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.
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 and Ultimate 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 Justin Herbert
Left Hand Surgery: Questionable for Week 14
Herbert underwent surgery on Monday morning after fracturing a bone in his left hand Sunday against Las Vegas. This is reportedly a fourth metacarpal fracture, the long bone in the hand that corresponds with the ring finger. His availability for Week 14’s game against Philly will largely depend on ball security and ensuring proper wound healing to avoid any risk of infection. If he does play, we’ll see a very similar setup to what we saw after the injury in Week 13. He’ll play with a splint and a glove and likely take every snap out of pistol or shotgun.
Players impacted: Trey Lance, Ladd McConkey, Quentin Johnston, Oronde Gadsden II
RB Aaron Jones
Left Shoulder AC Joint Sprain: Week-to-week
Jones dealt with an AC joint injury in the same shoulder about a month ago and appeared to re-aggravate the same injury Sunday against the Seahawks when he landed on the top of that left shoulder. Ironically, his current teammate, Jordan Mason, dealt with a similar problem last season; You can play through the injury, but the re-aggravation risk for the rest of the season is quite high. Reportedly, the team is describing the injury as “minor” but that does not guarantee he’ll be out there this week.
Players impacted: Jordan Mason
RB Tyrone Tracy
Left Hip Injury: Severity Unknown
Tracy exited Monday Night Football against the Patriots in the second half with a left leg injury and did not return, getting carted to the locker room before being ruled out. The team listed him as questionable with a hip injury, but of course, he did not re-enter the game as he was unable to put much pressure on that left leg, requiring assistance to get off the field. The severity as of Tuesday morning is not known, but this one is obviously very likely to sideline him for Week 14 at a minimum. With the Giants’ season essentially over, I see no reason why they rush him out there, so we are probably looking at a multi-week absence.
Players impacted: Devin Singletary, Eric Gray
RB Dylan Sampson
Calf Strain: Doubtful for Week 14
Sampson exited Week 13 early with a calf injury and did not return. As of Monday, the team is describing Sampson as “day-to-day” but there really aren’t any calf strains that are day to day. Even a Grade I strain takes 7-10 days to heal, so if anything, I’d describe Sampson as week-to-week, in the best case scenario. Of course, we know these injuries can also linger as the re-injury risk is pretty high. I do not expect Sampson to suit up in Week 14.
Players impacted: Quinshon Judkins, Jerome Ford
WR Amon-Ra St. Brown
Right lateral ankle sprain: Doubtful for Week 14, Could return Week 15
Initially, it looked like St. Brown’s left ankle got rolled up on while blocking, which had me concerned for a high ankle sprain, but after further review, it was actually his right ankle that got injured. He had multiple players impact the inside of his leg, resulting in the ankle rolling inwards, in what is referred to as an inversion ankle sprain. These are generally not as impactful as high ankle sprains, but it’s still going to be tricky to play just seven days after the injury, putting St. Brown’s status in doubt for this Thursday’s game against Dallas. With the mini-bye following this week’s game, St. Brown does have a chance to return in Week 15, depending on the severity of the sprain. If he has to miss Week 15, I feel confident he’d be back out there in Week 16.
Players impacted: Jared Goff, Jameson Williams, Isaac Teslaa
WR Marvin Harrison Jr.
Heel Injury: Questionable for Week 14
Marv missed a couple of games after an appendectomy, but returned this past Sunday, only to leave early because of a heel issue. The specifics of the injury aren’t known, but on the broadcast, you could see trainers putting gel inserts into his cleat, and after he tried to return, he clearly was in pain as he appeared to be limping and avoiding putting pressure on his heel. The possible diagnoses here are a heel bruise or plantar fasciitis. For now, monitor the Cardinals’ injury report ahead of Week 14. If Marv does try to play through the injury, I suspect he’ll be out there at less than 100%.
Players impacted: Michael Wilson, Trey McBride
WR Parker Washington
Hip Injury: Questionable for Week 14
The team has not indicated severity/specifics of his injury so it is hard to know when he will return. If this is a hip flexor strain, Washington could easily miss multiple games. For now, I’d consider Washington on the wrong side of questionable for Week 14 until we learn more about his injury.
Players impacted: Trevor Lawrence, Brian Thomas Jr., Jakobi Meyers
Additional Injury Notes:
– RBs Kyren Williams (Ankle) and Woody Marks (Foot) are worth monitoring this week as they were evaluated for injuries in game but did return and finished the game. It’s possible one of or both of these backs pop up on the injury report this week.
– RB Bucky Irving returned for his first game since Week 4 and looked good off his foot and shoulder injuries. The team was reportedly trying to use a similar “ramp up” plan to that of Chris Godwin, but they were a bit more aggressive with Irving, who logged pretty legit usage in his first game back. WR Mike Evans (Collarbone) and Jalen McMillan (Neck) could return to practice this week per Todd Bowles, but I do not expect either to play this week. A Week 15 return is at least on the table for Evans, who fractured his clavicle back in Week 7.
– RB Trey Benson was tracking to return off IR, but last week’s practice pattern is pretty discouraging. After getting in multiple limited practices the week prior, Benson went LP, DNP, DNP in last week’s practice. Jonathan Gannon did not specifically say the RB had a setback, but it certainly looks like his knee is not responding to increased workloads. If Benson can’t get on track this week, he could miss the remainder of the season if the team does not activate him off IR. If they do activate him off IR, he could still miss a couple more weeks.
– RB Omarion Hampton is in his 21-day window off IR and at least by video, looked pretty good last week in practice. We’ll see if he can ramp up to full practice this week ahead of Monday Night Football against Philly. If he does play this week, I am not projecting a full workload in his first game in over two months, especially with Kimani Vidal performing well in his absence.
– WR Tee Higgins missed last week’s game on Thanksgiving with a concussion. As of Monday, head coach Zac Taylor said Higgins remains in concussion protocol. Fantasy managers will want to closely monitor Cincy’s practice reports this week ahead of their big game against Buffalo.