The Loop Fantasy Football Update Week 7: Last-minute moves

Oct. 24—UPDATE: 10:45 a.m. Sunday

The early inactive lists are out. Giants wideout Sterling Shepard, whose name we sadly misspelled on Saturday, has been ruled out. Joining him on the sideline will be Jets RB Tevin Coleman, Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson and Miami WR Devante Parker.

Cleared to play, at least in some capacity today, are Giants WR Darius Slayton and TE Evan Engram. Same goes for Chiefs star receiver Tyreek Hill, though we never doubted that he would play today against Tennessee.

UPDATE: 9:42 a.m. Sunday

The big roster news this morning concerns the NFL's second-ranked tight end, Darren Waller. The Las Vegas standout with the injured ankle is expected to be a game-time decision, which is a huge problem for fantasy mavens since it's a late afternoon game just off The Strip. Unless you can find a decent tight-end replacement prospect, we're guessing you should roll the dice ... get it, Vegas? ... and keep Waller in your lineup when you set it in a couple of hours.

Two prominent running backs have been cleared to play. Chicago's Damien Williams is off the COVID list and will start over Khalil Herbert, though the latter may still see goal-line duty. And Washington's Antonio Gibson is also good to go, though possibly with a lightened load.

Other early injury notes: Indy WR T.Y. Hilton is out, Miami's Devante Parker is doubtful and the Giants' Evan Engram is a maybe.

Meanwhile, Seattle's Pete Carroll says RB Alex Collins is good to go Monday night, so he'll be the far-preferable fantasy choice over Rashard Penny against the Saints.

We'll be back in an hour or so with any updates from the early inactive lists.

UPDATE: 10:54 a.m. Saturday

The Week 7 showdown between Jimmy Garoppolo's injured calf and Trey Lance's ailing knee has been settled, and the San Francisco 49ers head into Sunday's game with Indianapolis with a questionable quarterback atop the lineup.

That QB is Garoppolo, who practiced in limited fashion on Friday. Lance is a no-go, so Jimmy G becomes a marginal starting option in this bye-depleted week.

The lineup news is a bit grimmer for two teams. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be without TE Rob Gronkowski and WR Antonio Brown in their game against Chicago, and the New York Giants will be even sadder this week without RB Saquon Barkley, and receivers Kadarius Toney and Kenny Golladay.

Seattle is facing a must-win against New Orleans, but the Russell Wilson-less team has more uncertainty at running back. Alex Collins, who played well last week, is said to be a game-time decision. So the starter could be Rashard Penny, who has been activated off the injured list.

The news is better in Tennessee, where WR Julio Jones is expected to play six days after exiting early during Monday night's win over Buffalo. Good news for the Titans, and The Loop's own Fantasy Juggernaut.

Notables ruled out over the past couple of days include two Ravens, RB Latavius Murray and WR Sammy Watkins, Carolina wideout Terrace Marshall and Washington WR Curtis Samuel.

Players listed as questionable as of this morning include Bears WR Allen Robinson, Jets RB Tevin Coleman, Indy wideout T.Y. Hilton, Miami receiver Devante Parker, and two Giants, tight end Evan Engram and WR Sterling Shepherd.

ORIGINAL POST: 12:00 p.m. Wednesday

With a newly expanded 17-game schedule, you would think the NFL has no reason to jam a ridiculous amount of byes into a single week. And you would be mistaken.

Some brilliant minds at 345 Park Avenue determined that the league should put six teams on hiatus this week, including some of the league's top powers

Vikings fans are already well aware their cardiac-causing team is off for this week. They are joined on the sidelines by the Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Chargers, Pittsburgh Steelers and Jacksonville Jaguars.

When you break it down by position, the Week 7 absences range from serious to alarming:

Running back — Four of the top eight scoring leaders of 2021 are missing, and that doesn't include the Vikings' Dalvin Cook. How can you replace the likes of Austin Ekeler, Ezekiel Elliott, Najee Harris and James Robinson? You might still be able to pick up on waivers the Bucs' Gio Bernard. Or the Colts' Nyheim Hines. Maybe even Houston relic Mark Ingram.

Wide receiver — Four of the top 11 are out: Mike Williams, CeeDee Lamb and the Vikings' duo of Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen. But the waiver wires in more than half of all leagues still have guys like Chicago's Darnell Mooney, the Saints' Marquez Callaway, Indy's Zach Pascal and former Gophers star Rashod Bateman of the Ravens.

