Steve Smith Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections

Fittingly, Smith says he's "about 89% sure" he's retiring after this season. With the Ravens eliminated from the postseason, that means he'll have one last NFL game. Undoubtedly, he'll want to go out the same way he came into the league: trash talking and backing it up. He was great on Christmas, catching 7-of-7 targets for 79 yards and a touchdown and he will certainly look to top that against the 17th-ranked Cincinnati pass defense. Coach John Harbaugh said he plans to play his starters and veterans in an effort to win the game, which means Joe Flacco could get significant playing time. That's obviously important for Smith's fantasy potential. With nothing really on the line, it wouldn't be surprising to see "Boring Joe" have fun for once and go out of his way to fire some extra passes to 89. The game has a low 41.5-point total and there is a chance Flacco and others are pulled early (although Smith should play the whole thing), which means Smith isn't going to be a great cash option. He is, however, an interesting tournament play as there's little doubt he'll leave everything he has left out on the field on Sunday - and judging by this season, the 16th-year receiver still has a something left in the tank.

Smith is dealing with a thigh issue but he's good to go against the Steelers this afternoon. He hasn't had a big game since Week 11 when he put up a solid 8/99/1 line against the Cowboys. Since then he's been held under 57 yards and scoreless until last game when he caught one touchdown against the Eagles. Smith has a tough individual matchup today. He'll see a combination of Ross Cockrell and William Gay on roughly three-quarters of his routes, both of whom have only given up 0.18 fantasy points per route defended, which is good for 7th in the league among all cornerbacks. Even so, he projects as our WR4 on the Christmas slate.

If you are trying to quickly enter some NFL contests for today's two-game NFL slate here is a quick update on the key situations to monitor.

Jimmy Smith has already been ruled out for Baltimore. This is a huge upgrade the Pittsburgh passing attack (mainly Antonio Brown). On the other side of the same game, Ladarius Green is listed as doubtful. He hasn't practiced all week. Jesse James will start in place of Green. Baltimore is very good against TE but there aren't exactly a lot of options. Steve Smith is listed as questionable as well but he practiced on Friday. He's likely to give it a go.

In the Denver at Kansas City game, there are quite a few situations to monitor. On the defensive side of the ball Kansas City will be without Justin Houston and Phillip Gaines while Denver will be without T.J. Ward. On the offensive side, Denver will be without their top two TEs as both A.J. Derby and Virgil Green are out. Jeff Heuerman will draw the start. The biggest bump though should go to Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas.

In his first game since Week 5, Smith had four receptions for 47 yards against the Steelers on Sunday. Baltimore has a short week as they prepare to play the Browns on Thursday night. Today was most likely a rest day for Smith, and he's still expected to suit up for the Ravens. It's an excellent matchup as the Browns have one of the worst pass defenses in football. Cleveland has allowed 22 passing touchdowns, the second most in the league.

The veteran Ravens WR took part in practice today, albeit in a limited fashion and the team is not ruling him out from playing on Sunday against the Steelers. It's a good match up as the Steelers are soft against the pass and Smith would be worth a look if he does play. It's a slight but fairly negligible hit to the value of Mike Wallace, who would be in play regardless.

Earlier reports indicated Smith wasn't going to practice today, but he ended up participating in a limited fashion. He's considered questionable for this weekend against the Steelers. If he can't go, Kamar Aiken would start. Aiken has averaged 3.5 receptions and 59.5 yards per game during Smith's absence. Meanwhile, Mike Wallace has averaged 11 targets over the same span. When Smith plays, that number drops to 7.6. It would seem Wallace benefits the most when Smith sits, because he becomes the de facto number one receiver. If Smith is back in the lineup, Wallace will take a downgrade and Aiken won't have much value at all.

The veteran WR missed another practice - it seems unlikely he will play this week after there was hope that he would return. Mike Wallace should continue to receive tons of volume in the Ravens passing game.

There was hope the Ravens veteran WR would be able to return from injury this week in a juicy match up against the subpar Steelers secondary but after missing practice today there is some doubt as to whether that will take place. Mike Wallace (would be in play regardless though) and Kamar Aiken are the biggest beneficiaries if Smith can't play. We'll update you throughout the week as we learn more about Smith's playing status.

The Ravens have listed their starting QB as questionable but most expect him to be able to play. Ryan Mallett would get the start if he is unable to go. Steve Smith has missed practice all week, is listed as doubtful, and is not expected to play. The Ravens receiving trio of Mike Wallace, Breshad Perriman, and Kamar Aiken are all in play going against the woeful Jets pass defense (assuming Flacco plays that is).