DFS Alerts
Todd Gurley (knee) ruled out for Sunday; Julio Jones (hamstring) questionable
Gurley was unable to practice this week, and he’s officially been ruled out of Sunday’s Week 12 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders due to a knee injury, while Jones is listed as questionable on the Falcons’ injury with a hamstring injury he sustained in last week’s loss. Brian Hill already has a 28.8% snap rate with Gurley healthy this year, so he should receive the first crack at the starting running back gig with Gurley sidelined, and this coaching regime hasn’t been hesitant to hand over the reins to the backfield to Hill in the past as he averaged 14 touches in two starts during the 2019 season. There’s little doubt that Ito Smith and Qadree Ollison will see their fair share of work in this weekend’s contest, but Hill appears to have a sizable floor at minimum price across the daily fantasy industry.
As reported by: Tom Pelissero via Twitter Other tagged players: Julio Jones
Nick Foles (hip) officially listed as doubtful for Sunday night
Foles was unable to practice any of the previous three days, and he’s officially been listed as doubtful on the Bears’ injury report for Sunday night’s Week 12 matchup against the Green Bay Packers due to a hip injury he sustained back in Week 10 prior to the Bears’ bye week. This means that Mitchell Trubisky will start under center for Chicago after receiving all of the first-team quarterback reps at practice this week. Trubisky had been recovering from a shoulder ailment over the previous two games, otherwise, he may have already been given a shot to take his job back from Foles sooner given the latter’s lackluster play of late. Neither Foles nor Trubisky has played well over a sustained period of time when given the opportunity, but there’s little doubt that Trubisky and his rushing ability is the more appealing quarterback of the two for daily fantasy formats.
As reported by: Dan Wiederer via Twitter Irv Smith Jr. (groin) officially listed as doubtful for Sunday
Smith Jr. was downgraded to a non-participant in practice on Thursday, and he’s officially been listed as doubtful on the Vikings’ injury report for Sunday’s Week 12 matchup against the Carolina Panthers due to a groin and back injury. Smith was sidelined just two short weeks ago, so if he’s unable to suit up again, Kyle Rudolph would be in line for an increased workload as the de facto primary pass-catching tight end and was the beneficiary of a season-high five targets while running a season-high 29 routes on passing downs back in Week 10 when Smith was last unavailable. Since the Vikings will likely use fewer 1-2 personnel with Smith inactive, Chad Beebe becomes a leading candidate for additional targets from quarterback Kirk Cousins out of the slot, though with Adam Thielen still on the COVID-19 list, Olabisi Johnson also figures to see his snaps and routes on the rise opposite of Justin Jefferson on the outside.
As reported by: Matthew Coller via Twitter Salvon Ahmed (shoulder) officially ruled out for Sunday
Ahmed was absent from practice the entire week, and he’s officially been ruled out of Sunday’s Week 12 matchup against the New York Jets due to a shoulder injury. Meanwhile, Myles Gaskin was designated to return from injured reserve earlier in the week, and while it seems unlikely he’d be activated in time for this weekend’s contest, head coach Brian Flores didn’t rule out the possibility and even stated that he believes Gaskin has a chance to play. If Gaskin is cleared to return, he would likely resume something close to his usual every-down role out of the backfield, but if he remains sidelined, it appears Miami would utilize a full-blown committee with Patrick Laird and Matt Breida leading the way but may have to deal with DeAndre Washington as a depth piece at running back if he’s elevated from the practice squad on Saturday afternoon.
As reported by: Cameron Wolfe via Twitter DJ Chark (ribs) and Chris Conley (hip) ruled out for Sunday
Chark popped up on the injury report mid-week, and he’s officially been ruled out of Sunday’s Week 12 matchup against the Cleveland Browns due to a ribs injury, while Conley is set to join him on the inactive list with a hip injury. This will leave the Jaguars extremely depleted at the wide receiver position with Keelan Cole and Laviska Shenault slated to serve as the top two wideouts, and either Collin Johnson or Trey Quinn, who was just elevated from the practice squad this afternoon, will round out the receiving corps in three-wide sets. On top of the injuries, head coach Doug Marrone has opted to go with Mike Glennon under center for at least this week with Jake Luton underwhelming the last two games and Garnder Minshew still recovering from a hand injury, making it tough to feel confident in any Jacksonville offensive players in any daily fantasy formats this weekend.
