After the conclusion of the Sunday Night Football game between Washington and Seattle, I sent out a tweet on X with the GIF from The Simpsons. This happened to be the episode where Homer was posing as Krusty the Clown, and ended up pummeling the Krusty Burglar, with children around the scene proclaiming “Stop, stop! He’s already dead!”.
Fantasy managers were already down on their luck lately, dealing with a myriad of injuries to star players that forced them to field less-than-ideal lineups. Throw in the additional monkey wrench of bye weeks, causing other starters to sit, and matters were already dicey.
This week certainly didn’t help matters. Several top-tier lineup lock options are now set to miss significant time, making things even more complicated.
Our lineup was already dead, Homer! Please stop!
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Here is a quick rundown of Week 9’s injury news and waiver wire recommendations to consider when relevant.
Fantasy Football Injuries to Know
Quarterback
Jayden Daniels (QB – WAS)
Troy Aikman and Joe Buck summed up the hive mind collective thought when they stated, “Someone really needs to explain to us why Jayden Daniels was still in the game; this could have been avoided”. Trailing by 31 points halfway through the fourth quarter, Daniels suffered a gruesome injury to his non-throwing arm when his elbow bent backward and became dislocated. Immediately ushered off the field in an air cast, Daniels was visibly upset and in apparent discomfort. X-rays taken afterwards thankfully confirmed that no bones were broken, but he is scheduled for an MRI to gather further information.
Fantasy Impact: Daniels’ managers should expect him to miss significant time recovering from this injury. Though Washington seems reluctant to rule him out for the remainder of the 2025 season, it is almost sure that he will be moved to the injured reserve, which would sideline him for the next four weeks (the remainder of the fantasy regular season). Veteran Marcus Mariota will take over in his absence, with games coming up against Detroit and Miami, followed by a Week 12 bye. Mariota is an upside streaming play, especially when/if wideout Terry McLaurin returns.
C.J. Stroud (QB – HOU)
Stroud had a strong start to his afternoon against Denver, but was forced out of the game after sustaining a concussion on a rather dirty hit when he was scrambling. After the medical staff confirmed his diagnosis, he was placed into the league’s protocol and will need to pass the step-by-step process to return to action.
Fantasy Impact: Davis Mills finished the remainder of the game against Denver and was able to keep Houston competitive against one of the league’s best defensive units. He is expected to start in Week 10 against Jacksonville, assuming that Stroud takes the typical recovery time period to recover (most players return from the concussion protocol after missing a week). The Jaguars have a porous secondary that surrenders an average of 250 passing yards per game, making Mills a viable pivot for managers dealing with bye concerns (Cincinnati, Dallas, Kansas City, and Tennessee are off in Week 10).
Running Back
Aaron Jones (RB – MIN)
Jones left Sunday’s contest against Detroit early in the third quarter, suffering a sprained AC joint in his shoulder. Unable to return, backup/committee mate Jordan Mason finished the remainder of the game for Minnesota. Head coach Kevin O’Connell stated during Monday’s press conference that Jones was “sore,” but the team received positive news early on, and he appeared optimistic that he would be able to practice at some point.
Fantasy Impact: Shoulder sprains are notoriously tricky for running backs, as they are extremely easy to aggravate, especially for players who run with reckless abandon. Jones is by far the superior talent – even when he missed time earlier this season, Mason only provided modest returns. Mason has eclipsed 60 rushing yards just once since Week 1, despite having double-digit opportunities on the regular. He would be a FLEX/RB3 option, should Jones miss Week 10 against Baltimore.
D’Andre Swift (RB – CHI)
When Swift was listed with a groin injury early on in the week, fantasy managers didn’t think much of it, since he’s been able to play through the injury each of the two prior games. A non-participant on both Wednesday and Thursday, Swift was eventually ruled out on Friday and ceded starting duties to Kyle Monangai. The seventh-round selection from Rutgers went ballistic, rushing for 176 yards on 26 carries, adding 22 yards on three receptions as the focal point of Chicago’s offense. Bears head coach Ben Johnson stated that the reason Swift rested was “the team wants to make sure that they have him in a good spot for the whole season” (per Adam Jahns of AIICHGO.com, who covers the team. No further information has been provided regarding his status for Week 10 against the New York Giants.
Fantasy Impact: Given Monangai’s success, it makes little sense for the Bears to rush Swift back any faster than necessary, especially if they are sitting him for his long-term health. New York ranks as the second-worst team against the run, giving up an average of 150 yards on the ground per contest. Monangai should operate as a low-end RB1 this week.
