Who Should I Start? Sterling Shepard or Noah Brown

Friday, January 10, 6:16 PM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Sterling Shepard (foot) upgraded to a full practice on Friday and was removed from the final injury report for wild-card weekend. Shepard was limited in practice on Wednesday and Thursday but will be active on Sunday evening to face the visiting Washington Commanders. The 31-year-old veteran pass-catcher will be looking for a better performance after catching one of his two targets for 11 yards in the Week 18 win over the division-rival New Orleans Saints. Although the Bucs had one of the best passing offenses in the league in 2024, Shepard has struggled to maintain any kind of fantasy value with limited targets on a weekly basis. He'll continue to serve as the No. 3 behind Mike Evans and rookie Jalen McMillan, giving him minimal upside as a flex play in postseason leagues. Shepard's only touchdown of the year came back on Oct. 3.

Thursday, December 12, 12:08 PM

Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn said that wide receiver Noah Brown (ribs) will miss several weeks and potentially the rest of the season after sustaining an internal injury in the Week 13 win over the Tennessee Titans. The Commanders had a bye in Week 14, but Brown's injury is serious enough that he won't be ready to go for the Week 15 contest this Sunday in New Orleans against the Saints. With Brown hurt, the Commanders claimed receiver K.J. Osborn off waivers from the New England Patriots earlier this week. Osborn will give Washington more depth at the position, but Dyami Brown, Olamide Zaccheaus and rookie Luke McCaffrey will get be the ones that will battle for WR2 duties with Brown injured behind Terry McLaurin. Tight end Zach Ertz might actually benefit the most from a target perspective in fantasy.