Bye weeks have been mostly a nuisance so far this season. That changes this week with a half-dozen NFL teams on hiatus.

Say goodbye, for one week, to the Lions, Rams, Seahawks, Jaguars, Cardinals and Raiders. That means the fantasy talent pool will be missing many:

Top running backs: Detroit’s Jahmyr Gibbs, Las Vegas’ Ashton Jeanty, Seattle’s Kenneth Walker III.

Top receivers: Detroit’s Amon-Ra St Brown, Seattle Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Jags’ Brian Thomas Jr.

Top tight ends: Cards’ Trey McBride, Lions’ Sam LaPorta.

Top quarterbacks: Rams’ Matthew Stafford, Cards’ Kyler Murray.

Who’s left on the waiver wires near the season’s midpoint? Here’s our picks for some fellows you still might be able to grab:

Joe Flacco (Bengals QB) — It’s amazing what working with Ja’Marr Chase can do for an old guy’s stats. Flacco passed for 342 yards and three touchdowns last week, and 16 of his passes were caught by the NFL’s No. 1 receiver. He’ll pad his stats against the Jets on Sunday.

Joe Flacco #16 of the Cincinnati Bengals throws a pass against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first quarter in the game at Paycor Stadium on Oct. 16, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

Michael Penix (Falcons QB) — Atlanta faces the quitting Dolphins this week, and that bodes well for the second-year QB with more than 800 yards and four TDs over the past three weeks.

Michael Penix Jr. #9 of the Atlanta Falcons makes a pass in the first quarter of the game against the Buffalo Bills at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Oct. 13, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Kyle Monangai (Bears RB) — The rookie from Rutgers is increasingly sharing with D’Andre Swift, getting 81 yards and his career TD against New Orleans. Struggling Ravens are next.

Kyle Monangai #25 of the Chicago Bears runs with the ball during the fourth quarter against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on Sept. 28, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Getty Images)

Kayshon Boutte (Patriots WR) — He already has 356 yards and four scores for playoff-bound New England. We call the Pats that because of their easy slate, which this week features Cleveland.

Kayshon Boutte #9 of the New England Patriots catches the ball for a touchdown against the Tennessee Titans during the second quarter of the game at Nissan Stadium on Oct. 19, 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

WanDale Robinson (Giants WR) — The Jaxson Dart-led offense has been showing life, and Robinson has tallied 446 yards and two TDs. But he’ll be facing angry Eagles this week.

Wan’Dale Robinson #17 of the New York Giants carries the ball after making a catch as Andrew Mukuba #24 of the Philadelphia Eagles defends during the second quarter of the game at MetLife Stadium on Oct. 09, 2025 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

Pat Freiermuth (Steelers TE) — He finally broke out against Cincinnati with five catches for 111 yards and two TDs. And we know Aaron Rodgers will be passing a lot in his Green Bay return.

Pat Freiermuth #88 of the Pittsburgh Steelers scores a 68 yard touchdown against Jordan Battle #27 of the Cincinnati Bengals during the fourth quarter in the game at Paycor Stadium on Oct. 16, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

Sitting stars

The Eagles’ proud defense will not let Giants RB Cam Skattebo run wild again in their rematch. … Minnesota’s defense will shut down the Chargers’ meager running attack led by Kamani Vidal. … Miami’s offense is dead, and that bodes ill for WR Jaylen Waddle against Atlanta. … Two receivers currently slumping are Chicago’s D.J. Moore and the Chiefs’ Xavier Worthy, the latter because of the return of Rashee Rice. … Two QBs that will have rough weeks are Dallas’ Dak Prescott against Denver and Houston’s C.J. Stroud versus the 49ers.

Cam Skattebo #44 of the New York Giants stiff arms Ja’Quan McMillian #29 of the Denver Broncos in the second quarter of a game at Empower Field At Mile High on Oct. 19, 2025 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)

Matchup game

The Vikings’ Jordan Addison is getting open a lot with all the coverage focusing on Justin Jefferson, and he will again Thursday night against the Chargers. … Green Bay RB Josh Jacobs will steal the headlines from Aaron Rodgers. … Chicago RB D’’Andre Swift has never looked better, and that won’t change against the battered Baltimore defense. … Other RBs we like this week are Patriots’ Rhamondre Stevenson versus Cleveland and Carolina’s Chuba Hubbard and Rico Dowdle against Buffalo. … WR Tee Higgins will have a big day for Cincinnati against the lowly Jets … Same with Bucs WR Dez Johnson. … And Denver QB Bo Nix will follow up his fantastic finish against the Giants with a great start versus Dallas.

