DFS Alerts

Jalen Hurts expected to receive increased snaps Monday night, including work without Carson Wentz on the field

Jalen Hurts is expected to receive increased snaps Monday night, including working without Carson Wentz on the field, something he hasn’t done so far this season. Wentz is still the expected starter, and likely to receive most of the snaps and play some during every series, but Hurts could come in during series for two or three plays at a time. Hurts brings significant rushing upside, and would become an interesting DFS option if he was consistently getting snaps.

Philip Rivers (toe) expected to play without issue today

Philip Rivers, listed as questionable with a toe injury, is expected to play today without issue. Rivers has never missed a start, and it would take a major injury to sideline him.

Giovani Bernard expected to play today

Giovani Bernard, listed as questionable with a concussion, is expected to play today. With Joe Mixon out and now on IR, Bernard is in position to be the lead back going forward for the Bengals. Samaje Perine should get the backup RB work, and the Bengals may need to lean on their running game more after Joe Burrow was lost for the season last week.

Schefter: Kalen Ballage not expected to play Sunday; Hayden Hurst is expected to be active

Per Schefter, the Chargers are expected to be without Kalen Ballage on Sunday. Austin Ekeler’s return couldn’t come at a better time – he’s expected to lead the backfield Sunday after missing the majority of the season with calf and ankle injuries. While he does carry at least a mild risk of being eased in, we should expect close to a normal workload for Ekeler as the lead back. Anthony Lynn hasn’t shown much trust in Josh Kelly and Troymaine Pope has been an afterthought with Ballage and Kelly eating up most of the backfield work the last few weeks. Especially in GPPs, Ekeler is worth a long look in what should be a high scoring affair with the Bills. As for the Falcons, they are expected to have Hayden Hurst active, but are still awaiting word as to whether they’ll have Julio Jones. The team is expected to see how Jones looks in pre-game work before making a final decision on his status. We’ll confirm the status’ of Ballage, Hurst and Julio Jones when we get more information.

Practice squad WR Kendall Hinton reportedly will play QB tomorrow for Broncos

Practice squad WR Kendall Hinton will reportedly play QB tomorrow for the Broncos, although the Broncos will likely also run some wildcat, and even Hinton’s status is yet to be confirmed by the Broncos directly. Hinton played QB in college at Wake Forest, but there is a reason he converted to WR: across four seasons he threw 133-251 (53%) for 1504 yards and an 8-7 TD-INT ratio. He clearly will not function as a normal backup QB would, but could allow the Broncos to at least have some passing threat as needed. This change at QB effectively kills the potential for all Broncos’ pass catchers, barring a fluky long TD pass. The running backs could see more carries than usual, but without a real passing game, facing a stacked box nearly every play will limit the value of the carries.

While this entire situation certainly is interesting, the Broncos are a team you’re likely better off avoiding this week.

All QBs on Broncos' roster are ineligible to play Sunday

All the Broncos’ QBs have been ruled ineligible to play this week, with Jeff Driskel testing positive Thursday, then Drew Lock, Brett Rypien and Blake Bortles all being declared close contacts of Driskel. This will effectively kill the value of all the Broncos’ pass catchers, while increasing the volume of work for the RBs. However, the Broncos are likely to struggle offensively all day, and there is a good chance they are barely able to move the ball. Practice squad WR Kendall Hinton appears to be likely to get work as QB Sunday, but it is impossible to know exactly what the Broncos will do Sunday.

Broncos pull QBs Drew Lock, Brett Rypien, and Blake Bortles from practice over COVID-19 close contact concerns. Status for Sunday is unknown.

The Broncos pulled QBs Drew Lock, Brett Rypien, and Blake Bortles from practice Saturday over COVID-19 close contact concerns. QB Jeff Driskel was placed on the COVID-19 list Thursday, and appears to be the potential close contact. All three players’ statuses for Sunday are unknown, and COVID-19 restrictions make it impossible to attempt any last second signings. Royce Freeman is reportedly the emergency QB, and would instantly become an appealing fantasy option if forced to fill in tomorrow. This is a situation to monitor closely, and we likely won’t have clarification until Sunday morning.

Irv Smith Jr. ruled out for Sunday

Irv Smith Jr. has been ruled out for Sunday, not surprising after he was listed as doubtful on the previous injury report. The Vikings are also without Adam Thielen, opening up targets and leaving Kyle Rudolph in a great position. Rudolph should be a strong value play, and at much lower ownership than the Vikings’ obvious top plays of Dalvin Cook and Justin Jefferson.

Chargers activate Austin Ekeler

The Chargers activated Austin Ekeler, clearing the path for him to play Sunday, and potentially giving Justin Herbert a dynamic weapon out of the backfield. Ekeler had returned to practice earlier this week, but coach Anthony Lynn previously sounded skeptical about Ekeler’s availability for Sunday. While Ekeler is now eligible to play, his status will still need to be confirmed when inactives are released prior to kickoff. If he is playing, he should return to near his normal role, which will cut significantly into Kalen Ballage’s work.

Travis Homer ruled out for Monday night

Travis Homer has been officially ruled out for Monday night. The return of Chris Carson gave the Seahawks an additional reason not to push Homer to play through a knee injury. Having both Carson and Carlos Hyde healthy also means DeeJay Dallas should return to a limited role as the RB3 for the Seahawks.

Tua Tagovailoa downgraded to doubtful for Sunday, Ryan Fitzpatrick likely to start instead

Tua Tagovailoa has been downgraded to doubtful for Sunday, meaning he is almost certainly out for Week 12. The Dolphins have a strong option at QB in Ryan Fitzpatrick, who is now likely to start. In this case, having the backup QB play is probably an upgrade for the passing options in this offense.

James Conner has reportedly tested positive for COVID-19, awaiting a second test tomorrow to confirm

James Conner has reportedly tested positive for COVID-19, and is awaiting a second test tomorrow to confirm. The second test will determine how long Conner is out for, but his initial positive test also raises the possibility that the Steelers’ Week 12 game is forced to be delayed again, or even cancelled completely. Benny Snell would be in line for a nice boost if the game is played with Conner out.

Christian McCaffrey not traveling with the Panthers, will be out Sunday

Christian McCaffrey is not traveling with the Panthers, meaning he will be out Sunday as expected. McCaffrey does seem to be progressing towards a Week 14 return after the Panthers’ upcoming bye week. Until then, Mike Davis will continue to work as the lead back for the Panthers.

Jonathan Taylor ruled out, placed on reserve/COVID-19 list

Jonathan Taylor has been ruled out Week 12 after being placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Nyheim Hines and Jordan Wilkins will both get increased roles in the rushing game, with Hines the stronger option overall due to his role in the passing game.

Tevin Coleman (knee) ruled out for Sunday; Raheem Mostert (ankle) and Jordan Reed (illness) questionable

Head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed to reporters that Coleman will remain sidelined for at least one additional week, and he’s officially been ruled out of Sunday’s Week 12 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams due to a knee injury that’s now forced him to miss three consecutive games. Meanwhile, Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr. are slated to be activated from injured reserve on Saturday and will be listed as questionable on the 49ers’ injury report with no clear indication of their potential statuses. This is obviously a very fluid situation, but if Mostert is cleared to play, he’ll have a legitimate chance at assuming his former bell-cow role in this Niners offense as he managed to accumulate 19 of the possible 31 backfield touches the last time he was active alongside Coleman and Jerick McKinnon, though the former would likely be replaced by Wilson in this hypothetical situation.