Le'Veon Bell, Courtland Sutton, Terry McLaurin Buzz in Fantasy Football Roundup

It's time for the Halloween edition of the weekly fantasy football roundup, when we discuss a running back who surprisingly saw his usage fall off a cliff last week (ghoulish!), two wide receivers who could be negatively impacted by backup quarterbacks entering the fray (terrifying!) and go through some of the injury updates you need to know (spooky!).

Let's get to it. 

Le'Veon Bell

Le'Veon Bell had just eight carries for 23 yards last week, and frankly, he wasn't thrilled with that number. But it sounds as though Bell and head coach Adam Gase smoothed over any issues, and the hope will be that Bell receives a healthier workload against the Miami Dolphins this week:

The former All-Pro hasn't exactly lived up to expectations this season, though New York's impotent offense hasn't helped in that regard. Bell, on his own, hasn't been all that bad.

And the matchups going forward are very tasty. In the next six weeks, Bell gets the Dolphins (last in the NFL in fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs, per Yahoo Sports) twice, the New York Giants (20th), Washington (27th), the Oakland Raiders (15th) and the Cincinnati Bengals (31st).

Expect a bounce-back from Bell in the coming weeks. For the next six games, he's firmly in the RB1 conversation, unless the Jets decide to not feature the running back they paid major money for in the offseason.

That would be a curious choice, to say the least. Hopefully, Bell's brief spell without much production is coming to a close.

Courtland Sutton

Denver's second-year wideout, Courtland Sutton, has been having a nice season with Joe Flacco at quarterback. But that might be coming to a close, with Flacco reportedly set to miss 4-6 weeks with a neck injury, per Adam Schefter of ESPN:

That means Brandon Allen, he of zero NFL starts or appearances, will be promoted to starting quarterback. That also means Sutton may be getting a major downgrade at quarterback, with his fantasy production to potentially nosedive as well.

Sutton has already acknowledged that the pair need to work out their timing, per Chad Jensen of SI.com:

"Timing. Timing is the biggest key. Joe and I have been working on timing since OTAs, so that's a lot of time to get a lot of reps, lot of routes on air, a lot of seven-on-seven and a lot of in practice good-on-good reps. It's a lot of stuff that Brandon and I and the rest of receivers are going to have to learn with him moving forward at a really quick pace, but you know we're excited for it. I know he's ready for it as well."

Sutton should continue to see regular targets, of course, with Emmanuel Sanders no longer in Denver. But it's probably safer to view him as a flex consideration going forward rather than a WR2, or at least until Flacco returns.

Terry McLaurin 

It sure looks as though Dwayne Haskins will be Washington's starting quarterback this week, with Case Keenum still recovering from a concussion.

"I get hyped every day I get to put a helmet on," Haskins said Wednesday, per Kareem Copeland of the Washington Post. "Even more excited to put a first start on film, even more excited about it."

Fantasy players with Terry McLaurin on their roster might be a bit less excited about it, however.

In games that Keenum has started and finished, McLaurin has registered 21 receptions for 368 yards and five touchdowns. With Colt McCoy at quarterback against the New England Patriots, McLaurin has caught three passes for 51 yards. And this past week against the Minnesota Vikings, when both Keenum and Haskins played, McLaurin managed just four receptions for 39 yards.

In terms of averages, McLaurin is posting 4.2 receptions, 73.6 receiving yards and one touchdown per game in contests Keenum starts and finishes, or about 17 fantasy points per game in point-per-reception leagues. If Keenum sits or doesn't finish the game, those averages dip down to 3.5 receptions for 45 yards, or eight fantasy points per contest.

That's not a promising trend, especially with a solid Buffalo defense up next. If Haskins starts, McLaurin is a nothing more than a flex consideration this week.

Part of McLaurin's recent downturn in production has been tough matchups against the San Francisco 49ers and the Vikings. But having a rookie quarterback who appears to be more of a project and lacks polish—even one he has familiarity with from their days playing together at Ohio State—won't help his cause. 

Quick Hitters

The New England Patriots cut ties with Josh Gordon on Thursday, nuking whatever shred of fantasy value he had remaining:

The natural conclusion here would be that Phillip Dorsett II and Mohamed Sanu Sr. might be getting an upgrade in fantasy. But Dorsett has been pretty underwhelming since his Week 1 performance (four receptions for 95 yards and two scores), scoring two more touchdowns in his next five contests but failing to go above 60 receiving yards in any of them.

Sanu, meanwhile, managed just two receptions for 23 yards in his Patriots debut. Not very inspiring stuff, though the hope will be his rapport with Brady improves over time and that his numbers improve simultaneously.

But in New England, players like Brady, Julian Edelman, James White and Sony Michel remain safe options in fantasy. Everyone else is risky business, with or without Gordon on the roster.

And now to injury and practice situations to monitor:

• Washington's Adrian Peterson didn't practice Wednesday or Thursday.
• Tennessee Titans tight end Delanie Walker didn't practice on Thursday.
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end O.J. Howard didn't practice on Thursday, but Cameron Brate did.
• Indianapolis Colts wideout T.Y. Hilton didn't practice Thursday after being a limited participant on Wednesday.
• Green Bay Packers wide receiver Davante Adams practiced on Thursday for the first time since late September.
• Pittsburgh Steelers running back James Conner hasn't practiced the past two days.
• New York Giants wideout Sterling Shepard, who has missed the past three games, practiced Thursday.