknown, but we can assume Allen won’t be giving him a meaningful workload any time soon.

Lazard’s absence could give the Jets one last shot at showcasing Mike Williams for a trade. Williams has become an afterthought in the New York offense with Garrett Wilson and Aaron Rodgers’ buddies rounding out the starting lineup at wide receiver. Williams has 11 catches for 160 scoreless yards this year.

Pierce has totaled more than three touches just once this season so his absence is largely inconsequential for Joe Mixon. The Texans also ruled out OL Jarrett Patterson, LB Azeez Al-Shaair and S Jimmie Ward against the Jets.