December 17, 2025
The Dallas Cowboys announced on Wednesday that they have opened the 21-day practice window for rookie running back
Phil Mafah (shoulder). Mafah has missed his entire first season in the NFL so far due to a shoulder injury that landed him on Injured Reserve in August. The 23-year-old will return to practice this week, though, and he could be in play to join the Cowboys offense in the final three weeks of the season. The Clemson product would provide insurance in Dallas' backfield, but he probably wouldn't be anything more than the RB3 behind
Javonte Williams and
Malik Davis if he plays to close out the 2025 campaign. The Cowboys must officially activate Mafah from IR if they want him active this Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers. Mafah had 1,115 rushing yards, 103 receiving yards, and eight total touchdowns in his final year in college in 2024.
--Keith HernandezSource: Dallas Cowboys Public Relations
December 17, 2025
New Orleans Saints wide receiver
Devaughn Vele (shoulder) has officially been ruled out for Sunday's game against the New York Jets, Sara Palczewski of Louisiana First News reports. Vele has been considered week-to-week after suffering a shoulder injury in the fourth quarter of last week's win over the Carolina Panthers. He caught five of six targets for 69 yards up until that point. The 28-year-old reportedly avoided a major injury, but he could still end up missing the rest of the regular season with only three games remaining. Vele had been establishing a solid connection with rookie quarterback
Tyler Shough, recording 16 catches for 202 yards and a touchdown over the past three games. His absence will lead to more opportunities for top wideout
Chris Olave, in addition to
Kevin Austin Jr. and
Mason Tipton against the Jets in Week 16.
--Kyle McCarthySource: Sara Palczewski
December 17, 2025
New Orleans Saints rookie running back
Devin Neal (hamstring) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the New York Jets, according to Sara Palczewski of Louisiana First News. Neal left early during the Week 15 win over the Carolina Panthers due to a hamstring injury, and he'll be forced to miss at least one game. The rookie sixth-rounder had started three straight games for the Saints in place of an injured
Alvin Kamara (knee, ankle) and totaled 32 yards and a touchdown on eight touches before exiting. With Kamara still not practicing on Wednesday, the Saints will rely on the duo of
Audric Estime and
Evan Hull to lead the backfield. Estime would be the preferred option in fantasy football, having totalled three carries for 11 yards and three catches (three targets) for 39 yards in Neal's absence last week, compared to Hull's four carries for 12 yards. Keep in mind, though, that rookie quarterback
Tyler Shough could continue to take away valuable rushing attempts in this Saints offense.
--Kyle McCarthySource: Sara Palczewski
December 17, 2025
Green Bay Packers wide receiver
Christian Watson (chest, shoulder), who returned to a limited practice on Wednesday, said he should be able to play in Week 16 on Saturday night in the divisional rematch against the hosting Chicago Bears, per Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. "It's feeling pretty good for everything considered, so I think it'll be alright for the game. We're at the point in the season where you gotta fight through some stuff, so should be good," Watson said. The 26-year-old landed hard on a play in the second half in Sunday's loss to the Denver Broncos and was sent to the hospital after the game as a precaution. Doctors ruled out a major injury, thankfully, and now it looks like Watson will have a good chance to play this weekend after returning to practice on Wednesday. He has been quarterback
Jordan Love's go-to receiver in the eight games he's played in 2025, and he had 89 receiving yards and two TDs two weeks ago against Chicago. If Watson is active, he should be considered a WR2 in fantasy.
--Keith HernandezSource: The Athletic - Matt Schneidman
December 17, 2025
Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said that he plans to play quarterback
Dak Prescott when asked if he would want to see backup quarterback
Joe Milton III play if the Cowboys are eliminated from playoff contention. "I want to win, so the plan would be to play Dak," Schottenheimer said. It's not a surprising development to hear that Prescott will remain the starter for the final three games of the regular season, even with Dallas' playoff odds at less than 1%. The 32-year-old has put together one of the best seasons of his career, completing 68.4% of his passes for a league-leading 3,931 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions while adding 45 carries for 140 yards and two more scores on the ground. He remains a top-five QB option in fantasy for the Week 16 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers.
