NFL Player News

Backup interior lineman Ryan Bates was ruled out while starting left tackle Braxton Jones is questionable. Stop us if you’ve heard this before. The Bears could be down multiple starters along the offensive line this week.

Homer returned from injured reserve in late October after battling a hamstring injury and now appears to be fighting through another one. His role with both D’Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson was likely to be confined to special teams, making this one of little fantasy importance.

That makes all primary skill position starters except tight end Juwan Johnson out for the Saints in Week 16, with Rashid Shaheed and Taysom Hill done of the season and Chris Olave yet to make it back from a devastating concussion. Kendre Miller should see increased run in the backfield in the absence of Kamara.

Alexander will miss his fifth straight for the Pack while linebacker Quay Walker misses his second game this season. It makes sense for the team to give the injuries as much time as possible to heal up with the playoffs on the horizon.

The interior of the offensive line became an issue against the Chiefs in Week 16 as the Texans struggled to sustain drives. Running back Joe Mixon averaged 4.1 yards per carry as well, which is right at the seasonal average allowed by the Chiefs. That’s bad news for a team fighting for playoff seeding with a matchup against the Ravens in Week 17, who are one of the only teams in the league to allow fewer yards per carry than the Chiefs in 2024.

It’ll mark the fifth straight absence for the elite cornerback as he tends to a knee injury suffered in Week 11. Holding him out until fully healthy is likely the right long-term call for a team all but assuredly to find themselves playing in Wildcard weekend in the postseason. Alexander managed to return to a full practice this week but the additional time off should ensure he is back to 100% for the playoffs.

Walked suffered an ankle injury in the second half of Sunday’s loss to the Vikings and didn’t return to the field. He dealt with an ankle injury earlier in the season but hasn’t been listed with an ankle injury since Week 14’s game against the Cardinals. Monday’s report was only an estimation, but if Walker can’t go on Thursday against the Bears, Zach Charbonnet would again be jammed into a bell cow role. We’ll see if things improve for Walker on Tuesday when the Seahawks take the field for the first practice of the week.

Great news for fantasy football, this is. It’s also a good sign that Murray is coming out of the competitive portion of this year mostly healthy. Thus far, Murray has completed 68.6 percent of his passes for 3288 yards, 16 touchdowns, and nine picks. Those aren’t exactly franchise quarterback numbers, but Murray has probably done enough to remain Arizona’s franchise quarterback going forward while they focus their 2025 resources on the defense and offensive line.

Two can play the “claim a wideout off waivers from the team they’re playing this week” game, Texans. Sims is more of a punt returner than anything, but the Ravens have struggled in that area as Desmond King put a ball on the ground on Saturday. The rare Festivus waiver claim trade is to be celebrated.

Johnson will be able to share some intel on his old team ahead of Christmas’ game against the Ravens. The target vacuum that has emerged in Houston with injuries to Tank Dell and Stefon Diggs is an inviting fantasy football volume spot. It is unlikely the Texans would ask Johnson to be that right away, but the #RevengeGame narratives do write themselves nicely. We’d expect them to try and get his feet wet in Week 17, and maybe give him an expanded role in Week 18 and see what happens against the Titans.