Coming off injured reserve, Etienne can practice for 21 days before the Saints must officially either activate him or shut him down. The Saints’ No. 1 running back has been sidelined since unsuccessfully trying to play through a hamstring strain in Week 3 against the Raiders. Audric Estime could warrant RB2/FLEX treatment again this week if Etienne is not ready to face the Panthers on Sunday.

McCarthy was upgraded to a full practice yesterday and remained full today. He’s good to go after getting banged up in the team’s Week 9 win over the Eagles. McCarthy made a few big plays against Philly, but his accuracy issues were compounded by five sacks. His shine as a high-end QB2 has all but evaporated.

Over the next three weeks, the Rams face the Cardinals, go on bye and then face the Packers. While his potential return ahead of the fantasy football playoffs is helpful, we still have a long way to go before he returns, and even then, his status for Week 13 is still uncertain. Konata Mumpfield, Tutu Atwell and CJ Daniels appear to be in line for 11 personnel duties at this time.

With Jacoby Brissett in Baltimore and Gardner Minshew out because of a UCL injury, the Cardinals are already down to their third-string quarterback. It was almost a given that Beck would start at some point this year, though we imagine head coach Matt LaFleur didn’t think it would be this soon. Beck played well in his lone preseason appearance, throwing for 188 yards and a score. While he’s not much of a streaming option this week, he should be good enough to keep Trey McBride at the top of the TE1 ranks, especially with Michael Wilson done for the year.

This comes directly from Andy Reid, though we’ll have to wait until the team’s injury report officially drops to be sure it’s actually a full session. Either way, Mahomes is playing on Sunday despite suffering an ugly elbow injury in Week 9. He told reporters it’s simply a matter of pain management for now. The Chiefs may opt to lean on their ground game against the Falcons, but even that won’t knock Mahomes out of the QB1 mix after the addition of Josh Downs.

In other words, the Packers might avoid placing Jacobs on injured reserve with his surgically-repaired finger. While he’s sidelined — including in Week 10 against the Vikings — some combination of Pierre Strong, Chris Brooks, Kaleb Johnson, and MarShawn Lloyd will handle backfield duties for the pass-heavy Packers. Johnson served as the nominal lead back in Week 9 against the Patriots, while Brooks is returning from injury and should slot in as the team’s pass-catching back. Johnson can be played as a touchdown-dependent RB3 option this week against a Minnesota defense that has shown recent vulnerabilities to the run.

Burks, according to Quinn, did not practice Wednesday in preparation for Thursday night’s game against the Giants. He missed Week 9 against the Rams with a foot injury. The Commanders’ best downfield threat with Terry McLaurin sidelined, Burks profiles as a high-variance WR4 option this week. The Giants have faced deep passes at the league’s 16th highest rate this season.

Hafley told reporters on Wednesday that Willis would seek second opinions on the groin injury that landed him on injured reserve. It sounds like season-ending surgery is a possibility for Willis, who would end his 2026 campaign. Through Week 9, Willis ranks 26th in passing yardage and 29th in passing touchdowns. He’s dead last in EPA per pass attempt and ranks 28th out of 38 qualifying QBs in EPA per drop back. Kyle McCord will get a chance at quarterback for the Dolphins in Week 10 against the Colts.

Pierce, who signed a massive new deal with the Colts last offseason, has been on injured reserve since Week 3. The Colts have little reason to rush him back in another lost season. “We’ll see. Like I said last week, he’s still in that rehab process, and I’m not going to put a timetable on return,” Steichen said Wednesday when asked about Pierce’s availability. Steichen mentioned Deion Burks and Anthony Gould as receivers who will see more playing time after the Colts traded Josh Downs and Keenan Allen this week.

It’s a little concerning considering the Titans are coming off their bye week. Tate suffered the shoulder injury three weeks ago, and unless he can log a practice tomorrow or Friday, he’s likely to miss this week’s game aginst the Jaguars. His absence would make Wan’Dale Robinson viable in PPR formats, along with Chimere Dike, who led the Titans in receiving against the Bengals in Week 8.