This has been a weird week, and I'm not just talking about the Michigan/Western Michigan game. Week 1 is now just hours away from starting, and the silly preseason questions should have been answered already. The phantom injuries get resolved, the starters are ready for game action and fantasy managers finally have some clarity as to their rosters.
That's how it normally works, anyway. So why are we still looking for this elusive clarity before the first games start?
Some questions have been resolved one way or the other. Patrick Mahomes is basically guaranteed to be behind center when Kansas City takes on the Broncos. Isiah Pacheco is definitely guaranteed to miss the first four games, and maybe even his role as Jahmyr Gibbs' backup. So far so good.
But as of this writing, I don't know what Ashton Jeanty's role will be in week 1, if any. I'm still not sure what's going on with Emeka Egbuka. Is TreVeyon Henderson going to be active tomorrow? I'm not even speculating as to who should suit up, or who would be useful in fantasy if they do. I'm just wondering why we can't even get a straight answer regarding important players who are days (or hours) away from their first game of the season.
Even when we get late resolution, the answers are borderline ridiculous. Just a couple of days ago, the Falcons refused to name a starter for week 1. Now Penix won't even be active, and they don't know if he'll be ready for week 2, either. How did he go from "potential starter" to "who knows when he'll be back?" And Mike Evans stated that whatever injuries he dealt with before the regular season were not significant. Hey, that would have been nice to know at any point over the summer.
I've come to accept that coaches lie for various reasons. I'm fine with starters not seeing a single snap in the preseason. I'm even okay with teams taking it easy on valuable teammates in September, knowing they'll need them healthy later in the year. But how do we still not know if Egbuka is sidelined, ready to go, limited, or something else? I'm not even sure just how healthy Malik Nabers really is. And this column was published Tuesday morning.
By the time you read this, a few of these questions might be answered. I had to update this column when the news dropped regarding Penix and Tagovailoa. But that doesn't invalidate the main point: How long are teams going to keep us in the dark in the very first week? I get that NFL strategy includes not tipping your hand too early with regard to starters and injuries, but it's getting ridiculous. Teams mostly know the answers to these questions already. They're just being coy about them. And while using your depth is part of fantasy football, it shouldn't be this up in the air in early September. I expect mind games in December. I just didn't expect so many before week 1.
The teams don't care, of course. They can wait all the way up until 90 minutes before game time to declare players inactive. Maybe we should be grateful the Falcons didn't wait until then to declare a starter. And most fantasy formats let you make lineup decisions right up until gametime, so you're usually allowed to adjust to those late-breaking decisions.
If you can, that is. Managing a team is easier than ever from a technical standpoint, but also more challenging from a subterfuge standpoint. I'm old enough to remember getting stats and information from USA Today, and I specifically recall a midweek article regarding the availability of the Cowboys' running back one weekend in the 90s. The headline read:
Emmitt Smith: 'I'm Gonna Play'
Can you imagine that kind of clarity from a star NFL player in 2026, days before their game? What would that headline look like today?
Emmitt Smith : 'I'm definitely feeling better. It's just a matter of being able to do the things I need to do on the field. I want to be out there with my teammates, but I also want to be smart about it. We'll see what happens.'
That's way too long for a headline, and it would probably be said less than 24 hours before kickoff. Then you'd have to wait until the team declared inactives to see whether or not he would play. It's all part of the fun, right?
Well, maybe. But hear me out: Suppose, just suppose, that you weren't able to scour all the information right up until gametime? What if you had other responsibilities? Other things you had to do? You're an active manager, you follow the news, you run your team based on current information. You just can't be on call to your fantasy team 24/7. That lack of availability can hurt you in today's game.
I'm not saying there's a great solution here, but I am saying that week 1 is already a bad sign with regard to player information. Fantasy managers will have to get used to knowing less and less about their own starting lineups until the last possible moment. I know we can get updates on our phones so you can excuse yourself from church or the emergency room or your family or whatever silly thing is getting in the way of fantasy football. But we're not talking about a pivotal December divisional matchup with a playoff spot on the line. It's week 1. So set up your notifications, and good luck this week.
How do you keep up with your player updates? Are you 100 percent sure of your week 1 starters, or are you still waiting for more information? Share your thoughts below.
