Team news | Page 32

Raiders QB Aidan O’Connell now is expected to miss four to six weeks with a broken thumb, per sources. He is getting a second opinion today to confirm the initial diagnosis.

Related players: Gardner Minshew

Pro Football Talk is reporting O'Connell will be placed on IR. Minshew takes back over as the starting QB after O'Connell recently replaced him, but Minshew hasn't been great this season and threw three interceptions after taking over against the Rams. The Raiders will have to make a move for another QB to be added to the roster.

Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson’s season appears to be over, but how long his recovery takes after Sunday’s Achilles injury remains to be seen.

Watson has a ruptured Achilles tendon and will undergo surgery soon, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.

Related players: Jameis Winston, Dorian Thompson-Robinson

What’s unclear is the nature of the surgery, with Watson considering both conventional surgery and a newer “speed bridge” procedure that can result in a faster return to action. That’s the surgery Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers had last season, and he was able to resume practicing faster than most players with Achilles tears, the story went on to say. DTR took over for Watson but injured his finger, forcing Winston to come in and finish the game. X-rays were negative on the finger, according to reports. There seems to be a good chance Winston will take over as the Browns QB, however. It will be worth monitoring this situation as the week goes on.

Commanders rookie QB sensation Jayden Daniels is undergoing tests today to determine the severity of his rib injury, per sources.

Related players: Marcus Mariota, Jeff Driskel

The good news is the initial tests on Sunday showed no fractures, but further tests today and possibly in the coming days will provide more clarity, the story went on to say. Daniels returned to the sidelines during the game and waved to fans, which seemed like good news. Other reports said Daniels was removed for precautionary reasons in a game that was well in control over the Panthers. We'll hopefully know more about the injury in the coming days, but rib injuries can be tricky. Mariota came in and did a nice job, and the Commanders host the Bears in Week 8 in a game that was moved to later in the day. In Week 9, they travel to play the Giants in an early Sunday game. Owners counting on Daniels this week may need a backup plan.

Seahawks WR DK Metcalf's knee injury doesn't appear to be serious, according to a report from Ian Rapoport.

Metcalf was carted off after banging his knee on a great catch in the game. HC Mike McDonald said about the injury, "It doesn't look too bad," according to Rapoport's report. Owners will have to monitor his status this week as there is no timetable. The Seahawks have a later Sunday game at home against the Bills. The team does have a bye in Week 10.

49ers RB Christian McCaffrey's target to return is early November. The Niners have a bye the first week of November, but November 10 could be a potential return date, according to Ian Rapoport.

Related players: Jordan Mason

Rapoport said CMC continues to ramp up. He's been running on flat ground and there is no reason to be pessimistic, and it's been all systems go up to this point, Rapoport said. It's good news for McCaffrey and a potential return. As far as fantasy goes, hopefully his owners are still alive for a playoff berth by the time we get to Nov. 10. It may not be fair to think CMC jumps right into his normal bell cow role his first game back. The team may opt to continue to use Mason, who has done a great job filling in. With the potential loss of Brandon Aiyuk, CMC owners shouldn't have much worry inserting him in lineups once he's back.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters WR Brandon Aiyuk is feared to have torn his ACL during Sunday’s game against the Chiefs.

Aiyuk took a hard hit to his knee and was carted off the field. The injuries continue to pile up for the 49ers. He had two catches for 23 yards before leaving the game. With their top three receivers out, the 49ers had rookies Ricky Pearsall and Jacob Cowing leading the charge on the outside. Jauan Jennings should return soon and will be a hot fantasy target if he is still on the waiver wire.

Rams head coach Sean McVay said Sunday he expects WR Cooper Kupp to play Thursday against the Vikings.

Kupp has not played since spraining his ankle in Week 2. He was close to returning this week but was held out, perhaps due to the short week upcoming. He’ll be a nice welcomed back addition to the offense after catching 18 passes in the first two weeks of the season.

Commanders QB Jayden Daniels left Sunday’s game against the Panthers with a rib injury but looks to be ok.

Daniels was taken for X-rays but his mother took to Twitter/X to share a positive update on her son. With the Commanders in complete control against Carolina, the Commanders likely opted to keep Daniels out for precautionary reasons. Washington was up 27-0 at halftime and, at the time of this writing, held a 40-7 lead in the fourth quarter. It sounds like Danieos should be fine for next week against No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears.

49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk left Sunday’s game against the Chiefs with a potentially significant knee injury.

Aiyuk was carted off the field after taking a big hit to his right knee. Deebo Samuel also left the game, meaning the 49ers are now currently without Aiyuk, Samuel and Jauan Jennings. They did just activate rookie Ricky Pearsall. The hope is the injury isn’t too serious but Aiyuk is going to miss a decent amount of time at the very least.

Browns QB Deshaun Watson left Sunday’s game against the Bengals with a lower body injury.

Adam Schefter shared a tweet David Chao that suggests Watson may have suffered a torn Achilles. If so, his season would obviously be over. Watson was 15-of-17 for 128 yards before the injury. Dorian Thompson-Robinson is now in at quarterback, Jameis Winston is the emergency quarterback.