USA Today Sports has live coverage of theSteelers vs. Packers in today’s NFL ‘Sunday Night Football.’

Congratulations to fantasy football managers who survived ‘Byemageddon’ in Week 8. A new challenge will await them in Week 9, when four more teams are out of action.

The Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers will all be off in Week 9. That will render several big-name fantasy producers – namely Saquon Barkley and Emeka Egbuka – unavailable, leaving fantasy managers looking for solid bye-week replacements.

Meanwhile, other fantasy footballers will be looking for injury replacements. New York Giants rookie Cam Skattebo suffered a gruesome-looking ankle injury in Week 8, so his replacements will be among the hottest potential adds on the Week 9 waiver wire.

This week, the waiver wire contains more intriguing running back targets than usual. There are also a couple of passing-game weapons that could be nice upside plays or bye-week fillers for fantasy managers in need of help in that area.

Here’s a look at the best players to target on waivers ahead of Week 9.

Week 9 fantasy football waiver wire targets

RB Tyrone Tracy Jr., New York Giants (Rostered in 48% of Yahoo leagues)

Giants running back Cam Skattebo suffered a gruesome ankle dislocation in the second quarter of the team’s Week 8 game against the Eagles. He was carted off in an air cast and he figures to be out long-term, if not for the remainder of his rookie season.

That will open the door for Tracy to re-emerge as New York’s lead back. The second-year pro racked up 39 yards on 10 carries, most of which came after Skattebo’s exit. The 25-year-old entered Sunday’s game having averaged just 3.5 yards per carry on the season, but he totaled 1,123 scrimmage yards and five touchdowns across 12 starts (and 17 appearances) during his rookie campaign in 2024.

RB Devin Singletary, New York Giants (Rostered in 1% of Yahoo leagues)

The Giants figure to feature Tracy as their primary Skattebo replacement, but Singletary is also part of the plan to replace Skattebo. The 28-year-old had three touches and 28 yards after the rookie left Sunday’s game, but he could see increased action moving forward.

Last season, Singletary averaged just 6.2 touches per game from Week 7 on compared to Tracy’s 15.6. Still, the veteran is worth adding as a high-end handcuff who could emerge as a matchup-dependent flex if the Giants lighten Tracy’s workload because of an early-season shoulder dislocation.

RB Tank Bigsby, Philadelphia Eagles (Rostered in 17% of Yahoo leagues)

Bigsby was viewed as a solid fantasy sleeper to start the 2025 NFL season but an in-season trade to the Eagles briefly quashed his value. Now, the 24-year-old has emerged as the clear-cut backup behind Saquon Barkley and fared well in the fourth quarter after Barkley exited the game with a groin issue.

Barkley may not miss any time because of his injury, especially with the Eagles on bye in Week 9. Still, Bigsby showed what he could do if Barkley ever does miss a game, racking up 104 yards on nine carries in relief of him. Fantasy managers should act accordingly and get him on their rosters as a high-upside handcuff.

RB Dylan Sampson, Cleveland Browns (Rostered in 13% of Yahoo leagues)

Sampson is in a similar boat to Bigsby. The starter in front of him (Quinshon Judkins) got hurt, but the severity of the injury isn’t yet clear. The Browns are also heading into a Week 9 bye, so Judkins may not miss much time.

Even so, Sampson is worth adding. He seems to have usurped the backup role from Jerome Ford – who has been the subject of trade rumors – and would be in line to emerge as Cleveland’s backfield leader if Judkins does miss any time.

Sampson didn’t log a yard on three carries against the Patriots, but he had five catches for 26 as a checkdown option for Dillon Gabriel. That could give him flex value in PPR leagues even if Judkins ends up being OK.

RB Isaiah Davis, New York Jets (Rostered in 9% of Yahoo leagues)

Davis remains behind Breece Hall in New York’s running back rotation, but Hall has been the subject of trade rumors. If the Jets trade the free-agent-to-be, that could allow Davis to step into the lead back role in New York with Braelon Allen (knee) still out of action.

Even if the Jets keep Hall, Davis can still be trusted as a flex in PPR leagues. He had five catches for 44 yards against the Bengals as part of a 12-touch, 109-yard outing.

