NFL Player News

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.

The Chiefs made Edwards-Helaire the first running back off the board in the 2020 NFL Draft just months after he helped Joe Burrow and LSU win a national title. The every down back ran for 181-803-4 in his rookie season while amassing another 36-297-1 through the air, but injuries and underwhelming play slowed him over the last several seasons. The emergence of Isiah Pacheco in 2022 left CEH without much of a role, and he ran for a season-low 223 yards and one touchdown last season. Edwards-Helaire was in and out of practice this offseason and publicly shared an ongoing battle with PTSD he’s been dealing with since 2018 that has, at times, led to him being admitted to a hospital. CEH took to social media following the Chiefs’ decision to waive him to thank the team and the city for their support. Now set to hit waivers, CEH will be a free agent in the coming days if he goes unclaimed.

Johnston suffered an ankle injury in Sunday’s loss to the Buccaneers but did manage to play out the remainder of the game. Monday’s DNP designation could simply be a matter of rest as the Chargers look to get him ready to play on a short week on Thursday night. We’ll see if things look any different on Tuesday or Wednesday’s injury report’s before allowing ourselves to get too concerned about Johnston’s Week 16 availability against the Broncos.

Surtain left Week 15’s game against the Colts after intercepting Anthony Richardson, but it appears he’s all well and good. A full practice on Monday puts him in line to not even be questionable against the Chargers on Thursday Night Football. The question would then become: Will Denver will move him around to deal with Ladd McConkey?

He left Week 15’s game against the Colts with a quad injury early in the second half, and with Thursday Night Football looming, this might be too quick of a turnaround for him. It would actually be beneficial for fantasy managers to have less questions about Denver’s backfield, and McLaughlin missing a game would be a positive for the FLEX appeal of Javonte Williams and Audric Estime.

Herbert played through the same ankle injury in Week 15’s loss to the Buccaneers and should be fine for a pivotal Week 16 game against the Broncos on Thursday night. We’ll see how things like a little closer to game day, but Herbert opening the week as a limited participant is a good sign for his availability.

It’s just an estimated practice report, but this doesn’t come as much of a surprise. Dissly suffered a shoulder injury in Week 14 and was reported to be on track to miss “a couple of weeks” because of the injury. There’s still time for him to get right, but it wouldn’t be surprising if he missed one more game on a short week.

It will end his regular season, at the very least. The Falcons third-year linebacker has been struggling with this knee issue all season, already serving an IR stint for it after Week 4. Andersen had played 29 snaps in Week 14 — his most since Week 4 — but will now miss at least the next four games. It’s possible that it shuts him down for the playoffs as well given the chronic nature of the issue. Andersen’s regular season ends with a 63.5 PFF run defense grade in 287 snaps. He had 47 combined tackles and one interception.

He’ll play in tonight’s game against the Raiders. The rookie second-round pick has only been a rotational defensive lineman thus far for the Falcons. He has a 53.4 PFF grade in 63 snaps, mostly as a pass rusher.

Ertz exited in the second quarter of Sunday’s win over the Saints and was ruled out with a concussion after halftime. The veteran tight end will have to clear protocol this week if he hopes to suit up for Week 16’s game against the Eagles. In addition to Ertz, safety Jeremy Chinn also landed himself in concussion protocol after Sunday’s game, meaning the Commanders could be without one starter on both sides of the ball.

Gilmore was listed as questionable heading into the game, but it sounds like the veteran corner will miss his second consecutive game with the hamstring injury that forced him from Week 13’s game against the Cardinals. With Gilmore out, the Vikings will likely start Fabian Moreau, who is listed as the next man up on the team’s depth chart.