Roundtable: Handling Injuries In Fantasy Football

Photo: USA Today Sports

Injuries are a harsh reality of football. They affect all fantasy game modes, between redraft, dynasty, and daily fantasy. Learning to react to different situations helps in any format. Dynasty players can pivot to building for the future, while redraft players have to deal with the immediacy of the production loss. Dynasty leagues often require a deeper lens and can put redraft players ahead when proactively building benches. 

Our staff discusses their approaches to dealing with injuries.

Question: Do you have any crucial advice for dealing with the rash of injuries across the league?

Andy Hicks - Be ahead of the game. There will be clear replacements for some injuries and open situations in other situations to consider. All players who see an opportunity will have value. Do not write anyone off on past performances. Surprises happen every year in the NFL.

Which players may keep their roles if the injured player returns? Who is a short-term fix only? Who is throwing them the ball? Or who is blocking for them? Some players will have seen targets or rushing attempts if the injury occurred in the game. 

Jason Wood - Injuries are an inevitable part of this hobby and never get easier to manage. Dynasty leagues add another layer of complexity to dealing with injuries. As the season progresses, injuries in a redraft league often mean a lost season, but in dynasty leagues, you can proactively shift your focus to 2025 and beyond. You can use your assets—especially those who are injured—to enhance your team for the future. There's no set blueprint. Sometimes, it’s wise to acquire injured players who won’t help this season but could elevate your team next year. Other times, it makes sense to trade away a high-value, long-term asset who’s injured if it could be the difference between you fighting for a 2024 playoff spot or becoming a favorite.

Unfortunately, we're still very early in the season, and few, if any, teams should be shifting their focus toward 2025 and beyond. Dynasty leagues generally have much deeper benches, so easy fixes won’t be available on the waiver wire if injuries have struck you. You need to decide if you have assets worth trading, and a big part of that is understanding your league mates. Who are their favorite and least favorite players? Are they more interested in rookie draft picks and betting on the upside, or do they prefer proven veterans who they think can be acquired at a discount? If injuries plague your team and your roster lacks the appropriate handcuffs, take a day or two to evaluate the other teams in your league, then initiate multiple trade discussions. Get a sense of what’s possible, and use these conversations to more confidently triangulate the costs of acquiring what you need.