Fantasy Football News

Chiefs safety Eric Berry (heel) was a full participant in practice all week and was not on the team’s final injury report Friday. Barring an unexpected setback, he will play in Sunday’s AFC Championship game against the Patriots. (Source: Ian Rapoport on Twitter )

Fantasy Impact: Berry missed the first 13 games of the season with a heel issue and then sat out Week 17 and last week’s divisional round playoff game after the injury flared up. Head coach Andy Reid said Thursday that the veteran safety was looking like his old self again. Berry’s return will undoubtedly provide a boost as the Chiefs try to contain Tom Brady and the Patriots with a trip to Super Bowl LIII on the line.

Spencer Ware (hamstring) has been removed from the Chiefs' final injury report ahead of the AFC Championship. (Source: BJ Kissel on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: Ware hasn't played since December 9th but looks good to go for Sunday night's premier matchup. We expect him to have a change of pace role behind Damien Williams.

ESPN's Katherine Terrell is reporting Saints TE Benjamin Watson (illness) has been ruled out of the NFC Championship game. (Source: Katherine Terrell on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: Watson is reportedly battling appendicitis, which explains why he is already deemed inactive for Sunday's win or go home matchup against the Rams. However, since he's already missed two practices and has been able to avoid surgery up to this point, the Saints aren't taking any chances. Should the Saints advance to the Super Bowl, Watson will have a chance to return and play. Otherwise, Watson may have already played in the final game of his career. The longtime NFL tight end is likely to retire at the end of the Saints' 2018-2019 campaign.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports J.J. Watt underwent a minor knee surgery following the season. (Source: Ian Rapoport on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: Rapoport adds that this was just some maintenance on an injury that bothered him throughout the year. Watt was able to play in all 16 games this year.

The Panthers are keeping their options open and would consider the possibility of sitting Cam Newton for all of 2019 if he undergoes another shoulder surgery. (Source: ESPN)

Fantasy Impact: Panthers owner David Tepper mentioned the possibility of Newton sitting out in 2019 saying, "If you told me he took a year off and could recover and be fully recovered and everything else, and that's what it took, an extra year, why wouldn't you do that?" For the moment, it's far too early to speculate as Newton plans to rest and rehab throughout the offseason to heal. If he were to opt for surgery, it'd be his second operation in three years.

NFL Media’s Mike Garafolo is reporting that Saints defensive lineman Sheldon Rankins suffered what is believed to be a torn Achilles in Sunday night’s playoff win over the Eagles. (Source: Mike Garafolo on Twitter )

Fantasy Impact: Rankins was carted off the field after sustaining the injury in the first quarter of the 20-14 victory. It’s a brutal ending to a great season for the 2016 first-rounder. He finished the regular season with a career-high eight sacks. The Saints will take on the Rams in the NFC Championship next week.

Following an injury-marred and disappointing 2018 NFL season, long-time New England Patriots' stand out tight end Rob Gronkowski is expected to "strongly consider retirement," in the weeks and months after New England's season ends. Gronkowski was rumored to be considering retirement before the 2018 campaign began and was also the subject of trade rumors. The nine-year veteran battled a back injury and other ailments that held him to a career-low three touchdowns and only 47 receptions in 13 games. (Source: Ian Rapoport via Twitter )

Fantasy Impact: In his report, Rapoport also speculates that Gronkowski no longer has the mindset to be an All-Pro caliber player, writing "Gronkowski hasn't seemed to be the same effusive personality and people close to him say everything has been a battle. They wonder how much he loves it." With a body that is breaking down, rumored quarrels with coaching, and plenty of money and motivation to do other things, it may be the end of the road for one of the NFL's most dominant players.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport is reporting Chargers TE Hunter Henry (knee) is expected to play in Sunday's Divisional Round tilt at the Patriots.

Fantasy Impact: Henry has missed the entire 2018 season with a torn ACL suffered in May, but the Chargers are "optimistic" that he plays on Sunday. While he could be rusty and on a pitch count, the Patriots struggle to defend the tight end and are a terrific matchup for Henry to make an impact given the situation. He's a dirt cheap DFS option on FanDuel who is worth plugging into lineups, especially GPPs.

ESPN's Adam Schefter is reporting Cowboys WR Cole Beasley (ankle) is expected to play at Rams.

Fantasy Impact: Similar to TE Blake Jarwin, Beasley is expected to be active for Saturday night's win or go home bout at the Rams. However, since Schefter is suggesting Beasley will be on a pitch count if he sees the field at all -- "Jarwin has a better chance to play than Beasley, but [the] plan is for both to work out pregame and both be active," Schefter said via his personal Twitter -- he will be difficult to trust in DFS. As a result, Tavon Austin, who is banged up but expected to be a go, could be in line for an increased role in a proverbial revenge game against his former club. While the Rams defense only allowed two wide receivers in their past five games to finish with double-digit fantasy points in standard scoring formats, their opponents weren't exactly wielding the Air Coryell passing attack against them -- DET, CHI, PHI, ARI, SF. At a cheap price point in DFS, Austin is worth a look in GPPs after showing his explosiveness on special teams in last weeks win over Seattle.

