Week 11 Fantasy Football Injury Recap
As The Fantasy Footballers’ lead injury analyst and sports physical therapist, I’ll be recapping the previous week’s injuries and giving a projected timeline for recovery all season long. Let’s look at the biggest injuries from Week 11 and take a look at what fantasy managers can expect heading into Week 12 and beyond.
If you’re looking for more detailed injury analysis, check out JoinTheFoot.com for additional premium resources, including access to the Injury Blitz Podcast hosted by yours truly. This bonus podcast, available to all #FootClan Premier members, is a short, yet informative injury podcast that drops late in the week in order to provide all the injury updates you need to set your lineup each week.
RB Tyjae Spears
Concussion: Week-to-week
Spears left Sunday’s game against the Vikings with a concussion and did not return. Head coach Brian Callahan confirmed on Monday that Spears is in the league’s protocol, so we’ll need to monitor his practice status throughout the week ahead of their Week 12 game against Houston.
Players impacted: Tony Pollard, Julius Chestnut
Raiders RBs – Alexander Mattison & Zamir White
Mattison – Ankle Injury, White – Quad Injury
Both of the Las Vegas top two RBs left Sunday’s game against Miami early due to injury. For Mattison it’s a sprained ankle, and for White, it’s a quad injury. The severity of these injuries is not known at this time, but if one of or both are limited ahead of Week 12, we could see rookie Dylan Laube elevated to the active roster after he was a healthy scratch a week ago. When both RBs left, Ameer Abdullah was the only available RB for Vegas this past Sunday. If the Raiders sign a RB off the practice squad this week, it could be a signal that Mattison and/or White are in danger of missing Week 12 against the Broncos.
Players impacted: Ameer Abdullah, Dylan Laube
WR Darnell Mooney
Hamstring Strain: Severity Unknown
Mooney left Sunday’s game against the Broncos early in the third quarter due to a hamstring strain, and he did not return. The severity of the injury is not known, but it is worth mentioning that Mooney spoke to reporters following the game and downplayed the injury. It’s possible he was held out as a precaution given that the Falcons were already down multiple scores. Fortunately for Mooney, the Falcons head into their bye week, so it’s possible he doesn’t miss any games. This is an important one to monitor next week.
Players impacted: Kirk Cousins, Drake London, Kyle Pitts, Ray-Ray McCloud III
WR Gabe Davis
Torn Meniscus: Out for the year
Davis suffered a non-contact left knee injury on Sunday against the Lions. Unfortunately, he tore the meniscus in his knee and is now out for the year. When Doug Pederson spoke to reporters on Monday, he did not clarify if Davis will have a partial menisectomy or a full repair (think J.J. McCarthy). Either way, given the calendar and the fact that the Jags are looking ahead to the 2025 season, Davis is set to land on IR. His procedure type will determine his recovery timeline. Surgeons usually examine the extent of the injury via the scope while in surgery. If it is able to be repaired, it’s better for Davis’ long-term knee health, but it does carry a lengthy six-month recovery. Worth noting, Davis also dealt with a partial tear of his PCL in his left knee during his final season in Buffalo.
Players impacted: Trevor Lawrence, Brian Thomas Jr., Parker Washington
TE Jake Ferguson
Concussion Protocol: Likely Out Week 12
Ferguson left Monday Night Football in the first half due to a concussion evaluation and did not return. He’s now in the league’s protocol, and on a short week, he’ll have an uphill battle to clear in time for Sunday’s game against the Commanders. With Ferguson out for most of the game, Luke Schoonmaker went 5/56/0 on 10 targets.
Players impacted: Luke Schoonmaker, CeeDee Lamb
Additional Injury Notes:
QB Brock Purdy – On Monday, Kyle Shanahan said that Purdy is dealing with some right shoulder soreness, so he is “day-to-day.” There was no reporting of an in game injury, and Purdy played the entire game, so hopefully this is a non-issue moving forward, but any time you see right shoulder soreness for a right handed throwing athlete, it’s obviously a concern. The Niners played the Packers in a must win game in Week 12.
WR Brandon Aiyuk – For those in dynasty leagues, I wanted to provide a brief update on the status of 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk. As we know, he’s out for the year with a torn ACL and MCL that he suffered in Week 7. It was until this past week (the week of November 11) that he underwent surgery to reconstruct his ACL and repair his meniscus. For those looking to plan ahead to next year, Aiyuk’s ACL+ November procedure indicates he’s unlikely to be 100% at the start of the year. He could still be cleared for Week 1, but I expect him to be closer to form in the back half of the 2025 season.
49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk underwent knee surgery to repair a torn ACL and other damage earlier this week
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) November 15, 2024
WR Mike Evans – Has not played since suffering a hamstring injury in Week 7 against the Raiders. This injury originally popped up as an issue the week prior in Week 6, and he aggravated that injury in that Monday night game against Baltimore. Coming out of the bye week, it will be five weeks since the injury, so Evans has a chance to return to the lineup, albeit likely at less than 100%. For a speed WR who relies on his explosiveness to win down the field, it will take a couple of games for the veteran to return to form. He was doing limited work with trainers off to the side in Week 10 prior to the bye.
WR Nico Collins – Made his return to the lineup in a limited role on Monday night. Per PFF, he only played 30 of 63 snaps, running a route on 21 of Stroud’s 30 drop backs. This is well below Collins’ pre-injury playing time rates, so the team was likely easing him back into action a bit after not playing for a month and a half. He looked explosive and healthy to me, so I would certainly expect those numbers to increase in Week 12.
TE George Kittle – Did not play in Week 11 after logging DNP, LP, LP practices because of a minor hamstring injury. On Monday, Kyle Shanahan said that Kittle is expected to return to practice this week, so it sounds like he’s got a chance to go in Week 12. For now, he’s an important name to monitor on the Niners’ lengthy injury report.