NFL Player News

Jefferson is expected to take on a larger role in the Rams passing attack after top wideout Cooper Kupp (ankle) was placed on injured reserve Wednesday, Stu Jackson of the team's official site reports.

Passes to Kupp are about the only thing that's worked for the Rams offense this season, with the star receiver averaging 10.9 targets and 90.2 receiving yards per game. Jefferson didn't catch any passes in his first two weeks back in the lineup after missing six games while recovering from minor knee surgery, but he then recorded three receptions for 27 yards and a touchdown in the Week 10 loss to Arizona. He'll now have an opportunity to see more snaps alongside Allen Robinson and Ben Skowronek. Jefferson played only 17 snaps (28 percent) last week, which actually was a decrease from the previous two games (53 percent in Week 8, 35 percent in Week 9). If Jefferson struggles this Sunday at New Orleans, the Rams could also give Lance McCutcheon, Brandon Powell or Tutu Atwell more looks.

Montgomery (knee) will miss the remainder of the season after recently undergoing shoulder surgery, Jim McBride of The Boston Globe reports.

Montgomery was placed on injured reserve after playing 19 snaps in the team's season-opening loss to the Dolphins. The Patriots haven't provided many updates on his status since then, but Montgomery looks like he'll spend the remainder of the season rehabbing from the shoulder procedure. Montgomery will be due $1.36 million in 2023 and should compete for a change-of-pace role within the New England backfield next offseason, if healthy.

Lions head coach Dan Campbell said Wednesday that he expects Williams (knee) to be designated for return from injured reserve at some point after Thanksgiving Day, making the team's Week 13 game versus the Jaguars his earliest possible debut date, Eric Woodyard of ESPN.com reports.

Campbell said it's possible that Williams practices before Thanksgiving Day, but added that he doesn't expect the rookie first-round pick to do so, much less take the field Nov. 24 versus Buffalo even if he is designated for return from IR prior to that game. Woodard relays that Campbell offered either Week 13 versus Jacksonville or Week 14 against the Giants as more realistic return targets for Williams, who Detroit has avoided rushing back from the ACL tear he suffered while playing for Alabama last January. The Lions have designated DJ Chark (ankle) to resume practicing Wednesday, so the receiving corps stands to receive a boost even before the rookie first-round pick is ready to contribute.

Head coach Dan Campbell said Wednesday that Chark (ankle) has been designated for return from injured reserve, Tim Twentyman of the Lions' official site reports.

The transaction thus opens a 21-day window for the Lions to evaluate Chark in practice without him counting toward the 53-man active roster. The speedy wideout hasn't played since Week 3, but once activated, he'll likely step back in as a starter alongside No. 1 receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. Per Eric Woodyard of ESPN.com, the Lions also hope to open the practice window on Jameson Williams (knee) after Thanksgiving Day.

Brown played 16 of the Commanders' 83 snaps on offense and finished with a 15-yard reception on his lone target in Monday's 32-21 win over the Eagles.

Brown's 20 percent snap share played him fifth among Washington wideouts behind Terry McLaurin (86 percent), Curtis Samuel (64 percent), Jahan Dotson (41 percent) and Cam Sims (33 percent). Considering that Dotson was eased back into the mix with a light workload in his return from a five-game absence, both Sims and Brown look like candidates to see their roles reduced further with Dotson's playing time expected to increase in the weeks to come.

Sims finished Monday's 32-21 win over the Eagles with no receptions on one target across 27 snaps on offense.

Sims' 33 percent offensive snap share was his lowest mark since Week 4, when he was on the field for just six percent of the Commanders' plays. Unsurprisingly, Sims' drop in playing time coincided with the return of Jahan Dotson (34 snaps, 41 percent share), who stepped in as the No. 3 receiver after missing the last five games with a hamstring injury. Dotson's role is only expected to grow bigger in the weeks to come, so Sims could see his snap shares dip back into the single digits in future weeks while he becomes more marginalized as the No. 4 wideout.

Dotson (hamstring) hauled in his lone target for a 14-yard reception in Monday's 32-21 win over the Eagles.

In his return from a five-game absence, Dotson didn't start but still finished third among Commanders receivers in snaps, albeit by a small margin. He was on the field for 34 of the Commanders' 83 offensive snaps (40 percent), trailing both Terry McLaurin (86 percent) and Curtis Samuel (64 percent) and narrowly outpacing Cam Sims (33 percent) for fourth place. Expect Dotson's snap share to pick up as he becomes further removed from the hamstring issue, but the rookie doesn't look like the safest bet to reclaim the fantasy utility he held over the first quarter of the season before the hamstring injury surfaced. In his first four games, Dotson turned in a modest averages of three receptions and 38 receiving yards on 5.5 targets per contest, but his value was propped up heavily by four touchdown catches.

Davis (knee) won't practice Wednesday.

Per Brian Costello of the New York Post, head coach Robert Saleh said that Davis -- who last suited up Week 7 -- has a chance to play Sunday against the Patriots. Though Davis won't take part in the Jets' first Week 11 practice, a return to work in any capacity Thursday or Friday would boost his chances of playing Sunday. If Davis ends up missing this weekend's game, Elijah Moore could usurp Braxton Berrios as the Jets' primary slot man while Garrett Wilson and Denzel Mims take most of the reps on the perimeter.

Darden returned two kickoffs for 42 yards in the Buccaneers' 21-16 win over the Seahawks in Week 10.

The Buccaneers didn't have any punt-return opportunities, but Darden still got his hands on the ball via the first two kickoff returns of the season. Darden failed to log a single snap on offense for the third straight game, however, so despite his speed, he doesn't have any fantasy viability at the moment outside of leagues that count return yards.

Pascal pulled in one of his two targets and gained 10 yards in Monday's loss to Washington.

The Eagles offense was muted overall with the Commanders dominating time of possession. Pascal hasn't made much of an impression even when the Eagles have been playing with a lead, so it's no surprise to see his impact remain minimal in the team's first loss.