Let's take a look at the guys that are lingering on injury reports as we approach the weekend. Some of them...are pretty big names. We already covered Kyler Murray, Aaron Rodgers, CMC, and others yesterday and their situations largely haven't changed. For the Murray updates, click here. For the Rodgers/CMC updates, click here.
Saquan Barkley
Barkley proved his Covid results were a false positive and rejoined the team Friday. Barkley has not seen the field since exiting early against the Cowboys week 5, and was trending to start Sunday against the Raiders until his positive Covid test Tuesday. After back-to-back negatives, Barkley is back on track to play, but considering his injury history I expect him to be on a snap count if he does indeed play. This makes him and backup Devontae Booker, who has gotten the bulk of the work in his stead, risky fantasy RB2 plays this week. If Barkley gets the start though, you have to play him against the Raiders, who are allowing a ton of points to running backs this year.
DeAndre Hopkins
Hopkins carried the hamstring injury into the Green Bay game and certainly tweaked it again on a huge TD that got called back due to penalty (on Hopkins). He still played in the remainder of the game but was fairly ineffective. He does have an extended 10-day recovery time, as the Cards played on Thursday last week, before suiting up against the 49ers Sunday. Hopkins is still listed as questionable and has missed/been limited at practice all week. This isn't necessarily a bad sign, as the receiver has only missed two games in his NFL career and regardless of being a "game-time decision" according to head coach Cliff Kingsbury, he should be ready to go with the extra rest. How effective he will be is anyone's guess, as Hopkins hasn't seen the target share we expected this season. His effectiveness in the red zone makes him a must-start if he plays, as he has 7 touchdowns in 8 games.
CeeDee Lamb
Lamb popped up on the injury report this week with an ankle injury, and with only two days before the matchup against Denver the receiver will be limited in practice and probably the game itself, if he plays. Dallas has shown extreme caution with all its players this year concerning injuries, and haven't suffered in the win/loss column because of it. Lamb is trending to play in some capacity Sunday, but definitely needs to be monitored over the weekend as I wouldn't be surprised if Dallas pulled his availability should there be any doubt about making the injury worse. Even if he plays we predict his usage to be metered, especially if they blow out the Broncos as expected.
Julio Jones
Jones has been dealing with a hamstring practically all season, only starting 5 games and being limited in all of them. With the loss of Derrick Henry, the Titans will presumably become more pass-reliant, and the fact that Jones is trending to play this weekend against the Rams is a good sign for the offense. AJ Brown is the WR1 in Tennessee without a doubt, but Julio is still insanely talented when at full strength. Despite his limited appearances, Jones is sporting a 17.7 YPC average, good enough for 7th in the league. If he is playing, he is a low-end WR2, but a no-brainer flex start especially for teams dealing with byes/injury uncertainties.
James Robinson
Robinson suffered a heel injury early against the Seahawks last week, and while it was later determined to be a deep bruise, the running back was initially expected to miss time. He has logged some limited practices this week however, with head coach Urban Meyer indicating it will be a pain tolerance issue and Robinson is a "tough cat". Whenever I hear "pain tolerance" I also hear "snap count", because (surprise) playing football hurt usually means you get more hurt. Robinson is a low-end RB2 if he plays, and I expect him to play but in a limited capacity. Bench him if you can.
Noah Fant
Noah Fant found himself on the CoVid-19 list earlier this week and is unlikely to clear protocols before Sunday's matchup against Dallas, although anything can happen. We haven't heard if he has posted a negative test Friday, meaning he could test negative again tomorrow and be cleared for action Sunday, but I feel if that were the case the Broncos camp would be more vocal about it. If Fant misses time, look for explosive TE Albert Okwuegbunam to have top-12 potential this week off the waiver wire.
Stay tuned to the Sports Leaf for more player updates as we learn more!
Comments