NFL Player News

Higgins returned from a three-game absence to nearly double the yardage of the next pass-catcher in the offense, with Ja’Marr Chase checking in with 75 yards and two touchdowns. The Bengals fall to 4-7 with the loss and now find their backs against the wall as they struggle to stay alive in the AFC playoff picture, with next week’s meeting with the Steelers likely determining their season. The Bengals continue to lead the league in pass rate over expectation, something that is likely to keep both primary pass-catchers in Cincinnati fed with volume the remainder of the season.

After missing four games in a row, Latham is back to man the right side for the Titans. Tennessee’s replacement tackles were John Ojukwu (42.8 PFF offensive grade) and Oli Udoh (52.3 PFF offensive grade), so perhaps a healthy Latham can give Cam Ward some more room to operate in Week 6.

Calf injured his calf in the Titans’ Week 5 win over the Cardinals and was a DNP all week. The veteran kicker will be sidelined for Sunday’s game against the Raiders as a result, giving way for Matthew Wright to see his first action of 2025. Wright split time between three teams in 2024, including the Titans, going 15-for-16 on his field goal attempts while making all tries inside of 50 yards.

Bowles said he doesn’t know when the receiver will return to practice and could only provide an “I hope so” when asked if McMillan would play this season. He was projected to be out past the Week 9 bye, so this isn’t exactly a negative update, but it’s clear that we’re not a lot closer to McMillan making a debut this season and it wouldn’t be surprising if he didn’t play at all in 2025.

According to Schultz, Strange’s injury “includes a ligament tear suffered in Monday night’s game against the Chiefs,” however, the third-year tight end is not believed to need surgery. Strange was already slated to miss an automatic four games after the Jaguars placed him on injured reserve earlier this week, but we can now expect his absence to extend beyond the four-game minimum. Strange leads the Jaguars in receptions (20) this season and appeared to be on the verge of a breakout season prior to going down.

We’re one bad Dillon Gabriel hit away from watching Sanders — based on his preseason play — take a lot of sacks against Pittsburgh. Sanders has held off fierce competition from *checking notes* Bailey Zappe to take over as the No. 2 after Joe Flacco was dispatched to Cincinnati in a mercy mission. If you are the type of fantasy football dynasty manager who believes in Sanders’ college tape, he’ll make a worthwhile stash in deeper leagues.

Stewart had gotten in limited practices on Wednesday and Thursday, so it’s possible he dealt with a setback. It’s also possible he just wasn’t ready. The rookie hasn’t played since Week 2 and is now at “a standard IR stint” level of missed games assuming the doubtful listing holds.

That makes it three weeks in a row for Moore, who has not practiced since the Thursday ahead of Week 5. He’s a potential IR candidate over the weekend. With Mike Hilton on practice squad IR, the Colts cornerback corps shouldn’t be able to limit what little there is to limit of the Raiders passing attack. Backup RB Tyler Goodson (groin) joined Moore on the rule-out list.

Pierce officially missed two weeks with his brain injury and practiced in full for this whole week. He should be a usable-if-unexciting FLEX play against the Cardinals and split Josh Downs’ role enough to where neither player is a true fantasy star.

Chase reportedly joined the Bengals for walk-throughs during Friday’s practice but then left the field and did not return. The illness is a new one for Chase, who was not listed with any ailments prior to Friday, but it’s also not uncommon to see players play through these things. It’s more likely than not that Chase will suit up this weekend, but fantasy managers will want to check the Bengals’ inactives 90 minutes before kickoff to confirm his availability.

The Panthers continue to take hits to their offensive line, with Moton being the latest starter to be sidelined following injuries to C Austin Corbett and RG Robert Hunt earlier this season. Moton has started all five games for the Panthers at right tackle this season, earning a PFF blocking grade of 73.7 while allowing 13 pressures and two sacks. Backup Yosh Nijman is listed behind Moton on the depth chart and will presumably draw the start on Sunday against the Cowboys. In addition to Moton, the Panthers have also ruled out CB Akayleb Evans (hamstring) and DT Tershawn Wharton (toe) for Sunday’s game.