As far as injuries go, last week wasn’t terrible. Fantasy managers lost Austin Ekeler, Nick Chubb, and O.J. Howard for extended periods (and for Howard, the full season), but it was a much less bloody slate of games than Week 2.
Each Friday, I’ll break down the NFL practice reports by matchup. That’s when teams release two key pieces of information: first, a player’s status (full-go, limited, no-go) in practice that week; second, their injury designation (questionable, doubtful, out). It’s vital stuff to follow for your fantasy matchups, and I’ll walk you through the important things to know.
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Rams at Football Team (Sunday, 1:00 PM EST)
Rams: No fantasy-relevant injuries.
Football Team: WR Steven Sims (toe) IR, DE Chase Young (groin) QUESTIONABLE.
With Kyle Allen under center, the Football Team will look to turn over a new leaf. Allen loved to air the ball out in Ron Rivera’s offense last year, and two of his wide receivers finished in the top-12 for air yards as a result. Both Terry McLaurin and Dontrelle Inman could see their fantasy value increase due to his promotion and Sims’ injury.
Oh, and if you were planning to start either Malcolm Brown or Darrell Henderson, beware — Cam Akers will make his return this Sunday. He logged full practice sessions on both Thursday and Friday, so you can expect this backfield to revert to a headache-inducing committee for fantasy purposes. After Henderson’s shocking bust last week, I would leave every Los Angeles running back on my bench this week unless I had no other options.
Eagles at Steelers (Sunday, 1:00 PM EST)
Eagles: WR DeSean Jackson (hamstring) OUT, WR Alshon Jeffery (illness/foot) OUT.
Steelers: No fantasy-relevant injuries.
The Steelers will have Diontae Johnson back in the lineup this Sunday, and he’ll immediately return to being Pittsburgh’s WR1. While Smith-Schuster has scored more fantasy points thus far, Johnson has the advantage volume-wise. He has 25 targets to Smith-Schuster’s 19, and he’s earned 252 air yards to Smith-Schuster’s 103.
On the other side, the Eagles are still struggling with a banged-up receiving corps. While they don’t appear on this list, neither Jalen Reagor nor Dallas Goedert will be able to return yet, so it’ll be another week of Greg Ward, Zach Ertz, and everyone else. In a tough matchup in Pittsburgh, it’s easy to fade all of their passing-game options — especially Carson Wentz.
Cardinals at Jets (Sunday, 1:00 PM EST)
Cardinals: No fantasy-relevant injuries.
Jets: QB Sam Darnold (shoulder) OUT, OT Mekhi Becton (shoulder) DOUBTFUL, WR Breshad Perriman (ankle) DOUBTFUL, WR Chris Hogan (ribs/knee) QUESTIONABLE.
Oh, God, New York. A presumptive positive test led to everyone getting sent home from their facility, so the team didn’t get to spend much time evaluating injured players today. While they were already planning for life without Darnold (they’ll start Joe Flacco instead), it’s another thing gone wrong for a franchise that can’t get much to go right.
Flacco probably won’t have fellow ex-Raven Breshad Perriman this Sunday, and with Chris Hogan also dealing with an injury, Jeff Smith could see another week of fantasy relevance. You should keep an eye on Hogan’s pregame status before you commit to rolling the dice on him, however.
The good news is that Le’Veon Bell is eligible to return this Sunday. Whether he does is still up in the air, but if he can go, he’s a low-end, volume-driven RB2. You should return Frank Gore to your waiver wire regardless of Bell’s status, but he’ll be even less valuable if Bell can play.
There’s not much to report for Arizona. Although Kenyan Drake missed some snaps late in last week’s losing effort, he just got the wind knocked out of him, and he wasn’t limited in practice this week.
Raiders at Chiefs (Sunday, 1:00 PM EST)
Raiders: WR Bryan Edwards (foot/ankle) OUT, WR Henry Ruggs III (knee/hamstring), OT Trent Brown (calf) QUESTIONABLE.
Chiefs: No fantasy-relevant injuries.
The Raiders are starting to get a bit healthier, and it looks like both Ruggs and Brown should be able to suit up for Sunday’s game against the Chiefs. It’s a tough matchup, however, so don’t expect too much out of the team fantasy-wise. Last season, the Raiders scored only 19 total points against the Chiefs despite playing them twice. I would leave Ruggs on your bench despite his return.
Jaguars at Texans (Sunday, 1:00 PM EST)
Jaguars: CB C.J. Henderson (shoulder) QUESTIONABLE, LB Myles Jack (ankle) QUESTIONABLE, DE Josh Allen (knee) QUESTIONABLE.
Texans: No fantasy-relevant injuries.
Both teams will enter Sunday’s game relatively healthy on offense. That said, some of Jaguars’ best defensive players are nursing injuries, and that could give the Texans’ playmakers a boost. While Jack and Henderson have been able to practice since Thursday, Josh Allen’s wasn’t at practice Wednesday, Thursday, or during the media portion of Friday’s practice. He’s the most likely of these three playmakers to miss action, and his absence would give Deshaun Watson more time to throw.
Bengals at Ravens (Sunday, 1:00 PM EST)
Bengals: RB Joe Mixon (shin) QUESTIONABLE.
Ravens: TE Mark Andrews (thigh) QUESTIONABLE, WR Marquise Brown (knee) QUESTIONABLE, QB Lamar Jackson (knee/illness) QUESTIONABLE.
A little generous with the questionable tags, are we now, Baltimore? I kept my list to their key fantasy pieces, but 12 players earned questionable designations this week, including guys like Marcus Peters, Jimmy Smith, and Ronnie Stanley. However, I fully expect all of these guys to suit up, as all of them logged at least two limited practice sessions, and none of them sat out Friday.
