This article will be updated as practice reports roll in throughout the weekend. For the most up to date injury data between updates, bookmark this link and check it periodically.
What This Is:
*A no-nonsense quick-hitting analysis of fantasy-relevant player injuries that could impact performance on game day.
*A preview of the current week’s fantasy-relevant players with an injury through Friday night.
General Guidelines:
The following general rules apply for big shake-ups on the weekend:
*Players who are downgraded from full or even partial practice to “Did Not Practice” on Friday or Saturday, for any medical reason, are a long shot to play. Typically you’ll see teams say these players are a “game time decision” which is code for “they ain’t playing”.
*Players who have a concussion have up until Saturday night/Sunday morning to clear the protocol.
*If no “final update” is available, the player has either been officially ruled out or no news is good news.
The following players have already been ruled out as of Friday evening so get them out of your lineup!
Latavius Murray
Sammy Watkins
Terrace Marshall Jr
Jordan Wilkins
Saquon Barkley
Kadarius Toney
Kenny Golladay
Trey Lance
Rob Gronkowski
Antonio Brown
Chester Rogers
Curtis Samuel
Jimmy Graham
The following notable players practiced in full on Friday and/or carry minimal concern.
Chase Edmonds
DeAndre Hopkins
Khalil Herbert
Darnell Mooney
Joe Burrow
OJ Howard
Tom Brady
Giovani Bernard
Khalil Herbert
Jimmy Graham
JP Holtz
Allen Robinson II
Darnell Mooney
Jakeem Grant Sr
Joe Burrow
D’Andre Swift
TJ Hockenson
Equanimeous St Brown
Brandin Cooks
Chris Conley
Danny Amendola
Nico Collins
Jack Doyle
Tyreek Hill
Sony Michel
DeSean Jackson
Derek Carr
Darren Waller
Tua Tagovailoa
Malcolm Brown
Adam Shaheen
Preston Williams
DK Metcalf
Jimmy Garoppolo
Alex Collins
Derrick Henry
RUNNING BACKS
Antonio Gibson - Shin
There isn’t much to say about this situation anymore other than it doesn’t make sense. Gibson said himself he has a stress fracture, Ron Rivera said he was cleated, and I thought it was potentially a form of shin splints. The takeaway here is that Gibson is the highest variance skill player on the slate this week. He could go off for 25 PPR points or leave in the middle of the game for another x-ray. He’s highly volatile the rest of the season.
Alex Collins - Groin
Collins didn’t practice two days in a row on a long week with a “groin” injury after Pete Carroll initially called it a “glute” injury. Conversely, Rashaad Penny has been activated off the IR. If he still happens to be on your waiver wire, go grab him now. The wait on whether Collins is active or not is worth it as it’s bye week hell.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Terry McLaurin - Hamstring
McLaurin was still battling this hamstring tightness from Week Six but his participation trended in the right directions and he wasn’t limited at all on Friday. There’s little reason to fade this stud in Week Seven as he’s worth any setback that might ensue. However, ultra-conservative gamers might beg to differ and there’s enough smoke here to justify some exposure pivot elsewhere.
TY Hilton - Quad
Hilton is dealing with a (almost predictable) quad strain. Quads are more resilient than hamstrings but even if he plays, he’s at high risk for re-injury.
Bryan Edwards - Hamstring
Edwards was limited on Wednesday with a hamstring issue but practiced in full two days in a row. He’s minimally volatile in Week Seven.
Darius Slayton - Hamstring
Slayton could make his return in Week Seven. He’ll be moderately volatile.
Sterling Shepard - Hamstring
Shepard was limited all week with this hamstring injury again. This is a recurrence and he’s moderately to highly volatile in Week Seven.
AJ Brown - Illness
Brown has been battling #ChipotleGate for two weeks now and it sounds like it’s been an explosive journey for him. There’s a chance Brown was given antibiotics which destroy the gut bacteria and come with their own host of side effects. Even if that’s not the case, dehydration after food poisoning is no joke. Regardless, he did okay in Week Six and the Titans will continue to pump him with fluids. This might actually be a time to take advantage of potentially low rostership in DFS as he was a full practice participant on Friday.
