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.
--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
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