Everything that happens in the NFL has some additional context when viewed from a fantasy football perspective. From position battles to injuries and so much more, the news cycle will constantly affect player values in fantasy football.
Our Fantasy Football Buzz file, with contributions from our ESPN fantasy writers and our NFL Nation reporters, aims to provide fantasy managers with the intel they need as news breaks around the league.
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Injury updates: Puka Nacua, Brock Purdy, Aaron Jones Sr.
By Stephania Bell
Puka Nacua, WR, Los Angeles Rams (chest): Nacua left last Sunday's game halfway through the third quarter with what was described as a chest injury after going to the ground hard on top of the football. Although he didn't return to the game, he remained on the sideline and appeared to be in good spirits. McVay later said Nacua “got his ribs” and said he could have potentially returned to the game but the team opted to be cautious.
Follow-up imaging confirmed the injury wasn't serious and Nacua practiced throughout the week. He began with a limited session Wednesday but was a full participant Thursday and Friday and is off the game status injury report. No limitations for Nacua heading into Sunday's divisional matchup against the 49ers.
Brock Purdy, QB, San Francisco 49ers (toe): It has now been six weeks since Purdy last saw the field (which was after missing the two games prior) and while he is listed as questionable, coach Kyle Shanahan has already named Mac Jones the starter. If Purdy is available, it would be as a backup, but even that status remains murky. If anything, this situation is proving just how problematic turf toe type injuries can be, even when nonsurgical. It is a variant of turf toe that Purdy is dealing with, in essence a ligament sprain of the big toe but not involving the exact same structure as a more classic turf toe.
As with any ligament injury, as long as it is not healed, there is potential discomfort and the sense of instability, and with the toe, it makes it virtually impossible for a quarterback to do anything. The 49ers have too much invested in Purdy to risk bringing him back too soon and suffering either further injury to the toe or another injury as a consequence of his limitations due to the toe.
So why did he return in Week 4? It's a fair question perhaps best answered by acknowledging that sometimes the combination of non-football tests and a player's desire to play result in testing readiness through game action. Clearly Purdy knew his toe wasn't right after that game and it forces a reset in terms of expectations.
Shanahan has said that Purdy continues to make progress weekly and he told reporters Friday that was the case again this week. He also said he talks with Purdy every Saturday to review the week and see where exactly he is in terms of proximity to returning.
Closer? Yes. Close? Nothing indicates that Purdy is on the verge of retaking the reins, especially when he has only been a limited participant in practice thus far.
Aaron Jones Sr., RB, Minnesota Vikings (shoulder): Jones is listed as questionable for Sunday's matchup against the Baltimore Ravens with shoulder and toe injuries, although the shoulder injury is reportedly the more significant of the two. He suffered an AC (acromio-clavicular) sprain — an injury to the point of the shoulder where ligaments connect the collarbone (clavicle) and the edge of the shoulderblade (the acromion). Jones had soreness Monday but coach Kevin O'Connell indicated the early test results were “positive,” suggesting only a minor sprain and little to no actual structural damage. After sitting out Wednesday, Jones was a limited participant both Thursday and Friday and is trending towards playing, telling reporters Friday he thought he would be in a “good spot” by Sunday. O'Connell has expressed on multiple occasions that the veteran does not require full practices to be able to play.
The biggest concern would be an aggravation of the AC injury in-game which most commonly occurs from direct contact, as the result of a hit while being tackled or being taken to the ground with the shoulder as the impact point. What will be interesting to watch with Jones is how effective he can be as a blocker, a task the Vikings no doubt want him to carry out after fellow back Jordan Mason‘s visible struggles there last week. Jones also provides a pass-catching outlet for McCarthy and his involvement pre-exit last week (11 touches) suggests he'll reprise that role again on Sunday, if active as expected.
Bo Nix struggles in low-scoring TNF game
by Eric Moody
Bo Nix finished with a season-low 5.8 fantasy points against the Raiders as he continues to struggle to consistently make plays downfield. Nix completed just 39.2% of his passes on throws of 10-plus yards, one of the lowest marks in the league this season. The good news is that the Broncos have one of the easiest remaining schedules for fantasy quarterbacks, and managers are counting on Nix to capitalize as we get closer to the fantasy playoffs.
