Tyjae Spears is officially ruled out for Sunday's matchup against the Bengals with a knee injury, so you need to have him benched or off your lineup entirely this week regardless of league format. The Friday practice report showing him absent was already a red flag, and the subsequent official designation confirms he's a hard no-go. There's no ambiguity here — this is a start/sit decision with a clear answer: sit.

The bigger fantasy story is what this means for Tony Pollard. With Spears sidelined, Pollard is set up to see a significant bump in workload for this game, likely absorbing the bulk of the backfield touches that would have otherwise been split or ceded to Spears in change-of-pace and passing-down roles. This makes Pollard a strong start this week with legitimate volume upside — treat him as a must-start RB1/RB2 depending on your league's scoring, and if you have flexibility on your roster, this is the week to lean on him aggressively.

Looking past Sunday, you should monitor Spears' knee closely over the coming week to gauge whether this is a short-term absence or something more significant. If you have roster space, it's worth adding depth insurance at the position in case Spears' recovery timeline extends, but don't panic-drop him yet given the injury details are still thin. Confidence on the Week 1 sit for Spears is high given the official ruling; confidence on Pollard's expanded role is solid but still somewhat dependent on game flow and how the Titans deploy their backfield without Spears available.