Fantasy Football News | Page 819

49ers Head Coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters on Wednesday that tight end George Kittle will return to practice in a limited fashion.

Kittle sat out Week 2 and Jordan Reed thrived in his absence, but it looks like Kittle may be on track to return for a Week 3 matchup with the Giants. Kittle is an elite TE1 option and a must-start anytime he takes the field, but it is unlikely he is back to 100% even if he does take the field Sunday. Kittle's return would be a big boost to a 49ers team decimated by injuries on both sides of the ball.

The Chargers will start rookie QB Justin Herbert against the Panthers.

This news is hardly surprising in light of the shocking reports this morning about a team doctor inadvertently puncturing Tyrod Taylor's lung before the game last Sunday. Herbert threw a bad interception in Week 2, but otherwise looked poised in his first NFL start by racking up 311 yards and a touchdown through the air while adding another score on the ground. Herbert taking over the starting job might actually improve the outlook of the Chargers skill players in fantasy.

The Panthers placed RB Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve Wednesday with a high ankle sprain.

Injured reserve is not as scary as it normally sounds with it only requiring the player to sit out three games this season, but this report puts a damper on McCaffrey's optimism from yesterday when he said he would beat his 4-6 week timetable. Mike Davis should take over the majority of the backfield work in Carolina, although the odds of him replicating McCaffrey's production are slim. McCaffrey will be eligible to return Week 6, but we will have to wait for additional reports to know whether he will be ready to play immediately when eligible.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that a Chargers team doctor accidentally punctured QB Tyrod Taylor's lung while giving him an injection on Sunday.

What a wild story. Taylor was mysteriously ruled out just before kickoff Sunday, thrusting rookie Justin Herbert into the starting role. We now know why Taylor was ruled out and the odd circumstances leading to his absence. Herbert played well in Taylor's absence, but Head Coach Anthony Lynn stubbornly continues to insist Talyor is the starter when healthy. Taylor's timeframe to return is unclear, and it seems likely Herbert will get another start this week. Herbert starting might actually be a slight upgrade for the Chargers skill players in fantasy.

With Courtland Sutton out, Tim Patrick will see more targets alongside rookies Jerry Jeudy, K.J. Hamler and Tyrie Cleveland. Additionally, third-year pro DaeSean Hamilton and second-year pro Diontae Spencer, a former CFL star who is the Broncos’ punt returner, will also need to elevate. The depth in the receivers’ room has Patrick still feeling confident about the unit’s potential, even minus its injured Pro Bowler.

Even with a young, talented group of WRs, the story said the onus is on Patrick after spending his offseason training with Sutton and Hamilton in Miami and Atlanta, where Patrick sought to bring more refinement to his game. Patrick is a name to keep an eye on but probably isn't on a lot of radars this week, and, the QB situation isn't ideal as either Jeff Driskel or Blake Bortles will be under center until Drew Lock comes back.

Remember, George Kittle set the single-season record for receiving yards by a tight end in a season in which Nick Mullens started the last eight games. Those were mostly run-after-catch yards.

Obviously, Kittle (knee) is iffy for Sunday’s game on MetLife Stadium’s bouncy-house field. If he’s not there, I’d imagine Jordan Reed is a frequent target.

Kendrick Bourne and Dante Pettis also had good production when Mullens was under center in 2018. Mullens also threw to Matt Breida out of the backfield quite a bit, which makes Mullens a potentially good pairing with Jerick McKinnon.

Of Bourne’s 487 receiving yards, 296 came when Mullens was the quarterback. Pettis had his best NFL stretch with Mullens throwing to him — 371 of his 467 receiving yards came in the last eight games of 2018, the story said. With RBs Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman likely missing Week 3, McKinnon is potentially a nice play this week at RB.

According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the Seahawks are putting wide receiver Phillip Dorsett on injured reserve because of his foot injury.

The Seahawks carried Phillip Dorsett on the roster for two weeks without him being able to play, now they’re giving him three weeks to get well.

Michael Pittman Jr. also knows the best way to shorten that learning curve. Put in as much work as possible.

“That extra time is going to start paying off in Week 6, and through Week 12, and all the way through 16 weeks,” Pittman said. “That’s when I feel like I’m going to see the extra work pay off.”

The good news is that Pittman has proven he has enough talent and toughness to help the Colts in the meantime anyway.

Pittman injured his toe last week, injured it badly enough that he was a game-time decision on Sunday. At least one report said it was unlikely Pittman would play. Not only did the rookie play, he was in the game on 67 of the offense’s 73 snaps, more than any other skill position player. With Parris Campbell out with a PCL injury and no timetable to return, Pittman has a chance to emerge perhaps sooner. Pittman had a 4-37-0 line but did have some miscommunication with QB Philip Rivers, the story added.

A.J. Brown would not delve into the specifics of his injury, a bone bruise in his knee that forced him from practicing Thursday and Friday.

“Just know that I'm working through it,” he said.

It’s unclear when the injury occurred, but the 6-foot, 226-pound receiver did catch a helmet to the knee with about 10 minutes left in the Titans’ season opener in Denver on Sept. 14. On a screen pass from Ryan Tannehill, Brown picked up seven yards before Denver safety Kareem Jackson went low for a tackle. Brown was slow to get up before motioning to the sideline that he was coming off the field.

As the story said, bone bruises can linger, but the fact that the Titans didn’t place Brown on injured reserve – which would mean he would have to miss the next three weeks – would seem to indicate they believe a return is not too far off.

Packers WR Davante Adams’ hamstring strain is considered minor, source said.

That's the good news, the bad news is his status for Week 3 is still to be determined, Pelissero's tweet said. The Packers take on the Saints in Week 3. The tweet went on to say: coach Matt LaFleur said Adams wanted to return to Sunday's game, but it's a long season and the team needs him healthy. We also reported Adams wanted to get back in the game after the news broke of his injury so that is a bit of encouraging news.