Fantasy Football News and Notes 11-6-13
Fantasy News and Notes 11-06-13:
BYE WEEKS: Cleveland, Kansas City, New England, New York Jets
Quarterbacks
As expected, E.J. Manuel returned to practice again today and he is expected to start for Buffalo barring any setbacks in his recovery from a knee injury that has sidelined him the last several weeks. Also returning to practice was top backup QB Thaddeus Lewis. Lewis missed last week with a ribs injury but would get the call week 10 if Manuel can't go.
Also as expected, Terrelle Pryor practiced today despite a minor knee injury. He's supposed to be fine to start week 10 for Oakland.
Running Backs
Arian Foster missed practice today because of a back injury. It's sounding like he is not going to be able to play this week. Ben Tate will start if Foster doesn't play.
Zac Stacy sat out practice today. Sitting out Wednesday practices and then returning for a limited session on Thursday and then a full session on Friday has become the weekly norm for Stacy. As long as that doesn't change tomorrow, He's great to consider as a top 10 fantasy RB again this week.
Darren McFadden also missed practice today because of a hamstring injury. I expect him to miss week 10. Rashad Jennings will start in his place for Oakland if that holds up.
Buffalo's C.J. Spiller is surprisingly not on the practice report injury list and while it looked like he had aggravated his ankle injury week 9, his absence from the report suggests he is back to almost full strength and should be fine to consider as you normally would. If he's really healthy, he could start to assert himself over Fred Jackson. But for now, expect it to be an even timeshare week 10.
Trent Richardson sat out practice today with a listed ankle injury. It's unknown if this is a real concern or just a day of rest. The Indy media doesn't seem too concerned but we'll see what his status is tomorrow. Richardson fantasy owners may want to consider Donald Brown as insurance if they were planning on starting Richardson in week 10.
Darren Sproles was listed as a full participant in practice today and reportedly has passed his concussion tests. That is possibly the mildest concussion injury I've ever heard of. It's now considered likely Sproles will play week 10.
Wide Receivers
Victor Cruz sat out practice today with a neck injury. Cruz did suffer a neck injury back in week 8 but it was expected the bye week was going to be enough time for it to be a non-issue. We'll see whether Cruz practices tomorrow and take it from there. For now, be cautiously optimistic he'll be just fine for week 10.
Marques Colston was limited in practice today. Colston missed week 9 because of a knee injury he had been playing through in prior weeks but was affecting him. It's unclear if just one week off was enough time for Colston to get over the issue and he is uncertain to play week 10.
Percy Harvin sat out practice today. Harvin reportedly suffered a setback in his recovery from hip surgery in practice a week or so ago and it's beginning to look like he is not going to be ready to return in week 10 either.
Roddy White was limited in practice today and unless he practices in full by Friday, I would expect him to be a game time decision for week 10. Do yourself a favor and just sit on White until he either practices in full for a couple of days or he makes it through a game and doesn't look hobbled by his ankle injury.
Miles Austin was held out of practice by the Cowboys today. The team is resting Austin in hopes they can get his chronic hamstring injury healed up in full so he can actually be an asset on the field. This is actually a rare example of a team doing the smart thing with a player's injury. It also means Austin is very unlikely to play week 10 meaning you sit him with confidence, and can confidently consider Terrence Williams as a fantasy start.
Dez Bryant sat out practice with a listed back injury. Bryant has had some back issues before but usually they turn out to be nothing to be concerned about. As long as he returns to practice tomorrow he should be just fine.
Buffalo's Robert Woods missed practice today because of the "minor" ankle sprain he sustained Sunday. Tentatively he is expected to play week 10 but he is not a recommended fantasy play.
Among WR's who were either limited or held out of practice but are expected to be fine for week 10, the list includes Denver's Wes Welker (ankle); Jacksonville's Cecil Shorts (groin); San Diego's Eddie Royal (toe); and Baltimore's Marlon Brown (finger).
Tight Ends
Denver's Julius Thomas was able to get in a limited practice today and is tentatively expected to be okay for week 10 despite a minor ankle sprain.
Jimmy Graham sat out practice today but it's believed to just be some rest for the stud TE. The team did add an elbow issue to his already known foot injury but currently it's not believed to be serious enough to threaten his week 10 status.
Houston's Garrett Graham was limited in practice because of a thigh injury. He's fully expected to be fine for his plus matchup against Arizona this week.
Kickers
Houston has decided to stick with Randy Bullock despite his missing of many FG's this season. The team brought in a few kickers yesterday for tryouts but either they weren't impressed, or they wanted to have a readymade favorite if Bullock has any more issues. But at least for week 10, Bullock will be the Texans kicker.