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison (3) in action in the fourth quarter of a NFL game against the Philadelphia Eagles at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025. The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Minnesota Vikings, 28-22. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Injury watch

The big news is the return of two top quarterbacks: Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson and San Francisco’s Brock Purdy. … Washington got good news on the hamstring injury for QB Jayden Daniels. Not as serious as first feared, though Marcus Mariota may still start against the Chiefs. … Carolina QB Bryce Young is definitely out, so ancient Andy Dalton starts this week. … Tampa Bay WR Mike Evans is out again, this time for the season, after breaking his clavicle. … The list of questionables at midweek includes eight pass catchers (Houston’s Nico Collins, Washington’s Deebo Samuel and Terry McLaurin, the Titans’ Calvin Ridley, Tampa’s Chris Godwin, Indy’s Josh Downs, Browns tight end David Njoku, Buffalo TE Dalton Kincaid).

Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens sits on the sidelines during the fourth quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on Sept. 28, 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Amy Kontras/Getty Images)

Deepest sleeper

Oronde Gadsden was a solid receiver for the Miami Dolphins of the early 21st century. Chargers tight end Oronde Gadsden II is doing his dad proud in his rookie season. His coming out party was last Sunday against Indianapolis, when he tallied 164 yards and a touchdown. He has had seven receptions each of the past two weeks, becoming a favorite of Los Angeles QB Justin Herbert.

Nick Cross #20 of the Indianapolis Colts looks on while Hassan Haskins #28 and Oronde Gadsden II #86 of the Los Angeles Chargers celebrate Gadsden’s receiving touchdown in the fourth quarter of a game at SoFi Stadium on Oct. 19, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

The Thursday pick

Vikings at Chargers (-3½)
Pick: Chargers by 7

Justin Herbert #10 of the Los Angeles Chargers looks to pass against the Indianapolis Colts in the third quarter of a game at SoFi Stadium on Oct. 19, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)

You can hear Kevin Cusick on Thursdays on Bob Sansevere’s “BS Show” podcast on iTunes. You can follow Kevin on X– @theloopnow. He can be reached at kcusick@pioneerpress.com.

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Today is Wednesday, Oct. 22, the 295th day of 2025. There are 70 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Oct. 22, 2012, cyclist Lance Armstrong was formally stripped of his seven Tour de France victories and received a lifetime ban from Olympic sports after the International Cycling Union chose not to appeal doping charges against Armstrong by the United States Anti-Doping Agency.

Also on this date:

In 1836, Sam Houston was inaugurated as the first elected president of the Republic of Texas, which earned its independence from Mexico that year in a military rebellion.

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A United Airlines emergency landing likely caused by collision with a weather balloon

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In 1934, bank robber Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd was shot to death by federal agents and local police at a farm near East Liverpool, Ohio.

In 1962, in a nationally televised address, President John F. Kennedy revealed the presence of Soviet missile bases under construction in Cuba and announced a naval blockade of all offensive military equipment shipped to Cuba.

In 1968, Apollo 7, the first crewed mission of NASA’s Apollo space program, returned safely from Earth orbit, splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean.

In 2014, a gunman shot and killed a soldier standing guard at a war memorial in Ottawa, then stormed the Canadian Parliament building before he himself was shot and killed.

In 2016, the Chicago Cubs won their first pennant since 1945, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series. (The Cubs would go on to beat Cleveland in the World Series in seven games, their first series championship since 1908.)

Today’s Birthdays:

Black Panthers co-founder Bobby Seale is 89.
Actor Christopher Lloyd is 87.
Actor Derek Jacobi is 87.
Actor Catherine Deneuve is 82.
Physician and author Deepak Chopra is 79.
Actor Jeff Goldblum is 73.
Actor-comedian Bob Odenkirk is 63.
Olympic gold medal figure skater Brian Boitano is 62.
Country singer Shelby Lynne is 57.
Reggae deejay and singer Shaggy is 57.
Film director Spike Jonze is 56.
Argentine President Javier Milei is 55.
Former MLB All-Star Ichiro Suzuki is 52.
Actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson is 50.
Actor Corey Hawkins is 37.
Actor Jonathan Lipnicki is 35.
Rapper 21 Savage is 33.
Rapper Roddy Ricch is 27.

After the partial collapse of a NYCHA building in the Bronx, tenants are split on how to best address deteriorating conditions in the city’s public housing stock. Stay in underfunded Section 9, or convert to Section 8—and potentially, to private management?

Scenes from Oct. 1 at NYCHA’s Mitchel Houses, where part of a building collapsed. (Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

First, an explosion. Then, a partial building collapse. After a boiler in the central building of the Mitchel Houses’ NYCHA campus in the Bronx was turned on Oct. 1, an explosion sent shockwaves up the building’s chimney, which collapsed 20 stories to the walking path below.

