A big hit from Steelers LB Elandon Robert sent Demercado to the locker room to be evaluated for a concussion and a neck injury.
The Arizona Cardinals suffered an injury to the offense in the first half of their game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Rookie running back Emari Demercado exited the game to be evaluated for a concussion and a neck injury.
On the Cardinals’ second drive of the game, on third down, Kyler Murray threw a pass to Demercado. It was beyond his reach and Steelers linebacker Elandon Roberts hit him high and hard.
He was penalized for the play and Demercado stayed on the ground. He was later taken to the locker room to be evaluated for a concussion and neck injuries.
Brown was questionable with a heel injury and Demercado missed three games with a toe injury.
The Arizona Cardinals entered the weekend with a few skill players listed as questionable to play on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams. At least two are expected to play.
Brown was questionable with a heel injury that popped up during the week and didn’t practice on Friday.
Demercado missed the last three games with a toe injury after rushing for 78 yards in a starting role against the Baltimore Ravens. He got limited work in practice all week. We will see what role he has against the Rams, whether he will be James Conner’s backup or whether he plays in the third-down role for pass blocking, the role he held to start the season.
As rookie receiver Michael Wilson is out with a shoulder injury, having Brown is big.
The Cardinals and Rams kick off at 2:05 p.m. Arizona time at State Farm Stadium.
Cardinals running back Emari Demercado is among the top fantasy football waiver wire targets of the week.
We’re approaching the midway point of the 2023 NFL season and some fantasy football managers might be scrambling for injury replacements.
In Minnesota, quarterback Kirk Cousins suffered a torn Achilles. In Arizona, running back James Connor (knee) remains on injured reserve and in Tennessee, quarterback Ryan Tannehill is still dealing with an ankle injury.
We’ve put together a list of 10 of our favorite waiver wire targets to claim ahead of Week 9, with options at running back, wide receiver, quarterback and tight end, including several injury replacement options.
Each player’s rostered percentage in ESPN fantasy football leagues is listed in parentheses. Ready? Let’s get to the list!
Check out the studs and duds for the Cardinals in their loss to the Ravens.
The Arizona Cardinals lost their fifth straight game on Sunday, falling 31-24 at home to the Baltimore Ravens. They had some good performances and some less-than-stellar performances.
Who were the studs and duds for the Cardinals in Week 8?
Tunnel Vision – a look back at Sunday for fantasy free agents, injuries and notable performances.
SUNDAY SALUTES
Quarterbacks
Pass-Rush
TD
Sam Howell
397-11
4
Josh Allen
324-41
3
Dak Prescott
304-19
4
Jalen Hurts
319-6
3
Joe Burrow
283-43
3
Running Backs
Yards
TD
Christian McCaffrey
12-54
6-64
2
Gus Edwards
19-80
2-14
3
Alvin Kamara
17-59
4-51
2
Travis Etienne
24-79
3-70
1
Austin Ekeler
15-29
7-94
1
Wide Receivers
Yards
TD
CeeDee Lamb
12-158
2
DeAndre Hopkins
4-128
3
A.J. Brown
8-130
2
Tyreek Hill
8-112
1
Ja’Marr Chase
10-100
1
Tight Ends
Yards
TD
Trey McBride
10-95
1
George Kittle
9-149
0
Taysom Hill
9-63
1-14
2
T.J. Hockenson
6-88
1
Evan Engram
10-88
0
Placekickers
XP
FG
Brandon McManus
0
4
Brandon Aubrey
5
2
Younghoe Koo
2
3
Cameron Dicker
3
3
Jake Elliott
5
1
Defense
Sack – TO
TD
Broncos
3-5
0
Cowboys
2-1
1
Jaguars
3-2
0
Vikings
4-1
0
Steelers
3-3
0
Bumps, Bruises and Bowouts
QB Matt Stafford -Thumb
QB Kirk Cousins – Achilles
QB Tyrod Taylor – Ribs
QB Kenny Pickett – Ribs
QB Desmond Ridder – Benched
QB Patrick Mahomes – Flu
RB Damien Williams – Foot
RB Travis Etienne – Ankle
WR DeVante Parker – Head
WR Kendrick Bourne – Knee
WR Drake London – Groin
WR Curtis Samuel – Toe
TE Darren Waller – Hamstring
Chasing Ambulances
QB Matt Stafford – He was already playing through a hip injury and left the Cowboys matchup when his thumb hit a helmet. He remained sidelined with a taped thumb after they examined it in the locker room but the Rams would not make a statement about it and Stafford did not talk to the press. Brett Rypien is the only other quarterback currently on their roster. Stetson Bennett is on the reserve/non-football illness list but the Rams have not disclosed exactly why. If Stafford misses any time, Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua will likely suffer a decline.