ESPN's Adam Schefter is reporting Cowboys TE Blake Jarwin (ankle) is expected to play at Rams. (Source: Adam Schefter on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: Jarwin hasn't practiced all week due to an ankle injury but is fully expected to receive an active designation for Saturday night's prime time encounter against the Rams. However, Schefter is suggesting that Jarwin "has a better chance" of seeing the field than WR Cole Beasley, who also hasn't practiced this week with an ankle injury of his own. Though both are on track to officially active, it sounds like Beasley could be on a pitch count whereas Jarwin could be in line for his usual snaps with Dalton Shultz and the curious case of Rico Gathers getting in the mix as well in a more situational role. With no reported limitations, Jarwin is worth a look in DFS GPPs as his price point isn't bad for a player that received at least seven targets in three of his past five games (7,7,3,8,3).

ESPN's Adam Schefter is reporting Chiefs WR Sammy Watkins (foot) is expected to play against Indianapolis. (Source: Adam Schefter on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: Watkins hasn't played since Week 11 but is trending toward an active designation for the Divisional Weekend Saturday matinee against the Colts. However, despite his anticipated return, the expectation is for the oft-injured wideout to be on a snap count, which hinders his already lackluster fantasy value. He'll get a Colts defense that finished the regular season surrendering 46.6 percent fewer fantasy points to wide receivers below the 20.7-point league average in the final three games.

Todd Gurley (knee) is no longer listed on the Rams' injury report ahead of the Divisional Round. (Source: Joe Curley on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: Gurley missed the last two games of the year but will be all systems go for a showdown with the Cowboys on Saturday night. The 24-year-old running back scored a whopping 21 TDs in just 14 games this year.

Patriots safety Devin McCourty (concussion) returned to practice Wednesday as a full participant. It was a full-pads practice according to ESPN reporter Mike Reiss. (Source: Mike Reiss on Twitter )

Fantasy Impact: McCourty suffered a concussion in Week 17 and did not practice during the team’s bye week. WR/KR Cordarrelle Patterson (knee) was also back to full participation while TE Dwayne Allen (knee) and DE Deatrich Wise Jr. (ankle) were limited. The Patriots will host the Chargers on Sunday.

Colts linebacker Darius Leonard (shoulder/ankle) was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice after being listed as limited Tuesday. (Source: Colts Wire)

Fantasy Impact: Leonard was never in danger of missing Saturday’s playoff game against the Chiefs. Nevertheless, it was still good to see him return to Wednesday’s practice which was held outside in the snow as the team prepares for the cold temperatures at Arrowhead Stadium. Leonard led the Colts in tackles in last week’s 21-7 wild card win over the Texans and will need another strong performance if they are to knock off the high-powered Chiefs.

Eric Ebron (hip) was upgraded to a limited participant during Wednesday's practice. (Source: Indianapolis Colts on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: Ebron sat out on Tuesday so this is a great sign for his availability, not that it was ever in doubt. Still just 25 years old, Ebron scored a career-high 13 TDs in 2018. He then scored again versus the Texans last Saturday. He'll be ready to go versus the Chiefs.

T.Y. Hilton (ankle) did not practice on Wednesday. (Source: Indianapolis Colts on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: He will be fine for Saturday's contest versus the Chiefs in Arrowhead. Hilton has been dealing with an ankle issue but it didn't stop him from toasting the Texans during wild card weekend.

Melvin Gordon (knee) did not practice on Wednesday. (Source: Sam Fortier on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: Gordon is dealing with injuries to both his knees and one of his ankles. He's still expected to play versus the Patriots on Sunday, however. It's unlikely Gordon will get his usual workload if he plays, which makes him an easy fade in DFS this weekend.

Bears safety Eddie Jackson was active for Sunday’s playoff game against the Eagles but never took a snap in the heartbreaking 16-15 loss. Deon Bush got the start in his place. (Source: ProFootballTalk)

Fantasy Impact: Jackson explained after the game that he just wasn’t ready to play at the level he’s used to. “I didn’t want to go out there and not be able to perform to the level that I can, that I know I can,” Jackson said, via NBC Sports Chicago. “So there was no point to going out there and having a bad game to hurt the team. That was just the biggest thing, don’t go out there and try to be a superhero, you can’t perform, you hurt the team giving up big plays and stuff like that. But the s–t sucks, man, It sucks. We fought this hard, do everything to come this far and — it’s football, man.” Jackson will now have plenty of time to get healthy before the start of offseason workouts.

ESPN's Adam Schefter is reporting Bears TE Trey Burton (groin) is officially inactive for Wild Card Sunday. (Source: Adam Schefter on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: Burton was a late addition to the Bears' injury report with a groin injury, which is never a good sign. Thus, he is ruled out, which opens the door for Adam Shaheen to act as Chicago's TE1. Shaheen will have touchdown upside in his expanded role against Philadelphia.

Ravens cornerback Tavon Young (groin) is inactive for Sunday’s wild card playoff game against the Chargers. (Source: Baltimore Ravens )

Fantasy Impact: Young has been dealing with a groin injury for a few weeks but aggravated it during last week’s game. He was able to practice Friday in a limited capacity but it was determined he wasn’t ready after pregame workouts. Without Young covering the slot, there could be greater opportunities for Chargers WR Keenan Allen who ran over 70% of routes in the slot over the last two weeks.