December 17, 2025
Chicago Bears rookie wide receiver
Luther Burden III (ankle) is missing a second straight day of practice this week on Wednesday due to an ankle injury, according to Marquee Sports Network's Scott Bair. The Bears could be short-handed on offense at the receiver position on Saturday night against the division-rival Green Bay Packers, as
Rome Odunze (foot) has yet to practice this week after missing the last two games with a stress fracture in his foot. In the last two contests with Odunze on the sideline, the 22-year-old Burden has capitalized for his fantasy managers with 10 catches for 151 yards on 13 targets. However, unless he practices on Thursday, Burden could miss this weekend's game in the Windy City. If both Burden and Odunze are inactive,
DJ Moore,
Olamide Zaccheaus, and
Devin Duvernay would operate in three-receiver sets. Rookie tight end
Colston Loveland would be on the TE1 map with more targets coming his way as well.
--Keith HernandezSource: Marquee Sports Network - Scott Bair
December 17, 2025
Chicago Bears wide receiver
Rome Odunze (foot) missed another practice on Wednesday, according to Scott Bair of the Marquee Sports Network. Odunze also missed Tuesday's session and looks to be on track to miss a third straight game due to a stress fracture in his foot. Head coach Ben Johnson hinted earlier this week that the 23-year-old second-year pass-catcher could be shut down in the final three weeks of the regular season so that the team can have him closer to full strength for the playoffs. After a strong start to the season, Odunze has been a disappointment to fantasy managers in the second half, and he's likely to be ruled out for Saturday's divisional tilt against the Green Bay Packers unless he returns to practice on Thursday. Rookie
Luther Burden III (ankle) has yet to practice this week, either, so
Olamide Zaccheaus and
Devin Duvernay, in addition to rookie tight end
Colston Loveland, could be in for bigger roles this weekend behind
DJ Moore if both Odunze and Burden cannot play.
--Keith HernandezSource: Marquee Sports Network - Scott Bair
December 17, 2025
New York Jets rookie quarterback
Brady Cook has been named the starter for the team's Week 16 matchup with the Saints. Head coach Aaron Glenn made the announcement on Wednesday, adding that either
Tyrod Taylor (groin) or
Justin Fields (knee) will back him up. This marks Cook's second consecutive start after coming on early in relief of an injured Taylor in a Week 14 loss to the Dolphins, and then making his first career start in a Week 15 loss to the Jaguars. Through almost two full games, he has yet to top 180 passing yards while completing 57.1% of his passes with one touchdown to five interceptions. In the 48-20 loss to Jacksonville, running back
Breece Hall was held to 23 yards on 12 carries, and against an underrated New Orleans defense on Sunday, all Jets offensive players will again face a severely limited fantasy ceiling.
--Patrick McGrathSource: Ian Rapoport
December 17, 2025
Houston Texans veteran running back
Nick Chubb (ribs) was back at practice on Wednesday after missing the team's Week 15 win over the Cardinals. Rookie
Woody Marks (ankle) was forced out of the blowout win with an ankle injury and was not spotted at Wednesday's practice, so Chubb could see an uptick in volume in a favorable Week 16 matchup with the Raiders, assuming his ribs respond well to a week of practice. Head Coach DeMeco Ryans noted on Monday that Marks could have returned to the game if the outcome had been more in doubt, so his absence on Wednesday could be viewed as an abundance of caution. Fantasy managers will need to monitor this somewhat cloudy backfield situation because if any Texans running back enters Sunday's game in a position to handle the bulk of carries, they should be able to convert that into fantasy success, and this includes popular waiver pickup
Jawhar Jordan, who just put up 101 yards on 15 carries against the Cardinals.
--Patrick McGrathSource: Jonathan M Alexander
December 17, 2025
Carolina Panthers rookie wide receiver
Tetairoa McMillan was not seen during the media accessible portion of Wednesday's practice, according to beat reporter Joe Person. McMillan carried no injury designation into the team's Week 15 loss to the Saints and was on the field for 48 of 57 offensive snaps, so fantasy managers will need to check Wednesday's practice report for additional information regarding his absence. McMillan caught two passes for 25 yards in the loss and has now been held to only five receptions across his last three games. Even with the late-season slump, he has been the WR16 in half-PPR formats and is RotoBaller's WR16 for the week. However, further news regarding an injury could drop him in the rankings before a crucial NFC South matchup with the Buccaneers.
