The Oakland Raiders have Latavius Murray and Amari Cooper coming into Week 11 healthy after both players missed some practice time last week with injuries. The NFL announced that Aldon Smith has been suspended for a year and the linebacker will not be eligible to play again until November of the 2016 season.
The Raiders are coming into Week 11 after a loss to the Vikings and they now will play the Lions in Week 11 as they try and remain in the AFC wild card race. Amari Cooper and Latavius Murray dealt with some injuries last week, but both players were able to play on Sunday and they are healthy heading into Week 11. Cooper dealt with a quad injury and had five catches for 79 yards on Sunday and he is a full go for this week against the Lions.
Latavius Murray suffered a concussion before last week and while he missed some practice heading into Sunday, the running back started and had 48 yards rushing along with five catches for 29 yards. Both Cooper and Murray have been solid fantasy options this season and they are good to go against the Lions in a solid matchup for Week 11. Cooper and Murray could be high end options with Detroit's inconsistent defense this season.
Derek Carr has put up some strong numbers this season and he is a good start option for fantasy owners this week against Detroit. Fantasy owners with Peyton Manning could look at Carr as a replacement and he comes in with 21 touchdowns and just six interceptions this season. Carr had 302 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions last week and he has already tied his total for touchdown passes from his rookie season. Michael Crabtree is also worth starting for fantasy owners and he comes in with 51 catches for 646 yards and five touchdowns and he is on pace to best all of his numbers from last season with the 49ers.
The NFL announced that Smith would be suspended for one year without pay under the NFL's substance-abuse policy, stemming from his time with the San Francisco 49ers. Smith had multiple off the field issues during his time with the Niners and earlier this year he dealt with another situation that included drunk driving and a hit and run.
Smith's suspension will last through the beginning of next season and Smith will be allowed to apply to be reinstated 60 days before the suspension is up, according to the statement released by the NFL. Adam Schefter at ESPN reports that the suspension is also linked to an incident from August 28. Schefter wrote on Twitter: "NFL is suspending Raiders' LB Aldon Smith one year for his role in an Aug. 28 incident, per league source."
Smith signed with the Raiders after he was released by the 49ers and the linebacker has played in nine games this season. Smith has 28 total tackles with 3.5 sacks this season and he is expected to return to the Raiders when he is eligible based on the statements Smith and the team put out. The statement Smith put out said that Smith looks "forward to rejoining the team next year," while the team release said that Smith "remains prominently in our long term plans."
