NFL Player News

Pierce was declared out on Friday due to a concussion he suffered in Week 15. Fellow WR Ashton Dulin (ankle) is active and in line for increased snaps with Pierce out. TE Mo Alie-Cox (hip) and K Matt Gay (neck) are also active while LB EJ Speed (knee) is the Colts’ other injury inactive.

We take Fowler’s phrasing to mean that the Bengals are interested in hiring Eberflus for their vacant defensive coordinator role. He adds, that Eberflus “should be in the coordinator mix league-wide.” Eberflus’ successes working as the Colts’ defensive coordinator from 2018-2021 earned him the Bears head coaching gig, so returning to the defensive coordinator ranks certainly makes sense.

Shanahan named Kubiak to the role just two days ago but, per Jones, “NFL rules do not allow teams to name coaches to previously closed coordinator roles without an open search process.” Shanahan reportedly favors Kubiak for the role because “Kubiak has done this job without the title for 2 years, but rules dictate a search must be done.” The search will undoubtedly be heavily scrutinized by the league. How it pans out is anyone’s guess.

Badie suffered a scary back injury in Week 4 and collapsed on the sideline. He was placed on injured reserve and thankfully returned to practice a few weeks ago. He practiced in full this week, though the Broncos could continue to ease him into the lineup with another week off. They will need to make their decision wether to activate him or not on Saturday.

Jones tweaked his quad in Week 18. He attempted to play through the issue but was knocked out of the game by a hard hit late in the contest. The game was all but decided already, so his absence was likely a precaution. Two limited sessions to start the week put him on track to suit up for the opening round of the playoffs. The Vikings will release their final injury report on Saturday.

This is good news for McFadden, who was waived by the Chargers just yesterday. The 2023 fifth-round now pick gets another shot at securing an active roster spot on a looking to bounce back from a disappointing season.

The veteran wideout got a light workload in practice this week but was a full-go for the final session. With Cade Otton on the right side of questionable and Jalen McMillan dominating as the team’s No. 2 receiver, Shepard isn’t on the fantasy radar this weekend, even with a limited number of games to choose from.

No surprises here. McMillan popped up on the injury report with the finger issue on Wednesday but logged three full practices this week. He was never at any risk of missing Sunday’s game. Coming off a red-hot stretch of 316 yards and seven touchdowns over his past five games, McMillan is a strong FLEX option for the weekend’s slate.

Otton has been out since Week 15. He was limited in Wednesday’s practice before getting in two full sessions. He should be good to go for Tampa Bay’s matchup with the Texans. Otton’s role declined once the Bucs got Mike Evans back and Jalen McMillan has fully taken over as the team’s No. 2 target. Otton, in turn, will be a touchdown-or-bust fantasy option for Sunday’s slate.

Crowder was limited in all three practices this week before being listed as questionable. He has been playing a part-time slot role over the past month, but Olamide Zaccheus has cemented himself as the team’s No. 2 receiver. If active, Crowder will split WR3 duties with Dyami Brown on Sunday.

Willis will be active for backup duties against the Eagles this week. The Packers’ No. 2 QB practiced in full on both Thursday and Friday, assuaging concerns over his injured thumb.