Essential NFL Practice News & Notes for Wild Card Weekend

Panthers QB Derek Anderson (illness, probable) took full practice reps again Friday and is probable for Week 18.

Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger (not injury related, probable) took full practice reps again Friday and is probable for Week 18. No worries here. Big Ben should be a quality start against a shaky secondary.

Cowboys QB Tony Romo (back, probable) took full practice reps again Friday and is probable for Week 18. Romo will be a decent start against a pretty stout Detroit defense.

Cardinals QB Drew Stanton (knee, out) missed practice all week and is out for Week 18. Ryan Lindley will continue to start, which is why we like the Carolina defense this week.

Steelers RB LeVeon Bell (knee, out) missed practice all week and is out for Week 18. With Bell out, Josh Harris should see the most touches in the Pittsburgh backfield. If he’s not able to run the ball effectively (which seems likely given Baltimore’s stout run defense), look for Ben Roethlisberger to air it out against a shaky secondary. Harris should be a decent cheap option in daily formats due to workload alone.

Cowboys RB DeMarco Murray (hand, probable) took full practice reps all week and is probable for Week 18. It’s a tough matchup, but Murray should be a good start due to his league-leading 28.1 touches per game.

Bengals RB Cedric Peerman (concussion, shoulder, questionable) took limited practice reps again Friday and is questionable for Week 18.

Colts RB Trent Richardson (illness, questionable) missed practice Friday and is questionable for Week 18. Richardson is likely to play, but may be limited, further boosting Dan Herron’s upside in a good matchup against Cincinnati.

Panthers RB DeAngelo Williams (hand, probable) took full practice reps all week and is probable for Week 18. Williams is going to play, but Jonathan Stewart is expected to continue to serve as the lead back against Arizona. He has averaged 19.6 touches since Week 13.

Colts WR Josh Cribbs (not injury related, probable) took full practice reps again Friday and is probable for Week 18.

Bengals WR A.J. Green (concussion, doubtful) missed practice Friday after taking limited reps Thursday and is doubtful for Week 18. With Green doubtful, look for Mohamed Sanu to have a solid game against Indianapolis. He averaged 5.0-93-.60 in the five games Green missed (or was very limited) this season. He didn’t do much (3-54 on nine targets) against Indianapolis in Week 7, however.

Lions WR Calvin Johnson (ankle, probable) took full practice reps again Friday and is probable for Week 18. Megatron will be fine for what should be a high-scoring game against Dallas.

Bengals WR Dane Sanzenbacher (concussion, out) has been ruled out for Week 18.

Colts WR Reggie Wayne (groin, probable) missed practice Friday after taking full reps Thursday and is probable for Week 18. Wayne will be out there against Cincinnati, but he isn’t much of a fantasy option at this point.

Bengals WR James Wright (knee, out) missed practice all week and is out for Week 18.

Colts TE Dwayne Allen (knee, probable) took full practice reps all week and is probable for Week 18. Allen makes his return this week. He is our #4 TE this week.

Ravens TE Owen Daniels (not injury related, probable) took full practice reps again Friday and is probable for Week 18. Daniels will be fine to face Pittsburgh. It’s a so-so matchup.

Bengals TE Jermaine Gresham (back, questionable) returned to take limited reps Friday after missing practice earlier in the week and is questionable for Week 18. The Bengals may have to lean on Gresham with A.J. Green likely out. He’s not a safe start in daily due to the questionable tag, however.

Steelers TE Heath Miller (not injury related, probable) took full practice reps again Friday and is probable for Week 18. Miller is good to go for a pretty good matchup against Baltimore.

Steelers TE Michael Palmer (groin, probable) took full practice reps again Friday and is probable for Week 18.