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Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco and wideout Kadarius Toney missed practice Wednesday.
Pacheco is dealing with a hamstring injury and Toney has a sprained toe heading into Week 3 against Chicago.
Pacheco, 24, has 20 carries for 93 yards and five catches for 31 yards through two games this season.
Toney, 24, has six catches for 36 yards in two games. He dropped four passes in the Week 1 loss to Detroit.
–Field Level Media
The Baltimore Ravens brought back veteran running back Kenyan Drake, signing the veteran to their practice squad on Wednesday.
The move comes as Justice Hill is dealing with a toe injury that reportedly could keep him sidelined for this week’s game against the visiting Indianapolis Colts. Hill missed practice Wednesday.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh declined to discuss Hill’s injury, directing reporters to the injury report.
Drake was one of three RBs brought in this week for workouts with the club, joining James Robinson and Ronald Jones. He helps bolster a unit that took a hit with the season-ending injury to J.K. Dobbins (Achilles) in Week 1.
Drake spent training camp with the Indianapolis Colts.
He was with the Ravens in 2022, playing in 12 games (five starts). He rushed for 482 yards and four touchdowns and also caught 17 passes for 89 yards and a score.
“It’s funny — I was watching the [Cincinnati] Bengals tape last week again from last year as we were preparing. [Drake] was on the tape, and he had good games in those two games he played,” Harbaugh said. “I was thinking, ‘Man, Kenyan Drake looked good in those games.’ It’s like that and next thing you know, here he is.”
Drake has rushed for 3,866 yards and 33 TDs in 101 career games (44 starts) for four teams since being selected in the third round of the 2016 draft by the Miami Dolphins.
–Field Level Media
Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown will miss practice Wednesday with a toe injury and is considered day-to-day, coach Dan Campbell told reporters.
St. Brown briefly left Sunday’s loss to Seattle but returned after having a metal plate inserted into his shoe.
St. Brown, 23, has 12 catches for 173 yards and a touchdown through the first two games.
The 2022 Pro Bowl selection has 208 catches for 2,246 yards and 12 TDs in 35 career games (27 starts) since being selected in the fourth round of the 2021 draft.
–Field Level Media
Running back Jamaal Williams won’t be on the field for the Saints for his return to Green Bay this weekend.
Williams is dealing with a hamstring strain and head coach Dennis Allen said the injury could take “some time” to heal. Williams logged 18 snaps Monday at Carolina before leaving the game. He averaged 2.7 yards per carry in the first two games of the season with Kendre Miller (hamstring) inactive and starter Alvin Kamara serving a three-game suspension.
Miller would be making his NFL debut at Lambeau Field after gaining 49 yards on 22 carries in the preseason. He also caught seven passes for 47 yards.
The Saints are averaging 3.4 yards per carry as a team, with quarterback/tight end Taysom Hill leading the team with 79 yards on 12 carries.
Green Bay has allowed 333 rushing yards — and 4.5 yards per carry — in two games.
Miller, a rookie drafted in the third round out of TCU, was held out of Monday’s game due to limited practice reps. Allen said he’ll be “full go” at Green Bay.
The Packers drafted Williams in the fourth round in 2017. He spent four seasons with Green Bay before joining the Lions in 2021 and rushing for 1,667 yards and 20 touchdowns in 30 games.
–Field Level Media
Quarterback Anthony Richardson remains in concussion protocol and unavailable to practice as the Indianapolis Colts prep for a Week 3 trip to Baltimore.
Gardner Minshew relieved Richardson on Sunday and guided the Colts to a 31-20 win, completing 19 of 23 passes for 171 yards with a touchdown toss to tight end Kylen Granson.
Coach Shane Steichen said Richardson is “in a good spot,” but plans to keep their communication private. Steichen said it’s possible the rookie can progress enough to be ready to play the Ravens on Sunday.
Starting center Ryan Kelly also missed Wednesday’s practice and is in concussion protocol.
Richardson was forced out of the game for the second time in two career games when he absorbed a hard hit. The Colts led the Texans 14-0 behind two Richardson TD runs when he left to be evaluated for a concussion. In Week 1, he was assisted to the sideline in the final minute of the game after trying to run the ball in for a score against the Jaguars.
Steichen shut down inquires about running back Jonathan Taylor, who is on the physically unable to perform list and hasn’t been with the team on gameday. Steichen said he wasn’t going to answer additional questions about Taylor, including whether he would be on the sideline with his teammates in Baltimore.
Richardson, 21, is 30-of-47 passing for 279 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also has 13 carries for 75 yards and three touchdowns.
–Field Level Media
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Zay Jones missed Wednesday’s practice with a knee injury.
Coach Doug Pederson said he would be replaced by Tim Jones if he can’t play Sunday when Jacksonville (1-1) hosts the Houston Texans (0-2).
Zay Jones has five receptions for 55 yards and a touchdown in 2023. He’s third in the NFL with four targets in the red zone behind Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett and Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins.
Zay Jones left last Sunday’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs attempting to make a grab in the back of the end zone.
Second-year receiver Tim Jones has played in 19 career games, primarily on special teams. He has three career receptions and three career tackles.
–Field Level Media
The Cleveland Browns officially re-signed running back Kareem Hunt on Wednesday.
Terms were not disclosed, but ESPN reported the 28-year-old free agent landed a one-year deal worth up to $4 million.
Hunt, who worked out for the Browns on Tuesday, returns after playing the previous four seasons with Cleveland.
He will help to replace four-time 1,000-yard rusher Nick Chubb, who was placed on season-ending injured reserve Wednesday with torn knee ligaments.
