Mendenhall to return in Week 5

Oct 01, 2012

Rashard Mendenhall is expected to make his debut Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles at Heinz Field.

Mendenhall, who posted two 1,000-yard rushing seasons in the past three years, missed the first three games of the regular season while recovering from mid-January ACL surgery, and, without him, the Steelers running game has struggled.

Fantasy Impact:

It appears Mendy will be the feature guy with Isaac Redman as the backup and Jonathan Dwyder getting "squeezed out" of the mix, according to the story. We thought Adrian Peterson would be eased back into touches, but that wasn't the case and it could be the same for Mendenhall. But, he's still a risk to give up some work - at least this week - until he's back into game shape. The one thing going for owners is that the Steelers really need his services, although the matchup could be a tough one against a decent Eagles defense. He'll likely be at least a flex option when rankings come out this week, but continue to monitor his progress leading up to the game.

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Chargers set to open window for RB J.K. Dobbins (knee)

Daniel Popper on X

0 minutes ago

Chargers will be opening J.K. Dobbins' 21-day window today, Jim Harbaugh tells reporters.

Related players: Gus Edwards

Fantasy Impact:

Dobbins has been on IR for the past four games with a knee injury. He's not a lock to play this week and he's not a lock for a safe workload even if he does play. The Chargers travel to New England in Week 17, so the matchup isn't a bad one. It's an early window game on Sunday, so owners should have plenty of notice. We'll also keep an eye on the practice reports this week.

Dolphins unsure of WR Jaylen Waddle's (knee) status for Week 17

Barry Jackson on X

5 minutes ago

McDaniel non-committal on whether Jaylen Waddle (knee) will practice this week: "I'm expecting to get everything from Waddle that he can do... I've [talked to] the trainer to make sure we protect him from himself. We will see how the week progresses. I don't know exactly what it will look like."

Fantasy Impact:

Waddle owners should probably not count on Waddle for Week 17, or at the very least have a backup plan. Waddle and the Dolphins play the Browns in the later window on Sunday so it could further complicate things for owners who were hoping to play him.

Texans WR Tank Dell tore ACL, dislocated knee

DJ Bien-Aime on X

9 minutes ago

DeMeco Ryans says WR Tank Dell tore his ACL along with dislocating his knee.

Fantasy Impact:

No surprises here as it was a terrible injury to watch during the game. While he's obviously out for the season, the bigger question is what will his status be for 2025. It's a huge question mark at this point given the seriousness of the injury. Even if Dell is able to play next season, he may take a while to get back to 100%.