As reported by: Michael DiRocco via Twitter Other tagged players: Chris Conley John Brown (ankle) officially ruled out for Sunday
Brown was an observer at practice for a third straight day, and he’s officially been ruled out of Sunday’s Week 12 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers due to an ankle injury. Brown has dealt with nagging ankle and knee injuries for what seems like a majority of the season, and he’ll be sidelined for a third time this weekend. In his absence, Gabriel Davis should be elevated to the number two outside wide receiver role, yet again, that enabled him to accumulate 11 targets and 69 receiving yards in the two contests with Brown unavailable earlier in the year. While those numbers are particularly promising, Davis has flashed upside in this situation before as he absorbed a 20.0% target share and a 31.0% market share of the team air yards back in Week 5, both of which, open a path for a ceiling outcome that is required in daily fantasy tournament formats across the industry.
As reported by: Sal Capaccio via Twitter Lamar Jackson tests positive for COVID-19, won't play in Week 12
The Ravens officially announced that Jackson has tested positive for COVID-19, and he won’t be eligible to play in Sunday’s Week 12 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers if it’s played. The game is still in question because the Ravens have yet to contain an outbreak that was started by one of their strength and conditioning coaches ignoring protocols while present at the team facilities and Jackson marks just the latest positive test to come out of the Baltimore organization that has already surpassed 10 total cases. If this game is played, Robert Griffin III appears in line to draw the start under center at quarterback, but with reports stating the Ravens will have their facilities closed until Monday at the earliest, it’s safe to assume another postponement is coming shortly.
As reported by: Ian Rapoport via Twitter Nick Foles (hip) doesn't practice again Thursday
Foles was unable to practice for a second straight day, so he is trending towards not being available to play in Sunday night’s Week 12 matchup against the Green Bay Packers due to a hip injury he sustained back in Week 10 prior to the Bears’ bye week. This means that Mitchell Trubisky is expected to start under center for Chicago after receiving all of the first-team quarterback reps at practice thus far this week. Trubisky had been recovering from a shoulder ailment over the previous two games, otherwise, he may have already been given a shot to take his job back from Foles given the latter’s lackluster play of late. Neither Foles nor Trubisky has played well over a sustained period of time when given the opportunity, but there’s little doubt that Trubisky and his rushing ability is the more appealing quarterback of the two for daily fantasy formats.
As reported by: Adam Jahns via Twitter Terry McLaurin (ankle) officially active Thursday
McLaurin popped up on the practice report mid-week as a limited participant, but as expected, he will be active for Thursday’s Thanksgiving Day matchup against the Dallas Cowboys despite being listed as questionable on Washington’s injury report due to an ankle injury. Assuming he doesn’t suffer any setbacks in pregame warmups or mid-game, McLaurin continues to have one of the highest floors in daily fantasy as the clear number one option for quarterback Alex Smith, and since he has an impressive 26.7% target share on the season thus far, he also has the ceiling necessary to be used in tournament formats on the two-game Turkey Day slates across the industry.
As reported by: Adam Caplan via Twitter Larry Fitzgerald tests positive for COVID-19, will not play in Week 12
The Cardinals announced that Fitzgerald has tested positive for COVID-19, and he’ll be forced to miss Sunday’s Week 12 matchup against the New England Patriots as he needs to isolate himself from the team until he tests negative for five consecutive days with each test at least 24 hours apart. Fitzgerald has played nearly 80% of the Cardinals’ offensive snaps and is second to only DeAndre Hopkins in targets this season, so his absence will certainly open more opportunities for the tertiary wide receivers like Andy Isabella and possibly Trent Sherfield in the interim, though it wouldn’t be surprising to see Isabella just step directly into Fitzgerald’s vacated role. Isabella should theoretically have more upside than Fitzgerald in daily fantasy formats given his downfield ability and appears to be a safe bet for increased volume since he’s run approximately 86% of his routes from the slot this season.
