The trade deadline is next Tuesday at 4pm. Guess right, and you could have a weekly starter down the stretch (like possibly Jonathon Brooks if Carolina deals Chuba Hubbard). Guess wrong, and you're stuck with a bench stash or worse (like Brooks if Carolina *keeps* Hubbard).
Yesterday was pretty eventful for trades and injuries. First, a comment about Hubbard (one of my favorite players to speculate on, as I've made all too obvious). The Panthers reportedly plan to keep him in the fold, presumably signing him to a multi-year contract this offseason, if not sooner. He'll turn 26 next summer.
I'm not convinced. If the Panthers had hinted that they wanted to unload Hubbard, his value would have dropped. Suggesting he's not on the market seems smart. Unless this franchise is playing two-dimensional chess instead of four-dimensional chess, in which case we'll take them at their word, leaving second-round rookie Brooks in fantasy limbo for the foreseeable future.
Speaking of Carolina, Diontae Johnson is now a Raven. Hooray? It's a net negative for pretty much everyone tangentially involved. After weeks of wondering which two (or sometimes three) Baltimore receivers would step up, now we have to contend with Johnson, who's found plenty of NFL success despite 2 1/2 seasons of catching passes thrown by Bryce Young, Andy Dalton, Kenny Pickett, and Mitch Trubisky.
The Ravens will continue to be run-friendly. That makes Zay Flowers more of a hold-your-breath streamer in the short term, while Rashod Bateman sadly might be droppable in small- and medium-sized leagues. Fortunately, Mark Andrews has re-distanced himself from Isaiah Likely, so the impact to Andrews should be only marginal. It's also a win for the dominant Lamar Jackson, who after throwing to shallow WR corps for years, finally has three impact wideouts. If one gets hurt, he shouldn't miss a beat.
And while Adam Thielen remains on the shelf, rookie Xavier Legette looks like an ascending option in a bottom-tier passing attack. Exciting, right? Well not so fast. Undrafted rookie Jalen Coker stepped up in Johnson's (and Thielen's) absence this past weekend. It's too soon to know whether Coker or Legette will be streamable when Thielen returns.
Meanwhile, Stefon Diggs is out for the season with a torn ACL. This summer I lamented (kind of) that the Texans let Noah Brown walk. Washington gave him $2.6 million. It would've been fairly easy for Houston to keep him, and given the injury histories of Nico Collins and John Metchie, retaining a capable journeyman like Brown would give this title-contending franchise much-needed depth.
Regardless, Collins is expected to return this week. Maybe he'll need one game to show fantasy managers that he can handle a full workload. Then it'll be him and Tank Dell, just like old times, with either Metchie or Xavier Hutchinson playing a meaningful tertiary role. Hutchinson has been earning more snaps and is widely expected to be the #3. But don't count out Metchie, who -- like Bateman -- is a legit talent with terrible injury luck. He's stashable in dynasty leagues and could push Hutchinson this year.
Finally, Anthony Richardson mercifully has been benched. Joe Flacco's return to the starting lineup is great news for those rostering Josh Downs and Michael Pittman. The longtime signal caller had an incredible run of five consecutive starts with 300+ yards passing before returning to earth in Week 6. For context, Patrick Mahomes has thrown for 300+ only twice in his last 16 starts.
The only potential hiccup is Indy's rough upcoming stretch, as their next six contests are @Vikings, Bills, @Jets, Lions, @Patriots, and @Broncos. With a 4-4 record, the Colts have no time to waste on developing a QB who might need a lot more developing. Flacco probably will keep the job as long as the Colts remain postseason contenders.
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