News and Notes 10-18-12

Bye Weeks: Atlanta, Denver, Kansas City, Miami, Philadelphia, San Diego  

Quarterbacks

*-As expected, Aaron Rodgers practiced in full today and he will start without issue despite having a minor calf injury. Even though the matchup isn't good on paper, Rodgers showed last week why you should never sit him.

*-Ben Roethlisberger was unable to finish practice today because of an ankle injury that happened in practice. Current reports say that it isn't serious and Big Ben should be fine to start week 7. As long as he practices tomorrow in at least limited fashion, expect him to be fine. Roethlisberger is one of the more notorious tough guys playing thru injuries worse than this one sounds.

*-Tim Tebow is expected to have an increased role week 7, but not as a QB. Reports are that Tebow could be mixed in as a RB this week because the injuries to Bilal Powell (shoulder) and Joe McKnight (ankle) will prevent both from being able to play. Really, RB might be Tebow's best position to play. I wouldn't want to count on him for fantasy production though.


Running Backs

*-Adrian Peterson was held out of practice for a second straight day because of his ankle injury. The injury is not believed to be serious though and Peterson is fully expected to be fine for week 7. The thought is that since the Vikings play next Thursday night, the Vikings are just giving him a lot of rest so it can heal up as much as it can. For what it's worth, I fully intend on playing Peterson this week in leagues I have him in as he is overdue for a big game and touchdowns.

*-Ahmad Bradshaw was able to put in a limited practice today and he appears okay for week 7. Bradshaw claims the foot injury he has stems from having it stepped on against the 49ers last week and is not related to previous foot injuries he's had the last couple of seasons. But it's still likely that both David Wilson and Andre Brown get some playing time as well. Bradshaw should be fine to consider as a RB1/2 this week and it would be a leap of faith to risk either Wilson or Brown in fantasy lineups. For what it's worth, while we've all assumed David Wilson had played his way past Brown after Brown suffered a concussion a couple of weeks ago, it was Brown who was taking first team reps yesterday ahead of Wilson.

*-Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman both missed practice again today and both are likely to be listed as Questionable on the Friday night injury report and considered game time decisions. Rumors are that Mendenhall stands a better chance of playing than Redman, but I think it smartest to just stay away from all Steelers RB's this week as Pittsburgh plays Sunday night and unless you're going to roster Jonathan Dwyer and Baron Batch as insurance, it's just not worth the risk.

*-Trent Richardson was able to practice again today despite his ribs injury and is expected to start week 7. He may be limited some though and we could see a closer than normal split between him and Montario Hardesty.  

*-Brandon Bolden was held out of practice again today because of his aggravated knee injury. It's starting to look very unlikely that he will be able to play this week. What's more telling is that neither Stevan Ridley nor Shane Vereen is listed on the Patriots mid-week practice report injury listings. Both have been regulars on the mid-week report with various ailments the last few weeks but they appear to both be healthy finally. Ridley is a strong bet to have a monster game this week against the Jets 28th ranked fantasy run defense. Vereen may finally get a chance to have more than a handful of carries. I wouldn't trust him as a fantasy play though.

*-Bengals backup RB Brian Leonard has been unable to practice this week because of a ribs injury suffered last week. Leonard is likely to miss week 7. Cedric Peerman will be the top backup to BenJarvus Green-Ellis.

*-Jonathan Grimes is on track to be the top backup to Shonn Greene this week for the Jets. Both Bilal Powell and Joe McKnight will miss week 7. And also as I said, Tim Tebow figures to get worked some in the mix at RB as well.

*-Arian Foster returned to a full practice today after being limited some yesterday. HIs knee is a non-issue and Foster is fine.


Wide Receivers

*-Hakeem Nicks practiced in limited fashion again today. While it would be nice to see him get in full practices, back to back limited practices is an improvement and barring any setbacks tomorrow, Nicks should be fine to consider for your fantasy lineups this week.

*-Pierre Garcon missed practice again today and I would expect he isn't going to play this week. Garcon just can't shake this foot injury he suffered in week 1 and there's been no word on exactly what the injury is, so either the Redskins are just as perplexed as us, or they are keeping it very secret. Given the fact that Washington is the single hardest team in the entire NFL to find the injury report on their official website, I'd say they're being secretive.

*-Andre Johnson practiced in full today after being limited yesterday. His groin injury is a non-issue and he'll start without worry this week.

*-Vincent Jackson was limited in today's practice with a claf issue. Jacskon wasn't listed yesterday so he may have suffered it in practice today. Currently, it's not believed to be serious enough to jeopardize his status for week 7.

*-Wes Welker was limited in practice again today with his ankle issue. This is just like last week and Welker played and was fine week 6. I expect he'll be fine again this week, too.

*-Jerome Simpson practiced in full again today and it's expected he will be okay for week 7. But I still think you take a leap of faith starting a guy who has a chronic disc problem in his back that has flared up just before kickoffs before.

*-As expected, Greg Jennings didn't practice today. He's almost assuredly going to miss week 7 as he tries to get his nagging groin injury healed up.

*-Mohamed Massaquoi and Travis Benjamin both were able to practice in limited fashion again today. It now appears both are likely to play week 7 after missing the last few weeks with hamstring injuries. This caps the upside of rookie Josh Gordon as any reduction in playing time for him means fewer chances for one of the big plays he's produced the last 2 games in their absences.

*-Armon Binns missed today's practice with an ankle issue. Binns wasn't listed on yesterday's injury list so this is concerning. Hopefully, Binns isn't in your fantasy plans this week anyway.


Tight Ends

*-Although reports have been grim regarding Jimmy Graham's chances of playing this week, he was able to put in a limited practice today. Graham's ankle injury hasn't been officially announced as a high ankle sprain but many are speculating it is. Expect Graham to be listed as Questionable and considered a game time decision, but if he practices again tomorrow, I expect that even if limited, he will play this week.

*-Aaron Hernandez missed practice today. He put in a limited practice yesterday and it's unknown if he suffered a setback or not. Hernandez stated yesterday that he came out of week 6 without aggravating his ankle injury so the missed practice is concerning. Of course, it could just be Bill Belichick playing games. He does that, frequently. Rob Gronkowski was limited today with his hip issue but he's fully expected to start and be fine this week.

*-Brandon Pettigrew continues to be limited in practices because of his knee issue. He was limited all last week and still played week 6 so I expect him to be fine for week 7.