NFL Player News

Wicks ended up second on the Packers in catches and third in receiving yards; the latter behind Romeo Dobbs and Tucker Kraft. It’s a far cry from what’s needed to be relevant as a fantasy receiver, however, as the Packers’ passing attack was woeful until the final 10 minutes of the fourth quarter. Wicks shouldn’t be a fantasy starter in Week 18 against the Bears.

The Jets are also interviewing for their general manager vacancy, having fired both Joe Douglas and former head head Robert Saleh earlier this year. Ulbrich took over for Saleh in Week 6 and has since gone 2-9. Though he was dealt a losing hand, the record speaks for itself, as does the Jets’ defensive collapse under Ulbrich. The interview will give Ulbrich one final chance to pitch himself to ownership, though we expect the team to go in a different direction this offseason.

Nabers practiced in full on Wednesday before being downgraded to a limited participant on Thursday and Friday. The Giants are likely just managing his repetitions; he played through the injury last week and finished as the overall PPR WR2. He is a WR1 for Week 18.

Conklin has quietly emerged as a fringe TE1 in recent weeks, catching at least five passes for 57 yards in each of his past two games with a late touchdown in Week 17. per Ulbrich, Conklin is pushing to play this week. He will move up the TE2 ranks for Week 18 if active, but fantasy managers still rolling out a lineup will want to check the Jets’ inactives before relying on Conklin.

Mooney was added to Thursday’s injury report and listed as a limited participant but was a DNP on Friday. Mooney and the Falcons still have an outside shot at clinching a playoff spot if they win on Sunday and the Buccaneers lose to the Saints. Add to that the fact that Mooney is eight yards shy is reaching 1,000 yards for the second time in his career, making it hard to imagine him sitting. That said, Friday’s DNP is a real concern when it comes to his Week 18 availability. His status will be one to monitor over the weekend.

And so ends a rough year for the superstar corner. Gardner ends the year with nine pass breakups and one interception. That’s a career-low for him in pass breakups and total tackles (49). Worst of all, Gardner set a career-high in penalties. His 10 infractions doubled his previous high-water mark. The Jets will be overhauled this offseason with new faces in the front office and at head coach. The hope will be that a steady hand at head coach will get Sauce back on track next year.

Jones said earlier in the week that he doesn’t think Trey Lance will start in Week 18 but declined to say anything about the situation on Friday. It would be a tough blow to the pockets of Cooper Rush, who is due a $250K incentive if he plays on 55 percent or more of the Cowboys’ snaps this season. Rush has currently played on 52.3 percent of the team’s offensive snaps this season, and could presumably hit his incentive mark with a full assortment of snaps on Sunday.

Matthew Wright will again kick for the Titans. Folk, now 40 years old, will be a free agent in the offseason. Coming off back-to-back seasons leading the league in field goal percentage, he will have plenty of opportunities to keep playing if he wants to.

Spears’ season fittingly ends with one final injury, this time as the result of a hard hit late in Tennessee’s Week 17 loss to the Jags. Spears opened the year as a passing-downs complement to free agent addition Tony Pollard. Soft tissue Injuries then piled up, causing him to miss four games plus parts of others over the first 12 weeks. He finally got back on track late in the season, piling up 261 yards and four touchdowns in his final three games, the last of which was a spot-start in the absence of Pollard. The late-season surge saw him finish with 84 carries for 312 yards and four touchdowns on the year. He added 30 receptions for 224 yards and one touchdown through the air. Having shown his explosiveness and his potential to rack up touches in place of Pollard, Spears enters 2025 as a premium ZeroRB target, though his durability remains a concern.

The league leader in turnovers per game will be given one final mission to close out the 2024 season for the Titans. Levis hasn’t taken a snap since Week 15 after being benched for a second time in favor of Mason Rudolph. Callahan said earlier in the week that both Levis and Rudolph would play in Week 18, so it’s hard to know just how long we could see the second-year signal-caller for. Levis and Baker Mayfield are both tied for the second-most turnovers in the league with 17. There’s a good chance Levis could secure the lead if he’s on the field long enough in the season-finale.

Tyjae Spears has been ruled out. If Pollard also sits, the Titans will be down to Julius Chestnut as their starter. Pollard was limited in practice throughout the week. If the Titans had anything to play for, he would almost certainly be out there. Given that they have been eliminated from playoff contention for weeks, Pollard’s status is in doubt. Pollard will get a Texans team likely resting their starters in the second half, creating a positive game script for the veteran back. If active, he will sit in the RB2 ranks one last time.