NFL Week 10 inactives and fantasy tips: Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel active in Week 10

Welcome to the Week 10 NFL fantasy and betting cheat sheet, a one-stop-shop for The Athletic’s game previews, injury and weather updates, and expert analysis. Bookmark this page and check back often, as we offer regular updates Thursday through Sunday to assist with fantasy lineups and betting decisions.

Player rankings referenced in this article are current as of 8 a.m. ET, Nov. 10. For updated rankings, see the “Fantasy football player rankings” section.

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Last updated: 11:45 a.m. ET, Nov. 10

Injury news | Weather report
Flex Fliers | Fantasy football player rankings
Featured games | ROS Rankings

Injury news

Updated through 11:45 a.m. ET, Nov. 10

Sunday 1 p.m.

Brian Robinson Jr., RB, Commanders (hamstring) — Out
Robinson Jr. has been ruled out ahead of Sunday. In Robinson’s Week 9 absence, Austin Ekeler and Chris Rodriguez Jr. each had 11 carries and Jeremy McNichols had eight.

Austin Seibert, K, Commanders (hip) —Out
Seibert has been ruled out, and Zane Gonzalez was elevated from the practice squad for the contest.

Trevor Lawrence, QB, Jaguars (shoulder) — Out
Lawrence will not play in Week 10 and could miss the rest of the season, according to The Athletic’s team sources. With the Jags QB1 sidelined, Mac Jones is the next man up.  With Lawrence out, Jacksonville’s skill position players, including WR Brian Thomas Jr., RBs Tank Bigsby, and Travis Etienne Jr., take a hit heading into Week 10.

Brian Thomas Jr., Jaguars (chest) — Active
Gabe Davis, Jaguars (shoulder) — Active
Thomas and Davis are available and ready to go in Week 10. With Mac Jones starting at quarterback, Thomas’ ceiling is hard to predict.

Christian McCaffrey, RB, 49ers (Achilles) — Active
McCaffrey has been activated from injured reserve and will play in Week 10. It’s time to bench Jordan Mason and Isaac Guerendo, but pay close attention to how the backs are utilized. It remains to be seen if McCaffrey is used as he was pre-injury.

Deebo Samuel, WR, 49ers (oblique/ribs) — Active
Jauan Jennings, WR, 49ers (hip) — Active
Samuel and Jennings were limited in practice this week but are both active in Week 10, which will cut into WR Ricky Pearsall’s targets.

Mike Evans, WR, Buccaneers (hamstring) — Out
Jalen McMillan, WR, Buccaneers (hamstring) — Active
Sterling Shepard, WR, Buccaneers (hamstring/hip) — Active
Evans remains out for the Bucs matchup against the 49ers but was seen working out on the sidelines early in the week. With receiver Chris Godwin on IR, the Bucs will continue to rely on TE Cade Otton and WRs Jalen McMillan, Trey Palmer, and Sterling Shepard. Otton is an every-week fantasy starter with 18, 29.1 and 21.7 fantasy points in Weeks 7, 8 and 9, respectively.

Drake London, WR, Falcons (hip) — Active
Kyle Pitts, TE, Falcons (hamstring) — Active
London was injured after catching a touchdown pass in Week 9 but is active for Week 10. Look for London and Mooney to share wide receiver targets. Mooney is playing up to his talent level after leaving Chicago and has 588 receiving yards and five touchdowns on the season.

Chris Olave, WR, Saints (concussion) — Out
Cedrick Wilson Jr., WR, Saints (shoulder) — Out
The Saints are a mess. They fired head coach Dennis Allen and are floundering at 2-7. Losing Olave this week is icing on the cake. Without him and Wilson, the Saints will turn to TEs Taysom Hill and Juwan Johnson, as in Week 9. With Olave out, RB Alvin Kamara is the only consistent fantasy option on this New Orleans team.

Keon Coleman, WR, Bills (wrist) — Out
Amari Cooper, WR, Bills (wrist) — Out
Coleman and Cooper have been ruled out in Week 10, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, which should mean more targets for WR Khalil Shakir and TE Dalton Kincaid.

