Per Penn Live’s Nick Farabaugh, Dowdle was wearing a boot on his left foot today. He suffered the toe injury in Week 2 and was initially considered day-to-day. Neither the boot nor the DNP is a good sign for his Week 3 availability. Jaylen Warren would see the bulk of the backfield touches if Dowdle misses time.
The No. 15 overall pick has had a quiet start to the season, with a single combined tackle being his only contribution to the box score so far. Bain began the season playing through a shoulder injury and could now miss time with the groin issue.
Head coach Zac Taylor said Iosivas is expected to return at some point this year. Colbie Young and Dohnte Meyers will both be in the running for the WR3 role, though it’s not a role that produces fantasy points unless one of Tee Higgins or Ja’Marr Chase goes down.
Coen talked about getting Hunter involved more on both sides of the ball, so it’s unclear how much of an uptick in offensive snaps we can expect in Week 3. Hunter has a 58 percent snap share on defense and a pitiful nine percent snap share on offense through two games. Even if he isn’t likely to hit the fantasy radar anytime soon, it would be shocking for the No. 2 overall pick to play this infrequently every week.
Collins suffered a grade one hamstring strain during practice last week and did not play in Houston’s game against the Bengals. He could return to practice later in today’s session, but this looks like another DNP, putting him on the wrong side of questionable for Week 3. Dalton Schultz racked up a dozen catches for 140 yards without Collins in Week 2. He is in line for another TE1 ranking if Collins remains out this week.
The extent of Dart’s knee injury was not initially understood, but further testing showed a serious injury to his MCL and PCL. He’ll be sidelined for the rest of the season, effectively ending the Giants’ season. Jameis Winston will likely take over as the team’s starter. It’s a letdown for Dart, who started the year hot against the Cowboys. In relief of Dart in Week 2, Winston was 25 percent below his expected completion rate, the worst mark in the league. Look for the Giants to be a run-heavy, hyper-conservative offense going forward with targets concentrated between Isaiah Likely and Malik Nabers. Winston might be usable in superflex formats for now.
Though it shouldn’t cost them Week 3’s game against the Giants, their practice participation will be worth monitoring in the coming days. Through two games, Pollard leads the team with 21 carries while Spears leads the backfield in pass routes and targets. Both backs are borderline options in deeper fantasy leagues in Week 3. The Giants have allowed the second highest rate of rush yards before contact through two weeks.
Tagovailoa, fighting injuries for much of the offseason, missed Atlanta’s first two games with an oblique issue. He’ll return just in time to serve as backup to Michael Penix, who’s returning from a 2025 ACL injury. Penix is set to start Thursday night against a Packers defense allowing the ninth lowest adjusted yards per pass attempt.
Carolina is in need of some backfield reinforcements after losing Jonathon Brooks to a core injury that will leave him sidelined for at least six weeks. AJ Dillon is set to fill in for Brooks while Chub Hubbard presumably continues as the team’s lead back. Ekeler, 31, who hasn’t played since injuring his Achilles last September, could be an emergency running back if Hubbard or Dillon go down with injuries in the coming weeks. First he’ll need to make the squad.
Campbell spoke in a dejected tone when asked about the Lions’ safety duo returning to practice, particularly when discussing Joseph’s outlook. Campbell said Joseph did not suffer a setback, but stopped short of fully explaining the situation. It sounds like Joseph’s recovery stalled. The training staff was focused on strengthening Joseph’s knee, “but there was a little time there where we weren’t able to do everything we needed to do.” The Lions will not ask Joseph to play until he gets his knee as strong as it can possibly be, “and he feels comfortable.” Branch could return to practice in the coming weeks, but at this point, Joseph’s career status seems like it might be up in the air.
