NFL Player News

Williams (suspension) returned to Detroit's team facility Monday, Eric Woodyard of ESPN.com reports. Williams remains ineligible to participate in group workouts or practices, and the earliest he can play in a game is Week 7 against Baltimore.

In addition to his gambling suspension, Williams also has been rehabbing a hamstring injury, though it's unclear where he stands in the recovery process from that injury. Detroit's team doctors will get a chance to assess the health of the wide receiver's hamstring with nearly a month remaining before he'll be eligible to play. Once he returns, the 2022 first-round pick could find himself battling for playing time with Josh Reynolds and Kalif Raymond. Reynolds is tied with rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs for third on the team with 13 targets through three games, trailing Amon-Ra St. Brown (28) and rookie tight end Sam LaPorta (22).

Palmer is expected to see more targets moving forward after Mike Williams was diagnosed Monday with a season-ending ACL tear, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Both Palmer and 2023 first-round pick Quentin Johnston are expected to take on increased volume in the Chargers' passing game in Williams' absence, though Keenan Allen should continue to work as the top target for quarterback Justin Herbert. Through three games, Palmer has 13 targets -- exactly one third of Allen's total and half of Williams' -- while Johnston has been targeted only eight times.

Austin secured two of six targets for 72 yards and a touchdown during the Steelers' 23-18 win over the Raiders on Sunday.

The Steelers' offense has struggled to put together big plays early in the 2023 campaign, but Austin had the longest play of Sunday's primetime matchup with his 72-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter. With Diontae Johnson (hamstring) out once again, Austin saw elevated playing time for a second consecutive week while playing in 73 percent of the team's offensive snaps. Johnson will be unavailable for at least two more games while on injured reserve, so expect Austin's increased playing time to continue next Sunday against Houston.

Douglas logged 17 of a possible 72 snaps on offense in Sunday's 15-10 win over the Jets, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports.

Douglas finished the contest with one catch (on three targets) for 15 yards while being out-snapped by DeVante Parker (55), JuJu Smith-Schuster (53) and Kendrick Bourne (40). At this stage, the rookie sixth-rounder is off the fantasy radar as long he remains the No. 4 option in New England's WR pecking order.

Johnston is slated for a larger role on offense with Mike Williams (knee) having suffered a season-ending ACL tear, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Johnston has played less than 25 percent of offensive snaps in each of the Chargers' first three games this season, but he'll need to step up quickly for the passing game with Williams, an every-down player, done for the year. The rookie first-round pick profiles particularly well as a deep threat, which makes him both an ideal fit for Justin Herbert's arm talent and as a complement to Keenan Allen, but he has yet to flash that explosiveness at the NFL level. Sunday's upcoming matchup against a struggling Raiders secondary could set the stage well for Johnston to take advantage of his new opportunity, however. Meanwhile, Joshua Palmer also figures to step into a larger spotlight in the wake of Williams' injury.

Smith-Schuster was on the field for 53 of a possible 72 snaps on offense in Sunday's 15-10 win over the Jets, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports.

Though Smith-Schuster started and was second to DeVante Parker (55 snaps) among the Patriots' WR in terms of playing time, he was limited to one catch (on three targets) for five yards. Three games into his first season with New England, Smith-Schuster has combined for 10 catches (on 16 targets) for 66 yards, numbers that have limited his fantasy utility thus far. With that in mind, Smith-Schuster profiles as a speculative lineup option this coming Sunday against the Cowboys.

Reynolds was held without a target during Sunday's 20-6 win over Atlanta.

Reynolds was muted by a Falcons secondary while Amon-Ra St. Brown and Kalif Raymond received all 18 targets that Jared Goff directed to wide receivers. However, even though the Texas A&M product did log three-quarters of the offensive snaps, it's possible that part of his ineffectiveness was due to a groin injury that landed Reynolds on the injury report in advance of Sunday's game. With Jameson Williams (suspension) still on the sidelines, Reynolds will look to bounce back Thursday in Green Bay.

Jones was not targeted with a pass during Sunday's 20-6 win over Atlanta.

While Jones continued to log at least 39 percent of the offensive snaps, he has yet to receive a target since his disappointing performance in Week 1. This time, all 29 of Jared Goff's pass attempts to non-running backs went to Amon-Ra St. Brown, Sam LaPorta and Kalif Raymond. Possibly washed at 33 years old, Jones will look to turn back the clock in Thursday's Week 4 matchup with the Packers.

Toney, who logged two snaps on offense in Sunday's 41-10 win over the Bears, caught his only target in the contest for a loss of one yard.

Toney -- who missed practice this past Wednesday and Thursday before returning to a limited session Friday -- approached the contest listed as questionable. Though the wideout was available versus Chicago, Toney's limited playing time Sunday suggests that he's probably still dealing with the sprained toe that landed him on Kansas City's Week 3 injury report to some degree. With that in mind, it will be worth tracking his practice participation ahead of Sunday's road game against the Jets.

Hodge caught his only target for 15 yards during Sunday's 20-6 loss to the Lions.

Hodge played 16 offensive snaps through the first two weeks of the season and was held without a catch. However, he got on the board in Week 3, securing a first-down grab late in the fourth quarter. Hodge has been playing more on special teams than he has on offense to begin 2023, so he currently doesn't hold much fantasy value.