Wide Receiver
Puka Nacua (WR – LAR)
After missing Week 7 with an ankle injury and Los Angeles being on bye during Week 8, Nacua’s fantasy managers were excited to have him back on the field. Peppered with targets early in the game, Nacua caught seven passes for 95 yards and a touchdown before exiting in the third quarter after landing on the football awkwardly amidst a designed run. He exited the game in a good deal of discomfort and later went into the locker room with trainers. Thankfully, he was able to return to the sidelines later with his helmet on and appeared to be in good spirits. Sean McVay stated during Monday’s press conference that Nacua is scheduled to have scans done on his ribs, but that the team was “optimistic” he could return for Week 10 against San Francisco.
Fantasy Impact: Fantasy managers shouldn’t be surprised at this point that Nacua continues to pick up bumps and bruises each week. If anything, we should be thankful that the team didn’t allow him to continue playing through them after the game was already out of reach against New Orleans. Given his nature of playing through pain whenever possible, we’d anticipate him not missing any time, unless the scans done this week reveal something glaring. If Nacua were to miss any time, Davante Adams would see a rise in targets, with Xavier Smith and Jordan Whittington picking up looks in short-yardage situations.
Matthew Golden (WR – GB)
At this point, is it fair to call Golden a bust during his rookie season? The first-round wideout has yet to make a meaningful impact and establish himself atop Green Bay’s depth chart, and on the season, has been nearly doubled in points by Romeo Doubs. Golden has just one game with over four receptions and has yet to score a touchdown, while only eclipsing 60 receiving yards once in eight starts. Golden left in the third quarter against Carolina with a shoulder injury and was unable to return on the afternoon. Head coach Matt LaFleur stated that his status should be viewed as “day-to-day”, with the hopes of playing in Week 10 against Philadelphia. The Packers’ contest against the Eagles is on Monday Night Football, which makes this a tricky situation to navigate.
Fantasy Impact: With Tucker Kraft now done for the season with a torn ACL (more information on that below) and Golden dealing with a shoulder injury, Green Bay’s receiving options are becoming relatively thin. Doubs will continue to be the main target in the passing game, with Christian Watson operating as the downfield threat, and rookie Savion Williams running shorter routes. Williams also doubles as the team’s kickoff returner and adds additional value in leagues that reward return yardage.
Garrett Wilson (WR – NYJ)
Wilson is in the process of returning from a hyperextended knee that he sustained late in Week 6 against Denver. Following two games on the sidelines and New York’s bye last week, he is set to return, and head coach Aaron Glenn stated that he will resume practicing this week. Expect the team to ease him back into practice with work on the side and limited sessions, rather than complete, to begin. It remains a mystery as to which quarterback will be under center against Cleveland in Week 10, between Justin Fields and Tyrod Taylor.
Fantasy Impact: Wilson’s return provides New York with a bona fide weapon, something that the team has sorely missed in the passing game. With the Jets expected to be sellers at the deadline, it will be interesting to see if any pieces (namely Breece Hall) get moved. If Wilson is unable to suit up against Cleveland, passing targets would be mainly allocated to wideouts Allen Lazard and Arian Smith, along with rookie tight end Mason Taylor.
Tee Higgins (WR – CIN)
Higgins finished as the WR2 in Week 9 (behind only Drake London) after finishing with seven receptions (on nine targets) for 121 yards and two touchdowns, including an epic Randy Moss-esque box out. Higgins left in the fourth quarter for what appeared to be a concussion evaluation, but head coach Zac Taylor stated on Monday that he cleared the protocol. He was unable to return to the game, but thankfully has a bye in Week 10 to give him additional rest.
Fantasy Impact: Barring Higgins developing late symptoms, I don’t forsee this being an issue, especially with Cincinnati having a bye week to recover from their latest flop. His fantasy managers can monitor practice reports early next week to determine if he is available to play.
Tight Ends
Tucker Kraft (TE – GB)
Can we start by stating how much this injury is a total bummer? Kraft was in the midst of a true breakout season in 2025, with four touchdown catches over his last three games, racking up yardage left and right after contact while being the focal point of Green Bay’s passing attack. While blocking on the interior for a Josh Jacobs rushing attempt, Kraft’s knee was rolled into by a teammate, and he needed assistance to reach the sidelines before being carted off. Test results later confirmed the worst – he had torn his ACL in his right knee, and will miss the remainder of the season. Kraft was a near lock for a top-5 finish this year, and his absence will be sorely missed and difficult to replace.
Fantasy Impact: Luke Musgrave becomes the de facto TE1 now in Green Bay, and blocking specialist John FitzPatrick will see a rise in his snap count. Musgrave was a former second-round selection in 2023 (actually ahead of Kraft), and has played above-average when afforded the opportunity in the past. Musgrave has had two years of practice reps to develop a rapport with quarterback Jordan Love, and they should quickly click together.
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