Who Should I Start? Brock Bowers or J.J. McCarthy

Wednesday, October 29, 3:27 PM

Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers (knee) will be a full participant in the team's first practice of the week on Wednesday, according to Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team. Meanwhile, head coach Pete Carroll said that Bowers has "looked great" and is "playing at full speed," per ESPN's Ryan McFadden. The Raiders were saying before their Week 8 bye that the second-year TE was expected back in Week 9 to face the Jacksonville Jaguars, and a full practice for Bowers on Wednesday confirms that. The 22-year-old initially suffered a PCL injury and a bone bruise in the season opener and tried to play through it. He hasn't played since Week 4, though, so fantasy managers are certainly itching to get him back into their starting lineups. As long as Bowers doesn't suffer a setback with his knee in practice this week, he should start on Sunday against the Jags, where he'll be a TE1 in all fantasy formats.

Wednesday, October 29, 4:56 PM

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (ankle) will have a full week to prepare before returning as the starter for Week 9 against the Detroit Lions, according to Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune. McCarthy is expected to step back in as Minnesota's starting quarterback for the first time since Week 2 against the Atlanta Falcons, when he suffered a high-ankle sprain that caused him to miss five games. The 2024 first-round pick struggled to adjust to the speed of the NFL in his first two games, completing 24 of 41 pass attempts for 301 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions to go with nine sacks taken. The 22-year-old will have plenty of growing pains after missing all of his rookie year with a knee injury, but head coach Kevin O'Connell has expressed confidence in him as their starter going forward. It's a tough spot to make his return, with a hostile road environment awaiting in Detroit for Week 9.