Posted September 25, 2026 at 8:08 AM ET
Status update, Oct 3: since this was published, Puka Nacua is now cleared to play (hip/groin), Brock Bowers is now cleared to play (knee), DJ Moore is now cleared to play (AC joint sprain), and Cooper Kupp is now cleared to play (back). See the current injury report →
It is Friday, which means the practice-report guessing games are mostly over. Teams released their final Week 3 designations this morning, and while nothing that broke overnight rivals last night’s carousel of Thursday-practice news, three trend lines are worth setting your Sunday lineups around: Puka Nacua is sliding toward a second straight missed game, Sam Darnold is sliding the other way toward a real chance to start, and Brock Bowers looks like he is actually going to play. We also got final Questionable tags on several receivers who spent the week hovering on the practice report.
Status At a Glance
| Player | Team / Pos | Status | Fantasy Move |
|---|---|---|---|
| Puka Nacua | LAR WR | 🔴 Trending out, hip/groin | Bench him; start Davante Adams as the locked-in Rams WR1 |
| Sam Darnold | SEA QB | 🟡 Questionable, glute | Stream a QB now, flip to Darnold only after he’s active |
| Brock Bowers | LV TE | 🟡 Questionable, knee | Start him as a TE1; drop the Michael Mayer streamer |
| Mike Evans | SF WR | 🟡 Questionable, hip | Have a replacement receiver queued for kickoff |
| Cooper Kupp | SEA WR | 🟡 Questionable, back | Start him as a low-end WR3 |
| Zay Flowers | BAL WR | 🟡 Questionable, hamstring | Bench him; start Rashod Bateman in his place |
| DJ Moore | BUF WR | 🟡 Questionable, AC joint sprain | Bench him; treat Friday’s tag as the real decision |
| Jayden Daniels | WAS QB | 🔴 Out, elbow dislocation | Start Marcus Mariota in superflex against Seattle |
🟡 Questionable or genuinely uncertain · 🔴 Out or trending out. A Friday Questionable tag covers a wide range of outcomes — here’s how much weight to give one.
Wide Receivers
🔴 Trending Out — Puka Nacua (LAR): Nacua sat out Wednesday and Thursday again this week and, per Bleacher Report on Thursday, is now considered “unlikely to play” Sunday against Denver, which would be his second straight absence with the hip and groin issue. Head coach Sean McVay has ruled out a hernia and called it more of a soreness issue than a long-term concern, but soreness that keeps a receiver out of every practice for two straight weeks does not clear on a Friday. Davante Adams posted eight catches for 195 yards and two touchdowns as the clear top target in Nacua’s absence last week.
Fantasy Action: start Davante Adams as your locked-in Rams receiver regardless of what Nacua’s official tag says, and leave Nacua on your bench. Do not drop him — Los Angeles has been careful with the groin rather than pessimistic about the long term.
🟡 Questionable — Mike Evans (SF): Evans sat out both Wednesday and Thursday practice with a hip injury, and Friday’s official tag makes it Questionable rather than the clean bill of health NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport floated earlier in the week. San Francisco is thin at receiver with Ricky Pearsall, Christian Kirk and Demarcus Robinson all out, which is the only reason a back-to-back non-practice player still has a path to playing Sunday.
Fantasy Action: have a bench receiver queued up and check the 49ers’ inactive list before locking your lineup. Two missed practices in a receiver-starved offense is a real risk, not just a formality.
🟡 Questionable — Cooper Kupp (SEA): Kupp was limited at Wednesday’s practice with a back injury and carries a Questionable tag into Sunday against Washington, per the Seahawks’ own injury report. He has been a full-time piece of Seattle’s passing game through two weeks and has not missed a game so far this season.
Fantasy Action: start Kupp as a low-end WR3. A single limited session with no missed practice is the mild version of a Questionable tag, and Seattle has given no indication it plans to sit him.
🟡 Questionable — Zay Flowers (BAL): Flowers missed his second straight Thursday practice with the re-aggravated hamstring that has now cost him a full week and a half, and the Baltimore beat’s pessimism carried into Friday’s official Questionable tag ahead of the Ravens’ game against Dallas in Brazil.
Fantasy Action: bench Flowers and start Rashod Bateman, who has stepped into the No. 1 role while Flowers has been sidelined.
🟡 Questionable — DJ Moore (BUF): Moore’s AC joint sprain, suffered on a hard fall chasing a Josh Allen pass, cost him practice entirely on Thursday after a limited, non-contact Wednesday session. Buffalo’s ten days of rest before this game bought him extra recovery time, but the step backward at Thursday’s practice earned him a Friday Questionable tag rather than a clean clearance.
Fantasy Action: bench Moore and lean on Keon Coleman or another healthy Bills option if Moore is inactive; check pregame warmups before finalizing lineups against the Chargers.
Quarterbacks
🟡 Questionable — Sam Darnold (SEA): Darnold has been out since a Week 1 glute injury, but he was a limited practice participant Wednesday and, per Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald, has been ramping up his workload through the week. Friday’s Questionable tag is real progress for a quarterback who has not played since Week 1, and it puts Seattle’s Sunday plans genuinely in doubt between Darnold and Drew Lock, who played well in relief.
Fantasy Action: stream a different quarterback for Week 3 rather than banking on Darnold, and only insert him once Seattle’s inactive list confirms he’s playing. Drew Lock is a deep-league streamer if Darnold sits again.
🔴 Out — Jayden Daniels (WAS): Daniels remains out for Week 3 with the dislocated elbow he suffered last Sunday and is consulting specialists this week, per Washington coach Dan Quinn. There is no update to his outlook since Thursday; Marcus Mariota is confirmed as the starter against Seattle.
Fantasy Action: start Marcus Mariota in superflex formats and hold Daniels everywhere else. No return timeline exists yet.
Tight Ends
🟡 Questionable — Brock Bowers (LV): Bowers practiced again Thursday, his second straight full week of work since his September 8 meniscus trim, and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport has said to “expect Brock Bowers back on Sunday” against the Saints. The Questionable tag is standard for a player returning from a knee procedure, not a sign of new doubt.
Fantasy Action: start Bowers as a TE1 in his 2026 debut and drop Michael Mayer, who filled in capably but loses the role the moment Bowers is active.
For the complete tier-by-tier breakdown of every player on the board, see the full Week 3 injury report.
Sources
- Bleacher Report: Puka Nacua Likely Out for Rams vs. Broncos
- ESPN: Rams’ McVay unsure about Nacua’s status for Week 3
- Seahawks.com: Week 3 Injury Report vs. Commanders
- Seattle Sports: Sam Darnold has a ‘chance’ to return
- Larry Brown Sports: Notable update on Brock Bowers emerges
- CBS Sports: Raiders’ Brock Bowers practicing, aiming to play
- NFL.com: Marcus Mariota to start as Jayden Daniels seeks opinions on elbow
- Footballguys: Weekly Injury Report
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