Teddy Bridgewater – Broncos QB
The most important quarterback to go down on Sunday NFL was Teddy Bridgewater. In his first three starts in Denver he was 3-0 and playing mistake-free football. And yes, the Broncos were behind by 10 points at halftime when Bridgewater went out with his concussion. But when Drew Lock came in to replace him, the Broncos looked in total disarray. Lock was the starter last year, so he knows the offense. But if you watched the game on Sunday, he looked like an unprepared rookie who was constantly confused by the looks he was getting from the Ravens’ defense.
Bridgewater is officially in the NFL’s concussion protocol, meaning that he can’t practice until at least Friday, the earliest he can clear the protocol. So Lock will be practicing with the first team this week, and he is preparing to start this weekend at Pittsburgh, another very good defense.
Julio Jones and A.J. Brown – Titans WRs
We saw what happened with the Titans when they didn’t have either Julio Jones or A.J. Brown in their lineup. Both players missed Week 4 with hamstring injuries, and Tennessee gave the Jets their first win of the season.
Tennessee is facing another winless team this week in the Jaguars, and they may be missing both players for another game. It is widely expected that the severity of Brown’s injury will keep him on the sideline for another week. Conventional wisdom might also point to resting Jones and making sure his hamstring is healthy, considering the quality of the opponent. Of course, you would have thought the same thing last week.
Neither player is expected to practice to begin the week, and decisions on their availability won’t be made until at least Friday.
Rashod Bateman – NFL Ravens WR
Lamar Jackson is coming off a 300-yard performance against a very good Broncos secondary, and now he’s about to get one of his weapons back.
Rashod Bateman missed the entire preseason and the first four games of the regular season after core muscle surgery, but he is now off injured reserve and expected to be activated for Monday night’s game against the Colts. The BetUS Sportsbook’s NFL odds list the Ravens as touchdown favorites.
The rookie wide receiver has missed a ton of time with Jackson, so don’t expect him to step into a major role right off the bat. But with the Chargers in Week 6, and a division foe in Cincinnati in Week 7, getting him back is big.
Joe Mixon – Bengals RB
Speaking of the Bengals, they host the Packers this week in a battle of 3-1 first-place teams, and they are hopeful that the 10 days of rest for Joe Mixon’s ankle will be enough to get him back on the field. He left last Thursday’s game with an ankle sprain, but it’s said to be only a low-grade sprain.
Head coach Zac Taylor updated Mixon’s condition on Monday, and said, “Don’t read anything into it if he’s limited early in the week. I know he wants to play and will do everything he can to put himself in that position.”
The Bengals are also expecting wide receiver Tee Higgins to return to practice this week, but it’s too soon to tell if he will be ready to play on Sunday.
Signs in the betting market might be positive, as Cincinnati was catching as many as 3½ points on NFL point spread odds, bought down to an even three on Wednesday.
Tua Tagovailoa – NFL Dolphins QB
An expected good season for the Dolphins has gone even further south than Miami, and the offense without Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback is a major struggle. Against the Colts in Week 4 they managed just three points in the first three-quarters of play, and it wasn’t until they were already down by 17 in the fourth quarter that they scored their first touchdown.
It’s unclear how much getting Tua back will help, but according to reports, he is expected to be ready to go for Miami’s Week 6 game against the Jaguars. But unfortunately for Dolphins fans looking for in-state bragging rights, that does mean he won’t be available for this week’s game at Tampa Bay.
Jacoby Brissett will get the start against the defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers, which is no easy task for any quarterback.
As for the Tua timeline, he would get the Jaguars and Falcons, two very winnable games, before the Dolphins travel to Buffalo for a huge game on Halloween.
