NFL Player News

Higgins (foot) doesn't carry an injury designation ahead of Saturday's playoff game against the Raiders.

Though the wideout was listed as a limited practice participant Wednesday and Thursday, coach Zac Taylor downplayed Higgins' foot issue, confirming that the 2020 second-rounder is slated to play this weekend, per Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. Higgins was among the key players rested by the Bengals in Week 18, but he's poised to suit up Saturday alongside fellow WRs Ja'Marr Chase and Tyler Boyd and should see his share of targets from QB Joe Burrow in the team's wild-card matchup.

Pittsburgh activated Washington (illness) activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list Thursday.

Washington landed on the list Jan. 8 and didn't play in the the Steelers' regular-season finale against the Ravens, but the wideout will be available for Sunday's playoff opener against Kansas City. While his return bolsters Pittsburgh's wideout depth, Washington's fantasy upside is capped by the fact that Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool and Ray-Ray McCloud also are in the mix. Additionally, JuJu Smith-Schuster (shoulder) has progressed to the point that he's been designated to return from injured reserve, which gives him a chance to return to the lineup Sunday.

Smith-Schuster (shoulder) returned to practice Thursday after the Steelers designated him for return from injured reserve.

Smith-Schuster was placed on IR back on Oct. 16 after suffering a shoulder injury that required surgery, but now that he's been cleared to practice, the Steelers will have a 21-day window in which to activate the wideout to the 53-man roster. While the transaction potentially paves the way for Smith-Schuster to play in Sunday's wild-card game in Kansas City, his availability likely will hinge on how he fares in practice Thursday and Friday.

Coach Zac Taylor relayed Thursday that Higgins (foot) is line to play in Saturday's playoff opener against the Raiders, Geoff Hobson of the Bengals' official site reports.

Higgins popped up on the team's injury report Wednesday, when he was listed as a limited practice participant due to a foot issue. However, Taylor subsequently clarified that the wideout maybe "took one or two less reps than normal," per Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. The team's upcoming injury report will reveal whether Higgins heads into the weekend with an official injury designation or fully cleared to play Saturday.

Palmer caught four of his nine targets for 45 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 35-32 overtime loss to the Raiders. The rookie finished the 2021 season with 33 receptions for 353 yards and four touchdowns.

It took COVID-19 absences from both Keenan Allen and Mike Williams to force the issue, but Palmer quietly seemed to earn confidence from quarterback Justin Herbert toward the latter half of the season, accumulating 18 receptions, 185 yards and three touchdowns in his last five games. Both Williams and nominal No. 3 starter Jalen Guyton are technically free agents entering this offseason, but given that the Chargers boast the sixth-highest cap space among NFL teams, the team could certainly choose to bring back both players. The rookie's lack of breakaway speed seemingly doesn't make him an ideal candidate to play outside where the aforementioned duo operate, which also throws a wrench in 2022 projections, but it's at least encouraging to have seen Palmer develop some chemistry with Herbert, Los Angeles' ascending franchise signal-caller.

Guyton caught six of his nine targets for 52 yards in Sunday's 35-32 loss to the Raiders. The third-year wide receiver finished the season with 31 receptions for 448 yards and three touchdowns in 16 games.

It took until the final game of the season, but Guyton recorded season highs in receptions and targets while tallying his third effort with at least 50 receiving yards over his last five contests. Part of that extra volume was due to the Chargers furiously attempting a double-digit fourth quarter comeback, but it underscores what had been an encouraging month of December for Guyton after what looked liked a subpar season for the 24-year-old. That being said, it's hard to have much optimism from a fantasy standpoint moving forward for Guyton, who under the Anthony Lynn system last season saw a high volume of snaps only for Joe Lombardi's scheme to effectively neutralize the speedster in 2021. The emergence of rookie third-round pick Joshua Palmer also factored into Guyton's downturn as the duo essentially split reps as the team's No. 3 pass catcher by the end of October. A restricted free agent this offseason, expect Guyton to be retained on a short-term deal as a depth piece capable of starting if pressed into action.

Brown finished his 2021 rookie season with 12 catches for 165 yards on 25 targets, playing 15 of 17 games and logging 335 snaps on offense.

The third-round pick started his first three games and five of his first six, yet entered the midpoint of the season with only eight catches for 81 yards. Brown then averaged only 11.2 snaps on offense over his final 10 games, stuck in a bench role even as Washington had minimal success finding productive pass catchers apart from top WR Terry McLaurin. While the 22-year-old Brown could get another shot at a starting job come spring/summer, there's no doubt his initial pro campaign was disappointing relative to the expectations and opportunity he had. Of course, he might've been given more time to develop -- rather than named as a Week 1 starter -- if Washington's passing offense wasn't so unimpressive in the first place.

Carter played all 17 games fo Washington in 2021, catching 24 of 44 targets for 296 yards and three touchdowns, and adding 16 punt returns for 134 yards and 36 kickoff returns for 904 yards and a fourth TD.

Carter bounced around from Houston to Philadelphia to Chicago from 2018-20, with this being just the second time he's spent the full season with one team. He even had a stretch as Washington's No. 2 receiver, which lasted about a month and a half before he moved back to a special-teams and reserve role over the final few weeks of the season. Carter is a late bloomer who made his first regular-season NFL appearance at 25, and he'll turn 29 in April about a month after he's scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent. If nothing else, Carter should draw interest as a return specialist and No. 4/5 receiver.

Humphries played all 17 games for Washington in 2021, catching 41 of 62 targets for 383 yards and no touchdowns.

Humphries stayed healthy after two injury-plagued seasons (2019-20) in Tennessee, but he finished with career lows for yards per catch (9.3), yards per target (6.2) and touchdowns (zero). The 28-year slot specialist is scheduled for free agency again this offseason, and while he figures to attract some level of interest, he could face tougher competition for a slot/No. 3 role, depending on where he signs and for how much.

Watson (quadriceps) logged a limited practice Wednesday.

Watson missed the Buccaneers' last two games of the regular season while dealing with a quadriceps injury. The wide receiver's ability to practice is a positive sign for his chances to play in Sunday's wild-card matchup with the Eagles.