Team news | Page 13

After Sunday’s loss to the Bills, Colts head coach Shane Steichen said that Joe Flacco will remain the team’s quarterback “until I say otherwise.”

Steichen didn’t say otherwise on Monday. At a press conference, Steichen confirmed that Flacco will get another start when the Colts face the Jets in Week 11.

Related players: Anthony Richardson

The Colts benched Richardson in favor of Flacco two weeks ago and they’ve lost both games since the move was made, the story pointed out. Flacco was 42-of-62 for 451 yards, two touchdowns, and four interceptions in the losses to the Vikings and Bills, the story added. Richardson had his helmet on and looked like he was ready to get back on the field after Flacco threw his second INT early on against the Bills, but the Colts stuck with Flacco. It's a winnable game against the struggling Jets this week, and it looks like the Colts continue to trust Flacco more.

Audric Estime will "continue to get more reps," per Sean Payton.

Related players: Javonte Williams, Jaleel McLaughlin

Payton was encouraged with Estime's play against the Chiefs, the post added, and he was the clear lead back. Williams had just one carry while adding two catches and McLaughlin had two rushes for 12 yards. Estime can be added in any format at this point if he's still on your wire. Payton has continued to say positive things about Estime for a few weeks now, including last week when he said he'd see an increased workload.

Head coach Andy Reid told reporters at his Monday press conference that he believes wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, running back Isiah Pacheco, and defensive end Charles Omenihu are “very close” to returning to action.

According to the rest of the article, Reid said Smith-Schuster is the closest of the three. He’s missed the last three games with a hamstring injury and will try to get on the practice field ahead of the Week 11 trip to Buffalo. The story added Pacheco fractured his fibula in Week 2 and has not been designated for return from injured reserve yet. Other recent reports have said Pacheco could be back by the end of November.

The Ravens added wide receiver Diontae Johnson and running back Keaton Mitchell to the offensive mix over the last couple of weeks and they have eyes on expanding both of their roles in Week 11 and beyond.

Johnson played five snaps last Thursday and caught one pass for six yards in the 35-34 win over the Bengals. Johnson played 17 snaps in his first game after being acquired in a trade with the Panthers and head coach John Harbaugh said he’s in line for more work against the Steelers.

Harbaugh said the team plans to ramp up Johnson for this week's game against the Steelers. Those owning Johnson in fantasy may want to take the wait-and-see approach, however, before putting Johnson back into their lineups. We reported on Mitchell's potential increase in work in another news story here on our site.

Browns coach Kevin Stefanski says Jameis Winston remains the starting QB coming off the bye.

Related players: Dorian Thompson-Robinson

DTR has served as Winston’s backup over the last two games. Even with the Browns struggles this season, Stefanski doesn't seem to be heading toward making another change at QB to see what Thompson-Robinson could potentially do with the offense, according to the story. Winston has had his struggles at times, but there is fantasy upside potential for those planning to start Winston. He's best served as a QB2 option in superflex leagues.

John Harbaugh said the hope is to work RB Keaton Mitchell more into the offense.

Related players: Derrick Henry, Justice Hill

Mitchell was such an electric player a year ago before tearing his ACL in Week 15. The Ravens are still going to give Henry his carries but Mitchell may be able to eat into Hill's workload at some point. Mitchell returned a kick for 30 yards but didn't get any other touches in last week's win over the Bengals on Thursday night. Harbaugh was quoted in the post as seeing a potential three-headed monster, but it's going to be tough to get touches with Henry, Hill and Lamar Jackson all involved in the running game.

Head coach Jerod Mayo said that [a recent] run of events were a sign of the stamp that Drake Maye is already putting on the team.

“Drake has addressed the offense numerous times,” Mayo said, via a transcript from the team. “I think it goes back to now he’s starting to really take control of the offense and the team. When you go out there and you perform at a high level, that’s the first step. The next step is to bring others with you, and I think he’s on his way to doing that.”

The story said Maye addressed the offense after a poor practice on Wednesday. Maye said after Sunday’s game that he stressed that the “little things are adding up and hurting us” while trying to push the team to be sharper, the story said. Maye and the Pats won 19-3 over the Bears this past week. Maye should only have a chance to keep getting better and better as the Pats will put more pieces around him going forward.

Trey Lance’s long wait to get into a game for the Cowboys came to an end on Sunday.

Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy sent Lance into the game for a couple of plays in the third quarter and then put Cooper Rush back into the game, but the team made a lasting change in the fourth quarter. Lance, who was acquired in a trade with the 49ers in the summer of 2023, went 4-of-6 for 21 yards and an interception to close out the 34-6 loss to the Eagles.

Rush was 13-of-23 for 45 yards before being pulled and his ineffectiveness made it inevitable that McCarthy would field questions about starting Lance in Week 11. McCarthy said he wasn’t ready to make any calls, but that would be a topic for discussion on Monday, the story went on to say. Rush has played well in the past when filling in for Dak Prescott but Sunday's game against the Eagles was a struggle for the entire offense. The Cowboys will play the Texans a week from Monday, which gives any quarterback a little extra time to prepare for what the Cowboys hope will be a more competent performance, the story pointed out. For now, playing Rush or Lance should only be considered in the deepest of two-QB or superflex leagues.

Dan Campbell says Sam LaPorta has a sprain in the AC joint.

"He might miss this week" and then they'll see.

LaPorta left the game and didn't return after catching three balls for 66 yards and a TD. Campbell added, according to the post, that the injury isn't something he's worried about. However, it does sound like LaPorta could miss at least a little time. His practice situation will be one to monitor this week, just to hopefully get an idea of what his recovery time might be. LaPorta owners should start thinking about a backup plan now. The Lions have a home game against the Jaguars in the early Sunday window.

Texans WR Nico Collins is inactive for Sunday night against the Lions.

Collins was activated from injured reserve Saturday but was still considered a game-time decision. It looks like the Texans will give him one more week of rest. Tank Dell becomes a solid WR2 as the top option for C.J. Stroud but also continue to expect a heavy dose of Joe Mixon.