This is basically a non-answer from Vrabel, who said the team will see how Brown progresses through the week and how he responds to treatment. Brown missed Week 8’s game against the Dolphins after he suffered what was described as a flare up” of a knee issue that has plagued him for some time. It’s far too early to assume Brown will be able to go in Week 9 against the Packers given the timing of his injury last week, so his status will be one to keep an eye on throughout the week.
It was reported on Sunday that Hall was “hoping for next week,” which is now here, as the Jets prepare to take on the Chiefs in Kansas City. After logging a week of limited practices and entering last weekend as questionable, Hall was still scratched from Week 8’s game against the Raiders, leading some to believe he had suffered a setback in his recovery. Hopefully that was more of a case of the Jets exercising caution with their RB1, especially with Braelon Allen playing well in his absence. Hall’s status will still be one to monitor, but this is a very optimistic report on him to start the week.
The Jets are 2-6 and Braelon Allen has put together a solid few weeks in Hall’s absence. As a result, there has been some speculation as to whether or not the Jets would consider moving Hall, who has missed the last five games with a quad injury. In addition to saying the Jets are “in the business of keeping good players,” Glenn also was sure to remind the media that Hall is “one of our better players,” suggesting there are no plans to move the 25-year-old back at this year’s deadline. If he’s able to play next week against the Chiefs, Hall would fall somewhere in the RB2 ranks in his return.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport was the first to report the injury. This is expected to be a season-ender for Hamilton, who has totaled 16 tackles and a half sack this season. Hamilton has earned a 74.0 PFF defensive grade this season and is a key contributor top-five run defense.
Diaby will undergo an MRI to confirm the severity of the injury, but according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the team his hopeful that this injury will “not cause him to miss extended time.” Diaby has 16 tackles, three sacks, and one interception this season, with all three of his sacks coming in the Bucs’ Week 7 win over the Panthers. Even if he doesn’t miss too much time, it’s possible he’ll be sidelined for at least Week 9’s game against the Bears on Sunday Night Football.
Even in the best-case scenario, Huntley felt like a long shot to play in Thursday night’s game against the Jaguars, but it sounds like this is going to be a multi-week absence. An MRI will confirm the severity of his injury in the days ahead, but for now, rookie UDFA Joe Fagnano is expected to draw the start against the Jags for the 4-4 Ravens. Lamar Jackson, who will be placed on IR in the coming days, will undergo surgery to repair the thumb he dislocated in Sunday’s game, meaning the Ravens will bring in a veteran QB through a trade or free agency in the near future. It should go without saying, but all of the Ravens’ key fantasy assets will receive a noticeable downgrade with Jackson and Huntley both out.
Speaking with the media early Monday morning, Barkley said he was informed that the team would not be trading him despite falling to 2-6 on the season after Sunday night’s loss to Washington. Barkley rushed 13 times for 30 yards and a touchdown in the loss while catching one pass for another 24 yards. The soon-to-be 30-year-old back could have decent trade value for the Eagles in what is shaping up to be a lost season, but it sounds like he’s in the team’s future plans heading into 2027. Barkley is playing through injuries and has just 56 carries for 274 yards and two touchdowns this season, and has caught seven passes for another 41 yards. Assuming he can get in another week of practice this week, he’ll be a fringe RB1/RB2 in Week 9 against the Giants.
White averaged just over two yards per carry on his first eight attempts before breaking loose for a 33-yard gain entering the final two minutes of the fourth quarter. He would find the end zone two plays later to salvage an otherwise underwhelming fantasy outing while operating in a three-way timeshare with Austin Ekeler and Jeremy McNichols. Although White’s fantasy value is clearly higher in the absence of Jacory Croskey-Merritt, his performance in Week 8 goes down as his first fantasy-viable start through the first eight weeks of the 2026 season. Fantasy managers are likely better off exploring alternatives ahead of a poor matchup against the Rams in Week 9.
A 53-yard reception toward the end of the third quarter did the bulk of the damage for Burks, who continues to give the Commanders their best deep option in the absence of Terry McLaurin. That doesn’t necessarily mean he carries weekly fantasy value considering the poor state of a Washington offense that got its first win in a Jayden Daniels start since 5 October of 2025. Burks is likely best left on the waiver wire ahead of a Week 9 meeting with the Rams.
Williams mostly operated in a short area role but added a 30-yard grab up the seam in the fourth quarter to pad his counting stats for fantasy managers hoping on a second-half rookie breakout. While the fantasy returns have yet to pop, managers can continue to hold the electric rookie in the hopes his role grows in the coming weeks. That said, he is likely best left on fantasy benches until his route structure improves.
Offensive coordinator David Blough ha made good on his promise not to increase the route participation or snap rate of the veteran receiver in the absence of Terry McLaurin, effectively keeping Diggs relegated to a situational role primarily from the slot. That has left Treylon Burks and rookie Antonio Williams to lead the team in routes the previous two weeks while limiting the true ceiling of Diggs in the process. Consider Diggs a touchdown-dependent FLEX option in a difficult matchup against the Rams in Week 9.
Okonkwo flashed his athletic ability with a full-stretch reception in the second half but it was not enough to overshadow a first quarter fumble. The spry veteran has now been held to four receptions or fewer in four of five appearances in the low volume Washington pass offense, unable to return consistent fantasy value through the absence of Terry McLaurin. He is best left on fantasy benches in a Week 9 matchup against the Rams.