Julio Jones - Hamstring
Jones has been battling hamstring injuries since 2020 and it’s not looking much better for him in Week Seven. He was limited all week in practice. Listen, you know the deal with Jones at this point - he always has the ability to catch 9 receptions for 120 yards. However, the chances he’s active still aren’t 100% and the chance of re-injury (again) are extremely high. He’s a highly volatile option assuming he even plays.
DeVante Parker - Shoulder/Hamstring
It’s hard to trust Parker with these two injuries. He’s a full avoid even if active.
TIGHT ENDS
Travis Kelce - Neck
Kelce isn’t on the final injury report but don’t be fooled - this is an ongoing issue. Obviously it’s hard to say “fade Kelce” but this neck/stinger issue stems from the Chiefs’ Week Five tilt against the Bills. It hasn’t gone away. Temper exposure to Kelce in DFS.
Taysom Hill - Concussion
Hill has until Sunday night to pass protocol. He had the bye to work with but still hasn’t practiced. In a week where many could use him, he might not be back this week and is highly volatile if he is.
Evan Engram - Calf
We’ll call Engram highly volatile because this injury is a recurrence of his pre-season injury that nearly cost him a trip to the short-term IR.
TENTATIVE PROJECTED RETURN DATES:
The following dates are based primarily on updates directly from beat reporters or the team. When appropriate, historical data & clinical experience are used to refine these dates. They are educated guesses. Not set in stone.
Russell Wilson - Week 12/13
Wilson’s camp will do all they can to bring Wilson back in Week 10 (the soonest he can return) but he’ll likely need more time than that.
Christian McCaffrey - Week 10
McCaffrey definitely suffered a setback despite any denials from the team. Now he’s out until Week Nine at the soonest. He’s moderately volatile moving forward as the Panthers need to decide if 90% of snaps and 25+ touches every game is worth it.
Jerry Jeudy - Week Eight
Saquon Barkley - Week Eight
Kadarius Toney - Week Eight/Nine
Kenny Golladay - Week Eight/Nine
Nick Chubb - Week Eight/Nine
Chubb will likely return Week Eight with min-moderate volatility.
Baker Mayfield - Week Nine - 12
Dawson Knox - Nine/10
DeVante Parker - Week Eight/Nine
Sammy Watkins - Week Nine/10
Rob Gronkowski - Nine
Trey Lance - Week Eight
Latavius Murray - Week 10/11
Terrace Marshall Jr - Week Eight - ???
Antonio Brown - Week Eight/10
Jarvis Landry - Week Seven
Rashod Bateman - Week Six
Russell Gage - Week Seven
Damien Harris - Week Six/Seven
Julio Jones - Week Six
Darius Slayton - Week Six/Seven
Sterling Shepard - Week Six
Rashaad Penny - Week Seven/Eight
Chris Carson - Week 9/10
Carson’s (presumably) arthritic neck is a volatile condition. Carson is highly volatile the rest of the season.
Tua Tagovailoa - Week Six/Seven
JaMycal Hasty - Week Seven/Eight
Michael Thomas - Week Eight/Nine
Thomas is reportedly “a couple weeks away” which matches with the general guess of when his surgery was. When he returns, it could take 1-2 weeks for him to get his sea legs under him.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling - Week Eight/Nine
Tyrod Taylor - Week Eight/Nine
George Kittle - Eight/Nine
Will Fuller - Week Eight/Nine
David Montgomery - Week Eight/Nine
Logan Thomas - Week Eight/Nine
Jeff Wilson - Week 10-12
Clyde Edwards-Helaire - Week 10/11
Kareem Hunt - Week 10/11
Ryan Fitzpatrick - Week 10/Unknown
Tyrell Williams - Unknown
Curtis Samuel - Unknown