WR Jayden Higgins, Houston Texans (Rostered in 27% of Yahoo leagues)

With Nico Collins out in Week 8, Higgins emerged as C.J. Stroud’s favorite target. The rookie saw a team-high eight targets and turned them into four catches for 34 yards and a touchdown.

Higgins may not see as high a target share when Collins returns from his concussion. Still, he could earn the team’s No. 2 receiver position as the season progresses, at which point the 6-4, 215-pound wide-out would be an intriguing fantasy option thanks to his size.

WR Jaylin Noel, Houston Texans (Rostered in 9% of Yahoo leagues)

Like Higgins, Noel has started building chemistry with Stroud. Noel posted five catches for 63 yards a week after generating four catches for 77 yards against the Seahawks.

Noel (5-11, 201 pounds) may not profile as the same type of scoring threat as Higgins, but his shiftiness and separation skills should make him a solid WR3 or flex option moving forward.

WR Troy Franklin, Denver Broncos (Rostered in 37% of Yahoo leagues)

Franklin had a great showing against Dallas’ bottom-ranked defense against fantasy wide receivers. The second-year pro led the team in targets (8), receptions (6), receiving yards (89) and receiving touchdowns (2) while continuing to show great chemistry with Bo Nix.

Franklin has a tough matchup on deck with the Houston Texans, but he’s still worth rostering as the second-most targeted player on a solid-looking Broncos offense.

QB Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks (Rostered in 36% of Yahoo leagues)

Jalen Hurts and Baker Mayfield are on bye in Week 9. Fantasy managers searching for replacements for them can look no further than Darnold, who is facing a solid-looking matchup with a Commanders team that has surrendered the sixth-most fantasy points per game to QBs entering Week 8.

Darnold has posted multiple passing touchdowns in four of his last six games and is averaging 250.6 passing yards per game this season. He has a high floor and should be ready for a big outing after his Week 8 bye.

In Sunday’s 38-14 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, the No. 1 pick in this year’s NFL draft once again aired out his feelings in a public fashion.

With the Titans trailing 17-7 in the third quarter, Tennessee opted to punt from Indianapolis’ 42-yard line after being stonewalled on a third-and-3 run by Tony Pollard. That call didn’t sit well with Ward, who appeared to mouth an expletive and question the decision by interim coach Mike McCoy in an interaction that quickly became a viral clip on social media.

Johnny Hekker’s punt only went 22 yards, and Colts running back Jonathan Taylor raced for an 80-yard touchdown on Indianapolis’ next play.

‘I think I’m a competitor,’ Ward said in a postgame news conference when asked about the interaction. ‘Our whole offense is like that. Our whole defense is like that. … I just think the biggest thing is we want to be an aggressive team. Especially with the record we have right now, we have to be an aggressive team at the end of the season to get where we want to be.’

Ward stood by his reaction but said it was a product of an aggressive mindset, adding that the problem was ultimately one of execution.

‘I just think it’s a missed opportunity for us as a team to get a first down and keep the drive moving. We weren’t down that much at that time,’ Ward said. ‘So, we’re going to always support whatever decision is made, but at the end of the day, we shouldn’t put ourselves in that position. We should get the first down on third down.’

McCoy, who was in just his second game as interim coach after Tennessee fired Brian Callahan, said he believed that the thinking that drove the decision was sound despite the outcome.

‘It was something we talked about,’ McCoy said of weighing whether to go for it on fourth down. ‘You know, hindsight, you look back and the last thing I thought they were going to do was have the big touchdown run after that. So yeah, I got it. You look back and say, ‘I should have gone for that.’ But initially when I said to punt it, you pin them deep, and the defense had done nice through the second quarter.’

Ward completed 22 of 38 passes for 259 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Save for a 22-21 win over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 5, the Titans have dropped every game since their season opener by at least 10 points.

Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin is a top target for these openings, with potential offers reaching $13-14 million annually.
Kiffin’s success with the transfer portal and roster building has made him a highly sought-after commodity.
Despite his success at Ole Miss, Kiffin has not yet won a Power conference championship or reached the College Football Playoff.