The disaster, which fortunately resulted in no injuries, was a grim reminder of the precarious state of the city’s public housing stock, which has a deep backlog of repairs, and forces NYCHA’s nearly 400,000 residents to live in sometimes unsafe conditions.

“I could feel my anxiety going off, and I think for a lot of the tenants, when I talk to them, it’s the same thing, like it felt like a war zone had come into our homes,” said Ramona Ferreyra, who lives in a neighboring building at the Mitchel Houses.

While NYCHA and the city investigate what went wrong, tenants and housing experts worry that what happened at Mitchel could happen again.

“Every delay in repairing public housing has real consequences for New Yorkers,” said Jessica Katz, one of the leaders of the NYCHA Regeneration Initiative and the city’s former chief housing officer under Mayor Eric Adams. “We can’t continue to defer maintenance at the expense of residents’ health and safety.”

A City Limits analysis of NYCHA physical needs assessments found that many developments have similar levels of wear as the Mitchel houses did before the collapse—or worse.

“NYCHA continues to work in close coordination with our oversight and city agency partners in the response to the incident at Mitchel Houses. Although this work is ongoing, it appears thus far that this was an isolated incident and not a systemic issue that would impact other developments,” said Michael Horgan, a spokesperson for NYCHA in a statement.

But residents of NYCHA, like Manhattan tenant Mike Noble, said the incident is “a wake up call.” 

“This is the kind of hidden stuff that can happen at any time,” he said.

Precarious conditions

The big number: $78 billion dollars. That 2023 estimate of the 20-year capital repair need at NYCHA looms over conversations about the state of the city’s beleaguered public housing stock.

“Sometimes people’s eyes just kind of glaze over when they hear that because I think it isn’t tangible anymore, right?” said Danny Rivera, a housing policy analyst who grew up in NYCHA. “It just becomes this big number that doesn’t feel solvable.” 

Noble, a resident at the Elliott Houses, said those numbers boil down to a simple truth: conditions in many NYCHA buildings are simply bad.

The collapse, he said, shows the extent of underinvestment. “I was shocked but not surprised. Stuff like that happens, and these buildings are just so old,” he said.

Living with the fear of collapse isn’t the only thing hovering over residents’ heads. There are daily issues that can cause health hazards, like mold, leaks, and broken elevators.

People waiting for one functioning elevator at a building in the Mitchel Houses in 2023. (Adi Talwar/City Limits)

The Mitchel Houses has $725 million in repair needs, mostly allocated for individual apartment repairs—an estimated $400,000 per unit—and for fixing heating, windows and building exteriors. 

But 204 of the other 264 NYCHA developments have more significant repair needs per unit than Mitchel.

In addition to NYCHA’s own physical needs assessment conducted every five years, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) inspectors score the conditions of buildings annually and flag significant health and safety issues. 

A City Limits’ data analysis shows that over half of NYCHA developments failed their physical inspection in 2024, with dozens reporting serious health and safety issues in recent evaluations by HUD’s Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC). 

In 2022 and 2023, the situation was even worse: 85 percent of NYCHA developments failed their evaluations, and “life threatening” health and safety issues were found in all but one development HUD inspected. Those violations included electrical, ventilation and heating issues, and security problems like unlocked windows and doors.

HUD changed the inspection procedure in 2024, and health and safety subscores were no longer available. A spokesperson for NYCHA said efforts to improve daily maintenance helped increase their average inspection score, which rose from 35 in 2022-2023 to 63 last year.

Last week, HUD laid off the entire team responsible for inspecting federally subsidized housing, according to a Bloomberg report.

Where to go from here

In light of the collapse, “people are evaluating the true status of their buildings,” said Noble.

Since 2023, NYCHA residents at select developments are voting on the future of their housing: whether they want to keep the status quo, or change funding structures to unlock repairs.

One proposed solution is to convert traditional public housing under the federal Section 9 program to Section 8 vouchers tied to specific units on NYCHA campuses. Those so-called project-based subsidies have more money attached from the federal government, unlocking dollars NYCHA can use on its deep repair backlog.

Residents can vote to stay in Section 9, or convert to Section 8—either by turning management over to a private company through a program called Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT), or to continue with NYCHA as their manager by entering the Public Housing Preservation Trust, a public entity New York State set up in 2022.

Noble and Ferreyra saw the challenges at their developments, and chose two different paths.

At the Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea Houses on the west side of Manhattan, Noble is supporting a plan to redevelop the entire complex by demolishing and then replacing the NYCHA apartments. The plan, which officials are moving ahead with this fall, will also add more affordable and market-rate housing on the campus.

