New Orleans Saints running back C.J. Spiller has yet to make his debut with his new team, and head coach Sean Payton was noncommittal when asked if that would remain the case for when the Saints host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.
Sean Payton noncommittal on C.J. Spiller’s Week 2 status for Saints, fantasy owners
The Saints could get a dangerous weapon added to their backfield on Sunday. We break down the fantasy implications.
Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Per Nick Underhill of the New Orleans Advocate, Payton said Spiller was “doing good,” but said “we’ll see how it goes” when asked directly if Spiller would play Week 2. It had been reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport that Spiller would be good to go after sitting Week 1, and his return to practice on Wednesday at a limited capacity coincides with that.
Fantasy Spin: Fantasy owners are still not at a point where they can plug Spiller into their lineups and look away from it until Sunday’s games commence. It’s looking as though the Saints are not willing to tip their hand to a divisional rival and will likely be silent about Spiller’s availability for as long as possible.
This means that fantasy owners likely won't know whether they can start Spiller until an hour and a half before game time. Luckily, the Saints have the early 1 p.m. slot, so it shouldn't come as too much of an inconvenience for them. In PPR leagues, Spiller has a legitimate RB2 floor with considerable upside after Drew Brees targeted running backs 17 times in Week 1.
