FANTASYMAXXING

NEWS & NOTES

1. 1
   JAX: Jacksonville is down to two healthy running backs

   Bhayshul Tuten (illness) and LeQuint Allen (undisclosed) both came out of cutdown day with health concerns, which leaves Chris Rodriguez and Ameer Abdullah as the only backs on the roster who are ready to go. Tuten is the one that matters here, because the job was built for him. An illness ten days out is not a season-changer, but the Jaguars have nothing behind him if it lingers.
2. 2
   DET: Isiah Pacheco goes on injured reserve before he ever suited up for Detroit

   An MCL sprain cost him most of camp and a back injury has now put him on IR, which rules him out for at least the first four games. He was signed in March to be the early-down complement to Jahmyr Gibbs, so those carries are now unassigned into October. Nothing about this touches Gibbs, but the Lions have no experienced back left to protect him.
3. 3
   ATL: Atlanta still has not named a Week 1 quarterback

   The Falcons say Michael Penix will start eventually this season, but the knee has left the opener in Pittsburgh genuinely open between Penix and Tua Tagovailoa. That is a live situation for anyone holding Drake London or Tyler Allgeier, because the two quarterbacks throw a very different ball. Watch for a decision in the back half of this week.
4. 4
   NO: Alvin Kamara is still not practicing

   He remained sidelined again Thursday with the MCL sprain, which puts real doubt on Week 1 with under two weeks to go. New Orleans has already lost Jordyn Tyson and Devin Neal to injured reserve, so the offense is thin in every direction at once. Kendre Miller is the one holding the backfield together if Kamara is not ready.
5. 5
   NYG: Malik Nabers is cleared for contact but will not commit to the opener

   He is out of the no-contact jersey, has been cutting and landing on the repaired knee, and took part in nine of ten practices in West Virginia. John Harbaugh called a Week 1 return reasonable to assume. Nabers himself would not say it, and after a full ACL and meniscus repair that caution is worth taking at face value.
6. 6
   PIT: The Steelers confirmed a real split, not a lead back

   Rico Dowdle and Jaylen Warren are both slated for regular roles this season, per reporting out of Pittsburgh this week. That ends the summer-long argument that one of them was about to separate. Both are usable, neither is safe, and the passing-down work is the tiebreaker to watch in September.
7. 7
   NYJ: Breece Hall is expected back for Week 1

   The groin that shut him down late in camp is not going to cost him the opener against Tennessee. Hall had been the one genuine question mark in a Jets offense that has few other places to put the ball. Treat him as a full-go until a Wednesday report says otherwise.
8. 8
   NE: TreVeyon Henderson missed Thursday's practice with an ankle

   He was not on the field at all, which is a step back from the limited work earlier in the week. New England has been splitting this backfield with Rhamondre Stevenson all summer, and an absence now hands Stevenson the reps that decide who opens the season on early downs. One missed practice is not a story yet, but two would be.
9. 9
   GB: Tucker Kraft is running without limitations

   He moved through Wednesday's practice with no visible restriction, which is the last box the knee had left to check. Green Bay throws to the tight end as much as any team in the league and the ACL was the only thing holding this back. He should be treated as a full participant heading into the opener.
10. 10
    CHI: Two Bears scares Thursday, and both look like nothing

    Rome Odunze left practice with an apparent right leg injury and was described afterward as should be all good, while D'Andre Swift walked off with what is believed to be a cramp. Neither is being treated as a multi-week problem inside the building. Worth one more check Friday given how much of this offense runs through those two.

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