December 2024 4for4 Player News Articles

The Raiders used up their temporary practice squad elevations for running back Sincere McCormick, so they made a more lasting roster move on Tuesday.

McCormick has been signed to the 53-man roster in Las Vegas. Wide receiver D.J. Turner was placed on injured reserve in a corresponding move.

Related players: Alexander Mattison, Zamir White, Ameer Abdullah

McCormick played in the last two games for the Raiders as they were missing Mattison and White due to injuries. McCormick ran 12 times for 64 yards in last Friday’s loss to the Chiefs and he had five carries for 33 yards against the Broncos in Week 12, the story said. McCormick led the way for the Raiders against the Chiefs with 12 carries to Abdullah's 10. McCormick may be worth a pickup and stash at this point, as the Raiders are trying to figure out their roster for 2025. Mattison, White and Abdullah don't necessarily offer much future upside at the position, so it's possible the team will see what they have with McCormick going forward. However, keep an eye on the injury statuses of Mattison and White. The Raiders are at Tampa Bay in Week 14.

Austin Ekeler's response when asked whether he could return this season:

"It's week to week. I want to continue to learn more. It's my second concussion (this season). Am I more susceptible to a third now that I've had two and the severity of mine? It's a learning process for me because I've never had anything this bad and twice in the same season. ... The best thing about is the team has my back ... I really appreciate DQ (Dan Quinn) and Adam Peters for being there."

Related players: Brian Robinson, Jeremy McNichols, Chris Rodriguez

It doesn't seem like Ekeler has a timetable and the week to week tag indicates it could be some time. Ekeler is clearly concerned about this long-term well-being. From a fantasy angle, Robinson should continue to lead the way with McNichols seeing the passing down work. Rodriguez may be a guy to pick up in deeper leagues as a stash, especially if Ekeler ends up missing significant time. Rodriguez got some mop-up time and ended up carrying the ball 13 times for 94 yards, adding a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Titans.

The 49ers were down to one healthy running back on their active roster, so they added another one off the waiver wire on Tuesday.

The NFL’s daily transaction report shows that they have claimed Israel Abanikanda off of waivers from the Jets. Abanikanda was let go on Monday when the Jets signed running back/kick returner Kene Nwangwu to the 53-man roster.

Christian McCaffrey was officially moved to injured reserve in a corresponding move.

Related players: Isaac Guerendo, Patrick Taylor, Ke'Shawn Vaughn

Guerendo is expected to take over the team's RB1 role with Christian McCaffrey and Jordan Mason both heading to IR. Abanikanda should be a familiar name to those in dynasty circles. He was a 2023 fifth-round pick but at the time was buried on the depth chart with the Jets, and he never earned much of a role on offense and didn’t play in the regular season this year, the story said. He appeared in six games as a rookie and ran 22 times for 70 yards while catching seven passes for 43 yards, the story added. The team also signed Vaughn to their practice squad.

The Vikings have started the clock on getting a couple of special teamers back in the lineup.

The team announced on Tuesday that kicker Will Reichard and long snapper Andrew DePaola have been designated for return from injured reserve.

Related players: Parker Romo

Romo has gone 11-of-12 on field goals and 7-of-8 on extra points with Reichard out of the lineup. It's not yet clear which kicker will be in action this week. The Vikings are in the early Sunday window at home against the Falcons.

Bucky Irving ran 25 times for 152 yards and a touchdown and caught three passes for 33 yards to continue a strong stretch.

The 25 carries were the most for a Bucs back this season and it’s a sign of changing balance with Rachaad White, who also had a 38-yard run to set up the game-winning field goal in overtime. Head coach Todd Bowles said Irving’s increased comfort level in the offense is the reason for the shift.

Related players: Sean Tucker

“He’s getting more comfortable with the offense,"Bowles said, via the team’s website. “The more comfortable he gets, the more you can give him, the more he can do. Both are running well — we’re happy with both of them. Bucky has a skill you can’t teach — he can make people miss in the hole. He’s tough on the inside. Rachaad had a big run at the end of the game, as well. Using them both together seems to be working out for us.”

The story pointed out Irving’s rate of missed tackles ranks first in the league, so that skill Bowles identified is one that the rookie is putting to good use. The story also pointed out Irving has now scored in three straight games while rushing for 313 yards and catching 12 passes for 111 yards in those contests. White is still a factor, but Irving looks like he's taken over as the top back. Tucker, meanwhile, has had five touches since Week 10, a span of three games, and they all came in Week 12. Tucker had zero touches in Week 10 and Week 13.

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford came out of Sunday’s victory over the Saints with an injury.

