December 16, 2025
San Francisco 49ers running back
Christian McCaffrey (back) popped up on Saturday's injury report with a back issue, but he looked healthy handling 22 carries for 73 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's win over the Titans. McCaffrey also caught his lone target of the day for 14 receiving yards. The reduction in pass volume was stark compared to the 8.2 targets he averaged before the 49ers' Week 14 bye, but it may have been a small act towards preserving the playmaker's health. McCaffrey will get an extra day of rest going into Week 16, as the 49ers will square off against the Colts on Monday night. Concern over McCaffrey's back makes
Brian Robinson Jr. a must-stash as he would likely step into a bellcow role if CMC sits. Assuming McCaffrey is healthy, he will once again be a must-start in the semi-final round of the fantasy football playoffs.
--Dan StephensSource: NFL.com
December 16, 2025
Chicago Bears tight end
Cole Kmet (ankle, knee) was listed as a limited participant on Tuesday's estimated injury report, according to the team. Kmet's status for Week 16 against the division-rival Green Bay Packers on Saturday is now worth monitoring now that he's dealing with multiple injuries. The 26-year-old caught two of his four targets for 28 yards in Sunday's blowout win over the Cleveland Browns and doesn't have as much fantasy upside as rookie first-rounder
Colston Loveland in Chicago. However, if Kmet can play this weekend, he could see more targets if both receivers
Luther Burden III (ankle) and
Rome Odunze (foot) are unavailable. Kmet has been overshadowed by Loveland in 2025, as he's caught 24 of 39 targets for 301 yards and two touchdowns compared to Loveland's 39-498-4 line in 13 games.
--Keith HernandezSource: Bears Communications
December 16, 2025
The Chicago Bears listed wide receiver
Rome Odunze (foot) as a non-participant on Tuesday's estimated injury report, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Rookie
Luther Burden III (ankle) was also a DNP. Odunze has missed the last two games due to a stress reaction in his foot, and head coach Ben Johnson said all options are on the table regarding Odunze going forward. It sounds as though he'll miss a third straight game this Saturday night against the division-rival Green Bay Packers, and he could be shut down for the final three weeks so he's ready to go for the postseason. Fantasy managers should be preparing as if the 23-year-old won't be active in Week 16. Burden will be an intriguing upside flex play against Green Bay if he's active and Odunze misses another game. Odunze had a promising start to Year 2, scoring five times in the first four weeks, but he's scored just once since then and is now battling injury.
--Keith HernandezSource: NFL Network - Tom Pelissero
December 16, 2025
The Chicago Bears listed rookie wide receiver
Luther Burden III (ankle) as a non-participant on Tuesday's estimated injury report, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
Rome Odunze (foot) was also listed as a DNP. The Bears have one less day to prepare to face the division-rival Green Bay Packers in Week 16, with the game coming on Saturday evening. Chicago's offense would lose a lot of firepower if they are without both Burden and Odunze. The 22-year-old Burden is considered day-to-day, while Odunze is more week-to-week with a stress fracture in his foot that has already kept him out of the last two games. Burden has 10 catches on 13 targets for 151 yards in the last two games with Odunze out, and he'll be firmly in play as a WR4/flex with upside if he plays and Odunze is out this weekend. If both wideouts are sidelined, Chicago would be down to
DJ Moore,
Olamide Zaccheaus, and
Devin Duvernay in three-wide sets.
--Keith HernandezSource: NFL Network - Tom Pelissero
December 16, 2025
The Buffalo Bills announced on Tuesday that they have signed free-agent kicker
Michael Badgley to their practice squad.
Tyler Bass (hip) will miss the entire 2025 season, and the Bills already ruled out replacement
Matt Prater (quadriceps) for their Week 16 game this Sunday against the Cleveland Browns. Badgley beat out
Matthew Wright during a tryout on Tuesday and is expected to eventually be promoted to the active 53-man roster to kick this weekend in Cleveland. The 30-year-old resurfaced in the NFL this year after not kicking at all in 2024. In seven games with the Indianapolis Colts, Badgley made 10 of his 11 field-goal attempts and 18 of his 21 extra-point opportunities. In likely frigid temperatures in Cleveland this weekend, Badgley will be a deep-league streaming option at the position, at best, in Week 16.
