Fantasy Football News

Brown DL Andrew Billings has opted out of the 2020 NFL season. (Source: Aaron Wilson on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: Billings was a fourth-round pick in 2016 and had spent his career with the Bengals thus far. He had signed a one-year deal with the Browns over the offseason.

Ian Rapoport is reporting that Ezekiel Ansah is going through a physical and COVID-19 testing with the 49er's. No deal has been finalized between the two parties. (Source: Ian Rapoport on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: Ansah was one of the premier pass-rushers in the league whe he totalled 28.5 sacks between 2015-2017. His presence would help bolster what is already a great defensive line in San Francisco. Last year the 49er's defense allowed 281.8 yards per game (second in the league) and sacked the opposing quarterback 48 times (fifth in the league). At 31 years old and coming off a mediocre season in Seattle, Ansah probably wouldn't be much more than a rotational pass-rusher. His IDP value is pretty low but he would help definitely the 49er's DST, which is already ranked as our experts' number one defense.

Washington coach Ron Rivera is "pleasantly surprised" by the recovery Alex Smith has made from his devastating leg injury. (Source: The Washington Post)

Fantasy Impact: Rivera added that he could "envision" Smith entering the team's quarterback competition if he continues to progress well. The 36-year-old broke his leg in 2018 and eventually required 17 surgeries. It's a heart breaking story but it's tough to view Smith as a genuine option to start until we see him actually playing on a football field. Dwayne Haskins should still be viewed as the team's starting quarterback.

Ben Roethlisberger worked out on Monday and on Tuesday morning said "My arm feels really good. I threw a lot of balls yesterday.” When asked about waking up the next morning he said “it feels great.” He also disclosed that he tore three flexor tendons off the bone which is what required the elbow surgery. (Source: Aditi Kinkhabwala on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: At 38-years-old, Roethlisberger's return has been watched closely by fans and experts. There was a lot of uncertainty as to whether he would make a comeback at all after opting for elbow surgery last fall. After almost a year off though, Roethlisberger is saying that he is throwing pain-free and appears to have made a full recovery. In 2018 (Roethlisberger's last full season) he threw for a league-high 5,129 yards on a whopping 675 attempts (fourth most of all-time). He'll have some adjustments this season as he'll be without superstar Antonio Brown for the first time since 2010, but a developing corps of Juju Smith-Schuster, James Washington, and Diontae Johnson should benefit from having the gunslinger veteran back under center.

Logan Thomas is projected to be Washington’s top tight end, per Bryan Manning of Sports Illustrated. (Source: Sports Illustrated )

Fantasy Impact: Thomas signed a two-year with Washington and will be the team’s top tight end. “The 6-foot-6, 250-pound Thomas signed a two-year deal with Washington and immediately became the team’s top tight end. He started 16 games for Detroit in 2019; however, he had just 16 receptions,” Manning added. He was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Wednesday, but it’s not clear if he tested positive or came close to someone who did. Thomas will have to quarantine for 10 days and hopes to rejoin the team afterwards. The 29-year-old Is expected to be Washington’s top TE and is worth selecting in tight end premium leagues.

Panthers LB Christian Miller has opted out of the 2020 season. (Source: Myles Simmons on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: Miller is the second Carolina player to opt out this year. The 2019 fourth-round pick appeared in seven games for the Panthers last year.

The 49ers activated WR Richie James from the reserve/COVID-19 list. (Source: David Lombardi on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: The 24-year-old is still recovering from wrist surgery and is expected to be out until mid-August. He'll provide receiver depth for San Francisco this season.

Minnesota Golden Gophers WR Rashod Bateman, the No. 19 overall prospect for the 2021 NFL Draft according to Todd McShay, has opted out of the 2020 college football season. (Source: Field Yates on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: Arguably one of the best receivers in the B1G opts out after a breakout season in 2019. Instead of working around the stringent protocols that are sure to be in place for the 2020 college football season, Bateman has instead decided to prepare for the upcoming 2021 NFL Draft. We could see other players follow suit, but he becomes one of the biggest names to make the decision to opt out thus far.

Jaguars QB Gardner Minshew II has been activated off the reserve/COVID-19 list. (Source: Ian Rapoport on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: A bit of a scare for Minshew fantasy owners when he went on the list a few days ago, but he’s now cleared and good to go heading into the preseason. He could surprise people as a solid QB2 option this season with QB1 upside due to his rushing ability.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have officially signed six-time Pro Bowl RB LeSean McCoy.

Fantasy Impact: The former Eagles, Bills, and Chiefs RB will continue to wear #25 for the Bucs. While he may just be a shell of his old self, it’s unlikely head coach Bruce Arians doesn’t find a way to utilize the veteran back. This just muddies the waters in what we thought would be a backfield split between Ronald Jones II and Ke’Shawn Vaughn. While McCoy really could just put a damper on any value Dare Ogunbowale had, I’m likely avoiding the Tampa Bay backfield in re-draft leagues. That being said, Vaughn is a buy and someone to target in dynasty leagues.

Browns S Karl Joseph (foot) has been placed on the active/PUP list from an injury that ended his 2019 season with the Raiders. (Source: Jake Trotter on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: The former 2016 first-round pick joins the Browns after four productive season with the Raiders. There is no new setback or injury for Joseph and he is on schedule to play when the season kicks off in just over a month.

