October 21, 2025
Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end
Cade Otton caught seven of nine targets for 65 yards in Monday night's 24-9 loss to the Lions. Otton led the team in receptions and yard on Monday night with a banged up receiver room and
Mike Evans (collarbone) leaving with a significant injury. Quarterback
Baker Mayfield leaned on Otton as his primary short-yardage target, with Otton frequently finding space open downfield. The 26-year-old has a chance to establish himself as a reliable tight end option in the coming weeks, as the Bucs continue to deal with significant injuries on offense.
--Kyle McCarthySource: ESPN.com
October 21, 2025
Detroit Lions quarterback
Jared Goff completed 20 of 29 passes for 241 yards, one touchdown, and one interception while adding two rushes for seven yards in Monday night's 24-9 win over Tampa Bay. He also took four sacks for a loss of 26 yards and lost a fumble. Outside of a few mistakes, Goff once again distributed the ball effectively to his elite group of weapons, connecting with
Amon-Ra St. Brown for a 27-yard touchdown in the first quarter and connecting with the explosive
Jahmyr Gibbs three times for 82 yards. In a game where the ground game averaged over five yards per carry and Detroit's defense dominated
Baker Mayfield, the Lions didn't need to throw the ball a lot. With the ground game averaging over five yards per carry and Detroit's defense stifling Baker Mayfield, the Lions didn't need to rely heavily on the passing attack. Goff and the Lions will ride into their Week 8 bye on a positive note.
--Kyle McCarthySource: ESPN.com
October 21, 2025
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback
Baker Mayfield completed 28 of 50 attempts for 228 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also took four sacks for a loss of 18 yards and loss a fumble that Tampa Bay ultimately recovered. It was the ugliest game of the season for the 30-year-old quarterback, as he posted his lowest passing total since Week 1 in Atlanta, when he threw for just 167 yards. Mayfield entered the game with a banged-up group of weapons, and things only got worse when
Mike Evans (collarbone) went down with a significant injury. It was a disappointing result in what was expected to be a shootout, but Mayfield should bounce back in Week 8 at New Orleans.
--Kyle McCarthySource: ESPN.com
October 21, 2025
Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie wide receiver
Tez Johnson caught four of nine targets for 58 yards and a touchdown in Monday night's 24-9 loss to the Lions. Johnson took a screen 22 yards to the house, making multiple defenders miss on an impressive catch and run. The rookie out of Oregon scored for the second consectutive week and is making the most of his opportunities in a banged up Tampa Bay receiver room. With
Mike Evans (collarbone) going down in the game and expected to miss the remainder of the season, Johnson should stay in a full-time role and be relied on more. He'll be a name to consider adding off the waiver wire this week.
--Kyle McCarthySource: ESPN.com
October 21, 2025
Detroit Lions wide receiver
Amon-Ra St. Brown caught six of 10 targets for 86 yards and a touchdown in Monday night's 24-9 win over Tampa Bay. St. Brown scored his league leading seventh receiving touchdown on the season and continues his outstanding season. His streak of five straight games with at least seven receptions came to an end, but it was still a very productive day for the stud wideout. The 25-year-old has continued to dominate against Tampa Bay, finding the end zone three times in four career matchups. He'll enter Week 9 against the Vikings as a top fantasy option following Detroit's Week 8 bye.
--Kyle McCarthySource: ESPN.com
October 21, 2025
Detroit Lions running back
Jahmyr Gibbs erupted against Tampa Bay on Monday night, handling 17 carries for 136 yards and two touchdowns and adding three receptions (three targets) for 82 yards. Gibbs delivered his statement performance of the season, surpassing 100 rushing yards for the first time this year. His 218 total yards were more than double his previous season high of 104, which came back in Week 2 against the Bears. His 82 receiving yards were also the second most in a game in his career. The superstar running back has once again been a touchdown machine this season and remains one of the premier players in fantasy football.
--Kyle McCarthySource: ESPN.com
October 20, 2025
New Orleans Saints center Erik McCoy (biceps) is believed to have suffered a torn biceps muscle in the Week 7 loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday, an injury that would knock him out for the rest of the season, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. It's a massive blow to the Saints' offensive line, as McCoy is one of the best centers in the league when healthy. It's been a tough two years for him health-wise, as he also played only seven games in 2024 due to injury. With McCoy now expected to miss the rest of the 2025 season, Cesar Ruiz will most likely move from right guard to take over at center for the Saints. It's a serious injury for New Orleans' offensive line and is bad news for an already weak offense led by quarterback
Spencer Rattler.
--Keith HernandezSource: NFL Network - Ian Rapoport
October 20, 2025
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver
Mike Evans (shoulder) suffered a broken clavicle in the Monday night loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 7 and will miss most of the season, according to head coach Todd Bowles. It's a tough break for the Bucs and Evans, who will not reach 1,000 yards receiving for the first time in his career in his 12th year in the league. What makes it even worse is that Evans was making his return on Monday night for the first time since suffering a strained left hamstring in Week 3. Before breaking his clavicle in the second quarter on a play deep down the field, the future Hall of Famer was unable to haul in any of his four targets. The 32-year-old has 14 catches on 32 targets for 140 yards and a touchdown in four games this year. It's possible he could make it back late in the season, but by that point, he may be of no help to fantasy managers. Until
Chris Godwin (leg) is able to return from a fibula injury that has kept him out the last two weeks, rookie
Emeka Egbuka,
Tez Johnson and
Sterling Shepard will be Tampa's top thre wideouts.
