This is either the slowest season in history or the fastest. It seems like each day is the day when something huge might happen--and sometimes it does. Yesterday the NFL's chief medical officer, Dr. Allen Sills, acknowledged pausing this season could happen. And with 26 players and staff members testing positive in the past week, we're dangerously close (I think) to a tipping point. Postponing one game is manageable. Postponing 3-4 becomes is troubling. Postponing games each week for several weeks becomes untenable.
From a fantasy perspective, plan ahead. If somehow the NFL stops and picks back up in the spring, some IR'd players might be back in time for a playoff push. Saquon Barkley? Probably not, even under the most aggressive recovery times (and why would the Giants risk it?). But in the next couple weeks we can feel confident (unfortunately) that some guys could get knocked out for a while. Your IR spot(s) become that much more useful if you can stash a weekly fantasy starter with almost no chance of returning in December--but a good chance of returning in March, if needed.
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Tonight's contest is between the underrated 3-1 Bucs and the overrated 3-1 Bears. As of writing this, it's still unclear if Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Justin Watson, or Scotty Miller will play. Leonard Fournette is expected to miss this one, and O.J. Howard is clearly out. It's an insane development. I don't remember another time when so many key offensive players have been sidelined this early in the season. Could we see a little Tyler Johnson? Could Cameron Brate be the best first-string turned third-string tight end to ever play the game?
Whatever happens, Ronald Jones has a clear path for massive usage if he shows well early, and if Tampa Bay's defense shuts down Chicago's troublesome offense. There's a 50-50 chance Nick Foles gets benched by the third quarter. It will probably come down to whether Allen Robinson bails him out. David Montgomery's breakout party will have to wait at least one more week--if not one more season, since he'd be a far better asset in a competent offense.
So not much to say definitely about this one, except the Bucs can win this with Gronk and Brate leading the receiving corps. So don't be surprised if the Bucs play it safe and keep most of their wideouts off the field so they're ready for their Week 6 showdown against the Packers.