--Keith HernandezSource: Buffalo Bills PR
December 16, 2025
The Arizona Cardinals announced on Tuesday that they placed wide receiver
Andre Baccellia (neck) on Injured Reserve, ending his season, according to Zach Gershman of AZCardinals.com. Baccellia was carted off the field and sent to a local hospital after a scary collision on a kickoff return in Sunday's loss to the Houston Texans. The 28-year-old was released from the hospital and flew back with the team, but he won't play in the final three weeks of the season. The depth of Arizona's receiving corps has been tested with injuries to Baccellia,
Zay Jones,
Simi Fehoko,
Marvin Harrison Jr.,
Greg Dortch, and
Xavier Weaver, leaving
Michael Wilson as the only healthy wideout on the 53-man roster. If Harrison misses another game with a heel injury in Week 16 against the Falcons,
Jalen Brooks could be Arizona's WR2 behind Wilson.
--Keith HernandezSource: AZCardinals.com - Zach Gershman
December 16, 2025
The Houston Texans signed second-year running back
Jawhar Jordan from their practice squad to the active 53-man roster on Tuesday, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. Jordan, a sixth-round selection in 2024 out of Louisville, made his NFL debut in Sunday's blowout win over the Arizona Cardinals after rookie
Woody Marks left with an ankle injury. Veteran
Nick Chubb (ribs) was inactive, so the Texans were down to Jordan and
Dare Ogunbowale. Jordan ended up leading Houston with 15 carries for 101 yards (6.7 yards per tote) while catching both of his targets for 17 yards. He played seven more snaps than Ogunbowale and will likely operate as the Texans' lead back for a plus matchup in Week 16 against the Las Vegas Raiders if neither Marks nor Chubb is cleared to play. The 26-year-old deserves serious waiver-wire consideration this week.
--Keith HernandezSource: ESPN - Adam Schefter
December 16, 2025
New England Patriots wide receiver
DeMario Douglas continued to disappoint coming out of the team's Week 14 bye, playing only 19% of the offensive snaps while not being targeted at all in the passing game for the second time this year in the 35-31 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. The only action that Douglas saw on offense was one rushing attempt that went for five yards. The 25-year-old pass-catcher's 10 snaps were his second-fewest on the season. Douglas continues to take a back seat in the WR room to
Stefon Diggs,
Mack Hollins, and
Kayshon Boutte, making him very hard to trust for fantasy football purposes, especially in the fantasy playoffs. The former sixth-rounder in 2023 out of Liberty hasn't topped three catches or 37 receiving yards since his only 100-yard performance of the year on Nov. 2 against the Falcons.
--Keith HernandezSource: ESPN.com
December 16, 2025
The Arizona Cardinals announced on Tuesday that they placed running back
Bam Knight (ankle) on Injured Reserve, which will end his season. Knight was carted off the field in Sunday's loss to the Houston Texans and is nursing a "bad sprain." The 24-year-old took over lead-back duties after both
James Conner (foot) and
Trey Benson (knee) suffered injuries earlier this season. He hasn't been very efficient (3.3 yards per carry) on a team-high 82 rushing attempts this year, but he currently leads the Cardinals with 269 rushing yards while also scoring four touchdowns on the ground. In the final three weeks of the season, fantasy managers should expect
Michael Carter to take over on early downs for the Cardinals, with
Emari Demercado serving in the pass-catching role in a pass-happy offense. Knight can safely be dropped in redraft leagues.
--Keith HernandezSource: Arizona Cardinals
December 16, 2025
Buffalo Bills running back
Ray Davis wasn't involved much on offense in the team's come-from-behind victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday, but he still made his presence felt on special teams, returning four kickoffs for a total of 164 yards. The 26-year-old former fourth-round selection caught his lone target in the passing game for a gain of 13 yards. He did not have a rushing attempt. Davis took over the team's primary kick-return duties in Week 9, and since then, he hasn't had much of a role on offense behind Cook and
Ty Johnson. Still, he's worth stashing for insurance at the RB position in deeper leagues, as he'd likely be sharing backfield touches with Johnson if anything were to happen to Cook in the final three weeks of 2025. Davis leads the NFL with 32.4 yards per kick return. On offense, he hasn't had a carry since seeing a season-high nine rushing attempts in Week 13 versus the Steelers.
