Fantasy Demon

According to Jason La Canfora of NFL.com, Broncos owner Pat Bowlen is “not locked in” to any decision regarding coach Josh McDaniels’ future.

Our View: McDaniels has won just five of his past 21 games, and his recent run-in with the league office over some illegal videotapes hasn’t helped matters. Bowlen backed off his vote of confidence in the young coach, which is never a good sign, and his future will likely be determined by the Broncos’ final five games of this season. Still, there are certainly financial factors in play that could make firing him very costly.

Coach Sean Payton suggested Tuesday that Pierre Thomas (ankle) has a realistic chance to return for this week’s game at Cincinnati.

According to Brian Allee-Walsh of NewOrleans.com, coach Sean Payton hinted that Pierre Thomas (ankle) has a realistic chance to play at Cincinnati Week 13.

Our View: Payton called himself “optimistic” that Thomas could return this weekend, though he probably won’t be needed against the floundering Bengals. Thomas still has to make it through practice this week, however, and he’ll likely be eased back in, meaning he’s not a great fantasy play yet.

According to John Glennon of the Tennessean, coach Jeff Fisher believes Kerry Collins (calf) has a good chance to start Week 13.

Our View: Collins apparently felt good enough to play if needed last week, though the Titans stuck with Rusty Smith. The first practice report comes out tomorrow afternoon, though we’d be surprised if Collins isn’t on the field this Sunday. Stay tuned.

According to Jeremy Fowler of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Adrian Peterson (ankle) is expected to play Week 13.

Our View: His running back coach, Eric Bieniemy, called him “the last guy” to worry about, and the Vikings are clearly less than concerned. His owners might want to add Toby Gerhart as insurance, but it sounds like he’ll start Sunday. Stay tuned.

The Detroit Free Press reports Shaun Hill’s broken right index finger could cause him to miss the rest of the season.

According to Tania Ganguli of the Florida Times-Union, Eugene Monroe (concussion) finally passes his baseline test Tuesday.

Our View: That means he can actually return to practice tomorrow. The Jags offense could certainly use their left tackle after expecting to have him and then having to do without in a loss to the Giants Sunday.

Joseph Addai (neck) will practice in non-contact drills again this week, and there’s still no timetable for a return to game action.

Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press believes Shaun Hill’s broken right index finger could cause him to miss the remainder of the season.

Our View: Drew Stanton took first team reps in practice today, and Matt Stafford is still out with shoulder problems. Hill was held out after finishing Week 12′s loss to the Pats with the injury. Stanton is slated to start Sunday, but we should know more once official reports are released later in the week.

Austin Collie (concussion) is improving and could return to practice this week depending on his progress.

Our View: He was ruled out by this time last week, so this is certainly encouraging news. He still has to be cleared by team doctors, and he can’t participate until his symptoms are gone, but there’s a flicker of hope for owners this weekend. Stay tuned.