Michael Pittman Jr., WR, Colts (back/finger) — Out
According to The Athletic’s James Boyd, Pittman has been dealing with a lingering back injury and has been ruled out of the contest against Buffalo. With Pittman sidelined, WRs Josh Downs (Ciely’s WR22) and Alec Pierce will benefit the most. Downs is the more consistent of the two receivers, with 14.04 PPR points per game, while Pierce is more of a boom-or-bust option. Pierce has had two games of over 100 yards receiving and three games with 15 yards or fewer.

Sunday 4 p.m.

Dak Prescott, QB, Cowboys (hamstring) — Out
The Cowboys plan to place Prescott on IR after he sustained a partial avulsion of his hamstring. QB Cooper Rush is next on the depth chart, followed by Trey Lance. Neither QB offers too much upside, though Lance’s legs can supplement weaker passing. The real impact comes to every other Dallas skill position player. With a lesser passing game, RB Rico Dowdle may not find as much room to run. WR CeeDee Lamb will still see the bulk of targets, but his value decreases some as well.

Will Levis, QB, Titans (shoulder) — Expected to play
Not much changes for fantasy players with Levis back in Week 10. His dismal 70.7 passer rating bests only recently-benched Colts QB Anthony Richardson and Bryce Young, who are not good company to keep.

Tony Pollard, RB, Titans (foot) — Expected to play
Pollard was spotted at Friday’s practice and is expected to play. But if he can’t, Tyjae Spears should see a lot of work with a lack of depth behind him.

Tyler Conklin, TE, Jets (ankle) — Questionable
Conklin practiced fully Friday but is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game. Next on the depth chart are TEs Jeremy Ruckert and Kenny Yeboah. In Week 9, Conklin only saw two targets, while Davante Adams had 11 and Garrett Wilson had 10.

Sunday Night Football

Nico Collins, WR, Texans (hamstring) — Questionable
Tank Dell, WR, Texans (back) — Questionable
Collins is being activated to the 53-man roster, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. But he remains questionable ahead of Sunday Night Football’s matchup with the Lions. His return is valuable to fantasy players who have C.J. Stroud, as the young QB has struggled in Collins’ absence. If Collins plays, he and Stroud could have a good week in a likely high-scoring affair. For his part, Dell was a late addition to the injury report on Friday and is now questionable heading into Week 10.

Monday Night Football

Tyreek Hill, WR, Dolphins (wrist) — Questionable
Regarding whether Hill will play on Monday, head coach Mike McDaniel told local reporters “if his body lets him, we’ll see,” according to NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe. If Hill can’t play, Jaylen Waddle could have a bounceback game after a two-reception, negative four-yard showing in Week 9. 

Scott Engel’s weekly guide to last-minute free agent additions.

Xavier Legette, WR, CAR (59 percent): The Panthers traded away two WRs recently, clearing a path for Legette to operate as the team’s new No. 1 WR. The Giants rank 24th in fantasy points per game (FPPG) allowed to WRs. Bryce Young is starting to show some signs of improvement, and Legette will post at least adequate fantasy totals with a healthy amount of targets. He has caught TD passes in three of his past four games.

Audric Estime, RB, DEN (12 percent): The Broncos need to make a change at RB, as Javonte Williams is averaging 3.8 yards per carry and Bo Nix leads the team with four rushing TDs. There has been much local buzz in Denver that it is time to give this rookie a chance to add life to a sagging ground game.

Estime was drafted in the fifth round by the Broncos this year, yet he has been described as a power back with some speed who can help balance the offense. Usually I feature plug-and-play types in this space, but I want to get readers ahead of the pack if Estime is still available in their leagues.

Pick up the 5-foot-11, 227-pounder now, and watch to see if his role expands as soon as this week. The Chiefs present an obviously tough matchup, and this entry is more about taking advantage of others overlooking Estime on the initial waiver run.