Coach Sean McVay said, via Jourdan Rodrigue of TheAthletic.com, that Stafford has a lateral ankle sprain, but the injury should not affect Stafford’s practice time or game status, the story said. The Rams play the Bills on Sunday and the Rams are in the thick of the NFC West Division race. The story added Stafford has taken 11 sacks and 25 hits the past four games and has been sacked 28 times this season.

Jim Harbaugh said that Ladd McConkey (knee) is “working through a couple things.”

Harbaugh added and that the team will evaluate where he’s at as the week progresses. The post went on to say, when asked about the possibility of McConkey practicing this week, Harbaugh said, “We’ll see.” This certainly has a different tone it seems. Hopefully we get a clearer picture of McConkey's status for Week 14. The Chargers travel to KC for a Sunday night game, so owners are going to need some kind of backup plan if McConkey comes down to a game-time call and ends up not playing.

Per Kyle Shanahan, 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey us going back on IR with his PCL injury.

Related players: Isaac Guerendo, Deebo Samuel, Jordan Mason

It’s a 6 week recovery time for CMC, the post went on to say. It's possible he could return if the Niners make a long playoff run, but for this fantasy season, McCaffrey is done. Sandler, in a separate post, mentioned that Mason will also go on IR with a high ankle sprain, leaving Guerendo as the assumed RB1. The Niners will have to make a move to bring in more running backs, but the team did trade up in the fourth round to pick Guerendo, so it's possible they give him a legit chance the rest of the season. He should be a popular pickup off the wire this week.

Giants placed DT Dexter Lawrence and TE Theo Johnson on season-ending injured reserve.

Related players: Daniel Bellinger, Chris Manhertz, Greg Dulcich

Since Week 9, a span of four games, Johnson averaged nearly six targets a game and in Week 13 he tied a season high of five catches with a season high of 54 yards against the Cowboys on Thanksgiving. Johnson will likely see a new coaching staff in 2025, but also a new QB and hopefully an improved offense overall.

Harbaugh said that Rashod Bateman has a sore knee and he's getting treatment.
"It's not a long-term thing."

Related players: Diontae Johnson, Nelson Agholor, Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely, Justice Hill

There was no other timetable, according to the post. It's possible Bateman is good to go in Week 15, after the bye this week. If Bateman misses time, it's not likely another WR steps up as a fantasy factor at this point, especially with Andrews, Likely and Hill combining for 21 targets against the Eagles this past week.

The Commanders elevated kicker Zane Gonzalez from the practice squad for the third time this season on Sunday, which left them with the choice of signing Gonzalez to the active roster or finding someone else to do the kicking this week.

They opted for door No. 1. The team announced that they signed Gonzalez to their 53-man roster on Monday.

Related players: Austin Seibert

Gonzalez filled in for Seibert in two November Games and then returned for the win over the Titans after Seibert went on injured reserve last week, the story said.

Packers coach Matt LaFleur said while Romeo Doubs is still in the concussion protocol, he has progressed to the point where he could possibly play.

The Packers are hoping to get Doubs back for Thursday Night Football in what is a huge game against the Lions. Hopefully Doubs continues to progress and we'll continue to monitor his practice status as the week goes on.

Saints coach Darren Rizzi said team is expected to open the practice window for both RB Kendre Miller and WR Bub Means this week as they're eligible to return from IR.

Related players: Alvin Kamara

Another beat reporter, Ross Jackson, went on add in a post on X that Miller will get a clean slate and it's "all gas, no brakes" when Miller gets back. With the Saints not going anywhere, the return of Miller could eat into Kamara's workload. Taysom Hill is out for the season, so Kamara may get an extra crack at the end zone now and then, but it's probably worth it for the Saints to get more looks at Miller to close out the season. It's just something for Kamara owners to keep in mind once Miller is back on the field.

Tests today confirmed that Saints TE Taysom Hill is out for the year with the knee injury he suffered Sunday, per source.

This was the fear after the injury happened during Sunday's game. Hill had six rushing touchdowns this season as that's the area where he did the most damage this year. The injury should open up more chances for Alvin Kamara, but the Saints lose another offensive weapon for the rest of the season. Hill is under contract with the Saints for one more season.

Ulbrich on whether Aaron Rodgers is week to week as the QB: “No, he’s our quarterback.”

Related players: Tyrod Taylor, Adrian Martinez

There are those who follow the team who think it's no lock Rodgers finishes out the season as the starter with all the struggles so far this year, but it looks like for Week 14 he'll be under center at least. There probably isn't much of an upside to play Taylor or Martinez at this point. But a move away from Rodgers also likely means the Jets are moving on for good, and it's possible they don't want to close that door just yet.

