Michael Mayer

Nor is Dont'e Thornton (concussion), as the Raiders get back some supporting cast members against the Eagles. Neither player is fantasy-interesting at this time, though Mayer has flirted with it at points of this season. The passing offense is simply too limited to get this far down the depth chart at this time.

The mediocre blocker should be available to two-hand punch a few chest pads and occasionally earn a target on Sunday. Mayer is largely an afterthought in the Raiders' passing game, though. His backup, TE Ian Thomas (calf), was limited on Thursday.

Mayer has not played since suffering the ankle injury in Week 12. He returns to practice in a limited fashion on Wednesday with the hope of playing in Week 15 against the Eagles. Meanwhile, fellow tight end Ian Thomas, who has taken on more snaps in Mayer's absence, did not practice on Wednesday due to a calf injury.

Carroll is "hopeful" that Mayer will play against the Eagles in Week 15. Fantasy managers have not been given a compelling reason to roster Mayer for the better part of the last month, and this latest rule out won't help matters.

Mayer is off the TE2 radar while he trends to miss a second straight game and doesn't need to be held in any shallow leagues at this time.