AJ MassESPN staff writer5 minutes of reading
Is Aaron Jones ready to return from injury this week?
Stefania Bell discusses Aaron Jones’ road to recovery from his hamstring injury and how he can return in Week 7.
Who should start? Who should sit? To set your fantasy football lineups and avoid starting an offensive player who isn’t in the lineup, we’ll be posting fantasy-related updates and analysis here as NFL teams release their official inactive lists. Any rankings quoted in this column are from us ESPN Fantasy Staff Rankings.
Official Sunday blackouts begin approximately 90 minutes prior to scheduled kickoff times: 11:30 a.m. ET for early games and 2:30 p.m. ET for afternoon games.
Update often for latest information.
games at 1 p.m. ET
Damien Harris, RB, BUF — Out/IR
Impact: James Cook and Latavius ​​Murray will split carries in the Buffalo backfield.
Quintin Morris, TE, BUF — outside
Impact: Dalton Kincaid returns from a concussion and will split targets with Dawson Knox.
Rosen Johnson, RB, CHI — outside
Impact: He’s still dealing with post-concussion issues, so a time split between De’Onta Foreman, Travis Homer and Darinton Evans will be in effect.
Justin Fields, QB, CHI — outside
Impact: Rookie Tyson Pageant, out of Division II, will get the call in his place.
Deshaun Watson, QB, CLE — questionable
Impact: Although he hasn’t played since Week 3, there are signs Watson will be back.
Kareem Hunt, RB, CLE — questionable
Impact: It will be decided after the pregame warm-ups. Dion Jackson was promoted to the active roster, so Sunday will see a healthy dose of Jerome Ford (and no Hunt).
Marvin Jones Jr., WR, DET — outside
Impact: Jones did not travel with the team for personal reasons. Expect an improvement in goals from Jameson Williams.
David Montgomery, RB, DET — outside
Impact: Jahmir Gibbs should handle most of the backfield touches, especially since Craig Reynolds is listed as questionable with a rib injury (Reynolds is expected to be active).
Alec Pierce, WR, IND — questionable
Impact: He trained fully late in the week, so the signs are good that he will be able to play. However, Michael Pittman Jr. and Josh Towns are the best fantasy options here.
Kylen Cranson, TE, IND — outside
Impact: Mo Ali-Cox and Drew Ogletree are likely to rotate in and out of the lineup.
Jimmy Garoppolo, QB, LV — outside
Impact: Brian Hoyer will start in his place and throw to Davante Adams, who was removed from Friday’s injury report.
Kayshon Boutte, WR, NE — questionable
Impact: Demario Douglas and JuJu Smith-Schuster are also listed as questionable. One of these three is going to get a chance to fit in, but none of them make decent fantasy options right now.
Hunter Henry, TE, NE — questionable
Impact: Even if he plays, he likely won’t be eligible to start this week — the same goes for Mike Gesicki, who will see more pitches if Henry sits.
Daniel Jones, QB, NYG — questionable
Impact: Tyrod Taylor would be good to get another start for a Giants team that has been underperforming all season.
4pm ET games
Zach Pascal, WR, ARI — questionable
Impact: Michael Wilson passed him so high in the WR pecking order that Pascal’s status deteriorated relatively.
Kyler Murray, QB, ARI — outside
Impact: His training window to return from IR has begun and a Week 8 start is possible. For now, Joshua Dobbs is under center.
Greg Dulcich, TE, DEN — Out/IR
Impact: Dulcich injured himself last week and the Boomerangs are back on IR. Adam Trautman will start but it’s not a fantasy.
Aaron Jones, RB, GP — questionable
Impact: His hamstring continues to linger, prompting a game-time call. Be prepared for AJ Dillon to take the lead, but at least for now, Jones is expected to do just that.
Justin Watson, WR, KC — outside
Impact: He will not be placed on IR, but is expected to sit through at least Week 10. Kadarius Toney and Rashee Rice will benefit in the short term, but Mecole Hartman Jr. was reacquired by the Chiefs and may have something to say about that.
Jalen Kyden, WR, LAC — outside
Impact: Although his three-week return from IR has begun, he’s still not ready to play. Next week may be a different story.
Kyron Williams, RB, LAR — Out/IR
Impact: Darrell Henderson Jr. was promoted from a practice squad that already included rookie Zach Evans, Royce Freeman and Myles Gaskin. Adam Schefter reports that Freeman and Henderson will do the heavy lifting today.
Deontay Johnson, WR, PIT — Activated from IR
Impact: His return comes at a good time for a Steelers team that has placed TE Pat Freiermuth on IR due to a lingering hamstring injury.
TK Metcalfe, WR, C — questionable
Impact: After a limited practice Friday, he could be a game-time call-up. If you have a healthy option to play in the early window, you may not want to wait for Metcalf.
Zach Charbonnet, RB, SEA — questionable
Impact: It’s like sitting here. Kenneth Walker III will see more carries than usual. DeeJay Dallas is expected to step into the backup RB role this week.
Sunday night game
Jeff Wilson Jr., RB, MIA — Activated from IR
Impact: Eventually, he’ll share the backfield with Raheem Mostert, but it’s unclear how soon he overtakes Salvon Ahmed for that privilege.
Julio Jones, WR, PHI — Promoted from practice squad
Impact: He’s only signed with the team, so expecting more than a limited snap this week might be too optimistic.