--Kyle McCarthySource: Tommy Yarrish
December 17, 2025
Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll said on Sirius XM NFL Radio on Wednesday that there's "a good chance" that quarterback
Geno Smith (shoulder, back) returns to start this Sunday against the Houston Texans in Week 16, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. Smith suffered a right-shoulder injury in the Week 14 loss to the Denver Broncos and did not play in Sunday's loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Backup
Kenny Pickett couldn't lead the Raiders to any points, and thus the 35-year-old Smith will get his starting gig back this weekend in an extremely difficult matchup on the road against the Texans, who have the best defense in the NFL. It's good news for the Raiders' offensive skill players, but for fantasy football, Smith will be a low-end QB2, at best, in superflex leagues in Week 16 if he returns. Smith has led one of the worst offenses in the league in 2025 in his first year in Vegas, throwing for 2,648 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions in his 13 starts.
UPDATE: Smith returned to Wednesday's practice.--Keith HernandezSource: ESPN - Adam Schefter
December 17, 2025
Philadelphia Eagles running back
Saquon Barkley (stinger) is back at practice on Wednesday after he was listed as a non-participant due to a stinger on Tuesday, according to Cayden Steele of NJ Advance Media. Barkley suffered a stinger in Sunday's blowout win over the Las Vegas Raiders, but his return to practice on Wednesday bodes well for his chances of playing on Saturday versus the division-rival Washington Commanders. Although the 28-year-old wasn't quite as good as he was in the Monday night overtime loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 14, he scored a rushing touchdown for the second straight week and had 20-plus carries for the fifth time in 2025. Barkley has had 20-plus rushing attempts in four of six games since the team's bye, as the Eagles make a point to involve last year's leading rusher more to spark their struggling offense. As long as Barkley is active in Week 16, which he should be, he will be a must-start in all fantasy football lineups against a poor Washington defense.
--Keith HernandezSource: NJ Advance Media - Cayden Steele
December 17, 2025
New York Jets rookie tight end
Mason Taylor (neck) has been ruled out for a second straight game for Week 16 action against the hosting New Orleans Saints, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN. Taylor suffered a neck injury in the Week 14 loss to the Miami Dolphins, when he had five catches for 51 yards. The 21-year-old's next chance to play will come in a Week 17 divisional contest against the visiting New England Patriots.
Jeremy Ruckert, who just signed a two-year, $10 million extension with the Jets on Wednesday, will make a second straight start for Gang Green as their top pass-catching TE against the Saints in the Big Easy. Ruckert caught both his targets for 13 yards in last week's loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Fantasy managers should be able to find much better streaming options at the position. Taylor has averaged 5.0 half-PPR fantasy points per game in 13 contests in 2025, making him the TE35.
--Keith HernandezSource: ESPN New York - Rich Cimini
December 17, 2025
Chicago Bears running back
D'Andre Swift (groin) was listed as a limited participant in the team's practice on Wednesday due to a groin injury, per Scott Bair of Marquee Sports Network. Swift wasn't listed on the first injury report of the week on Tuesday, so it's possible he tweaked his groin in Wednesday's practice. It's also possible that the Bears are just giving the 26-year-old lead back a little extra rest late in the season on a short week (Chicago faces the division-rival Green Bay Packers on Saturday night). We'll keep a close eye on Swift's status going into the weekend, but as of right now, fantasy managers shouldn't have too much concern that he'll be inactive in Week 16. If Swift's injury is serious enough to sideline him this weekend, though, rookie
Kyle Monangai would be a must-start, plug-and-play RB in fantasy football in what is the semifinals in most leagues. Despite Monangai stealing more work in the second half, Swift remains the Bears' RB1. He has 935 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on 191 carries this year, adding 254 receiving yards and another score.
--Keith HernandezSource: Marquee Sports Network - Scott Bair
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.
UPDATE: McMillan missed practice on Wednesday with ankle and foot injuries.--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
RADIO