“I’ve been around Kareem for a bunch of years,” coach Kevin Stefanski said. “He’s a very, very physical runner. A slashing style, excellent catching the football. Just brings a really well-balanced skill set to our group.”
Hunt has rushed for 4,025 yards and 31 touchdowns and caught 211 passes for 1,806 yards and 17 TDs in 76 games (36 starts) with the Kansas City Chiefs (2017-18) and Browns.
Hunt led the NFL with 1,327 rushing yards as a Chiefs rookie in 2017, earning a Pro Bowl selection and Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. Kansas City drafted the Ohio native in the third round out of Toledo.
Despite Hunt’s return, Stefanski reiterated Wednesday that Jerome Ford will be the featured back for the Browns (1-1) on Sunday against the visiting Tennessee Titans (1-1).
–Field Level Media
Monte, Eternal Fire, 9z Team and MOUZ opened the ESL Pro League Season 18 playoff stage with victories in the Round of 16 on Tuesday in Saint Julian’s, Malta.
Monte defeated Fnatic 2-1, Eternal Fire swept Astralis 2-0, 9z Team outlasted Virtus.pro 2-1 and MOUZ blanked FURIA Esports 2-0. The four losing teams were eliminated from the tournament.
The $850,000 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event began with 32 teams broken up into four groups of eight. Group-stage winners advanced to the quarterfinals; runners-up advanced to the Round of 12 as the high seeds; third-place teams advanced to the Round of 16 as the high seeds; and fourth-place teams advanced to the Round of 16 as the low seeds.
The group stage is triple elimination with upper, middle and lower brackets. All matches are best-of-three until the grand final, which is best-of-five.
The tournament runs through Sunday. The winner earns $200,000 and qualifies for the 2024 IEM Katowice event and the 2023 BLAST World Final.
On Tuesday, Monte opened with a 16-9 win on Anubis, fell to Fnatic 16-12 on Overpass and answered by winning the clincher 16-6 on Vertigo. Ukraine’s Sergiy “DemQQ” Demchenko paced Monte with 54 kills on a plus-7 kills-to-deaths differential, and three of his teammates finished with 51 kills.
Eternal Fire, the all-Turkish club, scored wins of 16-14 on Vertigo and 16-7 on Inferno to knock out Astralis. Ismailcan “XANTARES” Dortkardes led Eternal Fire with 45 kills on a plus-19 K-D.
9z Team sandwiched 16-14 wins on Mirage and Overpass around a 16-10 loss to Virtus.pro on Inferno. Franco “dgt” Garcia of Uruguay guided 9z with 56 kills on a plus-5 differential.
MOUZ blasted FURIA 16-5 on Nuke and 16-4 on Mirage. Finland’s Jimi “Jimpphat” Salo had 38 kills and a plus-24 for MOUZ.
The playoffs continue Wednesday with four Round of 12 matches:
–Complexity vs. Monte
–BIG vs. Eternal Fire
–Movistar Riders vs. 9z Team
–FaZe Clan vs. MOUZ
ESL Pro League Season 18 prize pool
1. $200,000, 3,000 BLAST Premier points — TBD
2. $90,000, 2,000 BLAST points — TBD
3-4. $50,000, 1,200 points — TBD
5-8. $35,000, 500 points — TBD
9-12. $25,000 — TBD
13-16. $20,000 — Fnatic, Astralis, Virtus.pro, FURIA Esports
17-20. $15,000 — Gamer Legion, MIBR, 5yclone, Team Liquid
21-28. $8,000 — Ninjas in Pyjamas, Grayhound Gaming, Heroic, Evil Geniuses, Imperial Esports, Apeks, Cloud9, Lynn Vision Gaming
29-32. $4,000 — ORKS, Rooster, M80, 9INE
–Field Level Media
Global Equities Research reiterated its Overweight rating and set a price target of $350.00 for Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA). The analysts expect a robust fourth-quarter performance from the electric vehicle manufacturer, citing several factors.
The analysts noted that the Fremont Factory’s shutdown in the third quarter of 2023 was shorter than expected, lasting only 4 days instead of the previously anticipated 3 weeks mentioned during the Q2/23 Earnings Call by Elon Musk. Tesla is steadily increasing its market share, particularly against competitors like Honda and Toyota, and the analysts anticipate this trend will continue to strengthen.
The analysts believe that Tesla is on track to dominate 90% of the electric vehicle (EV) market. They highlighted the importance of having Giga-Scale facilities, in which Tesla excels with its Giga Factories.
Demand for Tesla’s Model S is exceptionally high, with particular popularity among families with children. The analysts predict that the third quarter of 2023 will see record-breaking sales of the Model S Plaid, especially models with an MSRP exceeding $90,000.
Rosenblatt analysts reaffirmed their Buy rating and a $100 price target for Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU). The analysts anticipate that Micron will report August quarter results in line with expectations, accompanied by guidance supporting modest single-digit sequential sales growth. They noted that the company is experiencing gradual improvements in bit demand and stable DRAM/NAND ASPs, which are offsetting challenges related to China’s “CAC” (Common Alternating Current) restrictions.
The analysts observe that cuts in industry capital expenditures (CapEx) and wafer starts are beginning to affect the supply-demand balance, with the potential for demand to surpass supply in late 2023. This shift is driven by the scaling of newer AI-centric segments and reduced inventory digestion headwinds in broader demand.
The analysts are optimistic about Micron’s prospects in 2024 due to significant growth in memory content, driven by the expansion of AI, which relies on increased memory capacity and speed.