Fantasy Football Newspage: Thursday, October 20

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Here are the key news and notes for Thursday, October 20:

"Mild to moderate" hamstring strain for LeSean McCoy

Fantasy Impact: McCoy has rushed for 470 yards and five TDs over his last four games, so a potential absence will be felt by fantasy owners, but at least the injury doesn't appear long-term in nature. The obvious replacement is Mike Gillislee, who carried six times for 60 yards and a score in Sunday's blowout win over San Francisco. The Bills play the Dolphins, who are allowing the second-most rushing yards per game (147).

Ty Montgomery to serve as de facto RB on Thursday

Fantasy Impact: He's only WR-eligible for fantasy purposes, but the Packers' Ty Montgomery will essentially serve as the team's lead back, despite the trade acquisition of Knile Davis. Montgomery only ran three times for six yards on Sunday, but caught 10 passes for 98 yards on a team-high 12 targets. He should be a great PPR option for those who get him in the lineup in time for Thursday's game against Chicago.

"Best case" for Roethlisberger is a return in 2-3 weeks

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Gerry Dulac quotes Steelers president Art Rooney II as saying that the "best case" for injured QB Ben Roethlisberger is an absence of two to three weeks. Roethlisberger's return was initially pegged at between four and six weeks, so it's safe to say there's no concrete timeline for his return.

Fantasy Impact: Given Roethlisberger's penchant for playing through injury, it wouldn't be all that surprising to see him suit up immediately following Pittsburgh's Week 8 bye. The Steelers play the Ravens in Week 9 in an important divisional matchup, but the fantasy fortunes of Antonio Brown, Sammie Coates and Le'Veon Bell will all be adversely affected the longer that backup QB Landry Jones remains under center.

Jaguars seek to get TE Thomas more involved

After two solid games to open the season, TE Julius Thomas hasn't been much of factor, catching four passes for 41 yards in the games immediately before and after sitting out Week 4 due to injury. In hearing offensive coordinator Greg Olson address the media Thursday, ESPN's Mike DiRocco reports that the team will indeed look for ways to get Thomas more involved.

Fantasy Impact: Against an Oakland defense that has given up 12 passing touchdowns in six games and allows the most passing yards per game (312.7), Thomas has as good a chance as any at a breakout performance. If he can't produce, he'll likely be a popular candidate to be dropped in season-long fantasy leagues.