Dynasty News, Week 11

Photo: USA Today Sports

Here's a quick rundown of the top dynasty news that matters.

QB Kyler Murray, Arizona

Kyler Murray has been fully healthy for a couple of weeks, but the Cardinals waited until Week 10 to have their star passer play. It was a curious situation. After trading Joshua Dobbs to Minnesota – and giving rookie Clayton Tune one start – it was time for Murray to play. He signed the controversial 5-year, $230,500,000 contract, including a $29,035,000 signing bonus and $159,797,000 guaranteed with a clause – now removed – requiring Murray to spend more time studying game tape and less time playing video games. He tore his ACL last year and is just now healthy enough to play. Arizona will have a high draft pick and will be looking to evaluate Murray's future with the team. After the 2024 season, the team would eat $33 million in dead cap if they traded their star quarterback. The number drops to $20 million if his departure happens after the 2025 season. Last week, Ian Rapoport reported that Murray was "really engaged" with the team during his rehab and recovery. The NFL has few star quarterbacks, and the Cardinals could get a fortune if they traded Murray. The thought of Caleb Williams on a rookie contract is attractive. But Murray is just 26 years of age and in his prime. This will be an interesting situation to monitor.

QB Derek Carr, New Orleans

Carr left Sunday's loss after a big hit. Sunday night, Ian Rapoport tweeted, "#Saints QB Derek Carr, who left today's game with a concussion and shoulder injury, is hopeful to be able to return after the bye — which comes next week, the perfect time." After a string of quality outings, Carr did not have a good game against the Vikings, completing 13-of-18 passes for 110 yards and no touchdowns. He was replaced by Jameis Winston, who played even worse than Carr, completing just 13 of his 25 pass attempts for 122 yards, but he had two scoring throws which helped buoy the fantasy lines of Chris Olave and A.T. Perry. We expect Carr back in Week 12 after the bye.

QB Carson Wentz, LA Rams

After a clunker of an outing, the Rams ditched Brett Rypien and signed veteran Carson Wentz. The bye week gives Wentz a little time to get up to speed. Los Angeles tried – and failed – to bring John Wolford back to the team after letting him go in the offseason. Wolford was on the Buccaneers practice squad and chose to stay in Tampa Bay versus going back to Los Angeles. Wentz has proven to be far from his 2017 prime but represents a band-aid while Matthew Stafford nurses his thumb injury. Dynasty managers of the Rams receivers should be elated that the team is seeking an upgrade of Rypien. Stafford's thumb injury may linger, so Wentz may see action. Los Angeles is in the thick of a playoff hunt and needs good quarterback play to offset its poor defense.

QB Matthew Stafford, LA Rams

Many have wondered aloud about the future of Stafford. He appeared on the Pat McAfee Show last week and said, "I love playing this game, I love competing. I love being in the locker room. I'll never get that again, so I get as many opportunities to do that as I can. Obviously had a lot of success in our first year and trying to duplicate that this year, next year, whenever it is. I enjoy playing too much to hang it up." The bye week came at a perfect time for Stafford's thumb to heal. We expect him to play at least one more season. The Rams are climbing out of the salary cap hole created when they went "all-in" for titles, and Stafford is a great fit in coach McVay's offense. Dynasty managers should expect the Rams to draft his potential successor in the 2024 NFL Draft. This season has exposed the lack of succession planning, partly due to the lack of draft picks and salary cap space.

WR Tee Higgins, Cincinnati

Cincinnati has experienced injuries to the receiver position like no other season during Joe Burrow's career. JaMarr Chase hurt his back in Week 9 but still found a way to play this past week. Tee Higgins, on the other hand, did not play Sunday. Ian Rapoport tweeted late last week, "#Bengals WR Tee Higgins, who did not practice today after injuring his hamstring in practice yesterday, is expected to miss this Sunday's game vs the #Texans, sources say. He'll be evaluated on a week-to-week basis going forward." The week-to-week designation probably puts him out of Thursday's game. Hamstring injuries linger with receivers. Sadly, this injury came after Higgins' best game of the season and as he prepares for free agency this offseason. The Bengals do not have much at the position outside of Chase and Higgins, so it is foolish to chase points from backups during Higgins' absence. In the loss to Houston, Cincinnati relied more on the tight ends with Higgins sidelined. His absence was felt as the Texans were focused on stopping Chase.

WR Joshua Palmer, LA Chargers

Palmer has missed a few weeks with a knee sprain and is unlikely to be back in the near term. When asked about Palmer's return timetable and if he would return this season, coach Staley said, "No expectations." The injury came at a bad team for Palmer and the Chargers as Mike Williams was lost for the season just a few weeks before. For now, it will be first-round rookie Quentin Johnston trying to get up to speed. Johnston has not played well in 2023 and this gives him a golden opportunity to shine. He had a good fantasy game in the loss to Detroit with a touchdown grab but also dropped an 80-yard score. Also, Jaylen Guyton is now healthy and has regained his field-stretching role. Guyton had a good game Sunday, catching 4 of his 6 targets for 41 yards and a score. The Chargers offense put up 38 points but still missed Palmer's consistent hands.

WR Nico Collins, Houston

The Nico Collins injury has been a mystery for dynasty managers. Aaron Wilson is plugged into the Texans tweeted last Friday, "On #Texans wide receiver Nico Collins' strained calf. He got hurt against #Buccaneers and it became apparent during warmups Wednesday that he couldn't go, hence the limited designation on the injury report, but didn't have any practice time. Now, out Thursday and again today." He missed Sunday's game, and this week's game against Arizona is not a certainty. It was Collins' absence that allowed Noah Brown to emerge in Week 9, and a prolonged recovery could thrust Brown and rookie Tank Dell into fantasy viability on a weekly basis. Brown and Dell had great outings in the win over Cincinnati. Brown reeled in 7 of his 8 targets for 172 yards. This big game comes after last week's 153-yard game with a touchdown last week against Tampa Bay. Dynasty managers should see Brown as the beneficiary of Collins' absence. Dell saw a whopping 14 pass targets, catching 6 for 56 yards and a touchdown. The Houston receivers are benefiting from the awesome play of quarterback C.J. Stroud. Stroud has 826 passing yards total in the past two weeks.

WR Michael Thomas, New Orleans

TE Greg Dulcich, Denver

Last week, coach Sean Payton gave an injury update on Dulcich. He told reporters that the athletic tight end is making progress and is seeing specialists. Beat reporter Mike Klis added that one of the specialists is "examining his gait". Dulcich has missed several games with a hamstring injury and is likely to miss several more. Payton's answer to reporters did not engender confidence that Dulcich would be back on the field soon.

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