NFL Player News

The Cowboys’ season has felt long lost, but that hasn’t stopped them from ripping off wins in four of their last five games. The team is averaging 27.4 points per game over that span, and Jones had nothing but praise for his head coach after Week 16’s win, saying he was “real, real proud” of the team while adding that McCarthy “won’t let them not think they’re playing for the Super Bowl out there.” McCarthy entered 2024 on the final year of his deal and has long been considered a goner after the Cowboys opened the season with a 3-7 record. Injuries have played a role in the Cowboys’ struggles, but even in the eight games where they had Dak Prescott, the Cowboys went 3-5. The Cowboys have divisional games against the Eagles and Commanders to close out their season. How they fare in those two contests could go a long way in deciding McCarthy’s future with the franchise.

Kendrick Green took over at right guard for the Texans and looks likely to start against the Ravens on Christmas. Reading between the lines, it’s possible Mason could return for the Texans in the playoffs. Whether that is good for them or not is another story, as Mason has been a disappointment this year with a 57.7 PFF run block grade.

It’s unclear whether he could come back deep into a Texans playoff run, but that doesn’t appear too likely anyway at the moment. Ward, who turns 34, is under contract for the 2025 season and will gain the Texans only $1.25 million in cap space to release next offseason. Ward had a 76.3 PFF coverage grade last year, and though he’s getting long in the tooth, he’s probably a good bet to retain a starting job next year.

Obviously, he will not be playing again this year. The question at this point is 2025. Dell isn’t a sure bet to return given how serious the injury looked, and if he does return, like this year, he probably shouldn’t be trusted as fully healthy. It’s a devastating injury for the Texans purposes, one that probably ends with them having to find a new WR2 behind Nico Collins with Stefon Diggs also slated for free agency off his own ACL tear.

Mahomes played on his sprained ankle in last week’s win over the Texans and wasted little time displaying his miraculous healing powers. He rushed for a 15-yard touchdown on the Chiefs’ opening drive and ended the day with 33 rushing yards on five carries. He was listed as a full participant on the Chiefs estimated practice report, which was released on Sunday. Mahomes’ ankle injury seems like non-issue ahead of Week 17’s game against the Steelers.

Someone with more time to pursue this should come up with a stat on Giants touchdowns thrown against MRIs received since Daniel Jones was released. After clearing concussion protocol it seems likely that Tommy DeVito would be the starter against the Colts if Lock was unable to go. Either way, the Giants will be a target for Colts D/ST streamers.

Implied in that is that Jameis Winston (shoulder) wouldn’t be a sure bet to start if DTR isn’t able to go. Folks, we have a non-zero chance of Bailey Zappe time against the Dolphins in Week 17. We just thought you should know, might want to prioritize the Dolphins D/ST. (As if you weren’t doing that anyway after Thompson-Robinson’s first start.)

Given the NFL’s condensing of the schedule to accommodate this Christmas doubleheader on Wednesday, it was always a bit of a stretch to believe that Jones would be available. He left Week 16’s game late after walking off and did not play at al in the fourth quarter. It seems likely that the Chiefs will be lacking their best pass rusher against the Steelers on Christmas.

Brown played just 14 snaps in Week 16’s win over the Texans, catching five of eight targets for 45 yards while running 38 percent of his routes from the slot. It’s reasonable to expect 20-30 snaps for Brown in Week 17 against the Steelers, which is enough to put him in deep-league consideration. The problem with the Chiefs passing game right now is that there are almost too many mouths to feed, and it’s hard to tell who will get the ball enough to produce fantasy value each week outside of Xavier Worthy and Travis Kelce.

Musgrave hasn’t played since suffering an ankle injury in Week 4. According to Pelissero, the Packers plan to “ease him in,” meaning fantasy managers shouldn’t rush to insert him into their fantasy lineups if they still have decisions to make at tight end. Musgrave caught just five passes for 22 yards in the four games he appeared in and never played on more than 56 percent of the team’s offensive snaps in those games. With just two weeks left in the fantasy season, Musgrave will be hard to trust and is likely best left on waivers.