--Keith HernandezSource: ESPN.com
December 16, 2025
Los Angeles Rams wide receiver
Jordan Whittington (back) could be worth a look on the waiver wire this week in deeper fantasy football formats, with
Davante Adams (hamstring) up in the air to play on a short week this Thursday night against the division-rival Seattle Seahawks. Whittington also found himself on the Week 16 injury report, though, and was listed as limited during the team's walkthrough practice on Monday. The 25-year-old played a season-low four offensive snaps in Sunday's win over the Detroit Lions, but that could have been due to his back injury. Whittington was targeted only once and failed to haul it in. He is probably a long shot for production this week against a tough Seattle defense, even if Adams is inactive, but he should be in on starting three-wide sets if he's on the field. Hurting Whittington's chances to make an impact is the fact that
Tutu Atwell returned from IR last week.
--Keith HernandezSource: Los Angeles Daily News - Adam Grosbard
December 16, 2025
Buffalo Bills tight end
Dawson Knox has come alive the last two weeks, catching nine of his 11 targets for 130 yards and two touchdowns in two high-scoring, come-from-behind wins over the Cincinnati Bengals and New England Patriots. Perhaps even more surprising has been the fact that Knox has put up those numbers with
Dalton Kincaid also on the field. Knox didn't exactly take advantage of a window where Kincaid missed some time due to a hamstring injury, but he's come alive the last two weeks and now has at least three catches in four straight games. The big question is, will the 29-year-old be able to stay on this path through the rest of the 2025 season? Knox has stepped up with receiver
Keon Coleman continuing to disappoint, but as long as Kincaid stays healthy, he will likely continue to be a low-end, touchdown-dependent TE2 for fantasy managers heading into a Week 16 contest against the Browns.
--Keith HernandezSource: ESPN.com
December 16, 2025
Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie wide receiver
Tez Johnson was forced into meaningful snaps in his first year in the NFL this year due to injuries to
Mike Evans,
Chris Godwin Jr., and
Jalen McMillan. In a five-game stretch from Oct. 5 to Nov. 9, Johnson was on the fantasy football map with 18 receptions on 27 targets for 247 yards and four touchdown catches. In five games since then, though, as the Buccaneers' receiving corps has inched closer to full health, Johnson has caught just five of 10 targets for 32 yards and one touchdown. Evans, Godwin, and McMillan have all returned from their injuries, leaving the seventh-rounder out of Oregon near the bottom of the WR depth chart to close out the season. Johnson has not caught a pass in the last two games on just one target, and he has just one catch for five yards in the last three games. The 23-year-old played 15 snaps in last Thursday's loss to Atlanta, his lowest snap count since his Week 1 debut.
--Keith HernandezSource: ESPN.com
December 16, 2025
After having another injury setback recently with his hamstring, Green Bay Packers running back
MarShawn Lloyd (hamstring, calf) is unlikely to come off Injured Reserve and play this year, according to Ryan Wood of USA Today Sports. "I'm not going to say no, but I think you can use deductive reasoning on that one," head coach Matt LaFleur said when asked if Lloyd can return this year. "It's very, very, very unfortunate, because this guy has worked his ass off." The 24-year-old second-year RB suffered a hamstring injury in the preseason and then injured his calf while rehabbing, forcing him to IR before the start of the 2025 campaign. The Packers opened Lloyd's 21-day practice window at the beginning of December, but a recent setback with his balky hamstring has put an end to hopes that he'd be an asset for the Packers late in the year. He has played in just one career game for the Packers in two seasons, and his future in the league is in doubt going into Year 3.
--Keith HernandezSource: USA Today Sports - Ryan Wood
December 16, 2025
Green Bay Packers running back
Josh Jacobs (knee) took another big hit in Sunday's loss to the Denver Broncos, and if the team were practicing on Tuesday, he would not be on the field, according to ESPN's Rob Demovsky. Jacobs went into Sunday's game in Denver with a questionable tag, but he ended up suiting up while scoring two touchdowns, including just the second receiving score of his career. The 27-year-old had 12 carries for 73 yards and a TD on the ground, adding two receptions on three targets for 19 yards and a second score. Jacobs only played 55% of the offensive snaps, but he was still effective, busting a 40-yard touchdown run while also catching a 14-yard pass for an impressive TD in the back of the end zone. Fantasy managers shouldn't be surprised if he misses more practice time this week, but he should be active for another big divisional contest against the Bears this Sunday, where he'll be a must-start fantasy RB. Jacobs had 20 carries for 86 yards and a TD in the win over Chicago two weeks ago.
--Keith HernandezSource: ESPN.com - Rob Demovsky
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