Morning Football Update: Quarterback Questions
Dear NFL: Please don't make us watch the Miami Dolphins again this season. If you'd be kind enough to black out all their home and road games, football fans everywhere will appreciate it. Thanks.
On to the news:
- Raiders QB Jason Campbell hopes to be out for only six weeks with his broken collarbone, but that sounds optimistic, and if Campbell has been your second quarterback, you can cut him. Kyle Boller is the new starter, but the Raiders are rumored to be after Bengals holdout Carson Palmer. If you need to grab and start Boller due to a bye-week issue, don't expect much, and don't get too attached to him.
- Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan says he won't decide between QBs Rex Grossman and John Beck until Wednesday. Grossman was picked off four times against the Eagles on Sunday, and while the team's fans are obviously fed up with him already, that doesn't necessarily mean Shanahan is. It's hard to counsel adding Beck as a free agent tonight unless you already own Grossman and need to hedge your bets.
- The Vikings will also announce their QB decision on Wednesday after benching Donovan McNabb for rookie Christian Ponder on Sunday night. If all three of these teams choose to go with their new signal callers, I'd rank them Beck, Boller, Ponder for fantasy purposes.
- Don't forget your byes this week. The Bills, Bengals, Patriots, Giants, Eagles and 49ers are off. The running back position will be missing some big names in Week 7.
- Lions RB Jahvid Best suffered a concussion against the 49ers on Sunday, and his Week 7 status is up in the air. If you own Best, there's nothing to do except wait, and scout the free-agent wire if your backups are on byes this week.
- Cowboys RB Felix Jones is expected to miss 2-4 weeks with a high ankle sprain. After Jones got hurt on Sunday, rookie DeMarco Murray (10 carries, 32 yards) got the bulk of the workload. Murray hasn't looked great, and his offensive line won't give him a lot of room to run, but he's not a bad free-agent target if you need to fill a hole. He'll be busy, and that's half the battle. Also, he does get to face the Rams' league-worst rushing defense (163 yards per game) this week.
- Don't count on an Andre Johnson appearance against the Titans in Week 7.
- The Rams' acquisition of WR Brandon Lloyd from the Broncos pretty much makes their other wideouts useless for fantasy owners, unless you want to take a shot at slot man Greg Salas in a PPR league. It should help QB Sam Bradford, though Bradford's status for Week 7 is in question due to a high ankle sprain. Assuming that Bradford can play, he's an interesting fantasy bet for the rest of the season. He's got a shiny new receiver, and plays in a pass-heavy offense.
- On the Broncos' side of the trade, injury-plagued Demaryius Thomas becomes an interesting fantasy free-agent option, as he's scheduled to make his 2011 debut this week. Thomas is very talented, and should be pretty good if he can stay on the field. Eric Decker is already owned in most leagues, and should get a healthy number of targets from new QB Tim Tebow.
- The severity of Peyton Hillis' hamstring injury is TBD, but I'd pick up Montario Hardesty if I could. The Hillis/Browns relationship gets weirder all the time, with head coach Pat Shurmur sounding uneasy when he talks about the guy (watch this video and see if you agree), and trade rumors surfacing.
- Will Chargers TE Antonio Gates return to action this week. Maybe, but he did practice Monday. The San Diego Union-Tribune story at the link reports that RBs Ryan Mathews and Mike Tolbert are ready to go after suffering injuries in Week 5.
- Redskins TE Chris Cooley will have surgery on his fractured left index finger and be out for awhile. Fred Davis had six catches for 95 yards against the Eagles, and once again looks to be a strong fantasy option.
- It doesn't sound like Seahawks QB Tarvaris Jackson (pectoral muscle) will be ready to go this week. If you're looking for a DST, the Browns at home against Charlie Whitehurst sounds good.
- More guys whose status is unclear for Week 7: Bucs RB LeGarrette Blount and Falcons WR Julio Jones, It's only Tuesday, so we'll just need to stay tuned.
- This article makes it sound like the Chiefs won't be shy about giving Jackie Battle plenty of carries this week. He's not still available in your league, right?
- The Bills are making C.J. Spiller a receiver due to a rash of injuries, and he caught five passes on Sunday. Spiller will still qualify at running back in most leagues, and this move could improve his PPR value. Don't run out and grab Spiller, but see how he does in Week 8.
- Joel Beall will be in the FOXSports.com fantasy chat room today at 3 p.m. ET. Stop by and ask him lots of questions, OK?
See you back here Friday morning.
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