Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding WR Calvin Ridley.
Is Calvin Ridley Playing in Week 9?
Calvin Ridley, who’d been battling a foot injury in recent weeks, is now dealing with a shoulder problem. Fresh off his best game with Tennessee, Ridley failed to participate in Wednesday’s practice.
The good news is he returned to full practice on Thursday and Friday. Ridley is no longer listed on the Titans; injury report and will play against the Patriots in Week 9.
The Titans took it easy with Ridley entering last week’s game. He didn’t practice on Wednesday or Thursday before returning for a full session on Friday. The club seemingly followed a similar pattern this week.
Calvin Ridley balled tf out in Week 8
slot and stacked alignments allowed him to easily attack the Lions secondary pic.twitter.com/EaEmdY6xoV
— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) October 29, 2024
Ridley finished as fantasy’s WR4 last week after grabbing 10 receptions on 15 targets for 143 yards. He was the overall WR6 in Week 4 but hasn’t been a top-50 option in any other game.
The Titans traded Hopkins last week, while Tyler Boyd (shoulder) is questionable for Week 9. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and sixth-round rookie Jha’Quan Jackson are the only other wide receivers on the club’s active roster.
We’ll continue to monitor the Titans’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Calvin Ridley in Week 9?
Calvin Ridley’s 118 first-quarter receiving yards were the 10th most in a first quarter since the start of 2015 and came out of nowhere, given that he entered the game with 56 receiving yards in his previous four games.
The next three quarters played out like the first seven weeks (25 receiving yards), and that is why Ridley still doesn’t make it into Flex conversations for me. His role is clear, and the targets aren’t going anywhere, but the floor/ceiling combination isn’t worth it.
He’s the unquestioned alpha in an offense that is going to be playing from behind consistently, and somehow he has one — count ‘em, one — end-zone target. You’re chasing 15 good minutes and overlooking a month of struggles, and that’s a good way to lose ground in your fantasy standings.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 9 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Calvin Ridley’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 9
Ridley is projected to score 12.2 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 4.3 receptions for 49.9 yards and 0.4 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insights: New England Patriots Defense
The New England Patriots have not had a lot to be positive about this season. Their special teams are their one bright spot because their offense and defense have been in a race for the bottom of the rankings this year. The offense just got there first before they made the change to Drake Maye, but the defense is not far behind.
Normally, we would try to highlight what a team is “good” at, but with the Patriots, it is about what they are least bad at. They are 19th in success rate against the run and 20th in red-zone efficiency, which are hardly great numbers to make a fuss about.
Given that Jerod Mayo is a defensive-minded head coach, the performance of this defense is arguably a bigger concern than an offense we always knew could struggle.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Calvin Ridley’s Week 9 Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 11:45 PM ET on Saturday, January 25.
Conference Championship WR PPR Rankings
1) A.J. Brown | PHI (vs. WAS)
2) Terry McLaurin | WAS (at PHI)
3) DeVonta Smith | PHI (vs. WAS)
4) Khalil Shakir | BUF (at KC)
5) Xavier Worthy | KC (vs. BUF)
6) Hollywood Brown | KC (vs. BUF)
7) DeAndre Hopkins | KC (vs. BUF)
8) Keon Coleman | BUF (at KC)
9) Dyami Brown | WAS (at PHI)
10) Mack Hollins | BUF (at KC)
11) Amari Cooper | BUF (at KC)
12) Curtis Samuel | BUF (at KC)
13) Olamide Zaccheaus | WAS (at PHI)
14) JuJu Smith-Schuster | KC (vs. BUF)
15) Jahan Dotson | PHI (vs. WAS)
16) Jamison Crowder | WAS (at PHI)
17) Luke McCaffrey | WAS (at PHI)
18) Justin Watson | KC (vs. BUF)
19) Johnny Wilson | PHI (vs. WAS)
20) Parris Campbell | PHI (vs. WAS)
21) Nikko Remigio | KC (vs. BUF)
22) Ainias Smith | PHI (vs. WAS)
New England Patriots at Tennessee Titans Insights
New England Patriots
Team: The Patriots beat the Jets on Sunday with 247 yards of offense. Surprisingly, that was the eighth time in eight weeks a team has won with under 250 yards of offense (the Broncos also did it to the Jets in Week 4).
QB: Jacoby Brissett has yet to clear 5.5 yards per attempt in a game this season and has two touchdown passes on 159 attempts (Will Levis thinks that’s a low rate; he has five on 125 attempts this season).
Offense: The Patriots have converted six of seven red zone trips into touchdowns over the past three weeks (Weeks 1-5: 4-of-13).
Defense: New England’s defensive game plan adjusts as much week over week as any. They blitzed 17.2% of the time on Sunday – they’ve been at 25%, the lowest in four games, but also at 40% or the highest in three games, including Weeks 6-7).
Fantasy: Rhamondre Stevenson scored a pair of touchdowns on Sunday, but his 27 carries over the past two weeks have gained just 66 yards, and if Drake Maye misses time, even more running lanes are likely to close.
Betting: The Patriots are 1-3 ATS on the road this season – they’ve had plenty of issues since Tom Brady left town, but they’ve yet to have a losing ATS road record since his departure.
Tennessee Titans
Team: The Titans have been blown out in back-to-back weeks by Super Bowl contenders, but they own a +9 point differential this season in three games that are sub-.500 this season.
QB: Mason Rudolph averaged 15.6 yards per pass in the first quarter on Sunday and 3.9 the rest of the way.
Offense: The Titans converted 46.2% of their third downs in 2020. That number dipped to 43.6% in 2021, 36.5% in 2022, and 33.5% in 2023. Through eight weeks this season? The trend continues: 30.6%.
Defense: The Titans have failed to force a turnover in five of seven games this season.
Fantasy: Calvin Ridley had 118 first-quarter receiving yards, the 10th most in a first quarter since the start of 2015. He entered the game with 56 receiving yards in his four games prior.
Betting: The Titans have failed to cover all three home games this season and are just 1-5-1 ATS over their past seven in front of their fans.
