Pickens reverted to the low-effort Pittsburgh version of himself in Week 14’s loss to the Lions, giving up on routes and appearing generally disinterested in the proceedings. Pickens had just 37 yards on nine targets against Detroit. “We talked a little bit about it,” Schottenheimer said Monday. “In his words, he said, ‘Hey Schotty, I didn’t play my best game.’ I think that, unfortunately, none of us played our best game. But again, I don’t worry about George and his love for football and playing this game. You know, for five or six weeks, he was the talk of the sporting world. ‘Look at George Pickens.’ We didn’t coach or play well enough to win that game in Detroit. They beat us. It is what it is.” Hopefully Pickens gives better effort in Week 15 against a Minnesota secondary that has been burned on deep throws for much of the season. He’ll be a top-12 fantasy option, and a top seven or eight option if CeeDee Lamb (concussion) is out.

Unprecedented amounts of desperation are being shown here as the Colts try to keep their playoff hopes alive. It’s almost impossible to know how well Rivers will play as he’s been retired since the end of the 2020 season, but it’s hard to believe the Colts signed him without a promise that he’d be active at the very least, if not playing against the Seahawks in Week 15. We’d offer a conservative “he’s probably a QB3 in superflex leagues” take if he starts, but Rivers didn’t exactly have sterling athleticism at the end of his career either and it’s possible he could wind up a usable QB2.

Washington left Week 14’s win over the Ravens with a head injury and did not return. If he’s unable to clear the protocol before the Steelers’ Week 15 Monday night game against Miami, Pat Freiermuth would likely operate as the team’s primary pass-catching tight end. Freiermuth could be a nice deep league streaming option while Jonnu Smith — who has five receptions over his past five games — should remain on waiver wires.

Metcalf stayed overnight in the hospital with some kind of stomach issue following the Steelers’ Week 14 victory over the Ravens, a game that saw Metcalf post season-high numbers, including 148 yards thanks to aggressive downfield throwing from Aaron Rodgers. Tomlin hinted that Metcalf could miss some practice time this week while recovering from his stomach issue. “I don’t think it’s going to jeopardize his availability at all,” Tomlin said when asked about Metcalf’s Week 15 status. Fantasy managers should monitor Metcalf’s late-week practice status.

Johnson left Week 14’s loss to the Rams with an MCL injury and would seem likely to miss Arizona’s Week 15 game against the Cardinals. Losing Johnson ahead of a matchup with the ferocious Texans pass rush is bad news for Jacoby Brissett and the entire Cardinals offense. Brissett remains a solid streaming option based on pass volume alone.

Hurts also lost a fumble in the five-turnover night, two of which came on the same play in the second quarter. Chargers defensive tackle Da’Shawn Hand picked Hurts but lost the football while taken to the ground. Hurts then recovered the fumble only to lose it himself, which was then recovered by the Chargers on a bizarre three-turnover play, with two of them charged to Hurts. The rarity of the play contributed to five combined turnovers from each team within the span of 11 offensive plays. The final turnover committed by Hurts was an interception to end the game in overtime after Cameron Dicker kicked the Chargers into the lead on the opening possession of the extra frame. The five turnovers go down as the most in a single game in Jalen Hurts’ career, while the four interceptions doubled the two he had thrown through 12 games this season. Losers of three straight, Hurts and the Eagles maintain a 1.5-game lead over the Cowboys in the NFC East with four games left to play. They get a much more forgiving opponent in Week 15 when they face the floundering Raiders at home.

The 44-year-old quarterback last played in 2020 as a member of the Colts. The now-quarterback-needy team are seriously considering bringing him back as veteran depth behind Riley Leonard, a notion that appears as outlandish as it does potentially brilliant. That said, Leonard is currently dealing with a knee ligament injury that could hold him out of the team’s Week 15 game against the Seahawks. Rivers, a surefire Hall of Fame candidate, would be first eligible in the next induction class but could see his clock reset should he gain eligibility in 2025. Stay tuned as this outrageous story develops.

Hampton will be active for Monday night’s game against the Eagles and will likely draw the start. Hampton was seeing a bell cow workload before going down in Week 5’s game against the Commanders, and will hopefully have a healthy role in time for the fantasy playoffs. Hampton has rushed 66 times for 314 yards and two touchdowns, and has caught another 20 passes for 136 scoreless yards. His return likely deals a major blow to Kimani Vidal’s fantasy value, although Vidal could see enough work to remain in the mix as a FLEX play. We’ll have more information to go on after Monday’s game against the Eagles, but Hampton is in the RB2 mix for anybody hoping to start him on Monday night. In addition to Hampton, the Chargers have also activated RB Hassan Haskins (hamstring) from injured reserve.

Quinn then deftly declined to say if Daniels would play on Sunday. Never a good sign when the coach won’t even offer a comment on the plausibility of that happening on Monday. Marcus Mariota could be in for a smash streaming spot against a left-for-dead Giants defense in Week 15. We’re sure this is the first of many Daniels blurbs this week either way.

Taylor told reporters that Higgins — who was checked multiple times after a couple major hits on Sunday — reported symptoms after the game. Given the quick turnaround from his last concussion, it would be surprising if Higgins managed to play this week. It looks like Andrei Iosivas and Mitchell Tinsley, as well as Mike Gesicki, will be solidly on the 12-team radar for Week 15.