Tre Tucker led all Raiders pass catchers in snaps and routes run, but it was Tyler Lockett who paced the team with six targets against a tough Broncos defense. Tucker finished with just 5.5 fantasy points and Lockett with 9.4, though it's worth noting Tucker had a touchdown called back due to an offensive pass interference penalty on Dont'e Thornton Jr. The bottom line is that Tucker and tight end Brock Bowers remain the most fantasy-relevant pass-catchers in this offense, while Lockett is more of an option in deeper leagues. Managers hoping for a Jack Bech breakout following the Jakobi Meyers trade to Jacksonville should move on.
J.K. Dobbins continues to lead the Broncos' backfield in snaps played and touches. This trend continued on Thursday night against the Raiders. Dobbins just hasn't scored a touchdown since Week 5 against the Eagles. He has had at least 15 touches in four consecutive games.
Marvin Mims Jr. missed his second straight game with a concussion, allowing Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant to operate as the Broncos' top two wideouts in three-receiver sets. Franklin continues to lead the team in targets (73) and scored Denver's lone receiving touchdown. Mims is expected back in Week 11, but the question is whether the Broncos revert to their earlier rotation. Franklin looks locked in opposite Sutton as their No. 2 and remains available in nearly 40% of fantasy leagues. With a favorable schedule ahead, he's a strong pickup if you need receiver help.
Nov. 5: The Arizona Cardinals announced Wednesday that QB Kyler Murray (foot) would be placed on injured reserve, ensuring that Jacoby Brissett will start at least four more games. With Brissett set to stick around under center, how does that affect wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.? Eric Karabell has his thoughts below:
Don't be surprised if … Marvin Harrison Jr. reverts to ordinary WR3/4 status in Week 10 and beyond
Harrison enjoyed his finest game Monday night against the meager Dallas Cowboys defense (Sure, it is so much better after the trade deadline! Don't buy it!), and some believe this happened because Murray was not the QB. Harrison made all the highlight shows on his touchdown grab because he embarrassed a Cowboys defender with a move, and Dallas WR CeeDee Lamb looked mighty impressed on the sideline. Hey, it was impressive. It was, however, also the Cowboys. Harrison caught seven passes in the game. This is now his career high, in his 25th game. Seven receptions! Ja'Marr Chase does this by halftime! Ultimately, like everyone else (and don't argue otherwise), we were all led to believe that Harrison, because of how much he dominated at Ohio State and how he boasts a famous Hall of Fame WR for a father, would dominate in the NFL, too. Perhaps he will. Or perhaps he dominated the Cowboys because they are terrible on defense. I realize this sounds negative. We all want to believe, but there really isn't any evidence that Monday signaled a long-term change in production. Harrison caught two passes in each of the prior two games, and Murray wasn't the QB then, either. Brissett has been around for a long while, and while he is starting again this week against Seattle, I still doubt this would be happening if Murray were healthy. Brissett isn't suddenly a fantasy play at age 32 and with his sixth franchise in as many seasons because he tossed six touchdown passes against the Indianapolis Colts, Green Bay Packers and Cowboys. In other words, I don't suddenly trade for Harrison in fantasy as if a year and a half of ordinary WR3/4 play (at best, really) is suddenly solved by Brissett as the QB. By Stephania Bell C.J. Stroud, QB, Texans (concussion): Stroud remains in the concussion protocol after suffering the injury Sunday, and he didn't practice Wednesday. None of this comes as a surprise, as players coming off a concussion have to move through a multi-phase progression before being eligible to return to action. The progression is criterion dependent, not time dependent, but it still takes multiple days to move through the phases. The Texans making the decision Wednesday to name Davis Mills as the starter for Week 10 against Jacksonville doesn't signal anything specific as far as Stroud's recovery, but it does remove questions about his status for the rest of this week. On Monday, coach Demeco Ryans said Stroud was feeling better so there has been some encouraging news in that regard. His next status update will likely come next week. Kyler Murray, QB, Cardinals (foot): Murray being placed on IR on Wednesday was an interesting development. All indications up to Monday night were that Murray was making steady progress from the midfoot sprain he suffered in Week 5. Prior to the team's Week 8 bye, there was a sense that Murray was headed for a potential return in Week 9. Even though he began practice sessions after the bye as a limited