It feels good to be back. After what seemed like a long offseason, August has flown by, and the NFL has returned.
For those of you who are new, welcome. And those who are familiar, welcome back. This article will be on the website every Saturday until the end of the regular season. It will summarize the injuries from the previous week, tracking practice reports and injury specifics to provide you with as much information as possible so that you can make informed decisions when setting your fantasy football lineups.
I am a practicing physical therapist, but along with my experience as a health care provider, I have been committed to providing actionable/streamlined injury information for fantasy managers. I do so with my injury database, which is a nice reference point for injuries using historical comps.
Understanding the NFL's Injury Report
(per Dr. Bramel)
"The injury report released by the NFL is [made up of] two reports. The first is the Practice Participation report, which lists which injured players practiced and their participation level. It also includes players who rested or missed practice for non-injury-related reasons. The second is the Game Status Report, which gives the probability a player will play, i.e., Questionable, Doubtful, Out. The Practice Participation Report is released every day of the week (Monday through Saturday). The Game Status Report is released with the Friday participation report (Wednesday for Thursday games, Saturday for Monday games). In this feature, I'll include the Game Status Listing and my expectations of their likelihood of playing."
If you are reading this article on Saturday, make sure to come back on Sunday morning as more updates trickle in within the next 24 hours.
Key: Player | Injury | Game Status Listing | Playing Expectation
Current Status on High-Impact Injured Players
Gameday Decision
- WR DeAndre Hopkins
- WR Keenan Allen
- QB Russell Wilson
Trending Doubtful (Likely Inactive)
- WR Tee Higgins
Trending Probable (Expected to Play)
Ruled Out
- WR Roman Wilson (ankle)
- WR Josh Downs (ankle)
- TE Ian Thomas (calf)
- TE Tommy Tremble (hamstring)
- WR DJ Chark (hip)
- QB Marcus Mariota (chest)
- WR Malik Washington (quadriceps)
QB Jordan Love, Green Bay | Knee
Jordan Love is not playing this weekend, in fact, the Packers and Eagles played Friday night in Brazil. However, in the final moments of that game, Love went down with an injury to his left leg. There has been a lot of speculation regarding his injury and with the limited new information that we have been able to receive from Brazil, I wanted to provide an update.
Jordan Love
— Adam Hutchison (@TheRealAdam_H) September 7, 2024
Grouping in all the information here it seems like ankle has been ruled out. Which means no fracture which is great.
On field assessments for ACL tear have ~90% accuracy for ruling out an ACL tear. Would still need an MRI to be 100% but it sounds like Love may have… pic.twitter.com/AFRwO6aO6g
There should be optimism that this is not a season-ending injury. If Love did sustain an MCL sprain, I think he could miss minimal time (0-2 weeks). A patellar (kneecap) sprain or dislocation would be painful, but with bracing, Love could return in ~2 weeks.
Sunday 1:00 PM EST Games
WR Tee Higgins, Cincinnati | Hamstring | Questionable | Likely Out
Unfortunately, popping up on the injury report is becoming a bit of a habit for Tee Higgins. Since he entered the league in 2020, Higgins has been on the Bengals' final injury report nine times. Close to the top for WRs.
The Bengals' saga with Ja'Marr Chase was exhausting enough, and some are speculating that Tee Higgins, who also does not have a long-term deal with Cincinnati, is in a similar situation. Higgins originally said he "felt great" after he injured his hamstring on Thursday, but he followed that up by missing practice completely on Friday.
The most important detail is that the Bengals officially listed Higgins as Doubtful, and players rarely play following this designation (6%). It appears unlikely that Higgins will suit up in Week 1.
WR DeAndre Hopkins, Tennessee | Knee | Questionable | Likely Plays
DeAndre Hopkins has been nursing an MCL sprain for ~ five weeks now. He was limited all week during the Titans' practices this week, and his status for Sunday is officially questionable. The average return-to-play timeline for MCL sprains amongst NFL WRs is 4.5 weeks, so Hopkins is right at that timeline. It's also worth noting that in his career, every time Hopkins has been limited in the final practice, he went on to play. I think he is truly 50/50 to play in Week 1.
There is a significant decline in fantasy production in the first game back following an MCL sprain so whether he dresses or not it might be smart to look at other options.
WR Keenan Allen, Chicago | Heel | Questionable | Likely Plays
Bears wide receiver Keenan Allen is questionable with a heel injury. Heel injuries are typically difficult to project as it comes down to pain tolerance. Allen was upgraded to a full practice participant on Friday, so it would seem likely that he will suit up. I would not expect this injury to hamper his fantasy production.
Sunday Update: Per Adam Schefter the Bears expect Keenan Allen to start.
QB Russell Wilson, Pittsburgh | Calf | Questionable | Likely Out
Per NFL insider Dianna Russini, Rusell Wilson is not expected to play after he aggravated the calf injury that he was dealing with in the preseason. Typically, these types of injuries for NFL QBs take <3 weeks to recover from, but with the setback, it's difficult to project. It would appear that Pittsburgh is comfortable with Justin Fields under center, and they want Wilson to be 100% before he takes the field. Wilson may be back next week but his practice reports will tell the story. Should Wilson sit out again, it could be an indication that his setback is more serious than what was initially reported.
Sunday Update: Per Adam Schefter Russell Wilson has told the team that he can play but the Pittsburgh team doctors are being more cautious. Wilson is going to test his calf out in the pregame. This is a confusing situation but I am sticking with my initial prediction that Wilson sits Week 1.
Sunday 4:05 PM EST Games
WR Tyler Lockett, Seattle Seahawks | Thigh | Questionable | Likely Plays
The Seahawks have Tyler Lockett listed as Questionable with a thigh injury despite, Lockett being able to fully participate (FP) in practice on Friday. This means that Tyler Lockett will likely play as most players (>90%) who log an FP in the final practice end up playing. Regarding fantasy production following the injury the label of "thigh injury" is vague as it does not tell us if Lockett is dealing with a thigh contusion, quadriceps strain, etc. In terms of playing through injury, data would suggest that Lockett struggles with this ranking in the bottom 30th percentile in fantasy points vs. expected based on injury. This could be an opportunity for Jaxon Smith-Njigba to shine.
Sunday Update: Per Ian Rapoport the Tyler Lockett is expected to play.
Monday 8:20 PM EST Game
RB Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco | Calf/Achilles | Questionable | Likely Plays
What was originally labeled a calf injury for 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey, Friday, we received some clarity—Achilles. This diagnosis may be unnerving for fantasy managers because most of us associate Achilles injuries with "season-ending." Reading between the lines, this seems like a minor issue, and it is possible that CMC is dealing with a mild case of tendinitis.
When asked if there was any chance he would not play Monday night, McCaffrey responded: "No."
Calf/Achilles injuries can be limiting in terms of fantasy production. In fact, among all RB injuries I have measured, it ranks #1 in terms of lingering effects. But make no mistake - we are starting McCaffrey in all formats. Although, in the past couple of seasons, McCaffrey has missed time due to injuries, he is one of the best at outperforming fantasy points expectations following injury.
This may be a good opportunity to stash Jordan Mason, who is the clear handcuff to McCaffrey, especially with Elijah Mitchell ending up on season-ending IR.
