Echols was injured in Week 3’s win over the Bengals and did not return to the field. Given the short turnaround time for the Steelers to prepare for Thursday’s game against the Browns, Echols is a virtual lock to miss Week 4, but could return in time for Week 5’s game when the Steelers play host to the Colts. Echols has played primarily on special teams this season and has logged only 13 snaps on defense, per PFF.
This is a new injury for Ramsey, so we’ll see how it may affect his Week 4 status when the Steelers release their estimated injury report later in the day. Ramsey has appeared on 172 defensive snaps through the first three games of the season, totaling 17 tackles and one pass breakup thus far. Assuming this isn’t anything too severe, Ramsey could still have time to be ready to go for Thursday night’s game against the Browns.
Carmona is a rookie fifth-rounder who has started all three games for the Titans this season. He was injured on the first offensive snap of Sunday’s loss to the Giants and did not return; OG Jackson Slater replaced him for the rest of the game, and played 59 snaps while allowing only one pressure, per PFF. Slater is the favorite to take over in Carmona’s absence and should start in Week 4 against the Ravens.
When asked if he had any plans of intervening, Harbaugh offered his endorsement of offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, saying, “No. We trust Mike. We believe in Mike.” The 0-3 Chargers have struggled mightily out of the gate to start the season, failing to score more than 16 points in a game while also turning the ball over six times. Even in a game where the Chargers forced five turnovers off of Josh Allen and the Bills and registered four sacks, they were unable to capitalize on multiple opportunities to take the lead in the 24-16 defeat. We’ll see how long Harbaugh can go continuing to let McDaniel run the show, but it wouldn’t be surprising if the team decided to make a change if things continue in this direction.
The Giants have now lost key starters in back-to-back weeks due to serious knee injuries. Burns will undergo season-ending knee surgery in the coming days and should be ready to go for the start of next season if all goes well. The veteran pass-rusher totaled four tackles this season and failed to record a sack.
In other words, expect a committee. Ollie Gordon remains the most likely back to chair the committee in the short-term as he’s actually healthy while Jaylen Wright missed last week’s game and has just seven snaps this year in two games while active to Gordon’s 15 in the first two weeks. This all feels a little desperate given how poor the Dolphins have looked, but volume at running back is volume at running back in a year where many RB2 stabs have disappointed early.
The season is only three weeks old, but it already feels like Evans has dealt with a whole year’s worth of injuries. The veteran receiver dealt with quad and abductor injuries in training camp and was listed with a hip injury entering Week 3’s game against the Cardinals. Now, he’ll look to play through a rib injury that had him carted off the field in the second quarter of Sunday’s win. It sounds like Evans will have a chance to suit up in Week 4 against the Broncos, but we’ll see how things look when the team releases its first injury report on Wednesday.
It’s unclear how much time Etienne will miss, but it wouldn’t be surprising if this became an injured reserve stint. Alvin Kamara could find himself in a more elevated role next week, perhaps with Kendre Miller joining him in a committee. Etienne exited Week 3’s loss to the Raiders with the injury after rushing for 57 yards on 13 carries. It had already been a tough scene for Etienne-reliant fantasy managers this year just based on how the results on the field were going; this won’t help.
Quinn also included Chig Okonkwo and LB Frankie Luvu in the group of players who could return to practice this week, depriving us of a little nuance. We wouldn’t go into Week 4 waivers anticipating that Daniels is going to play, but it probably isn’t entirely off the range of outcomes after Sunday’s reporting said he could return in “three weeks or sooner.”
To make matters worse for the Ravens, veteran Ethan Pocic, who replaced Gwyn in Sunday’s win over the Cowboys, is also dealing with a long-term knee injury that he suffered in the same game. The Ravens are preparing 2026 first-round pick Vega Iaone to play center in Week 4’s game against the Titans, but could also look to add a center in the coming days if they deem it necessary to do so. This is just the latest blow to an offensive line that was already down at left tackle, with Ronnie Stanley currently nursing a toe injury. Stanley was unable to practice in the days leading up to the game against the Cowboys; we’ll see if he can get on the field in any capacity this week ahead of a matchup against the 0-3 Titans.
The Ravens are down their top two centers after starting C Jovaughn Gwyn suffered an ankle injury in the same game. Rookie Vega Ioane is being prepared to start at center ahead of Week 4’s game against the Titans. Pocic has appeared on just 10 offensive snaps this season.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell said after Sunday’s game that Jefferson was “close” to returning, so Monday’s report isn’t all too surprising. While Week 4’s game remains on the table for Jefferson, the Vikings could very well opt to sit him this week against a Dolphins offense that’s among the worst in the league and just lost its star player to a torn ACL. Jefferson’s status will be one to monitor throughout the week, but it wouldn’t be surprising if the Vikings rested him for at least one week given the injury and the upcoming matchup.
