UPDATE: 8:17 p.m. Saturday
We’ve got the list of notables who have been ruled out or deemed questionable for tomorrow’s games, and it’s a long one.
Tampa Bay’s great start has been dampened by the fact they’ll be playing Week 6 against San Francisco without No. 1 running back Bucky Irving and two of their top three receivers: Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. The Niners, for their part, will be missing QB Brock Purdy and wideout Ricky Pearsall. And backup QB Mac Jones and WR Jauan Jennings are questionable.
Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson is out again, meaning Cooper Rush will start against the Rams. Carolina RB Chuba Hubbard is also a no-go. And pass catchers ruled out include Dallas’ CeeDee Lamb, Washington’s Terry McLaurin, Green Bay’s Christian Watson, Atlanta’s Darnell Moody and Vegas tight end Brock Bowers.
The questionables include Arizona QB Kyler Murray, Saints RB Alvin Kamara, Cincinnati WR JaMarr Chase, Baltimore WR Zay Flowers and Chargers wideout Quentin Johnston.
We’ll be back in the morning, some time during the Broncos’ London victory over the hapless Jets.
ORIGINAL POST: 6:00 a.m. Wednesday
Millions of folks wager their lunch money every week on NFL proposition bets. And you can bet not a single one correctly picked who would be the fantasy football standout of Week 5.
Say hello to Rico Dowdle, who you might be surprised to learn rushed for 1,079 yards last season in Dallas. Not too shabby, but in no way an indicator of the huge day he had running free through the meager Miami defense.
After 26 touches, Dowdle had 234 total yards and a touchdown. With Chuba Hubbard likely to miss at least another week, Dowdle is a must start this week against Dallas.
Dowdle wasn’t the only candidate for most valuable backup the past couple of weeks. He had company:
Kendrick Bourne (49ers WR) — San Francisco’s healthiest receiver had a banner night last Thursday at SoFi. Ten catches for 142 yards. With Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings still iffy for this week against Tampa Bay, Bourne could have another big game.
Rachaad White (Buccaneers RB) — The former starter had 18 touches for 72 yards and two touchdowns last Sunday in place of injured Bucky Irving. The latter is pretty banged up, so you can count on White having his old job back for at least another week.
Michael Carter (Cardinals RB) — He led Arizona backs with 23 touches for 73 yards and a TD against Tennessee. And considering backfield mate Emeri Demercado’s epic drop-fail at the goal line, Carter will be getting even more touches in the coming weeks.
Kenneth Gainwell (Steelers RB) — The former Eagles backup may have taken the Pittsburgh starting job from Jaylen Warren with his Week 4 production: 25 touches for 134 yards and two scores against the Jets.
Mac Jones (49ers QB) — San Francisco has hardly missed Brock Purdy. Jones has averaged more than 300 yards passing and two touchdowns in his three weeks, proving that almost any QB can thrive in Kyle Shanahan’s offense.
Sitting stars
Baltimore’s offense is a mess, so it’s actually possible you might not want to start RB Derrick Henry against the Rams. … You also don’t want to start Jets RB Breece Hall against Denver’s defense. … Neither Bengals RB Chase Brown nor all-pro wideout Ja’Marr Chase will do much against Green Bay, at least until Garbage Time. … Tampa Bay is barely using oft-injured WR Chris Godwin. … And two quarterbacks who will be kept in check this week are Pittsburgh’s Aaron Rodgers versus the Browns and Chicago’s Caleb Williams against Washington.
Matchup game
Jacory Croskey-Merritt is now the unchallenged RB1 in Washington, and he’ll run well versus Chicago. … Same goes for Denver RB J.K. Dobbins against the lowly Jets. … Seattle WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba is having an all-pro year, and he gets the Jaguars this week. … Tennessee WR Calvin Ridley woke up last week and will thrive against Las Vegas. … All new Miami tight end Darren Waller does is score touchdowns, and he’ll get another against the Chargers. … But Los Angeles QB Justin Herbert will make up for that by embarrassing the Dolphins’ secondary. … And New England’s hot combo of QB Drake Maye and WR Stefon Diggs will pad their stats against New Orleans.
Injury watch
The big new absence is Chargers rookie RB Omarion Hampton, who will miss at least four weeks due to an ankle injury. That means L.A. is down to Hassan Haskins and Kimani Vidal. Neither too appealing, fantasy-wise. … Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson is still a couple weeks away. … Notables listed as questionable at midweek include two RBs (Eagles’ Saquon Barkley, Giants’ Tyrone Tracy), two WRs (Commanders’ Terry McLaurin, Atlanta’s Darnell Mooney), two TEs (Raiders’ Brock Bowers, Jaguars’ Brenton Strange) and two QBs (Arizona’s Kyler Murray, the Giants’ Jaxson Dart).
Deepest sleeper
Dallas wide receiver Ryan Flournoy more than doubled his career numbers in the Cowboys’ rout of the Jets in New Jersey. The second-year pro had nine catches for 114 yards, helping make up for the absence of injured CeeDee Lamb. The all-pro is expected back in the next two weeks, so it will likely be a brief starring role for the former Redhawk of Southeast Missouri State. But if you have Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison or Nico Collins on a bye this week, you could do worse on the waiver wire.
The Thursday pick
Eagles at Giants (+6½)
Pick: Eagles by 17
You can hear Kevin Cusick on Thursdays on Bob Sansevere’s “BS Show” podcast on iTunes. You can follow Kevin on X– @theloopnow. He can be reached at kcusick@pioneerpress.com.
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