NFL Player News

Things started off hot for Smith-Njigba in the first half as he served as the featured player through the air. Things then took a drastic turn in the third quarter when Geno Smith was forced from the game with a knee injury, with Sam Howell then filling in under center for the remainder of the game. Even so, Smith-Njigba has seen his role grow immensely ever sinve DK Metcalf missed two games in Week 8 and Week 9, now responsible with a primary pass-catching role for a team near the top of the league in pass attempts per game. Fantasy managers will want to track the status of Smith as a Week 16 matchup against the Vikings appraoches.

He hurt his knee catching a touchdown from Joe Burrow, a fitting way for a Bengals defender to end the season after all the harm they’ve done to Burrow this year. Hubbard is entering the final year of a four-year, $40 million extension with the Bengals in 2025. He’s no lock to remain on the roster after a two-sack, 25-solo tackle season.

Jones also said he didn’t think training camp would be a consideration for Diggs, who will undergo season-ending knee surgery in the coming days. According to Jones, Diggs’ injury is related to fluid and cartilage issues in his knee, but it is a new injury unrelated to the torn ACL he suffered last season. It’s too early to say for certain, but Diggs could be a prime candidate to open next season on the PUP list based on the loose timeline Jones is providing us. We’ll have a better sense of things as we draw closer to camp, but it would not be a surprise if Diggs missed games early into next season.

Legette has not cracked 60 yards or caught a touchdown since the start of November, and this injury will probably wrap a bow on his mostly-rough rookie season. We wouldn’t be surprised if he was sent to injured reserve, though the Panthers will probably try to get him more experience and aren’t in a roster crunch situation where they have to do it. Legette is droppable in deeper redraft leagues.

Mayo managed to step in some hot water with the press by seeming to throw Alex Van Pelt under the bus on a goal-line play call this week — saying “you said it, I didn’t” about sneaking with Drake Maye — before referring to it as “a defensive response.” Mayo told WEEI that “Just like I tell the players, I’m still learning how those things work.” Never a bad time to learn, coach. The state of the Patriots roster is such that it’s hard to really hold Mayo’s feet to the fire for a terrible opening season, but he sure hasn’t gotten much from the roster and the defense has collapsed without Bill Belichick. It wouldn’t be unprecedented to fire a first-year head coach who struggled like this, but Kraft has had Mayo as the coach-in-waiting long enough that it would certainly be surprising.

Mixon left Week 15’s game briefly after a hip-drop tackle, but returned without missing more than a few snaps. He didn’t have his normal burst, but finished out the game. Volume alone will put Mixon near the RB1 line in a Week 16 start against the Chiefs — the Texans suddenly find themselves as slight favorites with Patrick Mahomes’ status in jeopardy.

Tillman has missed three games in concussion protocol, but finally made it back to the practice field towards the end of last week. If Tillman does play he’ll cut into Jerry Jeudy’s target share. It is possible that if the Browns bench Jameis Winston, no Cleveland receiver beyond Jerry Jeudy is actually worth starting. If healthy, Tillman would be a tough start if Dorian Thompson-Robinson gets the call.

Njoku did not practice all of last week with the hamstring ailment, so we’re probably going to need to at least see a limited session before we get excited about the odds of him coming back. The Browns morphed into a Jerry Jeudy-only offense with Njoku out on Sunday, with only Elijah Moore also garnering more than four targets.

The week-to-week designation undoubtedly puts Mahomes’ Week 16 availability into question, and perhaps his availability for the remainder of the regular season. with the AFC West already secured, the Chiefs could opt to sit Mahomes for the remainder of the regular season and all his ankle to get fully healed — or close to it — in time for the playoffs. If he doesn’t play in Week 16, the Chiefs would be forced to turn to Carson Wentz, who joined them on a one-year deal this offseason. Wentz saw his first action in Week 15’s win over the Browns, throwing for 20 yards on two pass attempts while also rushing three times for zero yards. He would have some mid to low-end QB2 appeal in 2QB/Superflex leagues but should be avoided in standard 1QB leagues.

Levis was benched in Week 15’s loss to the Bengals after committing four turnovers. The second-year quarterback is already looking at a job as a career backup less than two years after the Titans made him the No. 33 overall pick, but whether or not he gets another start this season currently hangs in the balance. Mason Rudolph isn’t the Titans’ quarterback of the future, but he may prove to be the better option for a team hoping to close out the year on a high note. Rudolph threw for 209-2-1 in relief of Levis in yesterday’s loss and will in all likelihood draw the start for Week 16 once the coaches are through with their “evaluations.”

Nothing has changed since Sunday, when Stefanski said after the game that he was unwilling to name a starter for next week’s game against the Bengals. Stefanski knows what he has in both Jameis Winston and Dorian Thompson-Robinson. With Winston, the Browns have a chance to be an explosive offense that’s just as capable of a 30-point outburst as it is a three-turnover day and no points — as we saw last week. With DTR, the offense’s ceiling is much more capped while the floor remains just as low. Fantasy managers who have something to play for in Week 16 will be pulling for Winston to get the nod, as a move to DTR would be an immediate downgrade for all Browns pass-catchers.