It will likely take J.J. McCarthy some time to get up to speed with the Giants. Winston has played woeful football through two appearances, not throwing a touchdown and being held under 120 yards twice despite 49 pass attempts over the past two weeks. Winston will be a bottom-end superflex option in Week 4.
Judon will join the 49ers’ practice squad with a “early chance for elevation,” according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. The 34-year-old pass-rusher failed to record a sack in the 14 games he appeared in last season and has tallied 9.5 sacks since the 2023 season. As injuries continue to mount for the 49ers, it wouldn’t be surprising if Judon was activated as early as this week when the Niners host the Broncos.
Parsons is nearing a return, but the star pass-rusher isn’t ready to get on the field just yet. LaFleur did say that Parsons has not suffered any setbacks in his recovery, while adding that this is “just part of the process.” Parsons’ return window can be opened at any time, which would then give the Packers a 21-day window to ramp him up before activating him from IR.
It’s likely a season-ending injury for Oliver, although there is some hope he could return late in the season if the Vikings are still in contention. The 29-year-old tight end has been used mostly as a run blocker and has totaled just three receptions for 46 yards this season.
According to Fowler, the Panthers are expecting Horn to miss “approximately six-to-12 weeks.” We’ll hopefully get a more accurate timeline from the Panthers in the coming days, but it’s safe to assume Horn will head to injured reserve with a chance to return later in the season. Horn has been solid for the Panthers this season, allowing just five receptions on 10 targets for 63 yards.
Irving was spotted on the sideline for the majority of the fourth quarter. It’s possible that Irving just did something that irked Bowles rather than actually suffering an injury, but given how Irving’s injuries quickly manifested last season, we’re going to want to see that on the official injury report on Wednesday before we dial the status down to “unconcerned.” This news does seem to leave Kenny Gainwell as a lower-priority waiver claim.
Sugar, we’re going down swinging. Caley’s offense has been underwhelming so far — though not having Nico Collins for Weeks 2 and 3 hasn’t helped — and there’s a lot of pressure on this Texans offense at this time. In-season offensive coordinator replacements aren’t exactly bets to go well either way, but Caley is going to have to do a lot better over the next 14 weeks if he wants to keep his job after the end of this year.
McMillan suffered a knee injury in the first quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Vikings and did not return to the game. The 24-year-old receiver has played in two games this season but has yet to register a catch on the nine offensive snaps he has played. It’s been a rough two seasons for McMillan, who missed nearly all of last season with a serious neck injury that sidelined him until Week 15.
In other words, he’s headed to injured reserve. The Cowboys safety room has been besieged by injuries this year, with Malik Hooker also missing time. They don’t have another safety on their practice squad so they may be hunting the tryout circuit on Tuesday.
Canales didn’t want to get specific about Young’s status after he took a cleat to the leg, but deferred also to the idea of “other things.” It’s never incredible news to be looking down the barrel of imaging, but Young was able to return and play through the injury on Sunday and this has the feel of an “out of an abundance of concern” test for the 25-year-old quarterback.
As expected, Bateman was reduced back to a lightly used WR2 with Zay Flowers back in the lineup. After going for 7-88-1 on nine targets last week against the Saints, Bateman saw just three targets in Sunday’s win, with one of those resulting in a 31-yard gain. Bateman’s 20 routes run led the Ravens’ in Sunday’s win, but he offers nothing of fantasy value as long as Flowers is in the lineup. Fantasy managers who added him after his Week 2 breakout can send him back to waivers ahead of Week 4’s game against the Titans.
The Ringer’s Tom Pelissero was the first to report the trade. McCarthy landing with John Harbaugh’s Giants feels a bit too on-the-nose given his connection with Jim Harbaugh during his days at Michigan. McCarthy was at one point competing for the Vikings’ QB1 job in camp with Kyler Murray, but was knocked all the way down to QB3 on the Vikings’ depth chart when Carson Wentz took over for Murray in Week 1 and drew the start in Week 2. Assuming Jameis Winston doesn’t suddenly exceed expectations and lead an efficient passing attack, McCarthy will probably get a shot to start at some point when he gets up to speed with the offense. McCarthy has thrown for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions in 10 career games while completing 57.6 percent of his passes. We’ll see if a change of scenery is all he needs to turn the corner and live up to the hype that made him the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.