JoJo Trader goes from out to questionable vs. Cal

The first availability report had Trader ruled out. Thursday night, NC State reissued it with 2 changes.

Noah Fleischman

@fleischman_noah

NC State updated its availability report vs. Cal: - WR JoJo Trader was upgraded from out to questionable. - CB Jamel Johnson was added as questionable.

Teams take players off the report or move them from questionable to out all the time. Going the other way, from out back to questionable, basically doesn't happen. Once a guy is listed as out, everyone treats him as gone, and that includes the betting market and every fantasy player who already benched him.

Cory Smith

@RCorySmith

Not sure I’ve ever seen a player at any level upgraded from “OUT” to “Questionable,” but that’s the case for NC State WR Jojo Trader. Corner Jamel Johnson was also added as questionable against Cal. t.co/xVbxSctKc1

Trader has been out with a foot injury and has missed each of NC State's last 2 games, according to RotoWire. Being upgraded doesn't mean he plays. It means the Wolfpack no longer think he definitely won't, which is new as of Thursday. If he does go, NC State gets back a receiver nobody had planned around.

The Jamel Johnson part points the other way. Johnson is a veteran starting corner who fought for a 5th year of eligibility before this season and got it through a preliminary injunction. Being added as questionable this late in the week is a real worry for the secondary, so NC State may have gained a receiver and lost a corner on the same night.

There's a lot more going on in Raleigh than the injury report. Dave Doeren was fired after the loss at Stanford, and special teams coordinator Todd Goebbel is now the interim head coach. NC State comes into Saturday 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the ACC, at home at Carter-Finley against a 3-5 Cal team. Goebbel's first game is the start of a 5-game finish to the season, and he could use a receiver back.

The next thing to watch is the final ACC availability report before kickoff. If Trader is still questionable there, it's a real game-time call. If NC State changes him back to out, Thursday's upgrade was just noise on the report. Johnson's status matters just as much, because a thin secondary against Cal could decide the game more than one receiver would.