Week 13 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 13 and take a look at what fantasy managers can expect heading into Week 14 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.
QB Trevor Lawrence
Concussion Protocol: Likely out Week 14
Lawrence took a brutal hit while going to the ground on the slide this past weekend against the Texans. During the hit, his head slammed back and hit the turf, causing the injury. No two concussions are the same, but the vast majority of players who enter the league’s protocol miss at least one game. Early in the week, I’d expect Mac Jones to start against the Titans.
Players impacted: Brian Thomas Jr., Evan Engram
49ers RBs – Christian McCaffrey & Jordan Mason
McCaffrey: PCL Sprain: Out for the season
Mason: High Ankle Sprain: Out 4+weeks
The 49ers’ RB room is really banged up as we close out the 2024 season. The headline here is the injury to CMC, who is done for the year with a sprained PCL in his right knee. Fortunately, he won’t need surgery, but the reported six week timeline suggests this is a grade II (partially torn) injury. For those looking for a similar comp, Puka Nacua‘s Week 1 injury was very similar. With the Niners on the outside looking in for the post-season, it makes sense to shut down their star RB and look ahead to 2025. For dynasty managers, McCaffrey’s off-season will begin at 100%, so his 2025 outlook is strong after an injury-riddled 2024 campaign. As for his teammate, Jordan Mason, he’s unlikely to play for the rest of the season after picking up a high ankle sprain in Week 13. The team placed both RBs on IR on Monday, which means Isaac Guerendo will be thrust into the RB1 role down the stretch. The team is likely to sign at least two backs to the active roster to provide much needed depth.
Players impacted: Isaac Guerrendo
RB Roschon Johnson
Concussion Protocol: Questionable for Week 14
Johnson exited the Bears’ Thanksgiving game with a concussion and did not return. He’s now in the league’s concussion protocol and should be considered questionable for this week’s game against the 49ers. Given that the injury happened on a Thursday, he’s got some extra time to potentially clear protocol, but as we’ve seen with other players around the league, it’s certainly not a guarantee.
Players impacted: D’Andre Swift
WR Ladd McConkey
Knee Injury (Specifics Unknown): Questionable for Week 14
McConkey has been battling an AC joint injury over the last couple of weeks, but it was a knee injury that caused him to leave in the fourth quarter this past Sunday. There wasn’t a serious injury that happened in game, and there weren’t any specific details available on Monday. For now, this is a situation to monitor ahead of Week 14 after head coach, Jim Harbaugh said McConkey is “working through a couple things” and that the team will evaluate where he’s at as the week progresses. For what it’s worth, he was talking to reporters in the locker room after the team’s win against Atlanta, which is generally a sign that the injury is not severe.
Players impacted: Justin Herbert, Quentin Johnston, Joshua Palmer
WR CeeDee Lamb
Aggravated Right Shoulder AC Joint Sprain: Likely to play in Week 14
Lamb originally injured his right shoulder back in Week 9 against the Falcons. He’s been playing through the injury ever since, but he aggravated the AC joint sprain in his right shoulder on Thanksgiving against the Giants. The injury happened in the second half when the Cowboys were ahead by multiple scores, so it’s not too surprising that he never re-entered the game. The injury is not considered serious, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Lamb limited this week in practice. There is some re-injury risk if he falls on the shoulder again, but I do expect him to play in Week 14.
Players impacted: Cooper Rush, Brandin Cooks
WR Noah Brown
Rib Injury: Likely to return in Week 15
The bye week comes at a great time for the Commanders and WR Noah Brown, who left their win Sunday against the Titans with a rib injury and did not return. The injury happened in the second half with the game well in hand, so it’s possible he could have returned if the game were closer. Given the minimal reporting around the injury, I’m hopeful it’s minor. Brown will have two weeks to recover with a good chance to suit up in Week 15 after their bye this week.
Players impacted: Jayden Daniels, Zach Ertz, Terry McLaurin
WR Rashod Bateman
Knee Injury: Has a chance to return in Week 15
Bateman was listed as questionable to return to the game Sunday with a knee injury, but he was ultimately ruled out after playing just 40% of the snaps. On Monday, John Harbaugh said Bateman is sore and that the injury “is not a long term thing.” For now, I’m cautiously optimistic that Bateman can return following the team’s Week 14 bye.
Players impacted: Zay Flowers, Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely
TE Taysom Hill
Torn ACL: Out for the year
Hill took a direct hit to the front of his left knee Sunday, resulting in a hyper-extended knee and a torn ACL. On top of the ACL, Nick Underhill reported that “there’s some other damage to the knee as well.” With the type of injury Hill suffered, it’s possible the PCL is involved, and there’s concern about damage to the meniscus and posterior capsule. Either way, this ACL+ injury is certainly going to linger well into the 2025 season if Hill decides to run it back. He’s 34 years old and unfortunately, entered the NFL with a significant injury history as an older prospect.
