January 17, 2026
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver
Ricky Pearsall (knee) is officially active for Saturday's Divisional Round contest against the Seattle Seahawks. He had been listed as questionable after practicing in a limited capacity. Pearsall returns to action following a two-game absence. Injuries bothered him throughout most of the regular season, limiting him to just 36 catches, 528 yards, and zero touchdowns through nine games. His return comes at a perfect time for the Niners, who were in need of pass-catching reinforcements after losing
George Kittle (Achilles) for the rest of the playoffs. Pearsall will step up as the No. 2 receiver alongside
Jauan Jennings against Seattle. The last time he faced the Seahawks, back in Week 1, Pearsall caught four passes for 108 yards.
--Andersen PickardSource: San Francisco 49ers
January 17, 2026
Seattle Seahawks quarterback
Sam Darnold (oblique) is officially active for Saturday's NFC Divisional Round game versus the San Francisco 49ers. The 28-year-old injured his oblique during Thursday's practice and hasn't thrown since then. According to Brady Henderson of ESPN, Darnold did not come out for early warmups with the rest of the team. It's also worth noting that Darnold hasn't been seen on the field with about an hour left until kickoff. Darnold has struggled in both games against the 49ers this season, throwing for 348 yards while rushing for 25 yards on eight attempts with no touchdowns and interceptions in both games. With the oblique injury and lack of production versus San Francisco earlier in the year, Darnold is a risky start in playoff leagues and is mainly a GPP play in DFS.
--Brad Camara - RotoBallerSource: Brady Henderson of ESPN
January 17, 2026
Denver Broncos rookie wide receiver
Pat Bryant (concussion) won't return in Saturday's AFC Divisional Round game against the Buffalo Bills after being diagnosed with a concussion. Bryant took a hit during the team's opening drive and was quickly diagnosed with a concussion by the team's medical staff. The 23-year-old finishes Saturday's playoff game with three catches for 32 yards before exiting.
Troy Franklin,
Marvin Mims Jr., and Lil' Jordan Humphrey should see an uptick in targets with Bryant sidelined. The Broncos' rookie wideout will likely enter the league's concussion protocol and will have to clear it next week in order to have a chance to suit up for the AFC Championship game if Denver advances.
--Brad Camara - RotoBallerSource: Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network
January 17, 2026
Buffalo quarterback
Josh Allen (foot) is battling three separate ailments, and he will not be at 100% when the Bills take on the Denver Broncos to open the Divisional Round on Saturday. Still, he is not expected to have any limitations, according to NFL reporter Cameron Wolfe. Allen visited the blue medical tent multiple times during the team's Wild Card win over the Jaguars, but he did not miss a snap. With the Bills' offense dealing with numerous injuries and Buffalo forced to take an unfamiliar path through the playoffs with their second straight road game, Allen, who is RotoBaller's QB1 in fantasy playoff leagues, will once again be asked to put the team on his shoulders on Saturday.
--Patrick McGrathSource: Cameron Wolfe
January 17, 2026
John Harbaugh and the New York Giants have officially finalized a five-year deal to make him the team's newest head coach and the first domino to fall in this year's coaching cycle. Harbaugh had been fired from the same position with the Baltimore Ravens after missing the playoffs for the first time since 2021, and he now takes over a Giants roster that many believe has the most pieces already in place to make a quick turnaround among all the teams in search of a new head coach. First-year quarterback
Jaxson Dart went 4-8 in a rookie season defined as much by his flashy playmaking abilities as his risk-taking playstyle and the associated injuries, while 2024 Pro Bowl wide receiver
Malik Nabers (knee) is expected to return at some point in 2026 following a devastating knee injury.
--Patrick McGrathSource: Ian Rapoport
January 17, 2026
Denver Broncos wide receiver
Courtland Sutton, making his 2026 playoff debut on Saturday, will face a Bills defensive unit missing three of their starters, including Jordan Poyer and Maxwell Hairston in the secondary. A similarly banged-up Buffalo defense saw Jacksonville wide receiver
Parker Washington put up 107 yards and a touchdown in a back-and-forth Wild Card matchup, and Sutton could be in line for a strong showing of his own. Sutton led his team in receptions, yards, and touchdowns, with four of his seven scores coming against teams in the 2026 playoff field. He is RotoBaller's WR4 for the week, but his ceiling is as high as nearly any receiver in the Divisional Round.
--Patrick McGrathSource: RotoBaller
January 17, 2026
Denver Broncos rookie running back
RJ Harvey makes his playoff debut on Saturday against a Bills defense that ranked 26th in the NFL against fantasy running backs in the regular season. Down the stretch, in particular, Buffalo's defense was viewed as a run funnel, with teams finding more success on the ground than through the air, and in last week's Wild Card win over the Jaguars, Buffalo allowed 154 yards on only 23 carries. Since taking over for
J.K. Dobbins (foot) as Denver's RB1 following a Week 10 foot injury, Harvey has scored six touchdowns in his last seven games, and he is RotoBaller's RB4 for the Divisional Round of the playoffs.
--Patrick McGrathSource: RotoBaller
January 17, 2026
Buffalo Bills running back
Ty Johnson (ankle) will be inactive when the Bills face the Broncos to kick off the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs on Saturday. Johnson, who missed the team's Wild Card win over the Jaguars with an ankle injury, was able to return to practice on Thursday in a limited capacity, but he'll miss at least one more game. Johnson has seen most of his work this season in the passing game, totaling 263 yards and two scores on his 24 receptions, but without him, the Bills' already depleted receiving core may struggle to find space against Denver's top-three passing defense. The Bills are expected to have
Curtis Samuel (elbow) back for the first time since Week 11, but in the win against the Jaguars,
Khalil Shakir led the team with 12 receptions, while no other Bills player topped three catches.