QB Kirk Cousins – He suffered what is feared to be a season-ending Achilles injury. For a team already missing Justin Jefferson, this is catastrophic. The only healthy quarterback on the team is the rookie Jaren Hall. Sean Mannion is on the practice squad and Nick Mullens is on injured reserve. At 3-4, do they give up and make do with what they have or do they try to acquire or trade for someone? The worst part is that Cousins likely takes the Minnesota passing game with him, impacting Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson, and Jefferson when he returns.
QB Tyrod Taylor – The Giants quarterback suffered a rib injury and was brought to a local hospital. He was already replacing Daniel Jones who is out with a neck injury. The Giants are down to Tommy DeVito who entered the game and completed 2-of-7 passes for a net loss of one yard. The expectation is that the Giants will bring in free-agent quarterbacks though the shelves are rather bare. The Giants cannot afford to have yet another step downward in their passing offense.
QB Kenny Pickett – The Steelers quarterback left with a rib injury and the immediate concern is how quickly he will heal since the Steelers host the Titans on Thursday. Mitchell Trubisky will take the start if Pickett cannot play. More should be known on Monday.
QB Desmond Ridder – Was evaluated for a concussion and did not return to the loss to the Titans. HC Arthur Smith said that Ridder was held out for health reasons and not as a benching. Taylor Heinicke took over and completed 12-of-21 for 175 yards and a touchdown. Barring new information, Ridder remains the starter and will play if healthy. Practices will indicate if Ridder or Heinicke are most likely to start against the Vikings this week.
RB Travis Etienne – He left with an ankle injury but later returned and scored a 56-yard touchdown on a catch. He is fine.
WR Kendrick Bourne – The Patriots’ No. 1 receiver was injured in the fourth quarter, holding his right knee in obvious pain. He was able to walk to the medical tent and was ruled out of the game. He is due to have an MRI on Monday and the hope is that it is just a sprained MCL. DeVante Parker was hit helmet-to-helmet as well and is expected to be diagnosed with a concussion. That would be serious since he missed games due to a concussion in 2022. JuJu Smith-Schuster has been a disappointment since joining the Pats and had his own health issues. But he received more playing time after Bourne left and caught a three-yard touchdown on his only reception.
WR Drake London – The Falcons star wideout left the game and was looked at by the trainers. After visiting the medical tent, he was ruled out with a groin injury. London claimed that he was fine after the game, but he’ll be evaluated Monday and his status will be clearer later in the week. If he is out for the Vikings matchup this week, Kyle Pitts, Jonnu Smith, Mack Hollins, and Van Jefferson would have to take up the slack but London is the difference-maker out of all receivers.
TE Darren Waller – Suffered a hamstring strain and left the game. His status will be updated later this week, but the Giants’ problems at quarterback are an equally troublesome development for Waller’s fantasy value.
Free Agents, Flops and Other Notables
New starting quarterbacks – The worst injury situation appears to be Kirk Cousins and the situation they are in if he cannot play as expected. The Vikings are likely to bring in veteran quarterbacks who will carry some fantasy value, but watch what moves they make in the early week. The NFL trade deadline is Tuesday, so we’ll know quickly if they acquire any notable replacement.
QB Will Levis (TEN) – The 2.02 pick by the Titans in the NFL draft was the fourth quarterback selected. Levis took his first NFL start and threw for 238 yards and four touchdowns – three on deep passes to DeAndre Hopkins. Ryan Tannehill only totaled two touchdowns after six games. Levis has to be the ongoing starter. He became the third quarterback in NFL history to throw for four touchdowns in their first start.
RB Emari Demercado (ARI) – The Cardinals have turned to Demercado as the full-time back with 20 carries for 78 yards versus the Ravens on Sunday. He also caught one pass for one year. James Conner remains out for at least two more weeks and it could be longer since the Cardinals have not been very forthcoming about Conner’s prognosis.
TE Trey McBride (ARI) – The Cardinals placed Zach Ertz onto injured reserve and that left second-year McBride as the primary tight end. He responded well, leading all fantasy tight ends with ten catches for 95 yards and a score against the Ravens. McBride was drafted last year in the second round and this was the sort of development they were hoping to see.
TE Taysom Hill (NO) – The Swiss Army knife of the Saints already scored last week on five rushes for 18 yards and gained 50 yards as a receiver. Against the Colts, Hill ran for 63 yards and two touchdowns on nine rushes and caught a 14-yard pass. He’s always been inconsistent, but that’s two straight fantasy-relevant performances. He has been shifted to being a quarterback on some depth charts but remains a tight end on many.
