NFL Player News

Ward (back) has been ruled out for the remainder of Sunday's wild-card matchup against the Buccaneers.

Ward was limited during Wednesday's practice due to a back issue, and it appears he aggravated it during Sunday's game. He wasn't targeted in the passing attack, so his absence is unlikely to change the Eagles' offensive game plan.

Callaway caught 46 of 84 targets for 698 yards and six touchdowns over 17 games in 2021.

With Michael Thomas (ankle) on the shelf all season, Callaway consistently handled heavy snap counts for New Orleans both before and after Tre'Quan Smith made his season debut in Week 7. However, the 6-foot-2 receiver only ran a route on 53 percent of his snaps and he was only targeted on 19.5 percent of his routes - less than each of Deonte Harris, Alvin Kamara, Mark Ingram, Ty Montgomery and Adam Trautman. While Callaway still put together a couple of nice games this year, this underwhelming usage led to inconsistent stat lines that made him hard to trust in fantasy lineups. Unless the Saints get a dramatic upgrade at quarterback in the offseason, things could get worse for Callaway in 2022 with Thomas set to reprise his role as the team's undisputed top option at receiver.

Meyers recorded six receptions on nine targets for 40 yards in Saturday's 47-17 wild-card round loss to Buffalo.

Meyers led the team with nine targets, though he was out-produced by Kendrick Bourne. The majority of Meyers' work came with the game well out of reach, though he did tally a 19-yard reception to set up a field goal for New England just before halftime. He was otherwise limited to short gains. Meyers will enter the offseason as a restricted free agent, though after commanding 126 targets and tallying 83 receptions in 2021, it's likely that the Patriots will look to retain him for 2022 and beyond.

Bourne recorded seven receptions on eight targets for 77 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday's 47-17 wild-card round loss to Buffalo.

Bourne finished second on the team in targets, but he was by far the most productive receiver for New England. Nearly all of his production came in the second half with the game out of reach, but he tallied a long gain of 43 yards and found the end zone from three and four yards away, respectively. Bourne remains under contract in New England for the 2022 season, though the team could release him with him little penalty in terms of dead cap space. Should he return to the Patriots, Bourne would likely work behind at least Jakobi Meyers and potentially Nelson Agholor as well as any other offseason upgrades at the position.

Diggs brought in three of four targets for 60 yards during the Bills' 47-17 win over the Patriots in an AFC wild-card matchup Saturday night.

The odds on Diggs not being on the receiving end of at least one score on a night when Josh Allen tossed five touchdowns were probably remote, but that's exactly what transpired in the blowout victory. The multi-time Pro Bowler did check in tied for second in receptions and as the runner-up in receiving yards behind Dawson Knox, but the fact Allen spread the wealth around and Buffalo also wasn't forced to pass much in the second half capped Diggs' fantasy contributions overall. The 28-year-old will have a chance to boost his production in a divisional-round battle versus either the Chiefs or Bengals next weekend.

Jones caught five passes for 61 yards and one touchdown on eight targets against Cincinnati on Saturday.

It's another encouraging entry in what's been an impressive breakout season for Jones. After he played sparingly in the first seven weeks, the Raiders upped Jones' workload and usage following the Week 8 bye, from which point he saw 71 targets in the next 11 games, including this playoff game. Jones is a 2017 second-round pick who dominated at the collegiate level and has 4.45 speed, so the way he played in 2021 is more in line with what his career expectations were all along.

Renfrow caught eight passes for 58 yards on 11 targets against Cincinnati on Saturday.

The Bengals really made Renfrow a focus of their defensive game plan, making it difficult for the slot receiver to generate his usual level of yardage per target. While Renfrow's season ends with a bit of a thud in this playoff loss, it was a highly impressive breakout season overall for the third-year wideout. Even if he's mostly a slot specialist, Renfrow produced in 2021 at a level that will compel the Raiders to give him a near three-down workload going forward.

Boyd caught four passes for 26 yards and one touchdown on five targets against Las Vegas on Saturday.

The Raiders defense played reasonably well against the formidable Cincinnati offense, and Boyd mostly ran against the tough coverage of slot corner Nate Hobbs. Boyd had to grind out his yardage as a result, but the touchdown saved the day for his fantasy investors. Boyd might not be as immensely talented as fellow Bengals wideouts Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, but he's still quite good in his own right.

Chase caught nine passes for 116 yards on 12 targets and ran for 23 yards on three carries against Las Vegas on Saturday.

Be it the regular season or playoffs, Chase has proven himself a uniquely productive player who holds top-shelf fantasy value. Chase was heavily involved early for Cincinnati and spearheaded its initial offensive attack in a game the Bengals went on to win 26-19. Tee Higgins (one 10-yard catch on four targets) will normally claim a bigger share of the Cincinnati passing game than he did against the Raiders, but both players have shown the ability to shine when the spotlight lands on them.

Wilkerson (coach's decision) is listed as inactive Saturday in Buffalo.

Wilkerson's elevation from the practice squad Friday was a decent sign that he'd be available to the Patriots in the wild-card round. Instead, he'll be in street clothes while N'Keal Harry and Gunner Olszewski act as the depth wide receivers behind the top trio of Jakobi Meyers, Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne.