Week 1 Fantasy Football Practice News & Notes for Thursday
Jaguars QB Blake Bortles (right wrist) took full practice reps again Thursday. Bortles is expected to start in a tough matchup with the Texans. He’s not much of a fantasy option in Week 1.
Saints QB Chase Daniel (ankle) took limited practice reps Thursday.
Ravens QB Joe Flacco (back) took full practice reps again Thursday. 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) took full practice reps again Thursday.
Colts QB Andrew Luck (right shoulder) missed practice again Thursday. 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.
Broncos QB Paxton Lynch (right shoulder) missed practice Thursday.
Panthers QB Cam Newton (right shoulder) took full practice reps again Thursday. 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) returned to full practice reps Thursday after missing Wednesday. The Cardinals were 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) took full practice reps again Thursday.
Bills QB Tyrod Taylor (concussion) took full practice reps again Thursday. 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) missed practice again Thursday.
Broncos RB Devontae Booker (wrist) missed practice Thursday.
Broncos RB Jamaal Charles (knee) missed practice Thursday. Charles is going to get a lot of rest during the week to keep his legs and knees fresh.
Texans RB Donta Foreman (groin) was removed from the injury report Thursday after taking full practice reps Wednesday.
Jets RB Matt Forte (knee) took full practice reps again Thursday. Forte is likely to put a dent in Bilal Powell’s upside against a shaky Bills rush defense.
Colts RB Frank Gore (not injury related) was added to the injury report Thursday after missing practice. This is probably just a day of rest for the veteran.
Falcons RB Brian Hill (ankle) missed practice again Thursday.
Bengals RB Jeremy Hill (ankle) took full practice reps again Thursday. Hill is still listed as the starter in Cincy, so he’ll likely get first crack at carrying the ball against the Ravens.
Bills RB LeSean McCoy (illness) was added to the injury report Thursday after taking limited practice reps. McCoy is just dealing with a stomach bug. He should be fine by Sunday.
Raiders RB Jamize Olawale (quadricep) did not practice Wednesday.
Jets RB Bilal Powell (ribs) took full practice reps again Thursday. Powell is expected to play. He may serve as the centerpiece of a Jets’ offense that is woefully thin on talent.
Seahawks RB Thomas Rawls (ankle) practiced fully Wednesday. This is a good sign for his Week 1 availability. He’s listed as the RB1 on the Seattle depth chart, but Eddie Lacy might get a few extra opportunities to produce against his old team with Rawls still nursing the ankle injury.
Cowboys RB Keith Smith (knee) took full practice reps again Thursday.
Browns RB Dan Vitale (ankle) took full practice reps Thursday after being limited Wednesday.
Falcons RB Terron Ward (hamstring) took limited practice reps again Thursday.
Ravens RB Danny Woodhead (thigh) took full practice reps again Thursday. 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) returned to limited practice reps Thursday after missing Wednesday practice.
Lions RB Zach Zenner (back) took full practice reps Thursday after being limited Wednesday.
Giants WR Odell Beckham (ankle) missed practice again Thursday. When asked if he is going to play in Week 1, Beckham said that he “wouldn’t count it out,” which doesn’t exactly sound encouraging. He looks like a 50/50 bet right now. If he’s out, it’s a big boost for Sterling Shepard who could play 90% or more of the snaps if Beckham is sidelined.
Bengals WR Tyler Boyd (hamstring) took full practice reps again Thursday. Boyd should be fine to face the Ravens. He should see extra snaps with John Ross sidelined.
Browns WR Kenny Britt (knee) took full practice reps again Thursday. Britt should be fine to play against the Steelers.
Raiders WR Amari Cooper (knee) took limited practice reps Wednesday. Cooper will be fine for Week 1. He has a great matchup with a shaky Tennessee secondary.
Redskins WR Jamison Crowder (hip) was added to the injury report Thursday after taking limited practice reps. It’s a midweek downgrade for Crowder, so we’ll monitor his practice participation on Friday.
Redskins WR Josh Doctson (hamstring) took full practice reps again Thursday. Doctson should 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) returned to full practice reps Thursday after missing Wednesday. No worries here.
Texans WR Will Fuller (shoulder) missed practice again Thursday. Fuller isn’t going to play this week.
Lions WR Kenny Golladay (ankle) took limited practice reps again Thursday. Golladay should be fine for Sunday, though there was a report that he would split WR3 duties with T.J. Jones.
Jets WR Chad Hansen (shoulder) took full practice reps again Thursday.
Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins (thumb) was removed from the injury report Thursday after taking full practice reps 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) took full practice reps again Thursday.
Seahawks WR Tyler Lockett (knee) practiced fully Wednesday. Lockett is expected to play, but may not play starter’s snaps as the team eases him back into game action. Paul Richardson should get extra snaps against a Green Bay secondary that got shredded last year.
Ravens WR Jeremy Maclin (hand) took full practice reps again Thursday. 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) took full practice reps again Thursday. 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) was removed from the injury report Thursday after taking full practice reps Wednesday.
Ravens WR Breshad Perriman (thigh) took full practice reps again Thursday.
Colts WR Chester Rogers (hamstring) missed practice again Thursday.
Bengals WR John Ross (knee) returned to limited practice reps Thursday after missing Wednesday practice. Ross is not expected to play in Week 1, but Week 2 is looking like a distinct possibility.
Panthers WR Curtis Samuel (ankle) took full practice reps again Thursday.
Broncos WR Demaryius Thomas (hamstring) took full practice reps Thursday. Thomas should be out there for a tough matchup against the Chargers secondary.
Jaguars WR Dede Westbrook (core muscle injury) took limited practice reps again Thursday.
Bears WR Markus Wheaton (finger) returned to limited practice reps Thursday after missing Wednesday practice.
Bengals TE Tyler Eifert (knee) took full practice reps again Thursday. 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) was removed from the injury report Thursday after taking full practice reps 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) took full practice reps again Thursday.
49ers TE George Kittle (hamstring) took limited practice reps Wednesday.
Jets TE Jordan Leggett (knee) missed practice again Thursday.
Raiders TE Lee Smith (not injury related) did not practice Wednesday.
Giants TE Shane Smith (quadricep) took full practice reps again Thursday.
Browns TE Randall Telfer (knee) took full practice reps again Thursday.
Jets TE Eric Tomlinson (concussion) took full practice reps again Thursday.
Bengals TE C.J. Uzomah (ankle) missed practice again Thursday.
Seahawks TE Nick Vannett (concussion) practiced fully Wednesday.
Raiders K Sebastian Janikowski (back) took limited practice reps Wednesday.