RB Miles Sanders (CAR) – He missed Week 6 with a shoulder injury but had a bye to help him heal. He was removed from the injury report and was expected to resume his role as the starter, along with Chuba Hubbard. But Sanders only carried twice for no yards, and Hubbard ran 15 times for 28 yards. Sanders is far too risky to merit a fantasy start until he can prove to be healthy and a part of the game plan.
WR Demario Douglas (NE) – The Patriots rookie hasn’t scored and topped out in Week 7 with four catches for 54 yards. Against the Dolphins, he ended with five receptions for 25 yards but it was notable because his seven targets were three more than any other Patriot receiver. And Kendrick Bourne and DeVante Parker both were injured last week.
RB Gus Edwards (BAL) – He’s been consistent with around 50 yards in most games and scored only in Week 2. But these last two games, Edwards has his best performances of the year. In Week 7, he ran in a score, rushed for 64 yards and caught an 80-yard pass. For Week 8, he produced a career-best three touchdowns on his 19 rushes for 80 yards and caught two passes for 14 yards. Jackson dialed back his role as a rusher for these last two weeks and Edwards has feasted.
WR Tyreek Hill (MIA) – He currently has 1,014 receiving yards and is the first player to do that in their first eight games in the last 62 years of NFL history. He is on pace to gain 2,154 yards on the season.
Germany Alert! – The NFL returns to Europe this week with their first-ever game in Germany. The notable part is that they are showcasing the NFL by playing the Dolphins and Chiefs. That means there are a lot of fantasy team owners who need to get up well before 9:30 AM EST (6:30 AM EST) and check their lineups or risk missing an inactive.
Huddle player of the week
Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
CeeDee Lamb (DAL) – The Cowboys No. 1 receiver already gained 117 yards last week, and he upped that mark against the Rams when he caught 12 passes for a career-best 158 yards and two touchdowns. After a three-week lull in production, Lamb is turning in big stats for multiple weeks and just led the NFL in fantasy points.
Salute!
Drama 101 – Somebody has to laugh, somebody has to cry
Here are the top waiver wire targets for fantasy football in Week 8.
Nearing the halfway point of the 2023 season, the fantasy football campaign rages on. Regardless of whether managers are leading in the standings or playing spoiler, the waiver wire continues to be a vital asset as we enter the second half of the season.
With the first bye-pocalypse behind us (Week 13 is the second part of that), there won’t be any teams on a bye in Week 8, and six teams will be returning to the mix after getting the week off.
We’ll be taking a look at the top available players rostered in Yahoo leagues, using the 75% rostered mark as the threshold. If you have any questions about prioritizing a certain player over another, don’t be afraid to hit me up on X, formerly Twitter, (@KevinHickey11). Your questions and comments are always welcome!
We also will be taking a look at some deeper players to stash and the top streaming options for the upcoming week.
A few Cardinals players have individual milestones they can reach in the game on Sunday against the Seahawks.
The Arizona Cardinals will seek a win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday in Seattle. It would snap their three-game losing streak this season. It would be their first road win of the season. It would snap a three-game losing streak against the Seahawks.
But within the team milestones, individual players have notable career milestones in reach in the game.
Keaontay Ingram and Emari Demercado will get the first opportunity to shoulder the load of the running game with James Conner out.
The Arizona Cardinals have a new challenge offensively. They have had to adjust to a new quarterback with Josh Dobbs. Now they have lost running back James Conner for at least the next four weeks, as he was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury.
That puts two young backs in focus as the guys to hopefully produce.
Keaontay Ingram, in his second NFL season, and undrafted rookie Emari Demercado now sit atop the Cardinals’ depth chart and they will likely be the first guys given the opportunity to handle the load.
Ingram has missed the last two games with a neck injury but should play this week. He looked great in training camp.
Demercado isn’t special at any particular thing but can do everything pretty well. He scored his first NFL touchdown last week and, after some very short gains after Conner got hurt, has runs of eight, nine and 11 yards, the final one getting into the end zone.
They have veterans Damien Williams and Corey Clement on the practice squad and added Tony Jones this week on a waiver claim, but Clement is mostly a special teams player, Williams is 31 years old and Jones has a career 2.8-yard per-carry average.
So if the Cardinals can maintain a productive running game, it will depend on the young guys. It is a big opportunity for them.
The Cardinals had three undrafted rookie make the team initially on offense.
The Arizona Cardinals will be relying on youth in 2023. They did not cut any of their draft picks, although two are not on the 53-man roster (OL Jon Gaines went on season-ending injured reserve and CB Garrett Williams is on NFI to start the season).
They also had three undrafted rookies make the team initially.
