NFL Player News

Levis had one of his worst games of the season against a leaky Bengals defense. He was strip-sacked in the second quarter, later throwing two interceptions towards the end of the half and giving the Bengals an advance heading into halftime. A third quarter pick-six then ended his day as Mason Rudolph came into the game. The Will Levis experiment is nearing a close in Tennessee. Head coach Brian Callahan will presumably announce a starter between Levis or Rudolph later, but neither are startable quarterbacks for the fantasy playoffs.

The James Conner show rides again. With Amari Demarcado on injured reserve, the Cardinals only currently have DeeJay Dallas as a rostered Conner backup for Week 16. They will likely elevate Michael Carter or Tony Jones for the game. Conner is a good bet for RB1 production against the Panthers.

Kelly is in the last year of his contract and will turn 32 this offseason. The Colts drafted Tanor Bortolini as a potential Kelly replacement this year, and they’ve already had to use him quite a bit as Kelly has missed time with neck and knee injuries. The Colts’ interior offensive line could be a big source of churn this offseason with Kelly and Will Fries entering free agency and Quenton Nelson on a huge cap figure that he hasn’t played up to this year.

Sanders has not officially declared for the draft yet, but that is almost seen as a formality and Sanders has already said in a moment captured on Colorado’s X account that it was his “Last game at Folsom” on Senior Day in Boulder. The Giants and Raiders are tied for the worst record in the NFL with three weeks to play. The Giants have certainly done a lot of homework on Sanders as well, and Raanan adds “Sanders seems to be the most likely option should New York (currently 2-12) finish with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.” As things currently stand it would appear that Sanders and Cam Ward are potential top-10 picks, and having two teams likely to pick in the top-five tied to Sanders tells us a lot about what the NFL is thinking.

Barmore reportedly is dealing with recurring symptoms from the blood clots that forced him to miss most of this season. Mayo added: “I feel for Barmore. He did everything right.” It sure sounds as if the Patriots should go into this offseason not relying on Barmore for 2025. Barmore signed an extension in April that ties him to the roster that won’t allow the Patriots to save any money on a release through next season, so they’ll likely give him more runway for a comeback next season. Hopefully he’s able to shake the symptoms and return to the field at some point.

Because of how Cousins’ contract is structured, he’ll get a say in his future. The Falcons are taking either a $65 million cap hit in 2025 or $40 million in 2025 and $20 million in 2026 as part of post-June 1 release if they so choose. They can save cap space by trading Cousins — depending on how much of his guaranteed salary they’d have to eat to move him — but Cousins also has a no-trade clause. It’s hard to imagine a huge market for Cousins given his rough finish to the season, but perhaps a desperate team can be sold on him being another year removed from his Achilles injury and hope he rebounds physically.

“Obviously, he’s a popular player in the locker room and with the fan base, but the Browns will have to determine what they think Chubb has left as a player — and he will have to determine where he feels the Browns are headed and how he might fit in that plan,” Jackson adds. Chubb enters free agency at 29 this offseason. The Browns are an intriguing landing spot for a drafted running back if Chubb leaves. Jerome Ford will enter the final year of his rookie deal in 2025.

Vele snagged a six-yard touchdown from Bo Nix near the middle of the second quarter to give the Broncos a 21-10 lead. The Chargers dominated from that point on, and Vele wasn’t a factor for the rest of the contest. The 27-year-old rookie — still a weird thing to type — has been much more relevant than anticipated, but fantasy players should be able to find much better options than Vele in Week 17 against the Bengals.

Sutton’s game was about as non-descript as it gets; especially from what should be the top option in the passing attack. The wideout had a long gain of 18 yards, and while there was just one target that wasn’t completed, far too many of the receptions were of the short-yardage variety. Sutton will be in the WR2 conversation against the Bengals in Week 17.

The overwhelming majority of the yardage for Mims came on a swing pass from Bo Nix that resulted in a 53-yard dash down the sideline. Outside of that he was mostly a non-factor, but that shouldn’t have been the case. Mims cooked the Chargers’ secondary on what should have resulted on a long touchdown, but Nix put far too much air on the pass to change the long score into an incompletion. Mims will likely remain a gadget player for Week 17 against the Bengals. The question is whether that will change in the coming years.

Williams showed off his burst on a 15-yard rush and was an effective safety valve for Bo Nix, but as per usual, most of the touches didn’t result in much for the 24-year-old. Audric Estime was the much more effective runner, but Estime’s inability to help in the passing game serves to Williams’ benefit. Jaleel McLaughlin sat out Thursday with a quad injury, and his potential return in Week 17 against the Bengals makes this a muddy situation that won’t likely clear up before the end of the year.