We scour the news around the NFL to bring you what matters most to you and your dynasty team: the most current news on players, both superstars and the relative unknowns, and analysis to decipher the respective situations. These are many of the major stories and not meant to be an exhaustive look at all the recent happenings around the league.
After Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles led the Bears back to an improbable victory over the Falcons, coach Matt Nagy had little choice than to go with Foles. On Monday, it was official. Nagy said it was Foles’ job “this week and beyond”. The writing was on the wall after Chicago refused Mitchell Trubisky’s fifth-year option. Revisionist history is a fool’s errand, but Bears fans still remember the team selecting Trubisky over Patrick Mahomes II and Deshaun Watson. For now, Foles is a viable SuperFlex option.
Right after the play, the Bears feared Tarik Cohen tore his ACL. The team’s doctor performed the exam on the sideline, so Chicago had a good idea that this was the injury Cohen suffered. An MRI Monday confirmed as much Monday morning. The speedy satellite back had never missed a game in his short career. The upshot is he recently signed the three-year contract extension just a few days ago. Cohen has long-term security. He should be back for the start of the 2021 season.
Saturday night, the San Francisco 49ers placed tailback Tevin Coleman on injured reserve. He will miss a minimum of two more games but is likely to be out a few more. Thankfully for the 49ers, Raheem Mostert should be back in the lineup in the next week or two.
After undergoing surgery to repair a torn UCL in his thumb, Eagles receiver Jalen Reagor is expected to miss the next six games. For reference, Drew Brees had a similar injury and missed five games. This is more bad luck for Reagor after he missed some of training camp with a shoulder injury but made it back for Week 1. Expect DeSean Jackson to have some big weeks as the lone threat at the wide receiver position. Alshon Jeffery is targeting a Week-5 return. What a rough start for the first-round pick and the Philadelphia offense as a whole.
Hamstring injuries are all the rage. Chris Godwin left the game against the Broncos after going down without contact. He was quickly ruled out which is suboptimal for Week-4 expectations. The Tampa Bay offense seems to go through Godwin as Mike Evans is just now rounding into form after suffering a hamstring injury of his own.
The window for procuring Deebo Samuel is quickly closing. He is expected to begin practicing this week. Samuel was close to a Week-1 return before aggravating the injured foot. Wisely, San Francisco shut him down for a few weeks knowing the season is a marathon. In an offense without its quarterback (Jimmy Garoppolo), top two backs (Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman), and best player (George Kittle), the 49ers will welcome Samuel back into the lineup with open arms. On Sunday morning, Ian Rapoport confirmed our thinking by tweeting, “#49ers WR Deebo Samuel (foot) should return to practice this week for SF, source says, but the current plan is to ease him in off Injured Reserve. Samuel likely returns to the field on game-day on Oct. 11 vs. the #Dolphins, rather than next Sunday vs. the #Eagles.” Samuel should return this week.
After a hot start to the season, John Brown missed most of the second half of the victory over the Los Angeles Rams with a calf injury. The main beneficiary was rookie Gabriel Davis. Davis has looked strong and should not be discounted. The Buffalo offense felt Brown’s absence as he is a favorite target of quarterback Josh Allen.
The New York Giants have suffered through the injury bug once again this season with Saquon Barkley lost for the season and Sterling Shepard placed on injured reserve last week. Shepard has turf toe and is eligible to return in Week 6. His absence was felt in Sunday’s loss to the 49ers. Daniel Jones was forced to rely on Darius Slayton, Golden Tate, and Evan Engram. Not a pretty sight. Shepard jumps up in our “buy” list with the absence and how Jones looks lost without his sure hands.
Not to be left out on the hamstring injury, Mike Williams was the next receiver to succumb to the injury. He left the Week-3 loss to Carolina and seemed to be trying to return deep into the game but could not. Williams’ absence caused an inordinate number of targets to go to Keenan Allen and Austin Ekeler. With Tyrod Taylor expected to miss the game this week, it will likely be these two Chargers stalwarts who see the bulk of the targets once again.
Michael Pittman was starting to emerge after the injury to Parris Campbell, but the rookie was injured in Week 3. He underwent surgery Monday to repair “compartment leg syndrome” in his calf. Pittman is expected back into the lineup by Week 8. It appears that Zach Pascal will resume his 2019 role opposite T.Y. Hilton. The Colts depth at the position has been depleted.
Dallas Goedert will miss a couple of weeks with what was first reported as a high ankle sprain, but coach Pederson clarified Tuesday as a fracture. He suffered the injury while being pulled down from behind after his first-quarter reception, his only catch on the day. The full weight of the defender fell on the back of Goedert’s left leg. He had an MRI Monday to confirm the severity of the injury. This is just another injury to a top player for the Eagles. The team has been bitten by the injury bug this year.
One of the lesser discussed topics has been the turf at MetLife Stadium which has exacted a toll on the San Francisco 49ers the past two weeks as the team has played the Jets and Giants consecutively. Week 2 was bad with several players suffering severe injuries. One of the Week-3 casualties is tight end Jordan Reed who is expected to miss 6-8 weeks with a knee injury. The good news for the 49ers is George Kittle is expected back this week. If your leaguemates get impatient with Reed – and cut him – we recommend acquiring given the injury history of Kittle.
If you would like to review our most recent Dynasty rankings, here is a link.
Feel free to (email me) with feedback. Also, I am on Twitter (www.Twitter.com/JeffTefertiller), LinkedIn, and Google+, so you can ask me questions on one of these as well.