He says the existing properties are just too far gone. “The amount of decay in these buildings is just way, way too much. And not only that, if you were to rehab this building, put it right back to the way it looked when it was built, it would still be inadequate,” said Noble.

In the Bronx, Ferreyra founded a group called Save Section 9, which has been pushing voters at NYCHA campuses to stick with traditional public housing. Last August, the Coney Island Houses became the first development to vote for staying with Section 9.

So far, four developments have voted to enter the Public Housing Trust, two have voted to stay in Section 9, and one has chosen PACT.

Fulton Elliot-Chelsea is the first campus to undergo comprehensive redevelopment as part of its PACT plan, but many developments that have gone through the program have had less dramatic change, such as rehabilitation of existing units that did not require tenants to move.

Ferreyra, who lives in the Mitchel Houses, says her determination to stay with Section 9 is still strong even after her neighboring building partially collapsed.

“Our neighbors really matter to us,” said Ferreyra, who said public housing has a unique culture they cannot afford to lose. “Being a public housing resident, even if it comes with these challenges that we all face, is better than losing our Section 9 designation and becoming a Section 8 tenant.”

The entrance to NYCHA’s Mitchel Houses building for seniors in The Bronx. (Adi Talwar/City Limits)

The federal government, which supports two-thirds of NYCHA’s operations, has been disinvesting in public housing for decades, leaving local governments to fill gaps.

“I think the city and the state are going to have to develop more responsible budgeting priorities when it comes to public housing,” said Ferreyra.

So far, that local support has not materialized in a way that can make a dent in the deep capital needs hole.

That can be a tough sell to some developments. “We tell them after you vote to stay Section 9, you’re going to have to start a second fight to get the funding necessary to do these repairs,” said Ferreyra.

It might not be the right fight for every development. “We look at the physical needs assessment and we decide if it’s safe for the tenants to take on that fight,” she added.

Some housing experts suggest there is a tipping point where the complexity of repairs means demolition and replacement might be a more viable option. For developments with more than $500,000 in capital needs per apartment, the authority may be able to build new for cheaper.

That’s the blueprint for the Elliott Houses, where Noble says his development has been left behind. “If everybody around us is living so well and has the safety and the amenities to go along with it, right, why don’t we? Why aren’t we entitled to that as well?” he said.

Other experts and tenants point out that each building has different physical needs and different political constraints—and the right repair solution will be an alchemy of what is financially and politically viable.

What can public housing residents do? Advocate for themselves, said Rivera. 

“Every tenant in public housing deserves good quality housing,” he said. “I can’t tell them what the right choice is like. No one can. I think they just need to have the resources around them to make informed choices.”

To reach the reporter behind this story, contact Patrick@citylimits.org. To reach the editor, contact Jeanmarie@citylimits.org

Want to republish this story? Find City Limits’ reprint policy here.

The post Most NYCHA Developments Have Greater Repair Needs Than Partially-Collapsed Mitchel Houses, Inspections Show appeared first on City Limits.

Apple Valley 27, Burnsville 8: Tylan Ward pulled in five grabs for 107 yards and two scores as the Eagles beat Burnsville for the second time in October.

Quieris Barnslater threw for those two scores, while also rushing for 87 yards and an additional touchdown.

Burnsville’s lone score came on a Caleb Kamara 40-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Apple Valley will meet St. Thomas Academy in the Class 5A, Section 3 semifinals on Saturday. The Cadets beat the Eagles 36-14 on Sept. 25.

Highland Park 34, Central 7: The Scots beat the rival Minutemen for the second time in 11 days and will now meet Mahtomedi in the Class 5A, Section 4 semifinals on Saturday.

Tartan 71, Harding-Humboldt 0: Malik Hassan and Martin-Kelly Brown each scored a pair of first-half touchdowns as the Titans scored 57 points over the first two quarters.

Tartan will meet second-seeded Cretin-Derham Hall in the Class 5A, Section 4 semifinals on Saturday.

The Raiders beat Tartan 56-6 during the regular season.

Chisago Lakes 21, North St. Paul 12: Chisago Lakes earned win No. 2 on the season in a section quarterfinal upset.

The Wildcats will meet second-seeded South St. Paul on Saturday. The Packers won the regular season meeting 36-20 on Oct. 10.

St. Croix Lutheran 37, St. Agnes 7: Evonson Plamann finished with 151 yards rushing and a touchdown for the Aggies, including the game’s opening score on Tuesday.

It was all Crusaders from there. St. Croix Lutheran scored five touchdowns, all on the ground, to remain perfect on the season.

St. Croix Lutheran will meet Minneapolis Camden in the Class 3A, Section 4 semifinals on Saturday after Camden upset Concordia Academy 20-7 on Tuesday.