The following will be a quick-hitting recall of last week’s previous injuries with any tidbits of news or assessment that can be gleaned during the early stages of the week. This article exists to cover only new injuries to fantasy-relevant players as most weeks some player injuries end up slipping through the cracks or are just relevant enough to crop up in a meaningful way down the road. Later this week the Injury Report will be published that will include all player injuries new and old. And remember- don’t over-react to the Wednesday practice report.
Teams on bye this week:
Tampa Bay
Carolina
Running Backs
Josh Jacobs - High ankle
Rappaport tweeted out that it’s “just” a sprained ankle, but based on video this is a high ankle mechanism, which is worse than a basic lateral ankle sprain. If Jacobs plays, which isn’t a lock, I would be nervous to utilize him in cash depending on his practice statuses this week. Watch his activity levels this week. If he has two back-to-back DNP’s, I’m looking for alternatives. Lastly, keep in mind that not all sources are created equal when it comes to reporting. There’s a big difference between a marketing intern and an athletic trainer when it comes to information interpretation and descriptions.
Early chances he plays: 50%
Dalvin Cook - Ankle
It’s tough to see but Cook ends up in a pile and it looks like he rolled his ankle. This is something to monitor but it shouldn’t keep him out as of today. See the analysis on D.J. Moore.
Early chances he plays: > 80%
Wide Receivers
D.J. Moore - Ankle
Like I mentioned on Twitter, Moore escaped a more serious injury and he instead suffered a lateral ankle sprain. So, what does that mean? Well, in the NFL the average amount of time for players to return from this injury was 7 days. What’s better is that 83% of soccer players return within 4 weeks of a lateral sprain and only 13% of these injuries are considered serious. Moreover, the mean layoff was 15 days but the median amount of missed was 8 days. The last number to consider is 46% which is the percent of players who return to play within 8 days. This is all a fancy way to say that there’s a decent chance that Moore suits up after the bye with minimal limitations based on the reports to date.
Very early chances he plays: > 50%
Calvin Ridley - Ankle
Ridley briefly exited the game and then returned on Sunday due to an ankle injury. Watching the replay there fortunately doesn’t seem to be much there other than the defender twisting his ankle in an awkward position while trying to make the tackle. He shouldn’t miss any time as it stands today.
Early chances he plays: > 80%
Quarterbacks
Daniel Jones - Hamstring
Jones evidently suffered a significant hamstring injury on Sunday and Joe Judge said he’s “optimistic” but I’m not sold yet. Hamstring strains take an average of 13 days to heal and it looked like Jones was in serious pain. It’s also important to understand that when a team is “relieved” by results, it doesn’t mean there’s not an injury there that could cost time. Even if Jones is active this week, his mobility will be legitimately in question making this turnover machine even more volatile than usual.
Early chances he plays: 49%
Teddy Bridgewater - Left shoulder
Teddy suffered a peculiar injury on Sunday at the end of the game that has absolutely no good angle to analyze. He was brushed by a defender on his non-throwing arm and it appeared that the shoulder subluxed as he was hanging it, and moving his hands/fingers walking off the field. He doesn’t have a history of chronic dislocations, but that doesn’t mean a hit from the back at just the right angle couldn’t cause an anterior instability event. If Teddy plays this week, I’m nervous about how confident he’ll be in taking hits. Josh Allen dealt with something similar earlier this year.
Early chances he plays: > 80%
Tua Tagovailoa - Thumb
This isn’t necessarily a fresh injury, but it did sort of come out of the blue. Tua didn’t play last week and depending on how his grip strength and pain do this week, he might sit yet another game. Depending on the severity, these injuries can cause 2-4 weeks for players depending on the specific type of lesion. Don’t plan on having Tua this week unless he upgrades his practice status.
Early chances he plays: 50%