— Engel

Get Ciely’s full Week 10 analysis. Plus sleepers and projections.

The only game potentially affected this week is in Chicago, where the Bears are heavily favored and host the New England Patriots.

Earlier this week, there was an 83-percent chance of rain, according to Rotowire, but now the forecast has shifted, and the Bears-Patriots matchup has just a 17-percent chance of precipitation and an expected temperature of 61 degrees.

New England Patriots (2-7) vs. Chicago Bears (4-4)

Rookie quarterbacks Drake Maye (NE) and Caleb Williams (CHI) have never played in rainy conditions in the NFL, and now it looks like that may still hold true. But let’s look at their numbers in case the forecast shifts again.

During training camp on August 15, the Bears went against the Bengals at Halas Hall in the rain. In that practice, Williams threw an interception on his first pass during 7-on-7 but came back with two completions. He also had some productive 11-on-11 moments, hitting both Keenan Allen and DJ Moore in the endzone for touchdowns.

More relevant is Williams’ first season as the Bears’ QB and his lack of production overall. Williams ranks 29th in completion percentage (61.4 percent), which typically drops for passers in the rain. His 83.0 passer rating ranks 25th, and he’s only averaging 14.3 fantasy points per game. Williams is a bench candidate in any game, but the rain certainly won’t help his fantasy prospects in Week 10. Teams typically shift to a rushing game script in the rain, and over his career, Bears RB D’Andre Swift has averaged 6.4 yards per carry in the rain, with a successful play rate on rush attempts (EPA-based) of 35.3 percent. Even in the rain, Swift can produce and may be heavily utilized in Week 10.

Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson is less productive in the rain, averaging only 2.1 yards per carry, but with a small sample. Maye’s season efficiency stats are slightly better than Williams’. Maye has an 85.1 passer rating and a completion percentage of 65.6 percent. Due to the inexperience of these rookie quarterbacks, both the Bears and the Patriots will likely lean on the run, short option passes, receptions out of the backfield and quick drop-offs to tight ends and slot receivers.

This game has few reliable fantasy producers, with or without rain. Ciely has Maye as QB20 and Williams as QB21, which means they should both be benched in single QB leagues. Ciely has the most faith in Swift (RB14), Moore (WR36) and Rome Odunze (WR37). He’s also high on New England’s Stevenson (RB24) and TE Hunter Henry (TE 13), who has been a favorite target of Maye with 23 targets, second only to DeMario Douglas (WR43), who’s been targeted 25 times. Henry could be heavily utilized with a game plan focused on quick, simple passes.

Wondering what the weather impact is on fantasy production? Jake Ciely has you covered like a poncho in rainy season.

Follow live NFL Updates from Week 10. Read about every game on the schedule here.

Sunday afternoon

Philadelphia Eagles (6-2) vs. Dallas Cowboys (3-5)

• Venue: AT&T Stadium — Arlington, Texas
• Time: 4:25 p.m. ET
• TV: CBS
• Streaming: Fubo (try for free)

As of Thursday morning, the Eagles were favored by more than a touchdown in this NFC East rivalry game, which is no shock given Dak Prescott’s injury and Cooper Rush under center.

Rush’s career stats for the Cowboys are middling, nearing disastrous — 60 percent completion percentage, 81.0 passer rating, nine touchdowns, six interceptions. If he were a 2024 starter, this stat line would best only Mason Rudolph, Anthony Richardson, Jacoby Brissett and Bryce Young. CeeDee Lamb has been dealing with a shoulder injury, which doesn’t do much to instill confidence in this Cowboys offense. Sure, they will try to lean on Rico Dowdle (Ciely’s RB26) who’s had average success this year. But Dowdle isn’t Saquon Barkley, and the Eagles have that guy.

