NFL Player News

It’s been a long time coming for Brooks, who was the first running back selected in the 2024 NFL Draft. The Panthers activated Brooks from the reserve/NFI list on November 6th but opted not to play him in Week 10. He had an extra week to recover during the team’s Week 11 bye, but is now expected to be active for Week 12’s game against the Chiefs. Brooks will eat into Chuba Hubbard’s workload going forward, but it’s hard to know how much of a dent he’ll make early on. Hubbard is fresh off signing a four-year contract extension with the Panthers, an indication that they still plan to utilize him at a high rate in the coming years. Fantasy managers who have stashed Brooks all season will soon be rewarded for their patience, but he’s best left on fantasy benches until we get a better sense on how the team plans to use him.

Sneed has started just five games for the Titans and has 19 solo tackles and no interceptions this year. Jarvis Brownlee and Darrell Baker have been starting at corner for Tennessee in Sneed’s absence.

Melfionwu was designated to return on November 6th, so he has until the 27th to be activated. It sounds like he might not be ready after that, either. Melifonwu has not played yet this year, and it’s possible that the Lions don’t end up returning him from injured reserve after this setback.

Okudah has been on injured reserve since September 11th after he suffered a hip injury in Week 1. The former first-rounder did not play a defensive snap in his first and only game and will likely serve as added depth for the Texans’ secondary on Monday night against the Cowboys if active.

Smith left in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Steelers and did not return. If we don’t have an update before Thursday, then the most we’ll know about his Week 12 availability will come when the team releases its first injury report. The Ravens face the Chargers on Monday night, giving Smith an extra day to heal up. He briefly attempted to play through the injury, so it’s possible some rest and rehab is all he’ll need to avoid missing Week 12.

That opens his 21-day practice window. Dean held a presser today and told reporters he was “ready now,” so it would not be surprising to see him officially activated ahead of Tampa’s Week 12 game against the Giants. Dean initially suffered the injury against the Saints in Week 6.

He’ll miss at least the next four weeks. Thomas has just three catches for seven yards this year while missing several games with the calf listing, and we can’t imagine the Panthers would be desperate to bring him back in Week 16. He’s an impending free agent after the season.

“Went though a lot of tests last night and this morning,” Rizzi told reporters. McCoy re-aggravated the injury in the first half of Week 11’s game against the Browns after missing two months with it. The Saints are on bye this week.

We’re beginning to think we’ll never get to see Desmond Ridder waste the Raiders time. Minshew went for 282, two touchdowns, and one pick on Sunday against a Dolphins team that seemed pathologically unable to guard Brock Bowers. The Broncos will be a tougher test, one that likely will make Minshew a bottom-tier QB2 at best in most Week 12 rankings.

Payton rug pulled fantasy managers yet again when he played Javonte Williams in a lead role after limiting him to just one carry in Week 10. Any thoughts of Audric Estime stepping into the team’s RB1 role can be temporarily shelved, as Payton appears unwilling to commit to any of his three backs as the focal point of their offense. This will make for a sticky situation going forward as the Broncos prepare to face the Raiders in Week 12.

Spears played just 26 snaps against the Vikings in Week 11 and was mostly a spectator, with three carries and three targets to Tony Pollard’s nine and four. If you have a bye week crunch, Spears can probably head to the waiver wire ahead of Week 12. Even if he did play, it’s unlikely he’d do all that much against the Texans. It’s good news for Tony Pollard’s volume in a year that has been full of good news for Tony Pollard’s volume.