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Parkinson should play through his injury again this week. Unfortunately, Tyler Higbee (illness) did not practice, as a new addition to the injury report, and Davis Allen (oblique) was downgraded to being a non-participant. The running backs are going to get all the work they can handle this week.

Parkinson managed to draw a questionable tag entering the weekend after logging a limited practice on Friday. Despite being a DNP for two of the Rams’ three practices this week, he should be available to play his normal role in the Rams’ TE-heavy scheme. Parkinson has caught 14 passes for 103 yards and one touchdown this season and will not be on the fantasy radar this week. The Rams declared QB Ty Simpson, LS Joe Cardona, LB Darryl Peterson III, OL Bill Murray, OL Keagan Trost, and LB Desjuan Johnson inactive for Week 9.

Parkinson sat out on Wednesday and Thursday. His Friday participation level has not yet been released, but he is probably on the wrong side of questionable at this time. Parkinson does not need to be rostered in 12-team leagues, especially with Terrance Ferguson (ankle) expected to play.

Rams head coach Sean McVay announced Parkinson would be a DNP on Wednesday. The 27-year-old has been dealing with a rib injury since Week 7, missing the Rams’ Week 8 game against the Chargers. Starting out DNP puts him on the wrong side of questionable for Week 9 against the Commanders.

Parkinson will miss at least one game with a rib injury he sustained last week against the Raiders. His absence could have a big impact on playing time for both Davis Allen — who had two touchdown grabs last week — and Tyler Higbee, the de facto TE1 in the LA offense. Both tight ends are better options against the Chargers with Parkinson sidelined.

Parkinson gutted out an injury to his midsection against the Raiders a week ago when he was in and out of the lineup while clearly dealing with significant discomfort. He was unable to practice through Thursday this week, prompting the questionable designation ahead of a Week 8 meeting with the Chargers. Already down multiple primary pass catchers, the Rams could see further concentration of volume should Parkinson miss, a situation that could also pave the way for Davis Allen to see an uptick in opportunities in the 12- and 13-personnel-heavy Rams offense. Fantasy managers likely won’t get further updates on Parkinson’s status before the team releases inactives 90-minutes prior to first kick.

Parkinson will have one more chance to get back no the practice field Friday to avoid an injury designation entering the weekend. The veteran tight end was in and out of the team’s Week 7 game with the injury but managed to finish it, apparently feeling much worse after the adrenaline wore off. Fantasy managers of Parkinson and Tyler Higbee will want to track Parkinson’s status closely to end the week. An absence from Parkinson could also bring Davis Allen into the fantasy spotlight after the young tight end scored twice against the Raiders.

Parkinson has meaningfully contributed to the Rams’ offense in each of the last two weeks, but he is now at risk of missing his team’s Week 8 game against the Chargers. Were Parkinson to sit out on Sunday, Tyler Higbee would likely benefit.

Parkinson was in and out of the game with various injuries, picking up a new ailment on seemingly every reception. Parkinson logged 16 pass routes while Tyler Higbee led the team’s tight ends with 18 routes. Davis Allen, meanwhile, ran a route on 12 of the Rams’ drop backs and caught two touchdowns from Matthew Stafford. Parkinson should be a viable desperation option in deeper formats next week against the Chargers if the Rams keep using three tight end sets at a high rate. He has ten receptions over his past two outings.

Parkinson played effectively against the Cardinals’ zone coverage this afternoon. He bagged a first down after finding a soft spot downfield on the Rams’ fourth drive, and deftly hurdled a defender on a one-yard gain a few plays later. His touchdown occurred on the Rams’ final possession and required post-catch effort, barreling through contact and extending for the score. Parkinson is a touchdown-dependent TE2 against the Raiders in Week 7.

Parkinson is unlikely to be startable as a TE1 if he plays on Monday night, but his return will likely reduce Tyler Higbee’s snap share. Higbee has been TE1-viable in each of the last two weeks.

Parkinson has a chance to return for the Rams’ Monday Night Football game against the Bills. If this is the case, he would hurt Tyler Higbee’s snap share, threatening the latter’s TE1 viability.

Parkinson’s absence with knee and shoulder issues at least comes as Puka Nacua returns, though the Rams are somehow down to only two healthy tight ends. Parkinson appears to be genuinely day to day, so we would assume he has a decent chance of returning for Week 5 against the Bills. Improbably, the Rams’ injury issues have made Tyler Higbee a legitimate streaming option.

He didn’t practice at any point this week with an AC sprain suffered after he had already been questionable with the knee ailment heading into Week 3. Tyler Higbee should be a reasonable TE2 option against the Eagles this week even if Parkinson is healthy; it doesn’t seem like he is.

Parkinson did not practice once this week because of the knee issue, so it’s a bit of a surprise that McVay sounds optimistic about him suiting up today. The team may have kept him out of practice as a precaution. He will handle an inline tight end role while Terrance Ferguson handles de facto WR2 duties with Puka Nacua out. Ferguson remains in the TE1 mix while Parkinson is a touchdown-or-bust TE2.

The Rams have leaned on multi-TE sets when Puka Nacua has missed time or been limited over the past year, so losing Parkinson would be another notable loss for the offense. Even if he plays, this injury all but locks in Terrance Ferguson as the team’s de facto WR2 for Week 3, assuming Nacua remains sidelined. Ferguson is pushing for a TE1 ranking ahead of his Week 3 date with the Broncos.

Parkinson’s touchdown run finally ran out of steam over the past two weeks, but he ends the year with 43/408/8 in the regular season and another score in the playoffs. He did drop a third-down pass in this one, but was otherwise what we’ve come to expect. It’s hard to imagine that the Rams will phase him out of the offense altogether in 2026, the final year of his contract, but teams will probably have better answers for Los Angeles’ 3TE sets with a year of tape to pick over and Terrance Ferguson will be a likely breakout candidate. It all adds up to Parkinson being more of a TE2 in 2026 offseason drafts.

It is, amazingly, Parkinson’s ninth touchdown in his last 10 games despite cracking 50 yards just once over that span. The Rams steered away from their 13-personnel sets in this game without Terrance Ferguson, but Parkinson continued to eat up snaps, playing a tight-end-room high 57 of the team’s 75. Can you call someone a touchdown or bust option if he almost always spits up a touchdown? That’s what you’re confronted with in the Divisional Round slate.

Tyler Higbee was back for this game and even exploded for 91 yards and a touchdown, but Parkinson led the room in targets and snaps. Parkinson had already set career-highs across the board coming into this game, and he put an exclamation point on the season with a pair of touchdowns in the second half. He is now up to eight scores on the year. Parkinson will be a touchdown-or-bust DFS play in the Wild Card Round versus Carolina.

One of his touchdown catches came on one of the weirdest non-overturns you’ll ever see, where even FOX’s Dean Blandino appeared confused as to why Parkinson was not ruled short of the goal line. Nevertheless! Parkinson has now caught six touchdowns in six games, a stretch that roughly coincides with Tyler Higbee heading to IR and the Rams losing one mouth to feed from what had been a four-headed TE hydra. Nothing about what Parkinson is doing on the field looks Film Room Impressive, but the way Stafford is slinging it in the red zone and the safety of the role brings up hints of early-season Jake Ferguson. Parkinson should remain on the low-end TE1 landscape against the Seahawks on short rest Thursday.