NFL Player News

Redskins coach Jay Gruden said quarterback Robert Griffin III will reclaim the starting job as soon as he is "ready mentally and physically," reports the Washington Post. Gruden said that could be anywhere from one to five weeks away.

Gruden previously said Kirk Cousins might continue to start even after RG3 was ready to play. Griffin has missed four straight games with a dislocated ankle, but participated in individual drills Wednesday.

Titans quarterback Jake Locker, who sat out Week 6 due to a thumb injury, returned to practice Wednesday and split reps with Charlie Whitehurst during the portion of practice open to the media, according to The Tennessean.

Locker said he wasn't limited in practice and he had no problem gripping the football. Locker added he is feeling good and is optimistic about playing Week 7 against the Redskins.

You drafted Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford expecting huge numbers, right?

Well, guess what? He's only the No. 12 quarterback in standard CBSSports.com leagues. Russell Wilson is one of the 11 ahead of him, and he has had his bye already.

The lack of touchdowns is most concerning for Stafford. He has had pretty good yardage so far, with Week 6 being the exception, but in four of his six games he has thrown for fewer than two scores. That's a surefire way to lose in Fantasy with all the pass-happy offenses in the league today.

Certainly, the loss of Calvin Johnson hasn't helped, but Stafford wasn't exactly lighting it up with his star wide receiver. And the latest reports have Johnson potentially sitting out until Week 10, so waiting around for him isn't the answer. The good news is the Lions face two of the league's worst pass defenses, New Orleans and Atlanta, over the next two weeks, so you can at least justify starting Stafford if you have to.

But the consistency just isn't going to be there for him. I'd be looking to add Joe Flacco or swing a deal for Cam Newton or Tony Romo if I owned Stafford.

For a team's third wide receiver to have significant value in Fantasy, that team's passing attack has to be pretty explosive. Green Bay's typically has been with quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who is having a banner year with 15 touchdown passes to just one interception.

And yet in three of Rodgers' six games this season, he's thrown for less than 200 yards. As a team, the Packers rank only 20th in passing yards per game. That's not my idea of explosive.

Certainly things could change. Eddie Lacy has failed to give them much of a running game, which could cause them to go more pass-heavy in the weeks ahead. But more than anything, the reason third wide receiver Davante Adams performed so well Week 6 at Miami, catching six passes for 77 yards, was because co-No. 1 Randall Cobb didn't. Rodgers threw for a modest 264 yards. Unless he goes for a consistent 300, you can't expect Adams to make a regular contribution in Fantasy in his current role.

So in standard leagues of 12 teams or fewer, I'm leaving him on waivers. For the list of wide receivers Jamey Eisenberg is adding over him, check out his latest Playing the Waiver Wire.

Raiders wide receiver Brice Butler made his presence known in Week 6 against San Diego, catching three passes for 64 yards and a touchdown. But in terms of targets, he was still the third wheel in a receiving corps led by Andre Holmes and James Jones.

And that was on a career day for rookie quarterback Derek Carr.

Carr won't always be so good, and the big plays won't always be so easy to come by. Remember, 47 of Butler's yards came on his touchdown grab in the third quarter. Remove it from the equation, and he was the same peripheral contributor he has been all season.

Jamey Eisenberg doesn't rank Butler especially high in his Playing the Waiver Wire column, and I agree with that assessment. He doesn't have a big enough role in a consistently prolific passing attack.

The 49ers signed quarterback Josh Johnson to a one-year deal and released safety Raymond Ventrone, the team announced.

Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins leads the NFL with eight interceptions, with seven coming in the last three games. Coach Jay Gruden told the Washington Post he is not considering turning to third-stringer Colt McCoy.

Washington has dropped four straight entering Week 7 against the Titans.

The Rams declared cornerbacks Trumaine Johnson (knee) and Brandon McGee (foot), running back Chase Reynolds (hip), defensive tackle Alex Carrington (knee), offensive lineman Barrett Jones (back), wideout Chris Givens and quarterback Case Keenum inactive for Monday's game against the 49ers.

Givens is a healthy scratch for the second straight game.

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, who on Sunday became the first Oakland rookie to throw four touchdowns, could have had an even bigger performance against the Chargers. Carr's receivers dropped five of his 34 passes.

"As many balls as I overthrow or miss at practice, I'm never going to be one to rip into somebody," Carr told ESPN.com. "They're professional football players; I don't need to go console them or anything like that. I just go, 'Hey, you're better than that,' and those kinds of things. They already know before I even get to them."

Carr completed 18 of 34 throws for 283 yards with one interception in the 31-28 loss to San Diego. He faces the Cardinals in Week 7.

Vikings quarterback Mike Zimmer expressed optimism Monday for quarterback Teddy Bridgewater's future in the NFL following the rookie's three-interception performance during Sunday's 17-3 loss vs. Detroit. Bridgewater was making just his second career start.

"I believe, with all my heart, that Teddy Bridgewater is going to be the franchise quarterback here for a long, long time," Zimmer said, per ESPN. "I believe that the team believes that, too. Guys in the organization, the players, everybody believes this guy will be the future -- and a bright future for this organization. We have to make sure we continue to help him to be successful -- playing, coaching, whatever it is."