DFS Alerts
Matthew Stafford activated off COVID-19 list, expected to start Sunday
Matthew Stafford has been activated off the COVID-19 reserve list, meaning he is expected to start Sunday for the Lions. It is worth noting he must pass one more round of testing to be fully cleared, and those results won’t be known until Sunday. Keep an eye out Sunday morning for final confirmation regarding Stafford.
As reported by: Ian Rapoport
Breshad Perriman clears concussion protocol, Jamison Crowder trending towards playing Monday night
Both Breshad Perriman and Jamison Crowder are trending towards playing Monday night for the Jets. Perriman took the significant step of clearing the concussion protocol, indicating he will play barring any recurring symptoms. While the Jets would be happy to have both WRs active, they’re expected to not have Sam Darnold, with Joe Flacco starting instead. Frankly, both QBs have played poorly this season, and it isn’t clear if Flacco is even a downgrade over Darnold.
As reported by: Rich Cimini Other tagged players: Jamison Crowder, Joe Flacco Sam Darnold won’t practice Saturday, is doubtful to play Monday; Joe Flacco expected to start
Sam Darnold had been working towards playing this week, but won’t practice Saturday and is considered doubtful for Monday night. Joe Flacco is expected to fill in at QB, his third start of the season for the Jets. The Jets have averaged 5 points in those two starts, with Flacco averaging under 200 yards per game with 1 total TD pass.
As reported by: Brian Costello Other tagged players: Joe Flacco Golden Tate not traveling with the Giants, won't play Sunday
Tate will not play Sunday, a punishment stemming from disagreements by Tate over his role with the team. At this point, Tate is unlikely to play for the Giants again. Darius Slayton and Sterling Shepard have taken on the top-WR roles for the Giants in recent weeks, and that trend should continue Sunday.
As reported by: Kim Jones Other tagged players: Darius Slayton, Sterling Shepard Dexter Williams out at least three weeks with an MCL sprain
Dexter Williams has suffered an MCL sprain and is expected to miss at least three weeks, making him a likely candidate to end up on IR. Aaron Jones returned for the Packers last game, and will remain as the clear top option regardless of Williams’ health. Jamaal Williams is currently on the COVID reserve list, so his status this next week isn’t clear, but he would be expected to return to his role backing up Aaron Jones once cleared.
As reported by: Ian Rapoport Other tagged players: Jamaal Williams N'Keal Harry not practicing Saturday, appears unlikely to play Monday
N’Keal Harry missed his third straight practice this week, and he looks unlikely to be able to play Monday night. He is dealing with a concussion that also kept him out last week. An extended absence related to any head injury is certainly concerning, and his timetable for returning is not clear. Jakobi Meyers and Damiere Byrd should remain the top WR options in this offense for Week 9.
As reported by: Doug Kyed Other tagged players: Damiere Byrd, Jakobi Meyers, Gunner Olszewski, Cam Newton Cowboys reportedly starting QB Garrett Gilbert on Sunday
Garrett Gilbert is expected to start Sunday for the Cowboys, his first career start. In fact, Gilbert has only attempted 6 regular season passes since being a 6th round pick in the 2014 NFL draft. He will be leading a team that is averaging just 7.3 points per game over their past 3 games, and facing a Steelers’ defense that is among the leagues best in pressuring and getting to the QB. This is quite clearly a terrible situation for Gilbert and the Cowboys’ offense.
As reported by: Tom Pelissero Other tagged players: Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, CeeDee Lamb, Ezekiel Elliott Washington reportedly activating Steven Sims off injured reserve
Washington is expected to activate Steven Sims off of IR on Saturday, clearing him to return to action. Sims suffered a toe injury back in Week 3 and hasn’t played since. The Washington QB has changed from Dwayne Haskins to Kyle Allen since Sims got hurt, and it remains to be seen what effect, if any, that will have on Sims role. He should jump back in as the second WR behind clear top target Terry McLaurin.
As reported by: John Keim Sammy Watkins ruled out for Sunday
Sammy Watkins has officially been ruled out for Week 9. He has been out since Week 5 with a hamstring injury, and the timetable for his return remains unclear. The Chiefs have a wealth of offensive weapons, and should continue to produce while Watkins get healthy.
As reported by: Dov Kleiman Other tagged players: Mecole Hardman, Demarcus Robinson Christian McCaffrey officially activated from IR on Saturday, expected to play Sunday
Christian McCaffrey is officially active once again for the first time since Week 2, after the Panthers removed him from IR Saturday. He is now all clear to play Sunday, and should jump right back into being a top RB in the NFL. However, Mike Davis is expected to retain at least some role in the offense, meaning McCaffrey is unlikely to see quite the same type of volume he typically got last season.
