The injury reports are rolling in, and there are some important ones at left tackle to consider for NFL offenses. In Detroit, Taylor Decker isn't expected to play, and in Kansas City, Eric Fisher is also expected to be inactive.
This is not to suggest anyone should be considering sitting down Patrick Mahomes, especially against a Raiders defense that hasn't been known for its pass rush in some time. But a negative for the offense, and that's even more of an issue for the Lions -- since the Chargers have a pair of top pass rushers in Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram.
One more left tackle story: Green Bay's David Bakhtiari is expected to play, a plus for Aaron Rodgers and his offense against Minnesota.
Other news and notes:
Sounds like Joe Mixon (ankle) is planning to play. Seems reasonable to think he might be at risk of a setback, or at least losing more work to Giovani Bernard. I think Bernard is only worth using if Mixon is inactive, while Mixon should be slotted behind comparable feature backs who are fully healthy.
The Ravens questionable players (Mark Ingram, Mark Andrews, Marquise Brown) are all expected to play. Start them or not as you normally would.
LeVeon Bell is expected to play for the Jets tomorrow night. Sam Darnold (mono) is looking at a 3-7 week absence, a timeline vague enough to be useless. Anywhere but 2-QB or dynasty leagues, Darnold can probably be dropped.
The Chargers will again be without kicker Michael Badgley (groin). Another Charger issue, Mike Williams. He's expected to play on a limited basis, perhaps only being available for red-zone work. Downgrade or bench him accordingly.
Antonio Brown will play for New England. Ian Rapoport is saying that not only will Brown play, but the Patriots will make an extra effort to get him involved early.
Aside: I'm not a big fan of Rapoport. I think he passes off his own speculation too freely, gets used by teams and agents to put out what they want, and most damningly piggybacks stories other people break with pithy statements like "This is true," implying he knew it all along too. In this particular case, I think there is zero chance that anyone connected with the Patriots told Rapoport their game plan for today (or at least, anyone who actually knows it). So we'll see; I say use Brown or not use him as you were already planning, not because of Rapoport's report. Oh yeah, on Thursday evening he reported that Ronald Jones would get an expanded role for Tampa Bay. Didn't happen. OK, rant ended. Read smart, people.
I'll update this post or add comments based on any surprising actives or inactives leading up to the early kickoffs.
--Andy Richardson