NFL Player News

Watson (hamstring) is inactive for Sunday's contest versus the Bears, Mike Spofford of the Packers' official site reports.

After straining his right hamstring Week 13 against the Chiefs, Watson was held out of every practice for the next four weeks. He logged as many consecutive absences on game day as a result, but his presence on the practice field as limited Wednesday and Thursday before getting a rest day Friday opened the door for his return to action. That won't come to pass for Watson, though, leaving Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed (chest), Dontayvion Wicks (chest), Bo Melton and Malik Heath as the Packers' available wide receivers Week 18. The team will need to reach the postseason in order for Watson to have a chance to play again before Week 1 of the 2024 campaign.

Metchie caught one of two targets for five yards in Saturday's 23-19 win over Indianapolis in Week 18.

Metchie played a season-high 38 snaps, as Houston was without Noah Brown (back) and Robert Woods (hip). The health situation also meant more playing time for fellow depth wideout Xavier Hutchinson (36 snaps). The Texans clinched a playoff spot with the win, so Metchie's potential role next week is dependent on the health of Brown and Woods.

Hutchinson caught one of four targets for six yards in Saturday's 23-19 win over the Colts in Week 18.

Hutchinson played a season-high 36 snaps, as both Noah Brown (back) and Robert Woods (hip) were inactive. While Houston has dealt with wideout injuries all season, the situation reached a critical mass in Week 18. As such, Hutchinson and John Metchie (38 snaps) took on more prominent roles in the passing games behind Nico Collins. As Houston prepares for its first postseason game since 2019, Hutchinson's potential role depends on the health of Brown and Woods.

The Rams plan to remove Nacua from Sunday's game against the 49ers once he records 29 receiving yards, which would allow him to break the single-season rookie receiving record of 1,473 yards, Jay Glazer reported on "Fox NFL Sunday."

Los Angeles is already locked into a road game for the wild-card round of the playoffs and will prioritize resting several of its starters in Week 18 -- including quarterback Matthew Stafford -- with an eye on maintaining health heading into the postseason. Nacua will be an exception to that plan, as the Rams plan to give him the opportunity to try and secure the record set by Bill Groman of the Houston Oilers in 1960. Look for fill-in starting quarterback Carson Wentz to try and funnel targets to Nacua early and often in Sunday's game, but the 23-year-old is expected to be removed from the contest as soon as he sets the record. With that in mind, Nacua won't have much of a ceiling for receiving yardage Sunday and doesn't represent an appealing option in DFS contests.

Goodwin (knee) is inactive Sunday against the Bengals.

Goodwin played through the injury in Week 17, but he'll ultimately get the team's regular-season finale off. It's not clear if he aggravated the injury further, or if the team is taking a cautious approach with a playoff spot already wrapped up. He'll work to return next weekend during the wild-card round.

Lazard (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's season finale against the Patriots.

Lazard didn't carry an injury designation ahead of the contest, so he's a healthy scratch in Week 18. In his absence, Garrett Wilson, Jason Brownlee, Xavier Gipson, Irvin Charles and Randall Cobb are the Jets' available WRs versus New England.

Jarrett (quadriceps) is inactive Sunday against the Panthers.

Jarrett was activated from IR on Friday, but the rookie receiver will ultimately not play in the team's regular-season finale against Carolina. His status comes as a bit of a surprise, considering he was added to the 53-man roster and logged a full week of practices.

Moore (concussion) is active for Sunday's game against the Bengals.

The Browns' decision to keep Moore active seemingly implies that he's cleared concussion protocol, despite not having turned in a full practice at any point this past week. Even if that's the case, Moore isn't certain to take on his usual starting role, and it's possible he's held out of the contest entirely. The Browns are locked into the No. 5 seed for the AFC playoffs and have made several key contributors inactive for the contest, while multiple other starters are expected to be rested during the regular-season finale. Depth receivers such as Cedric Tillman, David Bell and James Proche may be better bets than Moore to turn in meaningful fantasy production Sunday.

Thornton (ankle) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Jets.

Thornton approached the contest listed as questionable after logging a limited practice Friday, and he'll end up missing the Patriots' season finale. In his absence, DeVante Parker, Demario Douglas, Jalen Reagor and Kayshon Boutte will handle the team's Week 18 WR duties. The 2022 second-rounder thus finishes the 2023 campaign with 13 catches on 23 targets for 91 yards in nine games.

Perry (illness) is listed as active Sunday against the Falcons.

Since Michael Thomas (knee) went down Week 10, Perry has played a more prominent role in the Saints offense, recording at least one catch in seven games in a row. His output (9-193-2 line on 15 targets) during that span has been nothing to write home about, and he's coming off an illness that sidelined him at Thursday's practice. Still, with RB Alvin Kamara (ankle) inactive, Perry now will have to contend with only WRs Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed and TE Juwan Johnson (chest) for looks from QB Derek Carr.