As reported by: Mike Garafolo via Twitter D'Andre Swift (concussion) officially inactive Thursday
Swift seemed to be progressing through the NFL’s concussion protocol since he was able to practice on a limited basis for two consecutive days, but he’s officially been ruled out of Thursday’s Thanksgiving Day matchup against the Houston Texans despite originally being listed as questionable on the Lions’ injury report. Meanwhile, Golladay and Amendola will join Swift on the inactive list as both remain sidelined with their respective hip ailments. Last week with Swift unavailable, Adrian Peterson and Kerryon combined for just 58 total yards in last week’s drubbing versus the Carolina Panthers, but Johnson saw a massive 76.0% of the running back snaps with Detroit trailing for most of the game. It’s certainly possible that snap split trends more in favor of Peterson in a more competitive game script, but given Johnson’s more comparable skillset to Swift, he remains the better option of the two for daily fantasy formats.
As reported by: Kyle Meinke via Twitter D'Andre Swift (concussion) unlikely to play Thursday
Swift seemed to be progressing through the NFL’s concussion protocol since he was able to practice on a limited basis for two consecutive days, but he’s reportedly unlikely to play in Thursday’s Thanksgiving Day matchup against the Houston Texans despite originally being listed as questionable on the Lions’ injury report. Meanwhile, Golladay and Amendola are set to join Swift on the inactive list as both remain sidelined with their respective hip ailments. Last week with Swift unavailable, Adrian Peterson and Kerryon combined for just 58 total yards in last week’s drubbing versus the Carolina Panthers, but Johnson saw a massive 76.0% of the running back snaps with Detroit trailing for most of the game. It’s certainly possible that snap split trends more in favor of Peterson in a more competitive game script, but given Johnson’s more comparable skillset to Swift, he remains the better option of the two for daily fantasy formats.
As reported by: Adam Schefter via Twitter D'Andre Swift (concussion) listed as questionable for Thursday; Kenny Golladay (hip) and Danny Amendola (hip) remain out
Swift appears to be progressing through the NFL’s concussion protocol and was able to practice on a limited basis once again, so even though he’s been listed as questionable on the Lions’ injury report, he should be on track to play in Thursday’s Thanksgiving matchup against the Houston Texans after missing one game. Meanwhile, Golladay and Amendola both remain sidelined with their respective hip ailments. Swift still has more hurdles to clear in the protocol, but with less than 24 hours until Week 12’s kickoff, he undoubtedly now has a much clearer path to suiting up for this contest. If Swift is cleared, he immediately becomes one of the top options at the running back position on the three-game Turkey Day slate after Adrian Peterson and Kerryon Johnson accounted for just 58 total yards in last weeks drubbing versus the Carolina Panthers, so it shouldn’t be difficult for offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell to hand over the keys to the backfield to Swift for good.
As reported by: Chris Burke via Twitter Other tagged players: Kenny Golladay, Danny Amendola Terry McLaurin (ankle) officially listed as questionable for Thursday
McLaurin popped up on the practice report mid-week, but he was still a limited participant and is expected to play in Thursday’s Thanksgiving Day matchup against the Dallas Cowboys despite being listed as questionable on Washington’s injury report due to an ankle injury. Assuming he doesn’t suffer any setbacks, McLaurin continues to have one of the highest floors in daily fantasy as the clear number one option for quarterback Alex Smith, and since he has an impressive 26.7% target share on the season thus far, he has the ceiling necessary to be used in tournament formats on the two-game Turkey Day slates across the industry.
As reported by: Ben Standig via Twitter Randall Cobb (toe) and Kenny Stills (quad) officially ruled out for Thursday
Cobb was placed on injured reserve on Wednesday afternoon, and he’s officially been ruled out of Thursday’s Thanksgiving Day matchup against the Detroit Lions and at least the following two games due to a toe injury, while Stills will also be sidelined with a leg injury despite being a limited participant in practice all week. The Texans are leaving open the possibility that Cobb could return from injured reserve later in the year, but with only six weeks left in the regular season, he may have played his last snap of the 2020 campaign. His absence will presumably thrust Keke Coutee into the primary slot receiver role in three-wide sets and could open up opportunities for him, Jordan Akins, or one of the other Texans’ tight ends to see additional targets on Thursday afternoon and moving forward.
As reported by: Texans PR via Twitter Other tagged players: Kenny Stills