--Keith HernandezSource: NFL Network - Tom Pelissero
October 20, 2025
As the Minnesota Vikings face a short week and a series of injuries in the backfield, running back
Cam Akers is likely the next man up if needed on Thursday at the Los Angeles Chargers.
Jordan Mason should still be the Vikings' top option, but
Zavier Scott (wrist) is now facing an injury and Aaron Jones (hamstring) has not yet been activated off injured reserve. If Jones is not moved onto the active roster, Akers likely would be Minnesota's answer behind Mason. No action is needed just yet, but managers in deeper leagues might want to keep an eye on the Vikings' backfield if facing a bye-week crunch.
--Nick PiotrowiczSource: Minnesota Vikings
October 20, 2025
Running back
Jordan Mason has had the run of the Minnesota Vikings backfield in the past few weeks, but his workload will be worth monitoring as
Aaron Jones Sr. (hamstring) is now eligible to come off Injured Reserve. The Vikings initially were targeting Week 8 against the Los Angeles Chargers, a Thursday night game, to bring back Jones, but so far, have not officially activated him. Mason has been decent if not great in Jones' absence, but it's worth noting that four of five starters on the offensive line have been impacted by injuries and starting quarterback
J.J. McCarthy has missed four straight games. Mason may have another week in the lead role, but Jones is likely to play a factor when he returns.
--Nick PiotrowiczSource: Minnesota Vikings
October 20, 2025
Minnesota Vikings tight end
T.J. Hockenson was among the many at U.S. Bank Stadium who was not thrilled that his apparent fourth-quarter touchdown catch was overturned by replay on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles. The big tight end made an acrobatic play in which he caught the ball in the air, though it came in contact with the ground while in his hands as he fell to the turf. He juggled as he turned over, regathered, and stayed in bounds, but replay determined the play -- called a touchdown on the field -- should be overturned. "New York can't call in and say it's not a catch when every other ref out there says it is," Hockenson told reporters after the game. "That's all there is to it. It's just crazy." Hockenson finished with a solid six catches for 49 yards, but the touchdown that wasn't surely irked a few fantasy managers as well.
--Nick PiotrowiczSource: Minnesota Star-Tribune
October 20, 2025
Quarterback
J.J. McCarthy (ankle) could soon have the starting job back after the Minnesota Vikings lost 28-22 to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, after which multiple members of the team highlighted the mistakes in the passing game that proved costly in quarterback
Carson Wentz's fourth straight start. Wentz had two interceptions, one returned for a touchdown, and committed a baffling intentional grounding penalty while in the red zone that forced the Vikings into a field goal attempt. Wentz called his second-quarter interception "dumb" and "not a wise decision," while coach Kevin O'Connell and receiver
Justin Jefferson both stressed cleaning up mistakes, which held the Vikings to one touchdown from six trips inside the Eagles' 20-yard line. McCarthy still hasn't been given the full vote of confidence as he returns from his injury and still could miss another week, but Sunday seemed to quell talk of a lingering controversy in Minnesota.
--Nick PiotrowiczSource: The Athletic
October 20, 2025
The NFL has suspended Denver Broncos linebacker Dre Greenlaw for one game without pay due to unsportsmanlike conduct following his team's Week 7 win over the New York Giants, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Rapoport reports that Greenlaw "chased after referee Brad Allen and verbally threatened him as (Allen) tried to leave the field." Week 7 was Greenlaw's first game of the season after he missed the first six weeks due to a thigh injury. Greenlaw recorded one solo tackle and one QB hit in Week 7 against New York. Assuming the suspension is upheld, Greenlaw will likely miss his team's Week 8 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys. Justin Strnad and Alex Singleton will likely serve as Denver's primary off-ball linebackers against Dallas.
--Will BradySource: NFL Network - Ian Rapoport
October 20, 2025
Indianapolis Colts edge rusher Samson Ebukam (knee) is "expected to miss multiple weeks with an MCL injury," per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. Fowler notes that Ebukam is in the process of getting a second opinion. Across seven games so far this season, the 30-year-old has recorded two sacks, 10 solo tackles, and seven QB hits. If Ebukam is forced to miss time, rookie edge rusher JT Tuimoloau could see an increase in playing time as a key depth piece behind Colts starters Kwity Paye and Laiatu Latu. Indianapolis will play the Tennessee Titans, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Atlanta Falcons over the next three weeks before its Week 11 bye.
--Will BradySource: ESPN - Jeremy Fowler
October 20, 2025
Baltimore Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith (hamstring) "says he will play" in Week 8 against the Chicago Bears, per ESPN's Jamison Hensley. Smith missed the Ravens' last two games before their Week 7 bye due to a hamstring injury. His return would be a welcome sight for a banged-up Ravens defense that has allowed an average of 32.3 points per game over its first six contests this season. In the four games he's played, Smith has recorded 24 solo tackles, three quarterback hits, and returned a fumble 63 yards for a touchdown. The 28-year-old has been named a first-team All-Pro in each of the last two seasons, and his return should make life significantly more difficult for the Bears' offense in Week 8.
--Will BradySource: ESPN - Jamison Hensley
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