Vacchiano explores myriad trade options that the Giants could explore in a lengthy article, but ultimately determines that rolling with Winston, while QB Jaxson Dart (knee) is sidelined, is the team’s best course of action. According to Vacchiano, the Giants viewed Winston “as a solid veteran who was smart and talented enough to get them through a short stretch if Dart went down” when they signed him to a two-year, $13 million contract extension two weeks ago. “Their faith gets shakier when it’s a long-term proposition they were hoping to avoid,” but alas, this appears to be the situation the team is currently facing. If Winston can return to something resembling his 2019 Buccaneers form, when he posted a 5,109/33/30 passing stat line en route to an overall QB3 finish, he could facilitate usable outings for Giants pass catchers. Betting on that exact outcome is unwise, but Winston could be a QB1 streamer in the right situation.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Cooks is signing with the 49ers’ practice squad initially “to get up to speed for games.” Cooks, 32, posted a 24/279/0 receiving line in the regular season last year, before chipping in five catches for 78 yards in two playoff games. He is perhaps unlikely to be fantasy-relevant right away, but there is a real chance he could work his way into the 49ers’ wide receiver rotation, given their influx of injuries at the position.
To be clear, Rapoport’s tone was controlled and cautionary here. Darnold can only be considered questionable, at best. The Seahawks’ quarterback “is healing faster than anyone had imagined,” but Rapoport adds that the team wants to be “cautious” with him. Backup QB Drew Lock should probably be viewed as the presumptive Week 3 starter at this time, but it sounds like Darnold can reasonably be expected to play in Week 4 at the latest.
Johnson has turned 14 touches into 103 scrimmage yards thus far. Evidently pleased with his fifth-round rookie, Reid wants to keep “allowing Emmett to grow,” in turn taking “a little bit of load off” starting RB Kenneth Walker. Reid notes that Walker wants the ball on every play and is not asking for a lighter workload, but Reid is seeking “a nice balance with those two in there,” which “keeps them even more fresh as the season goes on.” Walker, of course, remains an elite RB1. Johnson, however, should be rostered in all 12-team leagues as a high-upside bench stash that could return standalone value before long.
Rapoport wrote that “there is a good chance” Bowers returns this week as the caption for his NFL Network segment. He used stronger language in the actual segment, telling viewers to “expect” Bowers to be on the field when the Raiders travel to New Orleans for a date with the Saints this week. The Raiders’ top pass catcher should be treated as an elite TE1 upon his return.
Taylor suffered a thumb injury in Week 2 against the Packers, which will seemingly sideline him for Week 3 and potentially longer. Taylor currently leads Jets tight ends with 78 offensive snaps. Losing for any amount of time elevates rookie TE Kenyon Sadiq to a more prominent role. Sadiq is worth adding in 12-team leagues at this time.
Reports have varied as to whether Reed suffered a neck injury or a back injury. Today, the Packers’ head coach clarified that Reed indeed suffered a neck injury. According to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, Reed is back in Green Bay and is going through a series of tests. Reed is not practicing right now, and it sounds like it could be quite a while before that changes. Hopefully, he can resume playing next year at the very latest.
Bachie logged 157 defensive snaps and 260 special teams snaps with the Titans last season. He has not played at all defensively for Detroit, but logged 32 special teams snaps. He could return via the practice squad.
The 33-year-old veteran will miss at least the next four games. He came over from the Falcons this offseason and had played 48 snaps in New York’s first two games.
The Jets chose Will Levis over Zappe in what we’re calling “a career-ending blurb.” The 27-year-old Zappe will attempt to pick up the pieces elsewhere.
Dowdle appears to have a good chance of playing in Week 3. He played more snaps than Jaylen Warren in Week 1 and obviously did not while dealing with this injury in Week 2. Ultimately the Steelers offense has been bad enough that neither player profiles as better than a FLEX in Week 3.
The Chargers will welcome Kolar back in a month barring complications. He was already placed on IR yesterday, but this timetable update shows that he should be ready to return in late October.
Belton is Green Bay’s new starting right tackle, in theory, with Zach Bako-Bewele done for the season. Not ideal for him to be popping up on the injury report on Tuesday ahead of a TNF clash with the Falcons. We’ll see where this goes; midweek additions are always tricky to figure out the day of, but the Packers offensive line continues to be beset with injuries.