tradeTrade deadline closes: Colts keep Jonathan Taylor, Vikings' QB inquiries go nowhere
The NFL's trade deadline passed at 4 p.m. ET Tuesday. The Colts held onto Jonathan Taylor, declining to meet any offer for the running back; Taylor said he hasn't requested a trade and that "no one likes uncertainty," while NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported the Colts were increasingly likely to keep him. Minnesota reached out to the Raiders about Kirk Cousins and to the Colts about Daniel Jones after Carson Wentz struggled in Monday night's loss to Buffalo, but coach Kevin O'Connell deferred the decision to GM Nolan Teasley and no trade materialized. Jacksonville was the deadline's most active team, adding DT Jordan Davis from Philadelphia for a 2027 first-round pick on top of its earlier pickups of S Jessie Bates and DT Davon Godchaux.
Fantasy take
Carson Wentz keeps the job without a trade-in replacement looming over him — the Vikings called on both Kirk Cousins and Daniel Jones and came away with neither, so his leash is whatever Kevin O'Connell and GM Nolan Teasley decide internally, not forced by a new arrival. Jonathan Taylor's workload stays fully intact in Indianapolis; nothing about his snap share or touch volume changes, and Daniel Jones remains his quarterback. With no trade on either side, both situations resolve to the status quo already in place entering Tuesday.
Cardinals' QB room blows up again: Minshew facing likely season-ending UCL surgery
Gardner Minshew suffered what the team fears is a torn UCL in his throwing elbow on a hit from Seahawks linebacker Dante Fowler Jr. late in the first half Sunday; he's seeking a second opinion but is expected to need season-ending surgery. WR Michael Wilson is also done for the year with a neck injury from the same game. Rookie Carson Beck is set to start Sunday against the Rams.
Fantasy take
Minshew's elbow is now the second major injury this offense absorbed in one half, after Wilson went down in the same game. Beck, a rookie third-round pick, becomes a first-time starter with no NFL snaps under him. Conner, Harrison Jr., Benson, and McBride all shift from a Minshew-run offense to a rookie quarterback, which resets the floor on anything tied to Minshew's accuracy or pocket management specifically. Wilson's loss narrows the receiving room behind Harrison Jr., leaving McBride and Conner as Beck's most established pass-catching options.
Mahomes playing through a sore elbow, day-to-day
Mahomes banged his right elbow in Sunday's win over the Jets; postgame imaging showed no structural ligament damage, and Andy Reid called it "more positive news than negative news" Monday. Mahomes flexed the elbow on the sideline, threw warmup passes and didn't miss a snap, but will work through soreness and swelling this week.
Fantasy take
Imaging coming back clean turns this into a soreness-management week rather than a workload question for Kansas City's offense. Nothing about Rice, Worthy, Royals, or Kelce's usage hinges on this the way it would with structural damage.
Josh Jacobs fractures finger, Rhamondre Stevenson out multiple weeks
Jacobs fractured his right ring finger catching it in a defender's facemask during Sunday's win over the Patriots; he needs surgery this week, and coach Matt LaFleur said "everything's on the table," including IR, with a return expected in roughly three weeks at minimum. Kaleb Johnson (14 carries, 68 yards, a TD) and Pierre Strong Jr. (8 carries, 22 yards) filled in. Separately, Rhamondre Stevenson will miss a few weeks with a plantaris tendon injury in his knee, suffered in that same Patriots-Packers game — with TreVeyon Henderson, who played 75% of snaps the last time Stevenson was out, set to carry the Patriots backfield again.
Fantasy take
Both backfields lost their lead back in the same game, but the committees behind them look different. New England's is simpler — Stevenson's absences have reliably meant more work for Henderson, who carried 12.5 times a game at 5.5 yards a carry the last extended stretch without him. Green Bay's is murkier: Johnson and Strong split Sunday's snaps 45-39 rather than one back taking it over, and Lloyd's own knee issue trims the options behind Jacobs further.
Puka Nacua officially on IR
The Rams placed Nacua on injured reserve Tuesday after confirming MCL and PCL sprains plus turf toe in his right knee, suffered on the final offensive snap of Sunday's win over Washington. He's out at least four games.
Fantasy take
Nacua's absence removes the receiver the Rams have built red-zone and third-down concepts around all season. Davante Adams took on the workload spikes during Nacua's earlier absences (10 targets, 195 yards in Week 2; 13 targets, 137 yards in Week 3), but Adams has been out himself since a Week 6 hamstring injury and IR stint. With both top receivers compromised at different points this season, the targets over Nacua's four-plus weeks out run through whichever of Adams, Jordan Whittington, Colby Parkinson, and the backfield is healthy and active on a given Sunday — Kyren Williams' pass-game role included, given Stafford's history of spreading targets around this scheme.
yac.football