According to Zrebiec, Fagnano “was hobbled by game’s end, after he took a low and penalized hit” from Bills DL Ed Oliver. Fagnano said he and the team will have to wait and “see” how he is feeling in the coming days, noting that “you’re always going to have bumps and bruises” after a football game. Lamar Jackson (thumb) is already headed to injured reserve and Tyler Huntley will undergo an MRI tomorrow to assess a potential turf toe injury. Zrebiec rightly writes that the Ravens “will almost certainly have to bring in at least one quarterback, if not two,” this week. He lists Anthony Richardson and Tua Tagovailoa as potential trade targets. At this point, it is unclear who will start for the Ravens on Thursday night.
The Eagles scored the first 10 points of the game as they looked to be in control early. Things quickly went south following numerous mental mistakes, penalties, and poor execution, eventually leading to the Commanders scoring 27 straight to send Philadelphia to their sixth consecutive loss. The Eagles continue to have no downfield ability while playing through mounting injuries, with their longest play of the game coming on the final play from scrimmage on a meaningless down. That leaves very little room for error with things like penalties, drops, and sacks, all of which were present in Week 8. McKee and the Eagles limp into another divisional matchup in Week 9 against the Giants, where McKee will carry negligible fantasy value.
Barkley showed clear limitations as he played through hamstring and back injuries, routinely spotted on the sideline riding the stationary bike and getting stretched out by trainers as he rotated with Elijah Mitchel. The Philadelphia offense remained largely ineffective as they gained only 268 yards of total offense, while Barkley’s longest carry of the game went for only five yards against a solid Washington run defense. Fantasy managers will want to consider their alternatives when the Eagles face the Giants in Week 9.
Lemon led the team in receiving for the second consecutive game without both DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks, although the returns were nothing to write home about in Week 8. Largely confined to a short area role, Lemon’s nine targets were mostly the product of the offense’s inability to attack downfield and carry weak per-target upside, a trend likely to continue for as long as Tanner McKee remains under center. That leaves fantasy managers in a precarious position heading into a Week 9 showdown against the Giants, where better options likely exist.
Goedert also committed a drop that was intercepted in the down performance, although the play in question was overturned through penalty. The veteran tight end continues to be limited by an ineffective offense with Tanner McKee under center in what has quickly become a lost season after the team’s sixth consecutive loss. Fantasy managers are likely better off looking for viable alternatives ahead of a Week 9 divisional clash with the Giants.
Daniels started the game going 4-of-10 passing in the first quarter, which included an interception that was called back due to penalty, two false start penalties in the red zone, and a missed field goal, causing the Commanders to quickly fall into a 10-point deficit. They would clean things up from there as they rattled off 27 unanswered points to improve to 2-4-1 as they chase the division-leading Giants. A 53-yard completion to Treylon Burks and 30-yard completions to Antonio Williams and Stefon Diggs gave the offense explosive plays in key situations during the final three frames to boost Daniels’ counting stats despite poor efficiency. The win was the first victory in a Daniels start since 5 October of the 2025 season as the Commanders saved their season, at least for the moment. They get a difficult matchup against the Rams in Week 9, where Daniels will remain a middling QB2.
Starting with the positive, Waddle found the end zone for the second time this year and got going over the middle of the field with a 35-yard missile from Nix early in the second quarter. It’s his longest catch since Week 2, when he erupted for 138 yards on eight receptions, including a 49-yarder. On the downside, Waddle managed a pedestrian 19 percent target share and finished third on the team in receiving. He found the end zone and still scored a grand total of 12.9 PPR points. The Broncos’ offense is still a work in progress, even if today was a step in the right direction. Waddle will get another week in the WR3 mix when the Broncos take on the Panthers.
Sean Payton talked earlier this week about getting the ball in Mims’ hands more. Mims had two catches in each of his previous three games. He had two catches today. Maybe you can point to Mims’ two catches as a reason to believe Payton was telling the truth, but the role itself was almost completely unchanged. There’s nothing for fantasy managers to see here.
Stevens said that this trade “could happen at any moment,” telling Broncos Country that they “might not want to go to sleep.” While this could be hyperbole, it sounds like Stevens is saying the trade could go down tonight. Stevens said he’s had conversations with multiple people on the matter, and the Broncos “know that this is not the time to wait and develop” young running backs. Stevens closed by reminding viewers that the Broncos were very interested in Breece Hall at one point, and added that there are likely other backup plans that the Broncos could be considering.
Sutton’s 53 yards today are now a season-high, as are his four receptions. That, however, largely speaks to how unproductive he has been this year. Sutton has more games under 20 yards than over 40. He also has just one touchdown through eight games. His signs of life versus the Chiefs will keep him in the WR5 ranks for Week 9, but the ceiling remains nonexistent.
Engram was not a meaningful part of the Broncos’ offense, per usual. He has three catches for 15 yards over his past three appearances. It goes without saying, but Engram isn’t even on the TE2 radar for Week 9.
Fittingly, Nix’s longest completion of the day was a dump-off to Jonah Coleman that the rookie turned into a 51-yard gain. Nix has two completions of 50+ yards this year. Both have gone to running backs on throws near or behind the line of scrimmage. On the other hand, when Nix did push the ball downfield versus Kansas City, he was largely effective. He completed 4-of-6 throws farther than nine yards downfield. It was a small step in the right direction after weeks of middling production on intermediate and downfield shots. Nix will look to build on this performance versus a beatable Carolina defense in Week 9. He will sit somewhere near the top of the QB2 ranks.
This is the first time this season that Steichen has left open the possibility of replacing Daniel Jones as the team’s official starter. Anthony Richardson replaced him in-game today, with just under 12 minutes remaining. It seems as though Richardson, or even fellow backup Riley Leonard, could end up playing next week against the Cowboys’ fantasy-friendly defense.