--Patrick McGrathSource: Tracy Wolfson
January 17, 2026
Buffalo Bills wide receiver
Curtis Samuel (elbow), who was officially activated from Injured Reserve on Friday, will be active for the Divisional Round on Saturday against the hosting Denver Broncos, according to NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe. Samuel was listed as questionable on the final injury report on Thursday. The 29-year-old will be active for the first time since Week 11 due to an elbow injury. Even without
Gabe Davis (knee) and
Tyrell Shavers (knee), though, Samuel will probably be limited in what he can do after such a long layoff, making him avoidable in fantasy football playoff leagues. During the regular season in just six games played for Buffalo, Samuel caught just seven of his nine targets for 81 yards and one touchdown. He never played more than 50% of the offensive snaps in a single game.
--Keith HernandezSource: NFL Network - Cameron Wolfe
January 17, 2026
Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver (biceps, knee) won't be 100% for the Divisional Round game on Saturday against the Denver Broncos and will play limited reps, but the Bills think "a rusty Ed is better than most," according to Cameron Wolfe of the NFL Network. Oliver could also be wearing a brace on his surgically repaired knee. The 28-year-old interior defensive lineman hasn't played since tearing his biceps muscle back in Week 8, and he also had cleanup surgery on his knee in December. Oliver will be more of a rotational interior D-lineman on Saturday in Denver, but the Bills are hoping his return is a much-needed boost for a banged-up defense that will be without cornerback Maxwell Hairston and safety Jordan Poyer for the Divisional Round. In only three games in 2025 before his injury, Oliver had 12 tackles, three sacks, and seven tackles for loss.
--Keith HernandezSource: NFL Network - Cameron Wolfe
January 17, 2026
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback
Aaron Rodgers, who will be a free agent in March, is not expected to return to the team next season, according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network. After the Steelers lost to the Houston Texans on Monday night in the Wild-Card round, long-time head coach Mike Tomlin resigned after 19 years with the organization. It essentially ensures that Rodgers won't return to the Steel City if he decides to play one more season, but the future Hall of Famer may have thrown his last pass in the NFL. The 42-year-old completed 65.7% of his pass attempts in Pittsburgh in 2025 for 3,322 yards, 24 touchdowns, and seven interceptions while adding 61 rushing yards and one TD on the ground. If Rodgers' career comes to an end, he'll finish with 66,274 passing yards and 527 touchdown passes in 264 regular-season games across 21 NFL seasons.
--Keith HernandezSource: NFL Network - Ian Rapoport
January 17, 2026
The Miami Dolphins are scheduling in-person head-coaching interviews for early this week and will talk with Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley for the second time, sources tell ESPN's Adam Schefter. Hafley has a head-coaching interview with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday and is also drawing interest for the same position with the Las Vegas Raiders, Tennessee Titans, Arizona Cardinals, and Atlanta Falcons. The 46-year-old has a relationship with new Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan from their time together in Green Bay, and he's a highly respected defensive mind, having led strong Packers' defenses in each of the last two seasons. Before he joined the Packers' coaching staff, Hafley was the head coach at Boston College for four seasons. In Miami, he'd be replacing Mike McDaniel.
--Keith HernandezSource: ESPN - Adam Schefter
January 17, 2026
The Green Bay Packers are working on contract extensions for both head coach Matt LaFleur and general manager Brian Gutekunst, each of whom is headed into the final year of his current deal, league sources told Adam Schefter of ESPN. Sources say they would be surprised if the Packers don't work out extensions with both LaFleur and Gutekunst. President Ed Policy said last June that he would prefer not to have a lame-duck coach. Under LaFleur the last seven seasons, the Packers have gone 76-40-1 in the regular season and have made the playoffs six times. However, they haven't reached the Super Bowl and haven't been to a conference championship game since 2020, the second of back-to-back appearances in LaFleur's first two years at the helm. Gutekunst has worked in Green Bay since 1999 and has been the GM since 2019.
--Keith HernandezSource: ESPN - Adam Schefter
January 17, 2026
The New York Giants are still on track to officially hire former Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh as their next head coach, according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network. Both sides are still trying to work out what is expected to be a five-year deal worth around $100 million, which would make him one of the highest-paid coaches in the league. Rapoport doesn't believe it's about money, but rather about the structure of the chain of command. The Athletic's Dan Duggan reports that Harbaugh didn't report to the general manager in Baltimore, but rather to owner Steve Bisciotti. That hasn't been the Giants' chain of command historically, so the two sides are trying to iron things out before Harbaugh's massive five-year deal becomes official. It should be completed by the end of the weekend.
--Keith HernandezSource: NFL Network - Ian Rapoport
January 17, 2026
Seattle Seahawks quarterback
Sam Darnold (oblique) has not thrown a football since he hurt his oblique at practice on Thursday, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. The Seahawks think, but don't know, that he will be fine to start Saturday night's Divisional Round contest against the San Francisco 49ers. Backup
Drew Lock took the reps the last two days in practice and is ready if needed. Head coach Mike Macdonald said the team is optimistic that Darnold will be ready to go this weekend, but there's also a sliver of doubt involved here. Rookie
Jalen Milroe hasn't played since Week 5, so he'd be the QB2 behind Lock if Darnold is inactive. Darnold's oblique injury makes him much more risky for fantasy football playoff lineups in the Divisional Round, especially since he's yet to throw a touchdown in two games this year against the Niners.
--Keith HernandezSource: ESPN - Adam Schefter
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