participant, coach Jonathan Gannon suggested to reporters that he was still in line to play. By the weekend however, with Jacoby Brissett handling most of the first team practice reps all week, the winds seemed to be shifting in the direction of Brissett starting. During the Monday night football broadcast on ESPN, Laura Rutledge reported that Murray was “devastated” by not being able to return to the lineup when the team traveled to his home state but felt like he couldn't play the way he needed to due to residual discomfort with his foot. All indications are that this is a resolving stable midfoot sprain given that Murray has been participating in practice to some degree. Still, resolution of symptoms can be widely variable and hard to predict; perhaps the move to injured reserve — which keeps Murray out for at least another four games — at least eliminates questions about who will start each week. By Tristan H. Cockcroft For all the talk about Dak Prescott‘s big year — and to be fair, he does rank eighth at his position in fantasy points, in a year that has seen a large number of quarterback injuries — his disappointing Week 9 (15.4 fantasy points) served a reminder that he has not been as consistently reliable as perceived. Prescott is the only quarterback in the league to have posted three or more weeks among the top five in scoring at the position, as well as at least three outside the top 20. Additionally, among the top eight quarterbacks in scoring, his consistency rating — measuring how close his weekly scores have been to his seasonal average — is second-worst behind only Bo Nix. Prescott's weekly results also haven't adhered well to a matchups pattern, as he has had one good and one bad game against top-eight matchups using schedule-adjusted data, and one good and two bad games against bottom-eight matchups. He's one of the more maddening quarterbacks to roster, and once the Dallas Cowboys emerge from their Week 10 bye, it'll be interesting to see the degree to which he benefits from negative game scripts now that the team has added Quinnen Williams and Logan Wilson to its defense. My suggestion: Use Prescott's bye-week time to shop him around, as it's likely a good number of his fantasy managers selected him as their No. 2 or combo option, based upon his No. 12 ADP among quarterbacks. Given the choice, I'd rather have Baker Mayfield and Matthew Stafford for the rest of 2025. Here are some other statistically oriented insights to consider for Week 10: Justin Herbert has scored 25-plus fantasy points in each of the past three weeks, which matches the most he has had in the entirety of any of the previous three seasons. Herbert hasn't been performing significantly above expectations, either, with only 13 more fantasy points than expected for the year. RJ Harvey, who has 40.7 fantasy points the past two weeks combined despite playing only 30% of the offensive snaps and averaging 7.5 touches in them, has been extremely fortunate in the touchdown department. He has scored 3.1 more touchdowns than expected, the fifth-widest margin in that direction. It's something to keep in mind when examining him as a prospective second-half breakthrough candidate, as he'll likely need a spike in playing time to maintain the level of production that he has had thus far. With Tucker Kraft‘s season over, Dalton Kincaid (+33), Dallas Goedert (+30) and Sam LaPorta (+29) move up to the top three spots among active tight ends in terms of fantasy points over expected. Goedert, however, is the one who most stands out as due for regression, having scored a second-most 4.7 more touchdowns than expected. Much of that has to do with his having turned his seven red zone targets into six touchdowns, an unsustainable rate, especially for a player who had a 32.8% rate in that department for his career entering 2025. Rome Odunze‘s scoreless Week 9 wasn't simply a one-week aberration, as it was the third time in the Chicago Bears‘ past four games that he finished outside the top 60 at his position in fantasy points. He's the only top-25 scoring wide receiver who has had at least that many games for the entire season. By Tristan H. Cockcroft Shaheed's arrival in Seattle could be interpreted as a statement on Cooper Kupp‘s health (and, frankly, his performance). Shaheed is the No. 26 wide receiver in scoring thus far, and that is despite dealing with the fourth-worst quarterbacking situation in the league going by passer rating. Both players run a majority of their routes out of the slot, and in those situations, Shaheed has been the superior performer this season, averaging 0.43 fantasy points per route run with a 76% catch rate compared to Kupp's 0.40 and 72%. Shaheed also has familiarity with offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, for whom the receiver averaged 13.3 fantasy points over the first six weeks of 2024 before suffering a season-ending knee