Tyjae Spears: officially ruled out Sunday against Cincinnati
THE FACT. Tennessee has officially ruled Spears out for Sunday against Cincinnati with a knee injury, per NBC Sports' Charean Williams at ProFootballTalk on Friday. He did not practice Friday and coach Robert Saleh had called him doubtful earlier in the day, per NFL.com, before the ruling became official. The Titans also ruled out receiver Carnell Tate and punter Tommy Townsend.
THE VERDICT. Redraft: sit him, there is nothing left to decide. With Tate out as well, Tennessee goes into Cincinnati short-handed on offense, and the backfield touches are up for grabs. Do not guess at the replacement before Tennessee's inactives post Sunday morning, then stream accordingly. DFS: fade the Titans backfield until the starter is confirmed, because the pricing will not account for a split. Dynasty: hold, but a second straight knee issue is worth tracking week to week.
Respectfully, this is the one Titans backfield week I don't want to fade. There's no mystery about the replacement. Pollard just hung 100-plus rushing yards and three touchdowns on Cleveland in Week 8, the 14th 100-yard game of his career, and Michael Carter is a change-of-pace piece, not a co-starter. With Spears out, Pollard owns the goal line, and Cincinnati has been handing backs around 17.6 fantasy points a game. Waiting on inactives feels safe, but the price moves by then. I'm playing him in DFS and starting him as an RB2.