Players impacted: Derek Carr, Juwan Johnson, Alvin Kamara
TE Dallas Goedert
Knee Sprain: Out Week 14, Likely to miss multiple games
Goedert left the Eagles’ win over the Ravens with a knee injury and didn’t return. By video there’s a chance this is a mild PCL sprain (less severe than McCaffrey’s), though that has not been officially reported. Jeff McLane reported on Monday that Goedert is considered “week-to-week” but also noted that he could be placed on IR depending on how his recovery goes in the short term. This fits the description of a minor PCL sprain. These types of injuries can respond well to rehab, but they’re often a bit slow to heal. I’d be shocked if Goedert played this week, and I’d consider him doubtful for Week 15 as well. With Philly having their eyes on the post-season, they won’t rush Goedert back.
Players impacted: A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Jalen Hurts, Grant Calcaterra
TE Theo Johnson
Foot Injury: Placed on IR, Out for the year
New York’s rookie TE is done for the season with a foot injury that he suffered on Thanksgiving against Dallas. The specifics here aren’t known, but for dynasty leagues, it’ll be important to track the specifics here as the type of injury/surgery could determine when he’s available for the off-season program.
Players impacted: Drew Lock/Tommy DeVito, Daniel Bellinger
Additional Injury Notes:
QB Tommy DeVito – Did not start in Week 13 with a forearm injury as Drew Lock was under center. However, he was deemed ‘healthy’ enough to be the third string emergency QB. Multiple Giants’ beat reporters indicated that DeVito did some light throwing on Monday, so it appears as though he’s trending in the right direction. Whether or not he plays in Week 14 could come down to a coach’s decision in terms of their preferred starter.
QB Baker Mayfield – Left for a few plays after getting his right calf/heel stepped on. Said he was worried he tore his Achilles, but fortunately, he was only cleated on the back of his leg. I do not expect Baker to miss much practice time, if any. He’ll definitely be under center in Week 14.
RB Bucky Irving – Picked up a minor hip injury Sunday against the Panthers. He did return to the game but was limping a bit with a hot pack wrapped around his ribs/hip when he walked off the field at the end of the game. Worth noting, it was Rachaad White on the field in OT, so it’s possible Bucky sees fewer touches this week if he’s less than 100%. I expect him to miss practice time, but ultimately, he should play this week.
RB J.K. Dobbins – Placed on IR over the weekend after suffering a sprained MCL in Week 12. The team is likely taking a conservative approach with Dobbins given his extensive injury history. The earliest Dobbins can play is in fantasy championship weekend, Week 17.
RB Austin Ekeler – Placed on IR over the weekend after suffering a concussion in Week 12. Like Dobbins, Ekeler is eligible to return in Week 17.
WR Cedric Tillman – Missed Monday Night Football with a concussion. He didn’t log a single practice despite having a few extra days to recover after suffering his concussion on Thursday night against the Steelers in Week 12. We’ll see if he can return to practice this week ahead of Week 14’s game against the Steelers.
WR DeVonta Smith – Has missed the last two weeks with a hamstring injury but was seen doing a pretty extensive workout pregame on Sunday before being ruled out. He’s got a good chance to return this week, but given that the team is facing Carolina as a double digit favorite, it wouldn’t be shocking to see the team play it conservative with Smitty or limit his snaps. Like Goedert, the team’s record and post-season aspirations are something to consider.
WR Romeo Doubs – On Sunday, HC Matt LaFleur told reporters that Doubs is still in concussion protocol after missing last Thursday night’s game against the Dolphins. He did return to an extra practice session on Sunday with the team playing on Thursday night against Detroit, which is obviously an encouraging sign. He was also at practice on Monday and was listed as a Limited participant. We’ll have to monitor the Packers’ injury report on a short week.
WR Marquise Brown – News broke over the weekend that Brown is getting close to making his Chiefs debut. After undergoing surgery to stabilize his SC Joint back in August, he will be meeting with a specialist in Week 15 to receive final clearance with the goal to return in Week 16 or Week 17.
TE Jake Ferguson – Has missed Weeks 12 and 13 with a concussion suffered in Week 11. He was a DNP on all three days ahead of Thanksgiving. Hopefully he can return to at least limited practices to start the week. He’ll need at least one FP to be able to pay in Week 14 against the Bengals.
TE Dalton Kincaid – Has missed the last two games with a PCL sprain but has a chance to return this week as he’ll be four weeks out from the date of the injury.