Imagine you’re Lane Kiffin, and a potentially magical season is unfolding at Ole Miss while college football is going to hell around you. 

And everyone wants a piece of you. 

They’re practically firing coaches all over the country to get in line to offer Kiffin $13-14 million annually to reset their program and find a way to recapture the glory. 

Penn State fired James Franklin less than a year after he was one play from the national championship game. Florida fired Billy Napier after a win.

LSU needed a stiff bourbon, but eventually got around Sunday to firing Brian Kelly and giving him $53 million in go away money. And the only reason Hugh Freeze hasn’t been fired by Auburn is the decision-makers with all the cash tried to hire Kiffin three years ago. And failed. 

So there’s no incentive to fire a colossal failure of a coach, whom you hired because of his skillset at coaching and developing offense — and your offense is among the worst in the Power conferences.

Auburn will just wait in that other line over there. And maybe take a run at a guy named Urb.

These universities may as well be degenerate gamblers. What’s the difference?

They may as well be bellied up to the craps table, sweating and shaking and knowing ― I mean, just knowing ― this roll of the dice with $53 million stacked on one number isn’t imploding on the come out.

Come on, sevens!

Meanwhile back in reality, Kiffin is a year removed from blowing an opportunity to reach the College Football Playoff because of unthinkable losses to a terrible Kentucky team, and a Florida team that was on the verge of firing its coach but didn’t. 

Think about that fiscally reckless move: Florida could’ve gotten Kiffin much cheaper last year. Now they’ll have to make him the highest-paid coach in college football. Fully guaranteed, of course.  

That is, if he doesn’t think LSU is a better fit. 

This is where we are in this nuthouse of panic over patience, of if we don’t make a move, someone else will. There are other coaches who will be among the top of the collective wish list (Oregon’s Dan Lanning, Louisville’s Jeff Brohm, Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz), but there’s little doubt these early firings are a move to get in line for the hottest coach of the moment. 

For a coach who has never reached the CFP, and never won a Power conference championship. It doesn’t mean Kiffin can’t or won’t, it just means he hasn’t.

And he’s going to make bank no matter what. 

Years ago, when then-Florida coach Steve Spurrier was the only college football coach earning a million a year, Washington hired Rick Neuheisel away from Colorado and paid him a million annually. 

Spurrier and Neuheisel were (and still are) good friends and golfing buddies, and Spurrier quipped to Neuheisel, “How much are they going to pay you when you win a championship, Ricky?”

As much as anything, they’re getting in line to pay Kiffin because he — maybe more than anyone — has figured out this transfer portal business. In the age of player empowerment, Kiffin understands and embraces the maddening job of roster building.

The multiple double-digit win seasons at SEC outcast Ole Miss is impressive, but imagine if he were at a program that could consistently land a Top-5 high school recruiting class — and then supplement from the portal.

Instead of turning over his roster every season. 

If you’re wondering why Kiffin would leave a program he has built into an elite player in the CFP race, look no further. At some point, there will be a missed season (or two) from the transfer portal, and then you’re chasing. 

Just look at Mike Norvell at Florida State. He somehow can’t consistently recruit high school players at an elite level, and has been reduced to the grab bag that is the portal. 

Who among us would ever think the FSU coach would struggle recruiting elite high school talent? In the state of Florida. 

You don’t need to imagine what Kiffin would do as a coach at Florida or Florida State, deep in the heart of one of the top three states for high school talent. Back in the day, Kiffin and his young pal Steve Sarkisian recruited the state of California like few have, loading up Pete Carroll’s USC roster for a dynastic run of conference championships and national titles.

Kiffin will crush high school recruiting in Florida or Louisiana (another talent-rich state), and the pressure of relying on the portal season after season won’t take a majority of his coaching oxygen. 

All of these programs lining up for Kiffin have similar money, and none are more invested than the other. Ole Miss will do whatever Kiffin wants to keep him, both contractually and an increase of NIL funds. 

This decision, no matter how many more blue-blood programs get in line, will be more about ease of transition and roster building. Not similar money and NIL commitments.

When Kiffin accepted his first major college job in 2009 at Tennessee, he roared into the stoic league taking shots at everyone. Coaches, players, the SEC commissioner; you name it, no one was safe. 

