Tag: fantasy football Week 16 WDIS

Fantasy football inactives, injuries and weather: Week 16

Week 16 weather, injury updates and gameday inactives for the fantasy football lineup decisions.

Sunday updates will begin when teams start releasing official pregame inactives and starter information to the league. This is typically around 60-90 minutes prior to the kickoff of their game.

Weather forecasts are courtesy of The Football Database.

Week 16 gameday inactives, weather and notes

KEY GAME-TIME DECISIONS

Early games: RB AJ Dillon (active), WR Jayden Reed (inactive), RB Kenneth Walker III (active), WR Nico Collins (active)
Afternoon games: QB Trevor Lawrence (active), RB D’Onta Foreman (inactive), TE Cole Kmet (active), WR Tyreek Hill (active)
Sunday night:

Indianapolis Colts at Atlanta Falcons (1:00 p.m. ET)

Kickoff Weather: 61 degrees, cloudy ESE 10 mph (retractable-roof dome)

Colts

Inactives: DL Eric Johnson, WR Michael Pittman Jr., OT Braden Smith, RB Zack Moss, CB Darrell Baker Jr., LB Segun Olubi and OG Jack Anderson

Lineup notes: RB Jonathan Taylor (thumb) practiced all week and will make his return. RB Zack Moss (forearm) and WR Michael Pittman Jr. (concussion, shoulder) were deemed questionable Friday but both have been downgraded to out, joining RT Braden Smith (knee).

Falcons

Inactives: QB Logan Woodside, OG Kaleb McGary, DE Joe Gaziano, DT Tommy Togiai, TE John FitzPatrick, OG Jovaughn Gwyn and P Patrick O’Donnell

Lineup notes: RT Kaleb McGary (knee) is inactive once again. C Drew Dalman (ankle), RG Chris Lindstrom (ankle) and LT Jake Matthews (knee) are all good to go.

Seattle Seahawks at Tennessee Titans (1:00 p.m. ET)

Kickoff Weather: 62 degrees, cloudy

Seahawks

Inactives: DE Frank Clark, OT Raiqwon O’Neal, S Jamal Adams, WR Dee Eskridge, OG McClendon Curtis, CB Devon Witherspoon and DT Myles Adams

Lineup notes: RB Kenneth Walker III (shoulder) will be out there after a questionable listing. QB Geno Smith (groin) is good to go after full work all week. CB Devon Witherspoon (hip) and S Jamal Adams (knee) won’t go.

Titans

Inactives: OT Daniel Brunskill, DE T.K. McLendon, S K’Von Wallace, TE Trevon Wesco, WR Kyle Philips, QB Will Levis and DB Sean Murphy-Bunting

Lineup notes: WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine (hand), S Amani Hooker (knee), and DT Jeffery Simmons (knee) went on IR and will miss the rest of the season. QB Will Levis (ankle) won’t play, so QB Ryan Tannehill draws the start. TE Chigoziem Okonkwo (illness) and WR Treylon Burks (illness) will play.

Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings (1:00 p.m. ET)

Kickoff Weather: Dome stadium

Lions

Inactives: WR Antoine Green, CB Steven Gilmore, LB Derrick Barnes, TE Brock Wright, DL Brodric Martin, CB Jerry Jacobs and QB Hendon Hooker

Lineup notes: Starting C Frank Ragnow (knee, back, toe) will play after a full practice Friday. S C.J Gardner-Johnson (pectoral) won’t be out there just yet.

Vikings

Inactives: OG Chris Reed, WR Jalen Nailor, S Lewis Cine, OT Brian O’Neill, CB Byron Murphy, QB Joshua Dobbs and TE Nick Muse

Lineup notes: RB Alexander Mattison (ankle) is active, but he was demoted to No. 2 on the depth chart. RT Brian O’Neill will not be available.

Washington Commanders at New York Jets (1:00 p.m. ET)

Kickoff Weather: 45 degrees, cloudy

Commanders

Inactives: LB Andre Jones Jr., CB Kyu Blu Kelly, RB Brian Robinson Jr., WR Mitchell Tinsley, C Nolan Laufenberg, OG Tyler Larsen and OT Charles Leno Jr.

Lineup notes: RB Brian Robinson Jr. (hamstring), C Tyler Larsen (knee) and LT Charles Leno (calf) were ruled out.

Jets

Inactives: QB Aaron Rodgers, FB Nick Bawden, OT Austin Deculus, OT Duane Brown, WR Randall Cobb, CB Bryce Hall and QB Zach Wilson

Lineup notes: QB Aaron Rodgers (Achilles) will miss the rest of the season, despite being activated from IR. QB Zach Wilson (concussion) are out.

Green Bay Packers at Carolina Panthers (1:00 p.m. ET)

Kickoff Weather: 62 degrees, cloudy

Packers

Inactives: S Darnell Savage, WR Jayden Reed, LB De’Vondre Campbell, DL Brenton Cox, OT Caleb Jones, WR Christian Watson and CB Robert Rochell

Lineup notes: TE Luke Musgrave (kidney) and LB De’Vondre Campbell (neck) aren’t ready yet. WR Christian Watson (hamstring) won’t be out there. RB AJ Dillon (thumb) is active, but WR Jayden Reed (toe, chest) couldn’t get ready in time. WR Dontayvion Wicks (ankle) and CB Jaire Alexander (shoulder) overcame questionable designations.