Quarterback — Need a sub for top-10 stars like Justin Herbert, Dak Prescott, Josh Allen or Kirk Cousins? You can pick up New Orleans' Jameis Winston or New England's Mac Jones. Feeling more adventurous? Then how about two currently struggling guys due for a rebound: the Panthers' Sam Darnold or the Giants' Daniel Jones.

Tight end — Dallas surprise Dalton Schultz is the only top six TE off this week. There are plenty of options for those wishing to take a flyer, such as the Giants' Evan Engram, New England's Jonnu Smith or Hunter Henry, or the newest Arizona Cardinal, Zach Ertz.

Defense — Among those missing are top-ranked Buffalo, third-ranked Dallas and ninth-rated Minnesota. So look for someone playing a really lousy offense, such as Arizona (vs. Houston), Carolina (vs. Giants) or Denver (vs. injured-plagued Cleveland).

Kicker — Four of the top 10 are out, including Greg Zuerlein, Greg Joseph and Tyler Bass. Kickers with good matchups this week include Miami's Jason Sanders and New England's Nick Folk.

SITTING STARS

Probably not too many guys you can afford to sit during Byemegeddon but ... Chicago fill-in running back Khalil Herbert looked very good last Sunday against Green Bay, but don't even think he'll repeat that performance against Tampa Bay. ... Cincinnati's Joe Mixon won't post his usual strong numbers against the Ravens. ... The Rams defense has been shutting down running backs all season. This week they'll smother Detroit's D'Andre Swift. ... Seattle's running game surprised with Alex Collins looking good in Pittsburgh, but he'll have a tougher time Monday night against New Orleans. ... And if we were playing by the rules of chess, you'd be better off resigning than starting any Texans against unbeaten Arizona.

MATCHUP GAME

Boy, is Matthew Stafford going to have fun going against his old Lions team on Sunday ... Arizona will have no trouble with Houston, so we're thinking Cards will be running more than passing, which means Chase Edmonds and James Connor are both worth starting . ... Tampa Bay RB Leonard Fournette is now back in peak form and will score at least once vs. Chicago. ... Miami QB Tua Tagovailoa looked good in his return last week and will look better against Atlanta for the now-desperate Dolphins. Same goes for WR Jaylen Waddle. ... We said Green Bay TE Robert Tonyan would regress this year, and boy has he. But we smell a TD for him this week against Washington.

INJURY WATCH

Cleveland's injured list is bursting, but more on that later. ... Baltimore lost RB Latavius Murray to an injured ankle, so both Le'Veon Bell and Devonta Freeman snagged touchdowns last week. And they could again this week ... It's a tossup at the moment who will be quarterbacking the 49ers against Indy: ailing Jimmy Groppolo or ailing Trey Lance. ... Washington RB Antonio Gibson was slowed again last week, so be wary. On the positive side, Seattle RB Rashaad Penny is expected to return, as is Cleveland WR Jarvis Landry. Players listed as questionable for this week include Giants WR Kadarius Toney, Bears RB Damien Williams, Cleveland WR Odell Beckham Jr., and two Indy wideouts, T.Y Hilton and Parris Campbell.

THE DEEPEST SLEEPER

You know we're scrounging if we're picking a running back who has yet to rush the ball during his short NFL career. But Cleveland running back Demetric Felton stands a good chance of seeing big duty Thursday night because of the injuries to starters Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, and the substitution of Case Keenum for injured Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield. This rookie from UCLA, who has caught six passes, one for a touchdown, this season, Someone has to constitute the Cleveland offense. Keep an eye on Chubb's status on Thursday, as he could return. A lot of folks will flock to D'Ernest Johnson, but if you're especially bye-week desperate, give this Bruin a try.

THE THURSDAY PICK

Broncos at Browns (-3 1/2 ):

Pick: Browns by 1

BREAKING NEWS

We'll be updating our column, based on the latest injuries and innuendo, right up until Sunday's kickoff. Go to TwinCities.com/theloop.

You can hear Kevin Cusick on Wednesdays on Bob Sansevere's "BS Show" podcast on iTunes. You can follow Kevin on Twitter — @theloopnow. He can be reached at kcusick@pioneerpress.com.