Week 1 Fantasy Football Practice News & Notes for Wednesday

Sep 06, 2017

Jaguars QB Blake Bortles (right wrist) practiced fully Wednesday. Bortles is expected to start in a tough matchup with the Texans. He’s not much of a fantasy option in Week 1.

Ravens QB Joe Flacco (back) practiced fully Wednesday. Flacco will start against the Bengals. Consider him a low-end QB2 option on the road coming off a long layoff.

Eagles QB Nick Foles (right elbow) practiced fully Wednesday.

Colts QB Andrew Luck (right shoulder) did not practice Wednesday. Luck will miss Week 1. Scott Tolzien will start, which is a downgrade for the entire offense. T.Y. Hilton, Donte Moncrief, Jack Doyle and Frank Gore are all negatively impacted by Luck’s absence.

Panthers QB Cam Newton (right shoulder) practiced fully Wednesday. Newton missed part of camp with the injury, but it looks like he’s ready to face the 49ers.

Cardinals QB Carson Palmer (not injury related) did not practice Wednesday. It looks like the Cardinals are just managing Palmer’s arm as they did in the back half of last season. Palmer posted top 10 quarterback numbers in his final nine games.

Jets QB Bryce Petty (knee) practiced fully Wednesday.

Bills QB Tyrod Taylor (concussion) practiced fully Wednesday. Taylor should get the start against a bad Jets defense. He’s a solid fantasy option as long as he’s starting, though he’ll miss Sammy Watkins ability in the passing game.

Texans RB Alfred Blue (ankle) did not practice Wednesday.

Texans RB Donta Foreman (groin) practiced fully Wednesday.

Jets RB Matt Forte (knee) practiced fully Wednesday. Forte is likely to put a dent in Bilal Powell’s upside against a shaky Bills rush defense.

Falcons RB Brian Hill (ankle) did not practice Wednesday.

Bengals RB Jeremy Hill (ankle) practiced fully Wednesday. Hill is still listed as the starter in Cincy, so he’ll likely get first crack at carrying the ball against the Ravens.

Jets RB Bilal Powell (ribs) practiced fully Wednesday. Powell is expected to play. He may serve as the centerpiece of a Jets’ offense that is woefully thin on talent.

Cowboys RB Keith Smith (knee) practiced fully Wednesday.

Browns RB Dan Vitale (ankle) took limited practice reps Wednesday.

Falcons RB Terron Ward (hamstring) took limited practice reps Wednesday.

Ravens RB Danny Woodhead (thigh) practiced fully Wednesday. Woodhead is expected to play. He’s a good option in PPR formats and a solid play in standard league, though it remains to be seen how many touches he’ll see sharing the backfield with Terrance West.

Jaguars RB T.J. Yeldon (hamstring) did not practice Wednesday.

Lions RB Zach Zenner (back) took limited practice reps Wednesday. If Zenner is out, it could improve Ameer Abdullah’s outlook since Zenner figures to get most of the goal line work.

Giants WR Odell Beckham (ankle) did not practice Wednesday. Both Beckham and Brandon Marshall (shoulder) both more likely than not to play, but Beckham’s status is very shaky. If Beckham sits or is limited, Shepard’s role could increase significantly. As a rookie, in the 11 games in which he saw at least five targets, Shepard averaged 4.5 catches for 46 yards and 0.54 touchdowns per game. Those are low-end fantasy WR2 numbers.

Bengals WR Tyler Boyd (hamstring) practiced fully Wednesday.

Browns WR Kenny Britt (knee) practiced fully Wednesday. Britt should be fine to play against the Steelers.

Redskins WR Josh Doctson (hamstring) practiced fully Wednesday. Doctson may be able to play, but he has missed a lot of time and isn’t likely to be in on two-receiver sets to start the year. This will limit his upside.

Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald (not injury related) did not practice Wednesday. This sounds like a rest day for Fitz. He’s a great start against the Lions.

Texans WR Will Fuller (shoulder) did not practice Wednesday.

Lions WR Kenny Golladay (ankle) took limited practice reps Wednesday.

Jets WR Chad Hansen (shoulder) practiced fully Wednesday.

Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins (thumb) practiced fully Wednesday. Hopkins should see double-digit targets given the current state of the Texans’ receiving corps, which is missing Will Fuller (shoulder) and Jaelen Strong (suspension).

Giants WR Tavarres King (ankle) practiced fully Wednesday.

Ravens WR Jeremy Maclin (hand) practiced fully Wednesday. Maclin is expected to play against the Bengals, but he hasn’t had much time to build a rapport with Joe Flacco, who missed a lot of practice due to a back injury.

Bills WR Jordan Matthews (chest) practiced fully Wednesday. Matthews is fully expected to start, though he has missed crucial reps with his new quarterback in a new offense, and that doesn’t bode well for production in Week 1.

Texans WR Braxton Miller (ankle) practiced fully Wednesday. The Texans are without Will Fuller and Jaelen Strong, so Miller figures to play heavy snaps against the Jaguars.

Ravens WR Breshad Perriman (thigh) practiced fully Wednesday.

Colts WR Chester Rogers (hamstring) did not practice Wednesday.

Bengals WR John Ross (knee) did not practice Wednesday. Ross is not expected to play. Brandon LaFell and Tyler Boyd should see extra snaps.

Panthers WR Curtis Samuel (ankle) practiced fully Wednesday.

Jaguars WR Dede Westbrook (core muscle injury) took limited practice reps Wednesday.

Bears WR Markus Wheaton (finger) did not practice Wednesday.

Bengals TE Tyler Eifert (knee) practiced fully Wednesday. Eifert looks like a go to face the Ravens. He’s startable anytime he’s healthy enough to play.

Texans TE C.J. Fiedorowicz (concussion) practiced fully Wednesday. Fiedorowicz was the No. 17 tight end last year, and once he started to play heavy snaps in Week 4, he was the No. 12 tight end the rest of the way. This is not a particularly good matchup, but the Texans are without two of their top four receivers (Will Fuller and Jaelen Strong), so Fiedorowicz could see a bit more work than expected.

Cowboys TE James Hanna (hamstring) practiced fully Wednesday.

Jets TE Jordan Leggett (knee) did not practice Wednesday.

Giants TE Shane Smith (quadricep) practiced fully Wednesday.

Browns TE Randall Telfer (knee) practiced fully Wednesday.

Jets TE Eric Tomlinson (concussion) practiced fully Wednesday.

Bengals TE C.J. Uzomah (ankle) did not practice Wednesday.