I'm not sure if you've heard but Aaron Rodgers is coming back to play for the Packers this week. I'm positive this is the first place you're hearing about this and you're wondering why no one else on the internet alerted you to this news earlier. Anyway ... yeah, he's back. If anyone can say they know if Rodgers is going to ball out this week, they're lying to you. He could be great. He could be rusty. You'll have to search your feelings to know if starting him this week is the right move for you.

This isn't some screed to convince you that you should start Alvin Kamara. If you haven't figured that out by now ... how are you still alive in your playoffs? This is more to remind you that you CAN start Alvin Kamara this week. He's out of the concussion protocol and expected to play Sunday against Atlanta. For those of you who survived last week despite Kamara's injury (or just had a bye), you have another shot with your bell cow fantasy back.

Speaking of bell cow running backs, it feels like Fournette has been running at less than 100 percent for much of the season. That's not likely to change this week with Fournette missing time at practice because of an ankle injury. Whether this keeps him off the field this week against the Texans remains to be seen. Regardless, you're looking at another week of Fournette not at full strength. Sigh.

Sure, Bernard has been pretty good the past couple of weeks after taking over for an injured Joe Mixon. But this week there are a couple of things working against him. The first issue is that Mixon is working his way through the concussion protocol and could be back for Sunday's game against the Vikings. Oh ... and the second issue? It's Sunday's game against the Vikings. They're good at defense.

If you've followed the Fantasy Stronghold for any length of time, you probably know about our collective love for Taylor. That's why we're excited to see him healthy and ready to go for this weekend's matchup with the Dolphins. Huzzah! The problem is that the Bills offense has been incredibly inconsistent apart from LeSean McCoy this season. So even against Miami, it feels like a risky start in a big week. Opposite of huzzah!

After spending a couple of weeks on the shelf with a bad shoulder, Robert Woods has returned to our fantasy football lives. Too bad it's against the Seahawks. Too bad the Seahawks aren't the same level of defense they've been in the past. Too bad Seattle always seems to come alive in December -- especially for big divisonal matchups. Too bad I've talked you in circles about what you should do with Robert Woods. Too bad. But for real ... he's a nice PPR play.

Consider this a shout out to the Washington front office. Thank you for finally placing Reed on injured reserve, if for no other reason than it let a lot of people who were on the fence about what to do with Reed finally just go ahead and release him. It was another frustrating season for the oft-injured tight end who played in just six games and hasn't been on the field since Week 8. Next year we'll all say we're avoiding him. Until he makes a freakish athletic play in training camp and sucks a few of us back in.

I feel like I could copy a lot of what I wrote about Jordan Reed and put it here. Cooper isn't on IR but he also hasn't offered much for fantasy managers outside of his one bonkers game against the Chiefs. After aggravating an ankle injury, Cooper hasn't had much practice time and seems like a long shot to play. If you haven't dropped him already, you can go ahead and do that now. We'll wait. Back yet? Let's move on.

Ameer Abdullah is back. At least he's healthy. Or maybe healthier. I've started to lose track. What is known is that Abdullah was a healthy scratch just last week. Does that change this week? Maybe. Was Abdullah better in practice this week? Possibly. Would we have the guts to play him this week against the Bears? Nope.

I can't say that this is the end for Adrian Peterson. But it's looking like it's coming. The Cardinals running back has been out of action for the past couple of weeks with a neck injury and head coach Bruce Arians isn't sure if Peterson will play again this year. It feels like a lifetime ago that A.D. was a sure-fire must start elite running back. Father Time comes at you fast. Or is it Life is Undefeated? Something like that.