Bucky Irving said he’s feeling much better today than he did leaving the field last night. He also said he needs to get his offensive linemen something really nice for Christmas because of their blocking efforts.

Related players: Rachaad White, Sean Tucker

Irving was listed as questionable to return at one point, but was able to come back and play through the injury. He was injured in a kick return. There was also a concerning video of him limping to the locker room after the game. This will be worth watching this week. The Bucs have a home game against the Raiders during the early Sunday window of Week 14, so owners should have plenty of time to make adjustments depending on his status. Hopefully we'll know more as the week goes on, too.

Baker Mayfield got stepped on in the third quarter and initially worried that he might have suffered a season-ending injury.

Related players: Kyle Trask

Trask replaced him, but it turned out to be a one-play absence for the quarterback. Mayfield said, "I’ve seen some people pop their Achilles before and they say it feels like you got cleated. Obviously, not knowing what exactly happened that’s what I thought I did. It was a little painful, but I got taped again and went back out there.” Mayfield should be good to go despite not having his best game in Week 13. The Bucs host the Raiders in Week 14 in the early Sunday window.

Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that evaluations of Dallas Goedert’s knee show that he avoided a major injury. More testing is coming on Monday, but the belief is that Goedert suffered a sprain.

Related players: Grant Calcaterra, C.J. Uzomah

Goedert had three catches for 35 yards and a touchdown in the 24-19 win. He missed three games earlier this year and has 38 catches for 441 yards and two touchdowns on the season, the story pointed out. The Eagles have a winnable game against the Panthers this coming week, so it may make sense to not rush Goedert back into action. The Eagles have also been without DeVonta Smith, and if that trend continues next week, Calcaterra may find himself getting some worthwhile, fantasy targets.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said after Sunday’s game that running back Christian McCaffrey suffered a potential season-ending PCL injury in his knee.

It’s been that kind of season for the 49ers, who have been decimated by injuries and fell to 5-7 after their 35-10 loss to the now five-time reigning AFC East champion Buffalo Bills. After missing the first eight games of the season with an Achilles injury, McCaffrey finally made his debut in Week 10. He’ll end up playing just four games this season. Not exactly what fantasy owners were hoping for when they spent a high draft pick on him. A vast majority of fantasy leagues saw McCaffrey go No. 1 overall. So it’s back to Jordan Mason, who rushed 13 times for 78 yards, one of the lone bright spots on a night where almost nothing went right offensively for the 49ers. Brock Purdy didn’t even reach 100 yards passing. Overall, it was yet another forgetful night for the reigning NFC champions and it’s the end of the line in 2024 for one of the most exciting running backs in the league.

Saints TE Taysom Hill will undergo an MRI Monday on his knee to determine the severity of the injury.

While nothing is official yet, there is worry that the knee injury is a season-ending one. The injury happened in the fourth quarter when Hill ran for a first down as the Saints were looking to make a comeback. His knee hit one of the Rams’ helmets. Very unfortunate for the Saints’ Swiss Army knife.

49ers RB Christian McCaffrey went to the locker room with what the team is calling a knee injury.

McCaffrey is questionable to return. McCaffrey took a toss early in the second quarter and went down on his own accord. The team initially said a knee injury but there is concern, though nothing official, that the injury could be his calf or even his Achilles again. Jordan Mason is now handling most of the backfield work while CMC is out.

Edit: McCaffrey may have injured his knee on the previous play before the toss. Him going down on the toss may have been more of him not feeling right when he started running. Either way, it’s an unfortunate setback after he waited quite a long time to finally play this season.

49ers QB Brock Purdy is active, Bills WR Keon Coleman is inactive for Sunday Night Football.

Purdy was questionable but trended towards playing with a shoulder injury that caused him to miss last week. It will be interesting to see how the 49ers handle him, given the injury and the weather conditions.

Coleman was limited in practice all week with a wrist injury, so it seems the Bills are being cautious with their rookie.

Saints TE Taysom Hill was carted off the field with a knee injury, later declared doubtful to return.

The injury occurred in the fourth quarter on a fourth down attempt in which Hill took the snap himself and ran for a first down. Hill had 47 totals yards before the injury, which hopefully isn’t too serious.

Ravens WR Rashod Bateman left Sunday’s game against the Eagles with a knee injury.

Bateman ended up not seeing a single target Sunday in a game where six different Ravens receivers have caught at least one pass.

Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence left Sunday’s game against the Texans with a concussion.

Lawrence took a nasty hit from Texans LB Aziz Al-Shahir as he was sliding. A major brawl broke out the teams. Al-Shahir was ejected from the game. Mac Jones is now in the game for Jacksonville.