NFL Player News

Not the line you wanted, but certainly the line you’re used to. Since Week 12, Kelce has gone over eight targets just once and hasn’t done better than 68 yards in a game or scored. Kelce has become a low-end TE1. Noah Gray (1/10 on one target) gets tagged on to this post because he somehow managed to not score a touchdown. Neither player is an exciting start in Week 17 against the Steelers, though we can understand riding with Kelce’s volume.

Edwards has been the lead back since J.K. Dobbins (knee) went down. Though Dobbins’ 21-day practice window is open, Edwards is still tracking to be the lead back against the Patriots on Saturday. He was listed as limited due to an ankle injury, but there are no indications this is a major issue. Expect Edwards to be active and take on goal-line opportunities for Week 17.

Dissly continues to work his way back from a shoulder injury. Fellow TE Hayden Hurst did not practice, though given he was listed with an illness, Hurst has a chance to play on Saturday. Both Dissly and Hurst could be active against the Patriots, making neither of them, nor Stone Smartt, a top-20 tight end play.

The Chargers opened Dobbins’ 21-day practice window to return from injured reserve on Monday. He was listed as limited due to his knee injury on Tuesday, but given it is his first week practice, it is unlikely Dobbins will return for Week 17. His potential return won’t have a fantasy impact, but will have a real-football impact as the Chargers could get him back for a playoff run.

Conner suffered the knee injury in Week 16 and did not return. Head coach Jonathan Gannon said earlier the team will “see how the week goes” for Conner’s game-day status. The Cardinals play the Rams Saturday night, so it is a shorter week than usual, but Conner’s limited status in Tuesday’s estimated report is a good sign. Backup RB Trey Benson (ankle) was also listed as limited after missing Week 16. If neither Conner nor Benson can go, Michael Carter will retain the lead back role.

McLaughlin exited Week 15 early with a quad injury and missed Week 16. He starts out this week practicing in a limited capacity and could be on track to return for Week 17 against the Bengals. The Broncos just promoted Blake Watson to the active roster and opened Tyler Badie’s practice window. McLaughlin should be off fantasy radars in this murky backfield.

Watson is an undrafted free agent out of Memphis and has four carries for 10 yards this season. He made the initial 53-man roster for Denver, but was cut and re-signed to the practice squad in October. He returns to the active roster now to throw more hands into the murky Broncos backfield. CB Levi Wallace will be waived in a corresponding move.

Badie memorably collapsed on the sideline after suffering a back injury in Week 4 and has missed the last three months. He could come back and add more confusion to the Broncos running back room for the remainder of the season, but the Broncos haven’t put out anything conclusive to that effect and we’ll likely need to see practice reports to see how close he is to returning.

Burrow has played through this designation multiple times this year, so this is no surprise at this point. The star quarterback is likely just getting managed ahead of Saturday’s win-or-season-over showdown against the Broncos.

Same old, same old. Higgins has been listed with the knee the last few weeks, but the ankle designation is new. We’re not expecting to see Higgins sit on Saturday against the Broncos with the playoffs on the line. Ultimately, this is likely just maintenance for the star wideout.

Both players are done for 2024. They signed Jackson Barton off the practice squad in a corresponding move. Johnson had an extremely successful sophomore season, finishing with a 80.8 PFF grade and should be Arizona’s blindside tackle in 2025. Williams played just 343 snaps while dealing with injuries and will be on the final year of a two-year, $30 million deal he signed with the Cardinals last offseason. It’s possible the Cardinals could cut Williams after an injury-plagued season, but they’d only free up a little over $3 million in cap space if they did so the normal way. Kyler Murray’s line will be in rough shape for Weeks 17 and 18.