Pats don't commit to resting starters in Week 17

Dec 27, 2016

With a first-round bye locked up — but not home-field advantage throughout the playoffs — the Patriots enter their regular-season finale at Miami Sunday with plenty for which to play.

If the Pats beat the Dolphins then the AFC's road to Super Bowl LI runs through Gillette Stadium no matter what. But a loss to the Dolphins, combined with an Oakland win over the Broncos, would give the Raiders home-field advantage.

When asked about the prospect of resting starters for the Dolphins game on this morning's conference call, Pats coach Bill Belichick dismissed the notion entirely.

"Yeah, I mean, look, I don't really understand that question," he said. "We have, I don't know how many starters we have, but we have a lot more than we ... we can only inactivate seven players. So this isn't like a preseason game where you have 75 guys on your roster. It's a regular-season game. So I don't really understand that whole line of questioning."

Fantasy Impact:

The Patriots were in a similar situation last year and played it conservatively in a 20-10 loss to the Dolphins, resting many banged-up regulars while relying heavily on a run-based offense. Tom Brady threw just five passes in the first half.

yesterday

Lions WR Jameson Williams faces concealed weapon charge

Pro Football Talk

yesterday · 8:39 PM EDT

Embattled Lions receiver Jameson Williams has another issue to deal with.

Currently serving a two-game PED suspension, Williams faces a charge for carrying a concealed weapon in a motor vehicle.

Via WXYZ.com, the Detroit Police Department is looking into why Williams wasn’t formally arrested at the time of the incident.

Fantasy Impact:

On October 8, Williams was a passenger in a car his brother was driving. The vehicle was pulled over, for speeding. Two guns were in the car; one was registered to Williams’s brother, and one was registered to Williams, the story said. The story added, Williams will be facing both prosecution by authorities and a potential suspension by the league.

Texans Beat: Expectation is WR Nico Collins (hamstring) good to go for Week 10

USA Today

yesterday · 4:48 PM EDT

According to KPRC 2 Sports’ Aaron Wilson, Nico Collins is trending upward entering Week 9’s matchup against the New York Jets. While he can’t be cleared off the injured reserve until Nov. 4, the expectation is he’ll be good to go when the Detroit Lions arrive in Week 10.

Fantasy Impact:

Collins was placed on the injured reserve following Week 5’s win over the Buffalo Bills after tweaking his hamstring in the first quarter. Week 9 will be his fourth game missed. The timing couldn't be better for the Texans, who have now lost Stefon Diggs for the season with a torn ACL.

Panthers have no plans to trade RB Chuba Hubbard

Pro Football Talk

yesterday · 4:44 PM EDT

Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports, though, reports the Panthers have no plans to trade cornerback Jaycee Horn or running back Chuba Hubbard.

Fantasy Impact:

Hubbard has played very well at RB and has been a pretty consistent player for his fantasy owners this season. He's averaged over 17 touches per game. However, owners need to remember that Jonathon Brooks is lurking on the IR and should be back sooner than later. It only makes sense for the Panthers to give Brooks work as the season goes on. He'll likely be eased into thing at first, but it seems like it's always been expected Brooks would at the very least split work, if not take on the lead back role for the Panthers.