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
January 16, 2026
Buffalo Bills veteran wide receiver
Brandin Cooks was traded from the New Orleans Saints to Buffalo late in the 2025 season. In his five regular-season games with the Bills, Cooks caught five of 11 targets for 114 yards. The 32-year-old deep threat has seven receptions on 11 targets for 159 yards in the last two games against the Eagles and Jaguars, though. He caught three of five targets for 58 yards in the Wild-Card win over the Jaguars, with most of his yardage coming on a 36-yard pickup. Cooks relies on chunk gains deep down the field, which could be a problem against a solid Denver Broncos' defense in the Divisional Round on Saturday. The Bills will need Cooks to step up, though, with both
Gabe Davis (knee) and
Tyrell Shavers (knee) out with torn ACLs. Denver's defense gave up the fifth-fewest half-PPR points per game to WRs during the regular season and tied with the Eagles for the fewest TDs allowed at six.
--Keith HernandezSource: Pro Football Reference
January 16, 2026
Houston Texans rookie wide receiver
Jayden Higgins could be the team's leading receiver and target earner in their Divisional Round matchup on Sunday versus the New England Patriots, with top wideout
Nico Collins (concussion) sidelined by a concussion that he suffered in Monday night's Wild-Card win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The 23-year-old was Houston's third leading WR during the regular season with 41 catches, 525 yards, and six touchdowns on 68 targets over 17 games. Higgins was tied for the team lead in TDs with Collins. He was outside the top-50 wideouts in half-PPR fantasy points per game in his first NFL regular season, but the bump in role against New England should be enough to make Higgins a more attractive fantasy streamer in postseason leagues. The Patriots' defense isnt' the greatest matchup, but Higgins has scored in two of the last three games.
--Keith HernandezSource: Pro Football Reference
January 16, 2026
Denver Broncos wide receiver
Troy Franklin took a pretty big leap forward in his second NFL season in 2025, catching 65 passes on 104 targets for 709 yards and six touchdowns in 17 regular-season games after posting a 28-263-2 line in 16 games as a rookie in 2024. Franklin was the team's second leading receiver this year behind
Courtland Sutton, and his six TDs also ranked second. The 22-year-old was tied for 46th among all WRs at 8.3 half-PPR fantasy points per game, though, and he wasn't as productive late in the year when rookie
Pat Bryant began to see a bigger role next to him in the passing game. In the last two regular-season games, Franklin caught only four passes for 17 yards, although the Broncos' offense didn't have to do much to handle KC and L.A. with most of their starters resting. Against the Bills in the Divisional Round, a defense that allowed the seventh-fewest half-PPR points per game to receivers, Franklin will be a low-cost, low-end fantasy WR in playoff formats.
--Keith HernandezSource: Pro Football Reference
January 16, 2026
Denver Broncos quarterback
Bo Nix set a new career high with 3,931 passing yards in his second year as the Broncos' full-time starting QB, but he had four fewer touchdown passes in the same number of games (17). The 25-year-old ran for fewer yards (356), too, while scoring one more TD (five). Nix heads into the playoffs after a first-round bye in the Wild-Card round to face the Buffalo Bills, and he does so with little momentum after two vanilla performances to close out the regular season in wins over the Chiefs and Chargers, in which he didn't go over 182 passing yards with one total touchdown. The Oregon product had back-to-back 300-yard games before that, though, and Denver will most likely be forced to open up their offense on Saturday. Nix finished as the QB7 in overall fantasy points in 2025, but he'll be on the lower end of QB options in playoff formats against a Bills defense that allowed the fourth-fewest fantasy points to opposing passers during 17 regular-season games.
--Keith HernandezSource: Pro Football Reference
January 16, 2026
Chicago Bears rookie running back
Kyle Monangai had a strong first year in the NFL despite being a seventh-round selection out of Rutgers. Monangai had 169 rushing attempts for 783 yards and five touchdowns in 17 regular-season games, adding 18 catches for 164 yards on 30 targets through the air. The 23-year-old was at his peak in 2025 from Weeks 9-13, going for 405 rushing yards and four TDs on 79 carries. Since then, though, Monangai has double-digit carries in just two of six contests, and he has had single-digit carries over the last four games. He had eight carries for only 27 yards in the Wild-Card win over the Green Bay Packers, and he had only six carries for 14 yards in Week 18 against Detroit. Monangai has been on the field for 40-45% of the offensive snaps the last six games, but he'll be a low-end RB option in fantasy playoff lineups this weekend against a Los Angeles Rams' defense that allowed the third-fewest rushing TDs (six) to RBs all year.
--Keith HernandezSource: Pro Football Reference
January 16, 2026
Chicago Bears quarterback
Caleb Williams was a top-10 fantasy signal-caller in his second year in the NFL, and although it wasn't always pretty, he has his team one win away from the NFC Championship. Williams led the Bears back from down 21-3 at halftime to beat the Green Bay Packers on Wild-Card weekend, throwing for a season-high 361 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. The 24-year-old has gone over 300 passing yards in two of the last three games and has tossed six touchdown passes to three interceptions in that span. Williams has an uncanny knack for extending plays outside the pocket and finding open receivers down the field in the second half with games hanging in the balance. Even though inclement weather is expected in Chicago on Sunday for the Divisional Round against the Los Angeles Rams, the former first overall pick will have top-three QB upside in fantasy against a Rams defense that has looked a lot more vulnerable late in the year.
--Keith HernandezSource: Pro Football Reference
January 16, 2026
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said "nothing is impossible" regarding wide receiver
A.J. Brown's future with the Philadelphia Eagles. Rapoport adds that if the Eagles want to trade Brown this offseason, they can certainly do so, although they'd be taking a salary cap hit. "It's hard to find great players in the NFL, and A.J.'s a great player," general manager Howie Roseman said when asked if he'd be open to trading Brown. The 28-year-old pass-catcher had seven touchdown receptions during the regular season for the third straight year with the Eagles, and he also reached the 1,000-yard mark for the fourth straight season and sixth time in seven NFL seasons. However, he didn't exactly see eye to eye with either quarterback
Jalen Hurts or head coach Nick Sirriani, and the Eagles might prefer a divorce as they look to turn around their struggling offense in 2026. Depending on who the team's next offensive coordinator is, Brown's fantasy prospects next year might look better if he's not in Philly.
--Keith HernandezSource: NFL Network - Ian Rapoport
January 16, 2026
San Francisco 49ers tight end
Jake Tonges will be a legitimate top-five TE option for fantasy managers in playoff leagues for the Divisional Round on Saturday night against the Seattle Seahawks, following
George Kittle's torn Achilles tendon in the Wild-Card win over the Philadelphia Eagles. The last time Kittle sat out with an injury on Dec. 28 in the win over the Chicago Bears, Tonges had seven catches on nine targets for 60 yards and a touchdown. He also had seven grabs on a season-high 11 targets for 41 yards and a score back in the Oct. 2 overtime win over the Los Angeles Rams when Kittle was out due to injury. The Niners will be facing a stout Seattle defense that held them to just three points in the Week 18 regular-season finale, but their D did allow the 11th-most half-PPR fantasy points per game to TEs during the regular season.
--Keith HernandezSource: Pro Football Reference
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