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 Thursday night.
What This Is Not:
*A comprehensive analysis of players who are on bye or currently on the I.R.
*A look ahead to injuries impacting fantasy football beyond Week 9.
For any questions related to this article such as “should I drop [player A] for [player B]?” please refer to the staff’s weekly projections. This is not the final version and will be continually updated through Sunday morning, so definitely bookmark this article.
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.
Teams on Bye
Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Browns
Philadelphia Eagles
Los Angeles Rams
The following players have already been ruled out for Week 8 as of Friday evening so get them out of your lineup!
The following players are officially doubtful on the final practice report:
Injury Report
Chris Godwin - Finger
Godwin has been limited two days in a row but that doesn’t tell us how his finger is feeling after a surgery. According to the data he’s sitting just under the 50% likelihood to play. For more context read the Injury Roundup.
Update: Arians said Godwin caught the ball “fine” but he’s never been a coach we can fully trust. If he’s active, which we expect as of Saturday night, don’t be overweight on him in cash games.
Calvin Ridley - Foot
Ridley has not practiced two days in a row so his chances of playing Sunday are bleak. As in only 25% of skill players in 2020 who sat out practice 2 days in a row have ended up playing. Unless he logs a full practice before Sunday, plan to be without Ridley now and potentially the next few weeks. If you subscribe to the “let him sit because of the upcoming bye” philosophy, I would add it’s actually not a slam dunk he’s back by then either based on averages.
Update: It seems Ridley is a long-shot to play.
Ezekiel Elliot - Hamstring
Zeke has been on the injury report just 5 times since entering the league and in those 5 instances, he was a full participant in practice 4 times. The guy is durable and has been since his days at Ohio State. However, durable doesn’t mean indestructible. Before Dak’s injury, Zeke was averaging about 23 touches. In the three games without Dak the offensive has obviously struggled mightily and the overall volume has bottomed out and over the last 3 games Zeke is averaging just 19 touches. He’s also very likely increasing his practice touches so in other words, his workloads have been shifted just enough to throw his body out of whack potentially contributing to this hamstring issue. Anyway, only 12% of players in 2020 who were limited in practice Wednesday and Thursday due to a hamstring injury ended up missing. I think Zeke will play with a hint of volatility.
Update: In a surprising turn of events, Michael Gehlken is reporting the Cowboys will be without Zeke on Sunday. This is in spite of limited practices all week and a final designation of questionable. Keep an eye on this headed into Sunday morning since there have already been a few twists and turns in this story.
Michael Thomas - Hamstring/Ankle
Well, the ankle might be ready but there’s no telling what the hamstring might do. It’s a delicate situation right now as hamstring injuries stick around and Thomas has been limited basically since he returned. I’d feel more confident in him with a FP under his belt this Friday but even if that doesn’t happen, I expect him to play Sunday. Don’t bet your hat on gaudy numbers though and be aware this hamstring issue isn’t totally resolved just yet.
Update: He’s back without limitations (presumably).
Keenan Allen- Illness
On Saturday the Chargers listed Allen as questionable with an illness which makes Allen’s volatility sky-rocket. As I mentioned on Twitter, 2019 saw 9 fantasy relevant skill players play through an illness and the numbers showed a significant dip in performance. Now, it is a small sample, so let’s use Mike Evans from Week 1 in 2019 as the prototype for more context. Leading up to Week 1 in 2019, Evans came down with a stomach bug and missed the Friday practice. Stomach bugs, as most people who have experienced know, are literal gut punches. Without describing graphic details, they leave the body dehydrated, fatigued, and generally in bad shape. On top of that, Evans was playing in the Florida humidity and ended the day with 2 receptions for 28 yards. Additionally he was targeted just 5 times compared to his average of 9 targets per game. This is the worst case scenario and the bottom line is that as it relates to Allen, we have more questions than answers. Did he practice yesterday? How long has he been sick? What kind of illness was it? As always my job is not to tell you what I think will happen, my primary job is to tell you the floor of a player due to injury and illness- the floor on Allen this week is much lower than it usually is.
Josh Jacobs - Illness
This is relevant. He was full-on Wednesday then got sick and didn’t practice Thursday. Even if he plays this weekend his volatility will be through the roof due to the potential for dehydration and residual fatigue. Monitor his status and cash game players beware.
Update: Limited on Friday actually is considered an update. Even though I’m not quite as concerned about Jacobs as Allen. Josh Jacob’s physical state, hydration, involvement in the game plan, and ability to carry a full workload is also up in the air, though, so don’t be overweight on him this week.
Seattle Backfield
Seattle is always late to report the practice statuses but as of Wednesday DeeJay Dallas practiced in full and was the only running back to touch the practice field. Carroll has already said Hyde is a long shot and Carson is highly unlikely to play again. Homer didn’t practice either. Just avoid this backfield until further developments.
Update: Hyde and Carson have been ruled out officially but Dee Jay Dallas was a full participant again and is ready to go. If there’s one player to roster this week, it’s him seeing as Travid Homer is dealing with a (presumable) knee bruise which makes players apprehensive due to pain tolerance.
The following fantasy-relevant players were all full participants on Thursday and are expected to play this week. If they’re downgraded on Friday to LP, they’re a coin flip. If they’re downgraded to DNP, they’re unlikely to play so make sure to confirm before locking in your lineups. For context, in 2020 there have been 235 instances players have had a “Full Practice” status and all but one of those ended in the player being active. The one instance where the player wasn’t active was a clerical error. Anyway, here are the players:
The following fantasy-relevant players are trending in the right direction with at least one limited practice under their belt. Without setbacks, most of them should play:
Tentative projected return dates:
November 15th: Nick Chubb, Miles Sanders, Austin Ekeler, Deebo Samuel
November 22nd: Joe Mixon, Raheem Moster
Any other player projections are too soon to call.
Summary
Be sure to check back in frequently as this is updated often.