Panthers

Inactives: CB CJ Henderson, WR Terrace Marshall Jr., WR Mike Strachan, DE Eku Leota, DT Chris Wormley and OT Ricky Lee

Lineup notes: No injuries of fantasy relevance.

Cleveland Browns at Houston Texans (1:00 p.m. ET)

Kickoff Weather: 67 degrees, cloudy (retractable-roof dome)

Browns

Inactives: C Luke Wypler, LB Anthony Walker, LB Jordan Kunaszyk, DL Isaiah McGuire, S Juan Thornhill, DE Ogbo Okoronkwo and CB Kahlef Hailassie

Lineup notes: QB Joe Flacco (calf), RB Jerome Ford (wrist) and RB Kareem Hunt (groin) practiced Friday and will play. S Juan Thornhill (calf) was ruled out.

Texans

Inactives: LB Blake Cashman, QB C.J. Stroud, DT Teair Tart, OT Joshua Jones and DL Will Anderson Jr.

Lineup notes: QB C.J. Stroud (concussion) and DE Will Anderson Jr. (ankle) are out again. WR Nico Collins (calf) and WR Noah Brown (knee) will play.

Late afternoon games

Jacksonville Jaguars at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4:05 p.m. ET)

Kickoff Weather: 72 degrees, cloudy

Jaguars

Inactives: OT Chandler Brewer, DT Angelo Blackson, CB Gregory Junior, LB Yasir Abdullah and WR Zay Jones

Lineup notes: QB Trevor Lawrence (ankle, concussion) cleared the protocol and is active. WR Zay Jones (knee) will not be available.

Buccaneers

Inactives: DT Deadrin Senat, OT Brandon Walton, LB JJ Russell, LB Markees Watts and QB John Wolford

Lineup notes: WR Chris Godwin (knee) is good to go after a full session Friday. S Antoine Winfield Jr. (calf) was added Friday as questionable after being unable to participate, but he is active.

Arizona Cardinals at Chicago Bears (4:25 p.m. ET)

Kickoff Weather: 46 degrees, cloudy

Cardinals

Inactives: OT Dennis Daley, WR Marquise Brown, TE Travis Vokolek, CB Garrett Williams, DE Tyreke Smith, DE Victor Dimukeje and OT Carter O’Donnell

Lineup notes: WR Marquise Brown (heel) is out. WR Greg Dortch (shoulder) will be available.

Bears

Inactives: OT Teven Jenkins, QB Nathan Peterman, LB Noah Sewell, S Quindell Johnson, RB D’Onta Foreman and WR Equanimeous St. Brown

Lineup notes: RB D’Onta Foreman (personal) won’t be available, but TE Cole Kmet (quadriceps) is ready to roll. WR Darnell Mooney (illness) practiced Thursday and Friday and will go.

Dallas Cowboys at Miami Dolphins (4:25 p.m. ET)

Kickoff Weather: 74 degrees, cloudy, E 11 mph

Cowboys

Inactives: DL Johnathan Hankins, QB Trey Lance, RB Deuce Vaughn, CB Noah Igbinoghene, OT Tyron Smith, CB Eric Scott Jr. and WR Jalen Brooks

Lineup notes: LT Tyron Smith (back) was downgraded to out. RG Zach Martin (thigh) will tough it out. RB Rico Dowdle (ankle) and RB Tony Pollard (thumb) are good to go after full practices Friday.

Dolphins

Inactives: DL Emmanuel Ogbah, WR River Cracraft, OT Robert Hunt, QB Skylar Thompson, TE Tyler Kroft, S Jevon Holland and CB Cam Smith

Lineup notes: WR Tyreek Hill (ankle) is active for Week 16. RB De’Von Achane (toe) and RB Raheem Mostert (knee, ankle) also are good to go. CB Xavien Howard (hip) will give it a whirl, while S Jevon Holland (knee) couldn’t get right in time. LB Melvin Ingram was elevated to the 53-man roster.

Sunday Night Football

New England Patriots at Denver Broncos (8:20 p.m. ET)

Kickoff Weather: 24 degrees, cloudy

Patriots

Inactives: RB Rhamondre Stevenson, DT Sam Roberts, TE Hunter Henry, WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR Matthew Slater, SS Jabrill Peppers and QB Nathan Rourke

Lineup notes: RB Rhamondre Stevenson (ankle) and WR JuJu Smith-Schuster (ankle) are out. TE Hunter Henry (knee) was downgraded on Saturday and also won’t play.

Broncos

Inactives: C Alex Forsyth, S JL Skinner, DL Thomas Incoom, QB Ben DiNucci, DT Elijah Garcia, TE Nate Adkins and LB Nik Bonitto

Lineup notes: TE Greg Dulcich (hamstring, foot) and LB Nik Bonitto (knee) will not play.