--Patrick McGrathSource: Joe Person
December 17, 2025
Houston Texans running back
Woody Marks (ankle) was not seen during the media accessible portion of Wednesday's practice after leaving the team's Week 15 win over the Cardinals with an ankle injury. Head coach DeMeco Ryans indicated after the game that Marks could have re-entered if needed, but it appears the Texans are handling the injury cautiously. Second-year running back
Jawhar Jordan stepped up in Marks' absence, handling 15 carries for 101 yards on Sunday, making him a popular name on the waiver wire. However, veteran
Nick Chubb (ribs) was able to return to practice on Wednesday after leaving the Texans' Week 14 win over the Chiefs with an injury to his ribs and missing one game. Marks remains the most valuable player in the Texans' backfield, but fantasy managers will need to monitor Houston's practice reports throughout the week, because if he is unable to suit up for Week 16, Chubb would carry some RB2/flex appeal into a favorable matchup with the Raiders. Conversely, if Chubb suffers a setback and is also unavailable, Jordan could see a heavy workload.
--Patrick McGrathSource: Jonathan M Alexander
December 17, 2025
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver
Tee Higgins (concussion) is still in the league's concussion protocol, but he had his helmet on Wednesday and looked ready to practice, according to James Rapien of BengalsTalk.com. Higgins suffered his second concussion in two weeks in Week 14 and was held out of the Week 15 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. The 26-year-old was limited in two practices last week, but he ultimately wasn't able to clear the concussion protocol. He'll have a better shot to gain clearance this week, although the fact that Cincy has been eliminated from postseason contention could be a factor in whether he plays against the Miami Dolphins this Sunday. If Higgins is cleared to play, he should be in all starting fantasy lineups in a plus matchup. Higgins has 46 receptions on 81 targets this year for 667 yards and nine touchdowns, which makes him the WR13 in half-PPR points per game in 2025. If Higgins misses a second straight game with his concussion,
Andrei Iosivas and
Mitchell Tinsley will both be in line for more targets behind WR1
Ja'Marr Chase.
--Keith HernandezSource: BengalsTalk.com - James Rapien
December 17, 2025
Baltimore Ravens wide receiver
Rashod Bateman (ankle) is back at practice on Wednesday, according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. Bateman will most likely be listed as limited on Wednesday, but it gives him a chance to play in Week 16 against the New England Patriots on Sunday night after he missed the Week 15 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. The 26-year-old isn't on the fantasy radar during the fantasy playoffs, even if he's able to return this weekend for the Ravens. He has been extremely disappointing after a career year in 2024. In 11 games in 2025, Bateman has only 18 receptions for 217 yards and two touchdowns on 35 targets. If Bateman is active this Sunday night against New England, he's unlikely to be very involved in what has been a pretty lackluster Ravens offense. Bateman has had over two catches in a game this year only once, back on Sept. 22.
--Keith HernandezSource: The Athletic - Jeff Zrebiec
December 17, 2025
Green Bay Packers running back
Josh Jacobs (knee) is a non-participant at practice on Wednesday, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN. Jacobs did not take part in the team's walkthrough practice on Tuesday, either, but he intends to play through his knee issue again in a crucial Week 16 divisional rematch against the Chicago Bears this Saturday night. The 27-year-old has been battling a knee injury since Week 11, and he sat out the Week 12 win over the Minnesota Vikings. He was questionable going into last Sunday's loss to the Denver Broncos, but he ultimately played and had a rushing and receiving touchdown. Jacobs is also listed with an ankle injury, but his knee is the more serious ailment. He might not end up practicing much, if at all, this week, but the expectation is that he'll be ready to go on Saturday. Still,
Emanuel Wilson isn't a bad speculative waiver-wire pickup in case Jacobs is ruled out. Jacobs has been a must-start RB1 in fantasy all year with 14 total touchdowns in 13 games, but he's literally limping to the finish line.
--Keith HernandezSource: ESPN.com - Rob Demovsky
December 17, 2025
Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver
Tyquan Thornton (concussion) will not practice on Wednesday, according to head coach Andy Reid. Fellow wideout
Rashee Rice is also dealing with a concussion and will not practice on Wednesday. The Chiefs have been eliminated from playoff contention and lost star quarterback
Patrick Mahomes (knee) to a torn ACL in Sunday's loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, so they won't be pushing Thornton or Rice to play in Week 16 against the Tennessee Titans this Sunday. The 25-year-old Thornton has 19 catches on 36 targets for 438 yards and three touchdowns this year, but he's mostly been quiet in KC's offense since Rice returned from his suspension. He hasn't scored a touchdown since Sept. 28 and has five zero-catch games this year. If Thornton and Rice are unable to play this weekend,
Xavier Worthy,
Marquise Brown, and
JuJu Smith-Schuster would all be forced into bigger roles.
