NFL Player News

Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins might not be the starter long term in Washington, but he has performed well enough more often than not for Fantasy owners to consider him a reasonable starting option for Week 7 against the Titans.

Sure, Cousins had that one four-interception meltdown in Week 4, and he tossed three more picks last week too. Still, he ended up with 20 Fantasy points in Week 6 anyways, a mark he has reached four times in five games since taking over in the first quarter of Week 2. It hasn't always been pretty, but Fantasy owners have to be pretty happy with the overall outcome so far.

That theme should continue in Week 7, as the Titan's pass defense has fallen apart in recent weeks. After holding the first three quarterbacks on the schedule to just 11.7 Fantasy points per game, each of their last three opponents have dropped 20 points or more on them, including Brian Hoyer's 27 in Week 5 and Blake Bortles' 20 in Week 6.

At this point, the Titans look exceedingly vulnerable through the air, and Cousins should be able to exploit that. Cousins is ranked in the top-15 in both Jamey Eisenberg and Dave Richard's quarterback rankings for Week 7, so consider him a decent starting option.

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers hasn't thrown an interception since Week 1 and has the best touchdown-to-interception ratio (15 to 1) in the NFL. He's thrown at least three touchdowns four times and has Green Bay riding a three-game winning streak heading into Week 7 vs. Carolina. 

Despite a fairly strong start from Rodgers, coach Mike McCarthy indicates there might be even more room for improvement.

"I've seen him play better," McCarthy said, per ESPN. "I just think one thing from the standard that he's set and all the little things he's done at a high level, he's got a lot of good football in front of him. I mean, the way we're taking care of the football, the big plays and timely plays -- exceptional. No doubt about it. It's not really as much his individual performance I'm referring to. It's our focus this week offensively is we were not clearly as efficient as we want to be after six games. So that's a focus of ours, and it's part of the way we spent our time here the last couple days."

Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill was limited by an ankle injury in practice Wednesday, the Miami Herald reports.

The Dolphins added a second quarterback to the practice squad this week, but it's likely that Tannehill's injury won't keep him from playing Sunday. He rushed for 49 yards on three carries in Week 6 while racking up 227 passing yards.

The agent for Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer said he is fine with waiting until after the season to negotiate a new deal for his client, according to The Plain Dealer. Agent Joe Linta said he hasn't spoken with the Browns since the spring.

"The ball is in their court," Linta said. "We're willing to wait until the end of the year to see how it plays out."

Hoyer, who will be a free agent after the season, is 6-2 as a starter with the Browns (including three starts in 2013) and leads the NFL with an average completion of 13.6 yards. He also has a 99.5 passer rating.

Linta added the contract situation won't be a distraction for Hoyer.

"Brian's heartbeat doesn't go above 50 (beats per minute) on the field or off it," Linta said. "He's been very calm about this."

Redskins coach Jay Gruden said quarterback Robert Griffin III will reclaim the starting job as soon as he is "ready mentally and physically," reports the Washington Post. Gruden said that could be anywhere from one to five weeks away.

Gruden previously said Kirk Cousins might continue to start even after RG3 was ready to play. Griffin has missed four straight games with a dislocated ankle, but participated in individual drills Wednesday.

Titans quarterback Jake Locker, who sat out Week 6 due to a thumb injury, returned to practice Wednesday and split reps with Charlie Whitehurst during the portion of practice open to the media, according to The Tennessean.

Locker said he wasn't limited in practice and he had no problem gripping the football. Locker added he is feeling good and is optimistic about playing Week 7 against the Redskins.

You drafted Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford expecting huge numbers, right?

Well, guess what? He's only the No. 12 quarterback in standard CBSSports.com leagues. Russell Wilson is one of the 11 ahead of him, and he has had his bye already.

The lack of touchdowns is most concerning for Stafford. He has had pretty good yardage so far, with Week 6 being the exception, but in four of his six games he has thrown for fewer than two scores. That's a surefire way to lose in Fantasy with all the pass-happy offenses in the league today.

Certainly, the loss of Calvin Johnson hasn't helped, but Stafford wasn't exactly lighting it up with his star wide receiver. And the latest reports have Johnson potentially sitting out until Week 10, so waiting around for him isn't the answer. The good news is the Lions face two of the league's worst pass defenses, New Orleans and Atlanta, over the next two weeks, so you can at least justify starting Stafford if you have to.

But the consistency just isn't going to be there for him. I'd be looking to add Joe Flacco or swing a deal for Cam Newton or Tony Romo if I owned Stafford.

For a team's third wide receiver to have significant value in Fantasy, that team's passing attack has to be pretty explosive. Green Bay's typically has been with quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who is having a banner year with 15 touchdown passes to just one interception.

And yet in three of Rodgers' six games this season, he's thrown for less than 200 yards. As a team, the Packers rank only 20th in passing yards per game. That's not my idea of explosive.

Certainly things could change. Eddie Lacy has failed to give them much of a running game, which could cause them to go more pass-heavy in the weeks ahead. But more than anything, the reason third wide receiver Davante Adams performed so well Week 6 at Miami, catching six passes for 77 yards, was because co-No. 1 Randall Cobb didn't. Rodgers threw for a modest 264 yards. Unless he goes for a consistent 300, you can't expect Adams to make a regular contribution in Fantasy in his current role.

So in standard leagues of 12 teams or fewer, I'm leaving him on waivers. For the list of wide receivers Jamey Eisenberg is adding over him, check out his latest Playing the Waiver Wire.

Raiders wide receiver Brice Butler made his presence known in Week 6 against San Diego, catching three passes for 64 yards and a touchdown. But in terms of targets, he was still the third wheel in a receiving corps led by Andre Holmes and James Jones.

And that was on a career day for rookie quarterback Derek Carr.

Carr won't always be so good, and the big plays won't always be so easy to come by. Remember, 47 of Butler's yards came on his touchdown grab in the third quarter. Remove it from the equation, and he was the same peripheral contributor he has been all season.

Jamey Eisenberg doesn't rank Butler especially high in his Playing the Waiver Wire column, and I agree with that assessment. He doesn't have a big enough role in a consistently prolific passing attack.

The 49ers signed quarterback Josh Johnson to a one-year deal and released safety Raymond Ventrone, the team announced.