Fantasy football start ’em, sit ’em: Week 16

Check out these starts and sits for fantasy football in Week 16.

The fantasy football playoffs are officially underway as just two more weeks remain in the season for the majority of leagues. Now, it’s time to look at some start/sit decisions for Week 16.

Doing start/sit articles can be a little challenging. The players featured on the list below should not be taken as “must starts” or “must sits.” Instead, these are more suggestions on what we believe managers should do with fringe players heading into the weekend. The choice is ultimately up to the manager.

Just because a player is listed as a “start” doesn’t mean he should be put in the lineup over the secure, bona fide studs. Vice versa for the “sits.” If there’s no better option on the waiver wire or the bench, a manager shouldn’t automatically sit the player. That’s why these can be tricky waters to navigate.

Feel free to ask any specific start/sit questions via X, formerly Twitter, (@KevinHickey11), or check out our start/bench list for Week 16:

The best fantasy football gamble of Week 16

Can this journeyman string together two strong fantasy showings?

Every week, at least one player becomes my fascination of whether he’s worthy of a fantasy football start as a streamer. The decision can be a mental wrestling match, but for the purpose of brevity, only one player can be chosen as my favorite fantasy football gamble of the week.

The players chosen in this series are meant to be fliers for fantasy owners in desperate situations or those willing to take an intentional risk. No player is intended to be a lineup lock for guaranteed results, hence the name of the series.

The best fantasy football gamble for Week 16

Tracking my 2023 predictions: 6-9-0
All-time record: 25-40-3 (39.0%)

Win: Player produces ≥ 75% of projected fantasy points
Loss: Player produces >75% of projected fantasy points
Tie: Player is ejected, leaves with an injury, or is ruled out after publishing

This year, we’ll also track the accuracy on a percentage basis to show relative results, since sometimes calling a player a loss doesn’t actually hurt gamers. An example would be if a projection narrowly falls short of the 75 percent threshold, the player is still of use in a lineup.

Wk 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
% 55 74 41 20 150 66 16 25 88 121 138 80 87 64% 48%
Grade E C F- F- A+ D F- F- B+ A+ A+ B- B+ D F

While the 19.9-point projection last week for Philadelphia Eagles running back D’Andre Swift was a flop, some of the actual numbers I forecasted weren’t out of line. He out-touched my expectation by a handful of carries, rushing for eight more yards than projected. The Eagles sent three passes his way, just one shy of my stat line for Swift, but he did nothing with his chances through the air (two catches, one yard).

Not finding the end zone is really what killed this recommendation. He would have finished within the range to be a “win” with a single score … unfortunately, Jalen Hurts stole a pair of rushing touchdowns. It’s frustrating, but that was the true risk in playing Swift.

This week, our attention turns to a journeyman quarterback who has a little bit of gunslinger in his DNA.

Minnesota Vikings QB Nick Mullens vs. Detroit Lions

In his first full start with the Vikings, Mullens posted 303 passing yards, two touchdowns and chipped in 10 rushing yards. While he did toss a pair of interceptions, a 24-plus-point day on the road was a nice early Christmas present for anyone brazen enough to play him.

Now that we have a more recent sample, gamers should feel some comfort in taking a chance on him this week. It really isn’t worth going into great detail about Mullens’ past starting tenures with San Francisco in 2018 and ’20, but he was fantasy-relevant multiple times and proved unafraid to push the ball downfield — that’s extra important because of the vertical threats in Minnesota’s aerial arsenal.

Having Justin Jefferson alone brings a dynamic that cannot be understated, and all of his defensive attention makes Jordan Addison‘s explosiveness that much more valuable. Tight end T.J. Hockenson is a chain-moving safety valve as well as a dangerous outlet in the red zone. Even peripheral options, such as versatile running back Ty Chandler and third receiver K.J. Osborn, can do checkdown damage to help enhance Mullens’ chances of posting QB1 numbers.

[lawrence-related id=486065]

Mullens is at home vs. Detroit, a group that has allowed an average of 22.7 fantasy points to the position this year. In the last six weeks since the Lions came out of the bye, half of the performances have been good for 27 or more points. Ten quarterbacks have gone for at least 21.8 points, and the matchup is 16% easier than average in the last five weeks.

The key factor here will be game script. If the Lions come out and lay an egg on offense, there’s not going to be a need for Mullens to throw much more than 30 times. Detroit has done the best job at limiting running backs this year, so Minnesota will need to put the ball in the air regardless of how many points the Lions hang on the board, but this one could turn into a shootout of sorts if Jared Goff is dealing.

Divisional matchups tend to be unpredictable given how uniquely familiar each squad is with one another, and this is the first meeting between the two in 2023. Minnesota’s offense gets the edge here with the Lions not having extensive opposition research on Mullens’ recent tendencies.

My projection: 24 of 36, 288 passing yards, 3 passing TDs, 1 INT, 6 rushing yards (26.0 fantasy points)