Downs suffered an ankle injury early in training camp and has been sidelined ever since. Both head coach Shane Steichen and Downs himself have been optimistic about him returning soon, so we could see the second-year wideout back in action as early as Indy’s Week 2 matchup with the Packers. For now, rookie Adonai Mitchell will approach a full-time role for the Colts, making him a clear stash in any fantasy leagues where he went undrafted.

Freiermuth is in the fourth and final year of his rookie contract, but the Steelers hope to keep him around for the foreseeable future. After breaking out for 63-732-2 in 2022, injuries and bad quarterback play resulted in an underwhelming 32-308-2 line from Freiermuth last season. He’s reportedly developed good chemistry with Russell Wilson this offseason and could be second in the target pecking order in a Steelers offense that does not feature a WR2 of note at this time. Freiermuth is a fringe TE1/TE2 in Week 1 against the Falcons.

Taylor said the same thing about Ja’Marr Chase, but Higgins’ situation is far more concerning. The veteran receiver was added to the injury report yesterday and was a surprise DNP on Friday despite saying he felt “amazing” less than 24 hours ago. It’s possible the Bengals are just managing Higgins’ workload a day after suffering the injury. He’ll likely carry a questionable tag heading into Sunday and be a game-time decision leading up to inactives being announced.

It’s about what we’d expect to hear from Taylor, who hasn’t had much to say regarding Chase, his holdout, or his Week 1 availability. Chase logged a full week of practice after holding out during the offseason and training camp. Given Tee Higgins’ (hamstring) status, we would expect Chase to be on the field in some capacity, but while speaking with the media on Friday, he said he could be “limited.” The good news is that Chase has said he will play without a new deal, meaning fantasy managers shouldn’t have anything to worry about over the season.

After popping up as limited on Thursday’s injury report, Higgins was not spotted at practice on Friday. Head coach Zac Taylor will undoubtedly face questions about this after practice, but it’s a surprising development for a player who said, “I feel amazing,” when asked about yesterday’s limited session. If he’s unable to go, Ja’Marr Chase could be in line for a busy afternoon — assuming he plays a full assortment of snaps. Should Higgins miss Week 1, the receiver to watch is Andrei Iosivas, who won the starting slot role in camp.

Lynch said of McCaffrey, “We have to finish this week, but he looks like Christian, and that’s a good thing for us. Obviously we want to see him progress through the week. We had confidence he’d be ready...he’ll be out there and ready to go.” It doesn’t sound like McCaffrey is at real risk of missing Monday night’s contest against the Jets, but we’ll see what happens after the Niners log their final practice on Saturday. It would be surprising if McCaffrey didn’t play in Week 1.

Putting Mark Andrews on something of a milk carton, Likely was surprisingly the Ravens’ most-targeted pass catcher. Both his nine receptions and 111 yards were new career highs. He entered the evening with just one previous 100-yard effort. Astoundingly, his night was almost much bigger, but an inaccurate Lamar Jackson missed him on a back-corner touchdown throw with time running out. Likely did corral the game-tying or winning score moments later only to be ruled out of bounds by a shoe tip. For the TD the duo connected on, Jackson escaped the pocket and found a freelancing Likely, who provided a winding 49-yard YAC job. There will be much hand-wringing and consternation over Likely and Andrews’ usage vis a vis each other, but the one thing we know for sure is that Likely needs to be 100 percent rostered ahead of Week 2 against the Raiders. There’s a chance this goes down his best game of the season, but you don’t need us to tell you Likely is looking like a critical part of this offense.

Jackson also lost a fumble inside his own 20-yard line. This one contained multitudes, as Jackson — who was looking noticeably svelte, as promised — was continually thwarted by poor offensive line play and some “what might have been throws” from himself. That includes multiple missed connections on what was agonizingly close to being the game-tying or winning drive with time running out in the fourth quarter. The story of the game, beyond LT Ronnie Stanley’s constant illegal formation penalties, was Jackson’s 9/111/1 connection with Isaiah Likely and comparative struggle to connect with Mark Andrews and Zay Flowers. Jackson missed Flowers on what should have been a layup score on the aforementioned final drive, and also missed Likely on several critical throws. On the other hand, Jackson employed his skinnier frame as expected with his 122 yards rushing being the third most of his increasingly illustrious career. There is so much to clean up here, but the Ravens and Jackson were still ultimately a Likely shoe tip away from potentially pulling off a stunning road upset (the Ravens had planned to go for two). Jackson now has 10 days to rest up for what should be an easier matchup with the Raiders.

Wilson was added to Thursday’s injury report as “limited” after practicing in full with no designation on Wednesday. Coach Mike Tomlin named Wilson the starter over Justin Fields near the end of training camp, but Wilson’s calf issue has evidently continued to linger even after he played through it during the preseason. What a mess. Whereas Wilson has zero fantasy value, Fields’ dual-threat skill set would immediately put him in the low-end QB1 mix in fantasy. We should have a much better read on the situation 24 hours from now.

It means that, barring a setback, Warren will officially be active for Sunday’s opener against the Falcons. We don’t love a committeeman coming off missing a big chunk of the summer with a soft-tissue injury, but Warren still offers upside FLEX appeal. There will just be a little more downside than usual. Provided he escapes Sunday unscathed, Warren should rise up the Week 2 ranks.