He later admitted he did so because the Tennessee job was suddenly stale and needed a jolt of life. He was the center of attention for all the wrong reasons. 

Now he’s in the thick of it again as the only right in a sea of wrong. 

And he’s going to make bank no matter what.

Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB. 

Anthony Edwards suffered a hamstring injury early in the Minnesota Timberwolves’ game against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday, Oct. 26.

He was ruled out for the rest of the game.

Edwards went 2-for-5 from the field (1-for-3 from long range) for five points and collected a rebound before exiting the game after three minutes of play.

Edwards made a two-point shot off an assist from Jaden McDaniels to give the Timberwolves a 13-5 lead with 8:53 left in the first quarter. After the Pacers called a timeout,  Bones Hyland entered the game, replacing Edwards.

Edwards led Minnesota’s offensive production through the first two games of the season, averaging 36 points.

USA Today Sports has live coverage of theSteelers vs. Packers in today’s NFL ‘Sunday Night Football.’

Kayvon Thibodeaux has his own biases when it comes to his view of the controversial tush push call that ruled Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts’ forward progress was stopped before the New York Giants linebacker ripped the ball out of his hands.

And he made his point of view clear to reporters after the Giants lost 38-20 to the Eagles on Oct. 26.

‘Man, I don’t know, that’s some (expletive), honestly, when it comes to that play,’ Thibodeaux said when asked about the play and its fallout.

This time, Hurts lunged forward and pushed the ball beyond the line of gain for a first down, but  Thibodeaux snatched the pigskin from Hurts’ clutches. The side judge, however, had ruled that Hurts’ forward progress had been stopped.

‘He said they called the forward progress before he reached the ball out,’ Thibodeaux said. ‘Sounds like some (expletive) to me.’

‘That’s a very smart, heads-up football play … tough not to have that go our way,’ linebacker Bobby Okereke said.

Thibodeaux actually sympathized with the refs.

‘They got a hard job because they don’t know when to stop it,’ he said.

Thibodeaux continued: ‘At the end of the day, you just got to keep playing man, try to give it your best.’

As Thibodeaux wrapped up his comments, teammate Brian Burns reminded him that the NFL will likely be taking some money out of his account in the form of a fine for being critical of the refs.

‘Sorry. I mean, that was a great call by the ref.’

The Jets ended their winless start to the season by stunning the Bengals for a 39-38 win on Sunday.
New York parlayed a big day into the ground into Aaron Glenn’s first win as a head coach.
Cincinnati led for almost the entirety of the game but couldn’t cool the Jets’ offense down the stretch.

A week of internal strife led to a breakthrough performance for the New York Jets.

After owner Woody Johnson criticized starting quarterback Justin Fields and coach Aaron Glenn didn’t tip his hand on who would start behind center Sunday, the Jets parlayed a long-awaited offensive breakout into a 39-38 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, ending the team’s 0-7 skid to start the season.

New York trailed from the early moments of the first quarter until 1:54 left in the fourth, when running back Breece Hall threw a touchdown pass to rookie tight end Mason Taylor for the lead.

The Jets forced a turnover on downs at midfield on the ensuing drive to seal the first win of Glenn’s coaching career.

New York’s offense, which broke its 10-quarter touchdown drought, scored on seven of its final eight drives prior to Fields kneeling down to secure the outcome.

The Jets ran for 254 yards and two touchdowns on 37 total carries. Fields, who retained his starting job with veteran Tyrod Taylor sidelined by a knee injury, threw for 244 yards and a touchdown on 21-of-32 passing.

Cincinnati dropped to 3-5, squandering a prime opportunity to build on last week’s win over the Pittsburgh Steelers to return to the fringe of the AFC playoff picture.

USA Today Sports has live coverage of theSteelers vs. Packers in today’s NFL ‘Sunday Night Football.’

The Pittsburgh Steelers are facing the Green Bay Packers on ‘Sunday Night Football’ in Week 8, and NFL fans will quickly notice they aren’t wearing their usual uniform combination.

Instead, the Steelers are donning throwback uniforms for the contest. The look is paying homage to the 1933 version of the team uniforms but has added a few new elements to further honor the city of Pittsburgh.

