Arizona Cardinals DVOA, Stats, & NFL Rankings

Arizona Cardinals running back Emari Demercado (back) has officially been ruled out for Sunday's meeting with the New England Patriots. The second-year rusher will miss his first game of the season this weekend after picking up a back injury in Week 14's loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Demercado played only seven snaps last Sunday, hauling in all four of his receptions for 15 yards. Though, he did not record a carry. His inactive designation isn't a surprise, considering he was listed as a non-participant for each of the Cards' practices leading up to the weekend. With the 25-year-old shelved, backfield mates James Conner and Trey Benson should each garner a few extra touches and snaps this weekend against the visiting Pats.

Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride (knee) was able to practice again on Friday and was removed from the final Week 15 injury report. He will suit up on Sunday when the team takes on the New England Patriots in the desert after upgrading to a full practice on Friday. McBride popped up on the injury report this week with a knee injury, but he never appeared to be in any danger of sitting out this weekend. That's music to his fantasy managers, who have been using him as a high-end TE1 all season. The 25-year-old enters Week 15 action as the TE3 in overall half-PPR fantasy scoring this year thanks to 80 catches on 106 targets for 851 yards. The fact that McBride has been a top-five fantasy TE without even scoring a single touchdown through 14 weeks just shows you how money he has been in 2024. Keep him locked into starting lineups against the Pats.

Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride (knee) was seen practicing on Friday, according to Tyler Drake of Arizona Sports. McBride has logged two straight limited sessions to open the week, and seeing him practice again on Friday is a positive sign for his ability this weekend. Fantasy managers should pay close attention to the injury report later on Friday, as McBride may carry a designation into the weekend. Over the past three games, the tight end has seen at least ten targets in each contest and averaged 100 total yards per game. Before this three-game stretch, McBride only saw double-digit targets one other time this season. If McBride can play, he should be viewed as a high-end TE1 in all formats, facing a New England Patriots secondary that has allowed the 16th-most PPR points to opposing tight ends this season.

Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride (knee) remained limited during Thursday's practice. Fantasy managers should pay close attention to his status on Friday because if he cannot log a full session, he may carry an injury designation into the weekend. Over the past three weeks, McBride has seen a heavy volume of targets his way, eclipsing double-digits in each of these games and averaging 13.7 per game. During this span, he has averaged an impressive 99.7 yards and 10.3 receptions per game. Before this dominating stretch of weeks, McBride was still very productive, averaging 61.3 yards and 5.4 receptions per game. If McBride can suit up on Sunday, he should be viewed as a high-end TE1 facing the New England Patriots, who have allowed the 16th-most PPR points to opposing tight ends.

Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride (knee) popped up on the Week 15 injury report and was listed as a limited participant in the first practice of the week on Wednesday. It's not what fantasy managers want to see from McBride right before the start of the postseason in many leagues, although the 25-year-old's injury doesn't appear to be too serious. McBride has been a fantasy beast at his position in 2024 and is currently the overall TE3 in PPR scoring with 80 catches and 851 yards despite not scoring a single touchdown this year. In the last three games, he's seen double-digit targets in each contest and has amassed 31 catches for 299 yards on 41 targets. We'll keep a close eye on McBride's status as the week moves on, but if he's active this weekend against the New England Patriots, he'll be a must-start. Rookie Tip Reiman would be forced into a bigger role if McBride were to miss time.