As reported by: Joe Person Other tagged players: Mike Davis Chris Carson (foot) officially ruled out for Sunday
Carson wasn’t able to return to practice this week, and he’s officially been ruled out of Sunday’s Week 9 matchup against the Buffalo Bills due to a foot injury that has now forced him to miss two games. With Carlos Hyde also still sidelined, DeeJay Dallas will have another chance to lead the Seahawks backfield in touches after out snapping Travis Homer 56-7 in this past Sunday’s win over the San Francisco 49ers, but Homer was coming off of a week of no practice and clearly still wasn’t at full strength for that contest. Homer practiced in full all three days this week, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he significantly cuts into the workload of Dallas, if not surpasses him in the pecking order for touches out of the backfield. Unfortunately, both Homer and Dallas will be difficult to target in daily fantasy formats outside of a tournament setting since Seattle is also expected to elevate newly-resigned Alex Collins from the practice squad today or tomorrow, just furthering lowering the floor of the individual running backs in this committee even further.
As reported by: Bob Condotta via Twitter
Sammy Watkins (hamstring) listed as questionable for Sunday
Watkins was able to be a limited participant in practice all three days this week, and he’s officially been listed as questionable on the Chiefs’ injury report for Sunday’s Week 9 matchup against the Carolina Panthers due to a hamstring injury that’s already forced him to miss three games. Mecole Hardman finally was able to out-snap DeMarcus Robinson in this past Sunday’s win over the New York Jets as he ran 31 routes and accumulated a season-high nine targets, but if Watkins is able to return, he’ll immediately be relegated back to his usual third or fourth wide receiver role behind Watkins and Tyreek Hill in this offense. However, it’d be far from surprising if Kansas City opts to be cautious with Watkins’ injury with their bye week on the horizon, which would keep the ancillary pieces of the Chiefs’ passing game like Hardman and Robinson in consideration for tournaments on daily fantasy slates this weekend.
As reported by: Adam Teicher via Twitter Matt Breida (hamstring) officially ruled out for Sunday
Breida was a non-participant in practice all week, and he’s officially been ruled out of Sunday’s Week 9 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals due to a hamstring injury. Head coach Brian Flores hinted on his Zoom conference on Thursday that the Dolphins were planning to be without both Breida and previous lead back Myles Gaskin, who was just placed on injured reserve, for this weekend’s contest. This would leave Miami with a running back group consisting of Jordan Howard, Patrick Laird, and Salvon Ahmed, potentially along with a couple of gadget players like Malcolm Perry and Lynn Bowden Jr., depending on which positions the Dolphins prioritize for the 53-man active roster on game day. On the surface, it appears Howard would be in line for at least a large portion of the first and second down work while Laird would seemingly be the passing-down specialist that also has the upside to siphon carries away from Howard in the ground game.
As reported by: Cameron Wolfe via Twitter Chargers RB Troymaine Pope (concussion) listed as doubtful for Sunday
Head coach Anthony Lynn disclosed to reporters on Thursday that Pope had cleared the NFL’s concussion protocol, but the Chargers appear to be taking a cautious approach and have listed him as doubtful on the injury report for Sunday’s Week 9 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders after taking a significant hit to the head just five days ago. Pope surprisingly saw 29% of the running back snaps, 10 carries, and seven targets in Week 8 prior to leaving with the aforementioned concussion, so his likely absence is certainly a boon to the projected fantasy value of Joshua Kelley, who had been demoted to third into the backfield pecking order in that contest. However, Justin Jackson has consistently been the lead back in Chargers offense since Austin Ekeler went down with an injury, making him the preferred option of the two in a vacuum for daily fantasy formats across the industry this weekend.
As reported by: Daniel Popper via Twitter Calvin Ridley (foot) officially listed as questionable for Sunday
Ridley was unable to participate in practice each of the last three days, but he’s still been listed as questionable on the Falcon’s injury report for Sunday’s Week 9 matchup against the Denver Broncos due to a foot injury he sustained in Atlanta’s previous contest. Interim head coach Raheem Morris even went as far as to say that he believes Ridley is in a “good spot” to suit up this weekend, but that seems like a massive exaggeration given Ridley’s lack of participation in individual and team drills leading up to this game. As expected, Julio Jones has historically been a target monster when Ridley has been sidelined in his young career, so if Ridley is inactive, Jones because a tremendous option for all daily fantasy formats while Christian Blake appears to be the leading candidate to fill in at the third wide receiver position with Russell Gage largely manning the slot.
As reported by: Justin Felder via Twitter