NFL Player News

Watson (knee) won't return to Sunday's contest against the Bears.

Watson needed a cart to get to the locker room early in the second quarter after he went down in the middle of a route. Initially deemed questionable to return, he now will remain out for the rest of Week 18 and potentially into the playoffs if his right knee injury eventually is considered to be a serious one. As for the rest of Sunday, with Romeo Doubs (illness) also sidelined, Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, Bo Melton and Malik Heath will compose the Packers' receiving corps.

Watson suffered a right knee injury during Sunday's game against the Bears.

Watson went down in the middle of a route early in the second quarter and needed assistance from the training staff to get off the field before being carted to the locker room. If he's unable to return, he'll finish Week 18 with no catches on one target.

Hopkins will be active for Sunday's game in Denver, in part because he needs one more touchdown to reach a $500,000 incentive in his contract, Jay Glazer reported on "Fox NFL Sunday."

The Chiefs are already locked in as the AFC's No. 1 seed and will rest several key veterans in Week 18, but Hopkins won't be among them. Hopkins will likely still play only limited snaps, especially when the Chiefs are not near the red zone. It might still be a tough ask for Hopkins to get into the end zone, especially if he draws coverage from star Denver cornerback Patrick Surtain while Carson Wentz is at quarterback for the Chiefs rather than Patrick Mahomes (ankle).

Jones (coach's decision) is a healthy inactive for Sunday's game against the Falcons, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.

With the Panthers bringing back Miles Sanders (ankle) from injured reserve for the season finale, the team won't have a need to keep Jones active as a third option at running back. Raheem Blackshear and Mike Boone are instead in line to serve as the backup options behind Sanders. After Carolina signed him off the Bears' practice squad on Dec. 10, Jones appeared in two games and carried once for zero yards while playing three snaps on offense.

Osborn (illness) is inactive for Sunday's game against Dallas, Zach Selby of the Commanders' official site reports.

Osborn appeared on the team's injury report due to an illness Friday, and the ailment is going to sideline the veteran wideout for Washington's regular-season finale. His absence isn't likely to have a significant impact in fantasy, as Osborn was a healthy scratch two straight weeks after joining the Commanders in mid-December before logging 18 offensive snaps last Sunday against Atlanta and coming away with no targets. Luke McCaffrey could see a few more opportunities in the passing game with Osborn out Sunday.

Legette (hip/wrist) is active for Sunday's game at Atlanta, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.

Legette will continue to play through hip and wrist injuries, the latter of which may require surgery after the season. Still, he'll aim to end his rookie campaign on a high note, as he's seen at least eight targets in three of his last four appearances. Having said that, Legette has managed just a 13-127-0 line on 28 targets during that span.

Smith (wrist/rest) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Giants.

Though he was listed as doubtful with the wrist injury before being included on the Eagles' 11-player inactive list, Smith's absence is likely rest-related more than anything. The Eagles are locked into the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs and won't expose Smith to an injury in a meaningless regular-season finale. Smith should be ready to play a full complement of snaps in the Eagles' wild-card game against a yet-to-be-determined opponent.

Brown (knee) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Giants.

Though he was listed as doubtful with a knee injury before being included on the Eagles' 11-player inactive list, Brown's absence is likely rest-related more than anything. The Eagles are locked into the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs and won't expose Brown to an injury in a meaningless regular-season finale. Brown should be ready to play a full complement of snaps in the Eagles' wild-card game against a yet-to-be-determined opponent.

Doubs (illness) is listed as inactive Sunday against the Bears, Mike Spofford of the Packers' official site reports.

Doubs was added to the Packers' Week 18 injury report Saturday due to an illness, which left him questionable for Sunday's game. With his lack of availability confirmed this weekend, Green Bay will turn to Jayden Reed, Christian Watson (knee) and Dontayvion Wicks as its primary wide receivers, while Bo Melton and Malik Heath also will be on hand for snaps and targets. Doubs will turn his focus to getting healthy for the wild-card round next weekend.

Samuel (rib) is listed as active for Sunday's game against the Patriots.

Samuel, who was sidelined the last two weeks, headed into the weekend listed as questionable, but he'll be available for Buffalo's regular-season finale. With the team locked into the No. 2 seed in the AFC, a number of the Bills' key skill players could have their workloads managed, while fellow wideout Amari Cooper (personal) was previously ruled out for the contest. In that context, Sunday's game offers Samuel an opportunity to log some snaps prior to the postseason, which makes him an option for deep leaguers in need of a Week 18 fill-in.