injury. Something's got to give, and if it means shuffling either receiver to the outside at the expense of Week 9 breakthrough performer Tory Horton‘s routes, that's not necessarily a good thing. The Seahawks simply don't throw frequently enough to feed this many mouths, with their 50.3% rate of passing plays ranking second lowest in the league, whereas the Saints' 61.3% was fourth most. Shaheed was also showing good rapport with rookie quarterback Tyler Shough in the weeks leading up to the trade, meaning there's more downside for the players affected by this trade than fantasy managers want to see. This isn't to declare Shaheed an immediate cut, but his usage should be closely monitored in the next couple of games to see how the team's receiving pecking order shakes out. In all likelihood, Shaheed will be a matchups-oriented WR3 in Seattle and a stronger choice in games Kupp misses outright. Back in New Orleans, unsurprisingly, Shough has his work cut out for him, especially if there are further trades of their skill position players. He'll likely need to lean more heavily upon tight ends Juwan Johnson and Taysom Hill. A final, relevant benefit for Shaheed: By being traded specifically between these two teams, he escapes what would've been an upcoming bye to join a team that has already had its week off, meaning he could be a rare 18-game player. By Eric Moody The Las Vegas Raiders sent Meyers to Jacksonville for 2026 fourth- and sixth-round picks, finally granting his trade request before the deadline. A pending free agent, Meyers made it clear he wanted out, and the Jaguars were willing to take on his remaining $5.25 million salary. In Jacksonville, Meyers will fill the slot role vacated by Travis Hunter (IR, knee) and could see steady volume while Brian Thomas Jr. deals with an ankle injury. Like in Las Vegas, he'll still face target competition, but Trevor Lawrence and the team's up-tempo offense could boost his consistency in fantasy leagues. Meyers is one of just three players in the league with 30-plus receptions and zero receiving touchdowns this season, along with Kendrick Bourne and Dalton Schultz. Through seven games, he has 33 receptions for 352 yards on 49 targets. Expect a small fantasy bump in Jacksonville, while Tre Tucker (rostered in 39.7% of ESPN leagues) and Brock Bowers headline the Raiders' receiving options moving forward. By Tristan H. Cockcroft Trade deadline moves don't only shuffle things up at the skill positions. Swaps including significant defensive names can influence both our team D/ST, as well as future matchups, analysis. In the Indianapolis Colts‘ case, their trade for cornerback Sauce Gardner potentially improves them dramatically on defense, adding him to what was an already improving secondary since fellow cornerback Kenny Moore II returned from an Achilles' issue in Week 6. For the season, the Colts had allowed the eighth-most fantasy points per game to wide receivers, and fourth-most when adjusting for the schedule, but those rankings are certain to shift closer to the center, if not into “suboptimal matchup” territory with their new personnel. Moore, after all, has been one of the best cornerbacks in coverage when healthy, and while Gardner's 2025 numbers have disappointed, he was Pro Football Focus' top-graded cornerback as recently as 2023. This is no longer a slam-dunk matchup to target with opposing wide receivers, which is relevant when evaluating players like Nico Collins, Brian Thomas Jr., Rashid Shaheed and Jauan Jennings from Weeks 13-17. That said, the Colts' D/ST is a difficult sell, being that they face the third-toughest schedule the rest of the way. The Dallas Cowboys‘ additions of defensive tackle Quinnen Williams (from the New York Jets), and linebacker Logan Wilson (Cincinnati Bengals), does boost the league's worst run defense, but likely only bumps the team from the fourth-best schedule adjusted matchup to merely top-10. That said, the team's secondary is still extremely problematic, meaning this should still be one of the top defenses to exploit with quarterbacks and wide receivers, and perhaps even more so now. The Cowboys, the third-worst defense in fantasy scoring thus far, aren't likely to offer many useful D/ST games, other than perhaps Week 11's matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders. As for the Jets, who dealt Gardner and Williams, upgrade them as a matchup to exploit with your skill position players. Though the Jets are the eighth-toughest schedule adjusted wide receiver matchup for the season, despite Gardner's so-so performance to date, it's unlikely that the installation of either Azareye'h Thomas or Quan'tez Stiggers into their starting lineup will afford them the chance to maintain that lofty ranking.Injury updates
Beyond the numbers: Why now is the time to trade Dak Prescott
Colts, Cowboys and Jets' trades have fantasy-relevant impact on defense