--Keith HernandezSource: Chiefs.com - Matt McMullen
December 17, 2025
Kansas City Chiefs head trainer Rick Burkholder said that quarterback
Patrick Mahomes (knee) was operated on quickly to fix the LCL part of his ACL/LCL knee injury that he suffered in Sunday's loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, according to Jesse Newell of The Athletic. Mahomes has started his rehab in Dallas this week and will continue through Thursday before returning to KC. The fact that the 30-year-old tore both his ACL and LCL will make his recovery more complicated, but reports suggest that Mahomes is "hellbent" on returning for the Week 1 season opener in 2026. For the final three weeks of the 2025 season,
Gardner Minshew will run KC's offense, which is an obvious downgrade for all of the Chiefs' offensive skill players. Mahomes, a three-time Super Bowl MVP, threw for 3,587 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions in 14 games in 2025 in his ninth NFL season.
--Keith HernandezSource: The Athletic - Jesse Newell
December 17, 2025
The Kansas City Chiefs say that wide receiver
Rashee Rice (concussion) will not practice on Wednesday, according to Pete Sweeney. It's a new injury for Rice, and one that could certainly keep him from playing in the Week 16 game against the Tennessee Titans this Sunday, especially with the Chiefs now eliminated from playoff contention. The 25-year-old's fantasy stock will be down, regardless, for the final three games of the season, with quarterback
Patrick Mahomes (knee) done for the year following a torn ACL suffered in Sunday's loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Fantasy managers will want to keep a close eye on Rice's status the rest of the week. He'll need to gain clearance from an independent neurologist to play this Sunday.
Tyquan Thornton also suffered a head injury against the Chargers.
Xavier Worthy,
Marquise Brown, and
JuJu Smith-Schuster could be in for expanded roles against the Titans if Rice and Thornton are unable to suit up.
--Keith HernandezSource: Arrowhead Pride - Pete Sweeney
December 17, 2025
The Buffalo Bills are opening wide receiver
Mecole Hardman's (calf) 21-day practice window on Wednesday, according to Maddy Glab of BuffaloBills.com. Hardman has been on Injured Reserve for the last four games after injuring his calf in the Week 11 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The 27-year-old will be eligible to play this Sunday in Week 16 against the Cleveland Browns on the road, but the Bills will have to officially activate him from IR first. When healthy, Hardman is unlikely to be a big part of Buffalo's offense, especially with
Gabe Davis and
Brandin Cooks now in the picture. The former Kansas City Chiefs wideout will be a top kickoff return option on special teams, though. Hardman failed to reel in his only target in his only game played for the Bills this year. He will not be on the fantasy radar for the final three weeks of the regular season.
--Keith HernandezSource: BuffaloBills.com - Maddy Glab
December 17, 2025
Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said that wide receiver
Christian Watson (chest) is expected to be limited in Wednesday's practice, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN. "He's improving. We'll just see how he's feeling out there," LaFleur said. Watson was listed as a non-participant on Tuesday's estimated injury report. He was hospitalized following a chest injury in Sunday's loss to the Denver Broncos, but doctors ruled out a long-term injury. The 26-year-old's status is up in the air for Saturday's big divisional rematch against the Chicago Bears, but it's a good sign that Watson is returning to practice. Since making his season debut halfway through the 2025 season, Watson has been Green Bay's go-to wideout, catching 28 of his 43 targets for 481 yards and five touchdowns. The former second-rounder had 89 yards and two touchdowns two weeks ago against Chicago. If he's cleared to play, Watson will have WR2 upside in the rematch in the Windy City.
--Keith HernandezSource: ESPN.com - Rob Demovsky
December 17, 2025
Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon said that wide receiver
Marvin Harrison Jr. (heel) will take part in the team's walkthrough practice on Wednesday, per Tyler Drake of Arizona Sports. Harrison has missed the last two games with a heel injury, but Gannon said he's doing "good." The 23-year-old former first-rounder is expected to play again this year, possibly as soon as this Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 16. Harrison has missed four of the last five games with his heel injury, and after undergoing an appendectomy. The Ohio State product has not lived up to his fourth overall draft slot through almost two full NFL seasons. When healthy in 2025, Harrison has been inconsistent with 40 catches, 594 yards, and four touchdowns in 10 games. If Harrison returns this weekend, though, he'll be on the WR2 radar in Arizona's pass-happy offense. We'll continue to keep a close eye on his status over the next two days.
--Keith HernandezSource: Arizona Sports - Tyler Drake
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