tradeTrade deadline: Simmons dealt, Taylor cools, Downs requests out, Thomas Jr. heats up
The Titans made the week's biggest trade-deadline move, sending All-Pro DT Jeffery Simmons to the Bears on Wednesday for a 2027 first-round pick, a 2027 fourth-round pick and a 2028 first-round pick (Chicago also sent back a 2028 fifth). On the skill-position side, Jonathan Taylor is now described as 'less likely' to be dealt — owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon reportedly doesn't want to move him, and it would take a 'significant haul' to get him — while teammate Josh Downs formally requested a trade from the Colts this week and told reporters he's 'open to whatever.' Titans RB Tony Pollard, who ran for 129 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns against Cleveland last Sunday and has 478 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns on the season, is viewed as more realistically available than Taylor on his expiring deal. Jaguars WR Brian Thomas Jr. is a new name in the mix — ESPN's Jeremy Fowler puts a 45% chance on a trade, with the Chiefs and Steelers among the teams calling, after Thomas totaled just 9 catches for 105 receiving yards and one touchdown this season, including no catches on five targets over his last two games; GM James Gladstone has called the trade talk 'fraudulent claims.' Browns WR Jerry Jeudy remains available only for a return above a fourth-round pick, per Cleveland. The deadline is Nov. 10.
Fantasy take
Taylor's situation is now a financial question rather than a positional one — Indianapolis holding onto him for now leaves the room behind him, Richardson at QB and the Giddens/Bentley IV pairing at RB, unchanged. Downs requesting out doesn't change what he already is for Indianapolis: the top target earner in a passing game that would otherwise lean on Alec Pierce and Anthony Gould if he leaves. Pollard's three-touchdown week raises his price as a rental on an expiring deal, with Calvin Ridley still Tennessee's established No. 1 receiver regardless of what happens to the backfield. Thomas Jr.'s 45% odds of a trade, per Fowler, come with the Jaguars publicly denying any shopping — GM James Gladstone called the talk 'fraudulent claims' — so the open question is whether Jacksonville's usage of him changes before Nov. 10.
Lamar Jackson's return locks in after second straight full practice
Lamar Jackson practiced in full for a second straight day on Thursday, and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said he now expects Jackson to play Sunday against Buffalo, calling it 'a two-to-three week injury' that Jackson is 'through the third week' of. Jackson has missed the Ravens' last three games with a high-ankle sprain; Tyler Huntley started in his place during that stretch.
Fantasy take
Jackson's injury profile has carried a pattern: his last significant absence, the 2025 hamstring, left him on the injury report for six more weeks after return, with scouts noting he looked hesitant to run and out of rhythm. The ankle issue is different in kind — a sprain he was still feeling at the plant foot as recently as the Bengals week — so two straight full practices is the first clean data point suggesting that lingering stiffness has resolved. Huntley goes 6-8 as the fill-in starter this season if Sunday ends up being a game-time call instead.
Seahawks designate rookie RB Jadarian Price to return from IR
The Seahawks designated rookie RB Jadarian Price (chest) to return from injured reserve on Thursday, opening his 21-day window to be activated; he was limited in his first practice back after missing four games. Zach Charbonnet and Emanuel Wilson have handled the backfield behind him during that stretch.
Fantasy take
Price's activation window opening doesn't change this week's backfield by itself. Wilson has carried the lead-back load through Weeks 4-7, including a 24-carry, 100-yard, one-touchdown day against the Chiefs last Sunday, while Charbonnet — activated off the physically-unable-to-perform list Oct. 22 after an ACL injury — was still held out that same week. Whether Price or Charbonnet reclaims early-down work first is the open question the next week of practice reports will answer; Wilson's is the only one of the three backs with real recent-game production to point to.
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