Here’s what to know about the Steelers’ throwback uniforms for their Week 8 game against the Packers.

Pittsburgh Steelers uniforms today

The uniforms the Steelers are wearing for Sunday’s game do not have a special name. They are merely being referred to as the team’s ‘1933 Throwback Uniforms,’ according to the team’s official website.

Other iterations of throwback uniforms the Steelers have worn have been affectionately referred to as ‘The Bumblebees.’ That moniker, however, is typically reserved for the iteration of jerseys featuring alternative black-and-yellow horizontal stripes.

Pittsburgh Steelers throwback uniforms

The jersey will be complemented by a helmet with ‘a gold matte finish,’ a gray facemask, and a black stripe down the middle. The players will also wear beige pants as part of the ensemble.

The front of the jerseys will feature the City of Pittsburgh crest on the left shoulder. This is ‘to honor the team’s connection to the city,’ per the team.

Many Steelers players have expressed excitement about wearing the new version of the throwback jerseys.

‘I’m really excited for it, and to be wearing them on ‘Sunday Night Football,’ it’s going to be awesome,’ edge rusher Alex Highsmith told Steelers.com. ‘Everyone’s going to be able to see them. It won’t be a regular one o’clock game. It’ll be a primetime game. I’m just excited for everyone to see them.’

Brian Kelly was considered a home-run hire when he was plucked by LSU from Notre Dame ahead of the 2022 season. His tenure didn’t go as planned, however, resulting in the school moving on from the fourth-year coach, as confirmed by LSU after multiple reports.

LSU (5-3, 2-3 in SEC play) fell out of the US LBM Coaches Poll after its 49-25 loss to Texas A&M in Week 9. The loss was the Tigers’ third in their last four games, as offensive struggles continue to plague the team. It reached arguably its lowest point on Oct. 25, with fans chanting ‘Fire Kelly’ in the first quarter of a blowout.

LSU has only scored 26 points or more in one game this season, which came against FCS Southeastern Louisiana in a 56-10 win. Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, viewed as a potential Heisman Trophy contender and top NFL draft prospect entering the season, has also struggled this season

Kelly ultimately never fit at LSU, and now the Tigers are paying for the hire. Here are Kelly’s contract details, including how much LSU owes him in a buyout if fired without cause:

Brian Kelly buyout

Kelly is owed approximately $54 million if fired without cause, according to a copy of his contract obtained by the USA TODAY Network. The number is one of the most expensive buyouts in college football history, behind Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M and ahead of James Franklin at Penn State.

LSU owes Kelly 90% of his remaining base salary and supplemental compensation, plus a pro-rated ‘longevity compensation’ bonus to be paid on July 15, 2026. Kelly’s contract was set to run through Dec. 31, 2031 or through the Tigers’ final game of the 2031 college football season.

Kelly has a ‘duty to mitigate’ clause in his contract, though, which means he must pursue other jobs for as long as he receives money from LSU.

Brian Kelly contract details

Kelly’s contract saw him paid an annual base salary of $400,000 on top of a $500,000 ‘longevity compensation’ bonus to be paid every July 15. He also was set to receive $9 million in supplemental pay from Jan. 1, 2025 through Dec. 31, 2026.

Per his contract, his supplemental pay would increase by $200,000 every two years on the following schedule:

$9 million from Jan. 1, 2025 through Dec. 31, 2026
$9.2 million from Jan. 1, 2027 through Dec. 31, 2028
$9.4 million from Jan. 1, 2029 through Dec. 31, 2030
$9.6 million from Jan. 1, 2031 through Dec. 31, 2031

Kelly’s salary ranks eighth among head coaches at public universities, according to USA TODAY’s coaches salary database. He was set to make $10.175 million for the 2025 college football season.

The NFL is reviewing the Baltimore Ravens for a potential violation of the league’s injury report policy.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson was initially listed as a ‘full’ participant in practice before being ruled out for Sunday’s game.
The change in Jackson’s status significantly impacted the betting line for the Ravens-Bears game.
The league has previously fined teams and coaches for failing to accurately report player injuries.

So, Lamar Jackson wasn’t pegged to return on Sunday for the Baltimore Ravens after all.