The story with Jackson is that he rested his knee on Wednesday and had a stomach bug on Thursday. He was a full participant on Friday, however, so I expect him to be full-go. Both Brown and Andrews have practiced all week, too, so I’m not worried about them.
Mixon is again questionable but with a shin injury this time. He logged limited practice sessions on both Thursday and Friday due to the injury, but he’s a safe bet to play against the Ravens. Also, the Bengals will get nose tackle Geno Atkins back this week, and they’ll play a key role in limiting Baltimore’s production on the ground.
Panthers at Falcons (Sunday, 1:00 PM EST)
Panthers: RB Reggie Bonnafon (ankle) IR.
Falcons: WR Julio Jones (hamstring) QUESTIONABLE.
Christian McCaffrey doesn’t make the list as he’s still on injured reserve for the Panthers, and he won’t be back for another two-to-four weeks. Mike Davis will continue to see workhorse duties, especially since the Panthers just sent Bonnafon to the injured reserve this week.
The Falcons’ receiving corps has been a headache for fantasy managers all season, and the situation isn’t any better this week. Russell Gage is healthy, but Calvin Ridley saw only limited action with his leg injury, and Julio Jones hasn’t recovered from his hamstring injury. He couldn’t practice at all this week, and Jones managers should plan to not have him in Week 5. The last time he missed every practice, he also earned a questionable designation and failed to play.
Dolphins at 49ers (Sunday, 4:05 PM EST)
Dolphins: WR Jakeem Grant (illness) QUESTIONABLE.
49ers: RB Raheem Mostert (knee) QUESTIONABLE, WR Deebo Samuel (illness) QUESTIONABLE.
Mostert has been trending in the right direction, and it seems like he’ll be able to suit up for this one. It’s still up the air, but Shanahan won’t have to worry about leaving him on the field for every snap because of how good Jerick McKinnon has looked in his absence.
The 49ers will get Jimmy Garoppolo back this week, and he’s a nice upgrade to either C.J. Beathard and Nick Mullens under center. The 49ers’ pass-catchers should see a small uptick in value as a result.
A pair of receivers — Grant and Samuel — were late additions to their teams’ injury reports with illnesses. Samuel missed both Thursday and Friday’s practices, while Grant failed only missed Miami’s Friday practice. While both of them should be able to play, their missed reps may lead the other receivers around them to see more usage.
Giants at Cowboys (Sunday, 4:25 PM EST)
Giants: No fantasy-relevant injuries.
Cowboys: OT Tyron Smith (neck) OUT.
I don’t have much to report here. Saquon Barkley is still out for the season, and Sterling Shepard is still on injured reserve. The Giants still haven’t scored a touchdown since the game he went down. They are a bad franchise with a bad roster, and even though none of their other playmakers are hurt, they will struggle against the Cowboys this Sunday.
Speaking of the Cowboys, it seems like Dallas may not have either of their starting tackles this season. Tyron Smith will have season-ending neck surgery soon, and La’el Collins had season-ending hip surgery. That’s a blow to Ezekiel Elliott’s season-long value, as he’s less likely to have competent run-blocking. The Cowboys still boast a top-10 offensive line, but even one more injury could turn this unit into a weakness.
Colts at Browns (Sunday, 4:25 PM EST)
Colts: OT Anthony Castonzo (rib) OUT, LB Darius Leonard (groin) OUT, LB Anthony Walker (ankle) QUESTIONABLE.
Browns: RB Nick Chubb (knee) IR, CB Greedy Williams (shoulder) OUT.
The Colts have looked exceptionally good thus far, but the losses of Costanzo and Leonard may be too much for them to overcome. On offense, Castonzo has helped the Colts secure a top-five pass-blocking grade, but Indianapolis ranks 28th against the run. Without Castonzo, they will perform worse in both categories, and that’s especially bad news for Jonathan Taylor.
The bigger story here has to do with Cleveland’s running game. Yes, they just lost Nick Chubb for quite a while, but Kareem Hunt is the best backup in the league. Cleveland should also rotate in D’Ernest Johnson alongside him for a good one-two punch. Although the Colts have been great on defense so far, their two leading tacklers (Leonard and Walker) are both hurt. Worse, Leonard wears the green dot in this defense, and his absence may lead to some disorganization.
The skinny — if you’re a Hunt or Johnson manager, don’t worry about the Colts. If you’re planning to start the Colts D/ST, please reconsider.
Oh, and in case Austin Hooper managers are still holding onto him — David Njoku will come back this week. He caught three passes for 50 yards and a score in Week 1, and his availability significantly caps Hooper’s already low upside.
Vikings at Seahawks (Sunday, 8:20 PM EST)
Vikings: No fantasy-relevant injuries.
Seahawks: RB Carlos Hyde (shoulder) QUESTIONABLE.
The Vikings should have linebacker Eric Kendricks this week despite concerns that he wouldn’t be able to, as the linebacker failed to practice on either Wednesday or Thursday. That’s great news for Minnesota, and they’ll need him if they want to stay in the game defensively.
After Chris Carson‘s injury scare last week ago, Seattle has avoided any significant injuries. Carson’s backup, Hyde, missed last week’s game with his shoulder injury, but he has been able to log limited practice sessions all week, so he should be good-to-go for Sunday. His return may cap Carson’s upside slightly, but it would most severely affect Travis Homer’s value, and you can safely return him to waivers.
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Isaiah Sirois is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Isaiah, check out his archive and follow him @is_sirois.