Isaiah Wilson, the No. 29 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, has officially signed his four-year rookie contract with the Tennessee Titans. (Source: Jim Wyatt on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: In a related transaction, Wilson was also removed from the reserve/COVID-19 list today. He’ll likely compete with Dennis Kelly for the starting RT position this season for the Titans.

LB Anthony Barr has been activated from the Vikings' reserve/COVID-19 list. (Source: Minnesota Vikings on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: Barr was activated off the reserve/COVID-19 list and has been cleared to return to action. He racked up 79 tackles, 1.5 sacks, one interception and one forced fumble across 14 games in 2019. Barr is one of the leaders of the Vikings defense and is expected to return to his starting SLB role. The 28-year-old is currently 84th among all linebackers in the latest expert consensus rankings.

TE Will Dissly (Achilles) passed his physical, but he is still expected to be eased along slowly, per Seahawsks HC Pete Carroll. (Source: Joe Fann on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: Dissly tore his ACL in early October and has now suffered season-ending injuries in back-to-back campaigns. He passed his physical, but the Seahawks will bring him back slowly. Seattle signed Greg Olsen this off-season to be the team's No. 1 TE. Dissly is expected to be ready by Week 1, but with the arrival of Olsen, he's mainly a stash in tight end premium leagues. The 24-year-old is currently 29th among all tight ends in the latest expert consensus rankings.

The Seahawks are monitoring free agent WR Antonio Brown, per Brady Henderson of ESPN. (Source: ESPN )

Fantasy Impact: Brown was suspended eight games by the NFL, concluding it's investigation. He could be suspended additional games following the conclusion of his Florida cases. The Seahawks are one of the teams monitoring Brown. "What I'd say to you is what we always say because it's what we always do and who we are," Seahawks HC Pete Carroll said when asked about the team's rumored interest in Brown. "Seahawks GM John Schneider is competing at every turn. There's never been a process, unless we just missed it, that we weren't involved with to understand what the chances were of helping our club. He's all over it. He understands what's going on right now, as much as you can. It's a very complex situation. We just need to see where it fits somewhere down the road. That's all I got for you." More teams could be interested in AB now that the league knows he will miss at least eight games of the season. Brown is worth stashing in all league formats with the hopes an NFL team does give him another shot.

Seahawks RB Rashaad Penny has officially been placed on the PUP list after suffering a torn ACL in Week 14 last season. (Source: Bob Condotta on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: Placing Penny on the PUP was expected as he’s rehabbing from a torn ACL he suffered in December last season. Head coach Pete Carroll told reporters that Penny will report to camp on Thursday to start the testing process, but that the team is in no rush to speed up his recovery timeline. From the sound of it, Penny could miss at least half the season, which led to the Seahawks signing veteran RB Carlos Hyde in the offseason. Chris Carson (hip) is coming back from an injury of his own, but Carroll has said he should be all-systems-go come the regular season. Carson looks like a solid lock to be an RB2 with obvious RB1 upside this season.

The New York Jets have waived WR Quincy Enunwa, who was set to spend the entire season on the PUP list with a neck injury. (Source: Ian Rapoport on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: It’s been a rollercoaster ride of late for Enunwa who just hasn’t been able to stay healthy in New York. At least he’s guaranteed $6M for the 2020 season, but I’m sure he’d rather be playing in the NFL. 2021 will be his next real opportunity to join another team and see if he can still play.

Jordan Reed has come to agreement on a one-year heavily incentivized deal with the 49er's. (Source: Adam Schefter on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: Reed's potential and history will always make him a target in fantasy drafts but at 30 years old, his ceiling will probably never be reached. After a 2015 season where Reed caught 87 catches for 952 yards and 11 touchdowns in just 14 games he has struggled to stay healthy. Over the next three seasons he was only able to suit up for 31 games (21 starts) where he totaled 147 catches for 1,455 yards and 10 TD's. Now he'll be playing behind superstar tight end George Kittle on a run-heavy team and he will see a dramatic drop in targets per game. Reed's days as a fantasy-relevant tight end are likely behind him.

Odell Beckham Jr. was quoted in a WSJ article saying “I just feel like the season shouldn’t happen and I’m prepared for it to not happen and I wouldn’t mind not having it. We’re not ready for the season, so why are we trying to push forward?‘' That interview was two weeks ago but just published on Monday morning. He has said that since seeing how safe the Browns facility is, he has no plans to opt out of the 2020 season. (Source: Mary Kay Cabot on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: Beckham Jr. caused a lot of controversy with his initial quote about not wanting to play in 2020, raising speculation that the superstar receiver may opt out. He quickly went in damage control mode and backtracked on his quotes, saying that he still plans to play in 2020. Beckham is coming off a career low in receptions (74) and yards (1,035) but still being drafted as a WR1 in most leagues. Our expert consensus rankings have him as the 12th overall wide receiver this year but he has arguably the highest ceiling of any player in the league.

Per source, Broncos starting RT Ja’Wuan James is opting out of the 2020 NFL season due to concerns amidst the coronavirus pandemic. (Source: Mike Klis on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: Big loss for the Broncos as they lose their starting RT for the season. James signed a four-year, $51M contract with Denver last offseason. They’ll now need to find a replacement for James to help protect their biggest potential investment in QB Drew Lock.