But that’s only half the drama.

The NFL confirmed to USA TODAY Sports that it is reviewing the Baltimore Ravens for violating the league’s policy on injury reports – which resonates a lot more as it hits at the end of a week when the NBA was rocked by a gambling scandal that included allegations related to injuries.

Jackson was listed as a “full” participant after Friday’s practice, which would infer that he was on track to return from his hamstring injury against the Chicago Bears on Sunday.

On Saturday, however, Jackson was ruled out for a third consecutive game, his status downgraded as the Ravens publicly acknowledged that their star quarterback wasn’t exactly a “full” participant on Friday as previously indicated.

Say what?

“Lamar Jackson was present for and participated fully in our entire Friday practice ahead of Sunday’s game against the Bears,” the Ravens said in a statement on Saturday. “Upon further evaluation and after conferring with the league office, because Lamar didn’t take starter reps in practice, we updated our report to reflect his practice participation.”

The impact of this flip was quickly updated on the betting lines for the Ravens-Bears game – which is an undeniable sticky byproduct of the controversy and a reason why the NFL has long instituted standards for reporting injuries.

Lamar Jackson injury update swings Bears-Ravens betting line

The Ravens (1-5) were listed as 7 ½-point favorites earlier in the week, when it appeared that Jackson, the two-time NFL MVP, would play against a Bears team riding a four-game winning streak.

Without Jackson? The spread on BetMGM.com was 2 ½ points before kickoff on Sunday.

That swing says so much about Jackson’s potential impact at the casinos.

Maybe you felt the urge with your office pool: Can I change my pick?

With Jackson sidelined, the Ravens turned to career backup Tyler Huntley to make his first start of the season, supplanting the previous and ineffective fill-in, Cooper Rush.

Did the Ravens intentionally mislead the public by listing Jackson as a “full” participant in Friday’s practice?

Gamesmanship in NFL injury reporting under heightened scrutiny

That is undoubtedly an essential question for the NFL’s probe, against the backdrop of a competitive environment in the league where teams are known to employ gamesmanship that can include attempts to hide injuries from opponents.

The league’s injury report protocols, however, specifically state that if a starting player does not take the normal “starter” reps in practice, his status should be listed as “limited.” Reportedly, Jackson’s practice reps on Friday involved him running the scout team.

Sure, he’s progressing. And now the target for his return is Thursday night, when the Ravens visit the Miami Dolphins.

We’ll see. In the meantime, there’s no excuse if the Ravens were extremely sloppy in categorizing Jackson’s status on Friday.

I mean, it’s Jackson, one of the league’s highest-profiled players – and the player who undoubtedly is such a huge key to the hopes that the team can rebound from what matches its worst record over six games in franchise history.

It seems likely that another blow for the Ravens will be coming from the NFL, given its history in dealing with injury report violations.

“The league reviews any matter involving a change to a player’s status,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told USA TODAY Sports.

In 2023, the league fined the Atlanta Falcons $75,000 and then-coach Arthur Smith $25,000 after star running back Bijan Robinson barely played in a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after he wasn’t listed on the injury report. Robinson became ill on the eve of the game, but the Falcons didn’t bother to update his status.

In 2019, the Pittsburgh Steelers were fined $75,000 and coach Mike Tomlin docked $25,000 for not fully disclosing then-quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s elbow injury.

Conversely, in 2024 the NFL reviewed – and cleared – the San Francisco 49ers after they didn’t declare running back Christian McCaffrey as inactive until shortly before the season opener due to a calf injury. In the previous days, McCaffrey and the team indicated that he was expected to play.

The Ravens case, though, seemingly rises to a higher level because of the actual designation declared – or inferred – with one of the NFL’s marquee quarterbacks.

A hefty fine may not be the limit, with draft picks always potentially on the table for discipline if NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell deems it as fit.

No, there’s been no suggestion that the Ravens tried to manipulate Jackson’s case to influence the gambling market. Yet with increased scrutiny on the link between injuries and betting, it’s surely a bad time for the NFL to confront such optics.

Contact Jarrett Bell at jbell@usatoday.com or follow on  X: @JarrettBell

(This column has been updated with additional information.)