NFL Player News

Arizona will be without both of its starting tackles this week after being eliminated from postseason contention in Week 16 against the Panthers. It’s bad news for Kyler Murray and the Cardinals offense, and it makes the Rams defense an interesting fantasy option off the waiver wire. The Cards headed into Week 17 have what Pro Football Focus grades as the NFL’s fifth best pass-blocking offensive line.

Williams tore his ACL in Week 3 of the 2023 season. The Jets, looking to add playmakers for Aaron Rodgers, took a flyer on the veteran wideout with a one-year, $10 million contract in the following offseason. Williams never found his footing in New York and was eventually thrown under the bus by Rodgers for running the wrong route in a Week 6 loss to Buffalo. The team traded him to Pittsburgh a few weeks later. Williams never amounted to much in Pittsburgh, peaking at three catches for 36 yards in a single game. He ended the season with 21 catches for 298 yards and one score across the two teams. The veteran wideout should have suitors in free agency this spring, but he appears to be much more of a role-player than a starting wide receiver at this point in his career.

Austin missed the entirety of his rookie season with a foot injury and then played sparingly in 2023, catching 17 passes for 183 yards and one score. The speedy wideout earned a larger role in 2024 and caught 36 passes for 548 yards and four scores. Austin quietly finished the season third on the Steelers in yards and second in touchdowns. He also contributed on special teams, returning one punt for a touchdown. Austin has likely topped out a splash-play specialist, but that will keep on the Steelers’ roster for a contract year in 2025.

Jefferson followed Arthur Smith from Atlanta to Pittsburgh when the former header coach got a job as Pittsburgh’s offensive coordinator. While he ran plenty of routes, Jefferson rarely contributed much to the box score. He topped 30 yards in a game three times during the regular season. Jefferson ended the season with 24 grabs for 276 yards and two scores. Many years removed from fantasy relevancy, Jefferson will be looking for a one-year deal as a depth option in free agency.

The 2023 third-round pick barely made a dent in the box score as a rookie, catching seven balls for 61 yards. To no one’s surprise, the arrival of Arthur Smith as the Steelers offensive coordinator turned things in Washington’s favor. He more than doubled his target total of 10 in 2023 to 25 this year. Washington caught 19 balls for 200 yards and one score as an NFL sophomore. While the lumbering tight end isn’t on the fantasy radar heading into his third season, he has carved out enough of a role to remain a deep stash in dynasty leagues.

Freiermuth started the year dreadfully quiet, failing to top 60 yards in a game until Week 13. The veteran tight end also hit five catches in a game once in the first dozen weeks. The Steelers then started losing games, forcing them to pass more. While it resulted in an ugly finish to the year for the team, Pittsburgh’s slump coincided with a late-season surge for Freiermuth. He caught 30 passes for 299 yards and four scores over his final six games. Freiermuth ended the year with a 65/653/7 receiving line. When the Steelers are forced to pass, Freiermuth becomes a high-volume tight end with top-notch fantasy potential. That, however, is not how the team wants to win, keeping Muth in the TE2 ranks heading into his fifth NFL season.

A ZeroRB darling, Warren suffered a hamstring injury in the offseason that threatened to hold him out of the Steelers’ Week 1 opener. While he did play in the game, Mike Tomlin was determined to limit his snaps in the opening month because of the injury. Warren totaled 19 touches over the first three weeks of the season and then missed two games with a knee issue. He eventually returned to a part-time role, operating as a change-of-pace back while also getting work as the team’s primary option on passing downs. Warren’s role ebbed and flowed depending on the game state, but he never passed Najee Harris on the depth chart despite looking like the team’s more explosive back late in the year. While better than Harris, Warren’s numbers also took a hit in 2024. He averaged 4.3 yards per carry compared to 5.3 in 2023. Warren finished the year with 120 carries for 511 yards and 38 catches for 310 yards. With Harris set to hit free agency, there’s a chance Warren gets a larger cut of the backfield in his fourth NFL season. However, Mike Tomlin’s reluctance to give him a full-time role suggests Pittsburgh will bring in another back if they let Harris walk.

Pittsburgh declined Harris’s fifth-year option ahead of the 2024 season. A contract year gave him a shot to prove his worth on a team hell-bent on riding their defense to a postseason run. While he saw the ball plenty in his fourth season, Harris gave the Steelers and fantasy managers more of the same. He ran 263 times for 1,043 yards and six scores in the regular season. The unexplosive back topped 30 yards on just two of his carries. He added 283 yards through the air. Harris hit 100 rushing yards three times in a row early but never recaptured that magic during the final two months of the season. He never surpassed 75 rushing yards over his final 10 games including the playoffs. If the Steelers bring him back in free agency, it will only be as a two-down grinder and a committee back. Another team could view him as a three-down option and out-bid the Steelers, though that isn’t likely to work out well for them.

Miller plays for the Ravens. We all knew that. Right? In all sincerity, the veteran wideout was called up from the practice squad with Zay Flowers out this week. Despite catching one pass this year and seven passes since 2020, Miller served as a rotational wideout for a team in need of quality routes for their playoff opener. While Miller isn’t on the fantasy radar for the Divisional Round, his presence takes Tylan Wallace and Nelson Agholor out of the mix as well.

Bateman scored the first touchdown of the night on a red zone strike from Lamar Jackson. He only caught one more pass all evening, but the Ravens entered halftime with a 21-point lead and leaned on their run game in the second half, so no Baltimore receiver did much through the air. Bateman’s fantasy outlook hinges on Zay Flowers’ availability for the Divisional Round. Flowers missed this game with a knee issue, thrusting Bateman into a larger role versus Pittsburgh. If Flowers is back next week, Bateman will return to his usual, boom/bust gig for a matchup with either the Bills or Texans.

While Andrews didn’t do much through the air, he found other ways to make his presence known. The veteran tight end took a pair of rush attempts from under center, acting as the team’s short-yardage specialist. He handled two direct snaps for a combined five yards and two first downs, the latter of which sealed the game for the Ravens. Andrews also had a third conversion that was nixed by a penalty on the Steelers, granting Baltimore another first down. A rushing touchdown in the Divisional Round feels inevitable. More receiving output will also be in Andrews’ future assuming Baltimore’s next opponent pushes the offense more than Pittsburgh did. Despite the quiet outing, Andrews remains a top-notch fantasy option for the next round of the playoffs.