Mason came into the season as the presumed lead back in a timeshare with Aaron Jones, the latter of whom has performed as a true workhorse in Mason’s absence. Although it could take a week or two for Mason to fully regain the lead back role, his presence significantly mutes the potential of Jones. Expect a near-even split when the Vikings take on the Colts in Week 7.

Sampson was limited in practice throughout the week and listed as questionable for Week 7 against the Titans. Now that he’s officially been activated from injured reserve, he’s likely to be Cleveland’s change-of-pace back behind Quinshon Judkins this week. Sampson is worth stashing on fantasy benches, but is truly just a desperation FLEX play coming off a knee injury that’s sidelined him since Week 1.

Appearing on ESPN Saturday morning, Fowler, citing Thomas’ zero catches over the last two weeks, said something has to give in this situation. According to several teams the NFL Insider talked to, Thomas could be traded over the next few weeks. Fowler listed the Chiefs and Steelers as potentially interested teams and was emphatic that there will be suitors for Thomas. If you have Thomas in fantasy, it’s hard to imagine his value getting worse with a change of scenery. The Jaguars would appear content to roll with Parker Washington, Jakobi Meyers and Travis Hunter as their top receivers in the event of a Thomas trade.

According to one of Jones’ sources, Lions GM Brad Holmes “does not like losing his draft picks, especially high ones.” A second-rounder in 2023, LaPorta made waves earlier this week when he expressed frustration with his lack of a contract extension on the Pardon My Take podcast. While those frustrations persist, the 25-year-old tight end clarified some of his comments to local Detroit media Friday, reiterating his desire to stay with the Lions long-term. Jones notes that other extensions the Lions have handed out have taken some time to get done. He also cautions that the team shouldn’t wait too long to sign LaPorta as the Raiders are unlikely to waste time making Brock Bowers the highest-paid tight end in football when he becomes extension-eligible after the season.

Jones writes that his understanding is the Colts will wait a few weeks before deciding what to do with their star running back. Indianapolis decided to move on from GM Chris Ballard after a 2-4 start. The way things are trending, it’s easy to imagine the Colts still on the outside of the playoff race in a few weeks. At that point interim GM Ed Dodds could look to recoup draft assets the team lost in previous trades. According to Jones, moving Taylor “would be the most expedient route” to acquiring a high draft pick. Citing sources, Jones lists the Giants and Vikings as potential suitors if Taylor is made available on the trade market. Taylor signed a two-year extension with the Colts in August that hasn’t even kicked in yet.

Appearing on ESPN Saturday morning, Fowler said the Ravens are “hopeful” that Jackson can play against the Bengals. He added that the team isn’t “overly optimistic” because, according to a source, Jackson is “50/50" to play in Week 7. If Jackson can’t go, Tyler Huntley will get the start and fantasy managers will need a backup plan this week. At this point, it’s unlikely we receive more clarity on the situation before inactives are released Sunday morning.

He didn’t practice all week and will get San Francisco’s Week 8 bye to recover. The 33-year-old’s absence will leave veterans Christian Kirk and Brandin Cooks along with youngsters Jacob Cowing and Jordan Watkins on the 49ers receiver depth chart for Sunday.

The fact that Nacua is not practicing today is a bad sign for his Week 7 availability. Ever the injury-related optimist, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported earlier today that Nacua’s injury is “more minor than anything else,” though he quickly balanced the scales by then saying that he would not call Nacua’s quick trip to the imaging room “precautionary, because it’s not nothing.” If active, Nacua should be in fantasy football lineups because his talent and workload are almost unparalleled. Unfortunately, coach Sean McVay told reporters that Nacua felt that “he wasn’t able to have some of the power and full explosion.” Nacua is on the wrong side of questionable, and the Rams obviously do not want his injury to worsen.

Rice didn’t practice all week despite Andy Reid’s optimistic spin that he’s a “quick healer.” It’s hard to make much sense of how available he’ll be for Week 8 at this point as Rice hasn’t practiced since before the team’s Week 5 bye. Xavier Worthy will again get a WR3-caliber workload as The Only Game In Town for the Chiefs wideouts.

Here’s what happened: Ravens head coach Jesse Minter spoke and said the team is still “working through” whether Jackson would play on Sunday, and then the team took the unusual step of having both Jackson and Tyler Huntley talk to the media. Jackson also said he doesn’t need to be 100% to play and clarified that he had a high-ankle sprain. Jackson officially draw a questionable tag after a limited Friday session. Reading between the lines, the fact that Huntley spoke probably sets us up nicely for a rug pull, but Jackson-reliant fantasy managers will probably be waiting until inactives on Sunday before they know for sure.