Philadelphia could not be playing the Cowboys at a better time, and they are built to capitalize on that. Barkley, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith are healthy and ready to go for Week 10. Dallas Goedert also practiced this week and is not on the injury report. If Jalen Hurts has his weapons back, watch out because he’s won without them. Philly skill position players are must-starts most weeks, but against the Cowboys — who should struggle to stay on the field, give up the most yards per attempt and rank near the bottom of the league in opponent yards per game. Given they remain healthy, Brown, Smith, Barkley and Goedert should be slotted into fantasy lineups.

Read the full preview.

Sunday night

Detroit Lions (7-1) vs. Houston Texans (6-3)

• Venue: NRG Stadium — Houston, Texas
• Time: 8:20 p.m. ET
• TV: NBC, Peacock
• Streaming: Fubo (try for free)

Detroit may be the most complete team in the league. Jared Goff is an MVP candidate, leads the league in completion percentage (74.9 percent), has the second-best passer rating (115), and the second-most yards per attempt (8.7). His success does not come from dumping off short passes left and right, though Expected Points Added (EPA) King Jahmyr Gibbs and his receiving out of the backfield certainly helps. Gibbs leads the league in EPA per carry with a rate of 0.27, which doubles No. RB Derrick Henry’s. And Gibbs is just one of two productive backs for the Lions, as David Montgomery has played excellently this season, too, averaging 15.75 fantasy points per game.

The Lions also have Amon-Ra St. Brown (Ciely’s WR3) and Jameson Williams, who is expected to return from a two-game suspension, along with talented TE Sam LaPorta. Detroit has no shortage of weapons, unlike the Texans, who are down Stefon Diggs and Nico Collins, though the latter could return in Week 10.

But Houston still has C.J. Stroud, who, while having a down year (21st in fantasy points per game) and losing to the Jets last week, has big-play potential with Collins back. Then, there’s Joe Mixon, Ciely’s RB4, ranked third overall in PPR points per game. Before his injury, Collins led the league’s receivers in yards per game (113.4), ranking fourth in targets and fifth in receptions. Tank Dell (questionable) can’t do it alone, so Collins’ return is essential to Houston’s success — along with good play from the Texans defense.

Houston’s D gives up only 281.7 yards per game (2nd) and 167.4 passing yards per game (3rd). The Lions, on the other hand, rank near the bottom of the league in many defensive categories except rush defense, which happens to be Houston’s only semi-weakness. Given defensive holes, Gibbs, Montgomery and Collins (if available) could all have a good day.

Read the full preview.

Monday night

Miami Dolphins (2-6) vs. Los Angeles Rams (4-4)

• Venue: SoFi Stadium — Inglewood, Calif.
• Time: 8:15 p.m. ET
• TV: ESPN
• Streaming: Fubo (try for free)

Monday night’s matchup features two teams that struggled early in the season due to injuries but are making their way back to better play. The return of Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, two every-week fantasy starters, gave Matthew Stafford the targets he needed to win games. Now on a three-game winning streak, the Rams are back in the NFL playoff picture.

With injuries to the wide receiver corps, Kyren Williams took over and is fantasy’s RB7 with 18.7 PPR points per game. While he’s certainly helping fantasy teams, the Rams rank 26th in rushing yards per game (97.13), and Williams’ success has been supplemented by his receiving skills and 10 total touchdowns.

The Dolphins have lost their previous two games on last-second field goals and are looking to get rolling with Tua Tagovailoa back in the lineup. Tyreek Hill (questionable) had his second-best performance of the year in Week 9 with 80 yards on four receptions and five targets. On the other hand, Jaylen Waddle hopes to never see last week’s stat sheet again, as he had two catches for negative two yards.

Tagovailoa’s presence will surely help, though. He ranks fourth in the league in EPA per dropback and first in tight-window completion percentage. But De’Von Achane has provided the most consistency for this team and is fantasy’s RB9 in PPR points per game. As of Thursday morning, Los Angeles was favored but by a very small margin. The Dolphins have had bad luck this season, but they have the talent to turn it around at any point, unlike most of the other NFL teams with 2-6 records.

Read the full preview (coming Monday).

Find the complete rankings and read more about the top selections here. 

(Top photo of Christian McCaffrey: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)