Alex Smith should be cleared to play this week

Nov 21, 2012

49ers HC Jim Harbaugh said this morning that QB Alex Smith still has not been cleared to play in a game following his Nov. 11 concussion but that he expects that to happen by the end of the week. "It looks like he will be (cleared) before the week is out," Harbaugh said on the Murph & Mac show on KNBR. "But not as of now. I'm sure he will be."

Harbaugh said that twice when host Brian Murphy asked him about the competition between Smith and heretofore backup Colin Kaepernick to start for the 49ers. "It's the opposite of a controversy," Harbaugh said. "We've got two good guys."

Fantasy Impact:

We're expecting Colin Kaepernick to get the start and play well against the Saints, who have been quite generous to opposing QBs this season. Things will change quickly if Smith is cleared and the 49ers decide to give him the start.

today

Raiders sign RB Raheem Mostert to one-year, $2.1M deal

Cameron Wolfe

today · 1:42 PM EDT

Raheem Mostert tells me he’s signing a 1-year, $2.1 million deal with Raiders.

Former Dolphins RB made the Pro Bowl in 2023 rushing for over 1K yards and totaling 21 TDs. Still has good juice left for Vegas squad that wants to run the ball.

Related Players: Sincere McCormick, Zamir White, Dylan Laube

Fantasy Impact:

This is unlikely to be the last movement we see in the Raiders backfield before the offseason is over, but Mostert finds himself in a great spot to carve out a role in his age-33 season. Because of the wear on his tires and history with injuries, we should probably take a wait-and-see approach before we declare how useful he can actually be in fantasy.

yesterday

WR Mike Williams heads back to Chargers on one-year deal

Tom Pelissero

yesterday · 9:59 PM EDT

Reunion: Veteran WR Mike Williams is returning to the Chargers on a one-year deal worth up to $6 million, per source.

Related Players: Ladd McConkey, D.J. Chark, Quentin Johnston

Fantasy Impact:

This is a nice low-risk offer to get a pure X receiver back for Justin Herbert. With Williams lining up out wide in the 80% range, even if he comes back as the team's No. 2 option, it shouldn't have much of an impact on McConkey, but it could push Johnston back into more of a complementary role after his high-usage 2024 season.

Williams should stick back in the WR4/5 range for fantasy purposes.

RB Rico Dowdle signs one-year deal with Panthers

Mike Kaye

yesterday · 7:08 PM EDT

The Panthers have agreed to a 1-year deal with RB Rico Dowdle, per league source.

Related Players: Chuba Hubbard

Fantasy Impact:

Carolina recently released Miles Sanders, so Dowdle should operate as an upgrade over the veteran. This is a much bigger hit to Hubbard's fantasy ceiling than Sanders functioned as last season, but it's not the best spot for Dowdle's fantasy aspirations, either.

If there are no more additions to the backfield, we should consider Hubbard a low-end RB2 and Dowdle a fringe RB3/4.