Week 15 Headlines – Thursday

12/15/2011 1:59 PM - 

-Ben Roethlisberger will not practice Thursday. Unfortunately for Big Ben owners, the game is Monday night, so there won’t be any clear indication as to what his status is. If you have better options this week, I would look to those against a tough San Francisco defense.

-Ahmad Bradshaw was held out of practice Thursday, but he had the same schedule last week. He should be probable for week 15 against Washington, so he should be good to go.

-Adrian Peterson is practicing Thursday and is looking good, so he’s looking safe to start this week, just in time for the semi-finals.

-Jeremy Maclin says he’s playing this week, but will be a risky play with his hamstring, especially after he re-aggravated the injury last week.

-James Starks’ ankle is not doing well and suffered a setback after his Tuesday workout. Starks is missing practices and it’s looking like he’ll miss this week, where Ryan Grant will get the start against the Chiefs.

-Cedric Benson is practicing Thursday and the league’s 8th leading rusher will start in a very favorable match-up against the Rams.

-Kevin Kolb has passed his neuro tests, but is still questionable this week against Cleveland. We’ll know more on Friday as to whether or not Kolb will start.

-Darren McFadden is not practicing again and beat writer, Jerry McDonald of the Contra Costa Times, thinks that week 17 will be his earliest return. Michael Bush owners can expect to start him throughout the rest of the fantasy playoffs with confidence.

-Denarius Moore is suffering from an injury similar to Darren McFadden’s and is questionable this week against the Lions. He did return to practice Thursday, which is a good sign, however, Moore owners, may want to look to healthier options and not rely on him.

-Julio Jones and Harry Douglas are listed as probable for Thursday night against the Jaguars. Jones has been limited, but sources say he’s close to being 100 percent. He torched the Panthers’ secondary and is a high upside WR2 against the Jags’ depleted secondary. You can do better than Douglas on your waiver wire at this point.

-Beanie Wells continues to be limited in practice but should be active and will find the sledding considerably more favorable against Cleveland than he did last week against Houston.