NFL Player News

With Keon Coleman (wrist) out, Samuel has seen increased usage in back-to-back weeks and made the most of his opportunities on Sunday against the Chiefs. Samuel’s longest play was a 21-yard reception in the second quarter, but his biggest play came early in the fourth quarter when he found the end zone on a 12-yard touchdown to put the Bills up 23-14. Samuel’s usage largely hinges on the return of Coleman, who could be back after the team’s Week 12 bye to face the 49ers in Week 13. If Coleman is active, Samuel won’t have any fantasy upside in that game.

All signs are pointing to Slayton clearing concussion protocol before the weekend. The veteran receiver suffered a concussion in the team’s Week 9 loss to the Commanders and missed Week 10’s game against the Panthers as a result. Slayton is nearly three full weeks removed from his concussion. He should be good to go for Week 12, but doesn’t profile as anything more than a boom-or-bust WR4 in fantasy.

Johnson logged a limited session on Wednesday but was upgraded to a full participant on Thursday with one practice still to go in the week. The rookie tight end caught 4-of-6 passes for 37 yards in the Giants’ Week 10 loss to the Panthers and profiles as a low-end TE2 against the Buccaneeers.

Cooks has been limited in back-to-back practices to open the week. The team just opened his 21-day return window on Wednesday, so it’s hard to know whether or not they’ll activate him for Week 12’s game against the Commanders. Cooks isn’t returning from a serious injury but rather an infection that developed in his knee following a knee scope during this preseason. This could give him an increased chance at returning for Sunday’s game, but we’ll see what happens when Friday’s injury report is released.

Lamb wasn’t spotted during the media portion of Thursday’s practice, but the team officially listed him as a DNP later in the day. This immediately puts his Week 12 availability up in the air, as the Cowboys may think better of letting him play through multiple injuries in what is more or less a lost season. Lamb’s Week 12 outlook will be a bit more optimistic if he can get on the field Friday.

Mack was entirely unable to practice in Week 11 before ultimately being ruled inactive on game day. The Chargers still listed him as questionable to play in the lead-up though. Mack’s limited return to practice suggests he will face the Ravens in Week 12.

This doesn’t come as much of a surprise. Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said earlier in the week that Ferguson would be “hard-pressed” to play in Week 12 against the Commanders. Barring an unexpected turn of events, we’d expected Ferguson to be ruled out before the weekend, paving the way for Luke Schoonmaker to take his role as a viable tight end streamer after catching six passes for 56 yards on 10 targets in last week’s loss to the Texans.

McConkey landed hard on his right shoulder in Week 11 and was briefly taken to the blue medical tent so the fact that the Chargers opted to rest him for Week 12’s first practice is unsurprising. McConkey has an extra day to get right with the Chargers facing the Ravens on Monday night. Fantasy managers should tentatively expect McConkey to play this week.

As expected, LaPorta practiced in full for the second consecutive day. The Lions’ brilliant handling of his shoulder injury last week helped ready LaPorta for a full workload against the Colts’ paltry tight end-coverage unit. He is a locked-in TE1 for Week 12.

After being limited in his return to practice on Wednesday, Evans was upgraded to a full participant on Thursday and should be good to go for Week 12’s game against the Giants, barring any setbacks. The veteran receiver said earlier in the week that he “could have tried to push it” for the team’s Week 10 game against the 49ers, but it sounds like the extra time off has allowed him to be more than ready for a Week 12 return. Evans is trending in the right direction and could be off the injury report completely by Friday. He’ll be a solid WR2 in a plus matchup against the G-Men.

The Colts did the same thing with CB Kenny Moore II (knee), who was added to Thursday’s injury report despite practicing in full. Given both players’ full participation today, we do expect both Downs and Moore to suit up against the Lions on Sunday. It should be a pass-heavy environment.