Week 15 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 15 and take a look at what fantasy managers can expect heading into Week 16 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 Patrick Mahomes
Right High Ankle Sprain: Questionable for Week 16
Mahomes injured his right ankle on Sunday against Cleveland when he got rolled up on by a defender in the pocket, resulting in a high ankle sprain. Multiple reports on Monday confirmed that there’s no fracture and that the sprain is “mild.” Even so, Mahomes won’t be 100% for a few weeks if he’s able to play through the injury. He does have a history of previous high ankle sprain in the same ankle and was able to play through the injury a few years ago in the playoffs, thanks to his unique play style and ability to throw off platform. If active this week, I’d expect Mahomes to be severely limited out of the pocket. With KC having their eyes set on the post-season and a potential Super Bowl run, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Chiefs give Mahomes a game off. Worth noting, they have a short week this week with a Saturday game and follow that up with a Christmas Day game the following Wednesday.
Players impacted: Carson Wentz, Travis Kelce, DeAndre Hopkins, Xavier Worthy
QB Geno Smith
Right Knee Injury (Diagnosis Unknown): Has a chance to play Week 16
Smith injured his right knee on Sunday night against the Packers and did not return. X-rays were negative for a fracture, and Mike MacDonald confirmed that “Structurally it looks like it’s okay” after an MRI on Monday. By video, there wasn’t much that indicated a serious injury, so hopefully Smith is more hurt than injured. His status will be monitored throughout the week, but if Geno can’t play next week, Sam Howell will be under center against the Vikings.
Players impacted: Sam Howell, D.K. Metcalf, Jaxon Smith-Njigba
QB Tommy DeVito
Concussion Protocol: Questionable for Week 16
DeVito was forced out of their loss to the Ravens with a concussion and is now in the league’s concussion protocol. If he’s unable to clear ahead of next week, Tim Boyle could be the next man up after he was the QB2 this past week against Baltimore. Drew Lock is currently dealing with a heel injury and did not practice at all last week.
Players impacted: Drew Lock, Tim Boyle, Malik Nabers
RB Alvin Kamara
Groin Strain: Doubtful for Week 16
Kamara exited early on Sunday with a groin injury and did not return. Per Saints beat Nick Underhill, Kamara is considered “day to day” which suggests a mild strain. However, even a mild groin injury is difficult for a RB to play through in just eight days. The adductors are really important for side-to-side mobility, and obviously that’s super important for a RB to be effective. With the Saints having nothing to play for over the next few weeks now that they’re out of playoff contention, it would make a lot of sense for the team to get a look at Kendre Miller with their star RB battling a soft tissue injury.
Players impacted: Kendre Miller
RB Nick Chubb
Fractured Left Foot: Out for the year
Chubb left their game Sunday against the Chiefs with a fractured foot and is now out for the year. On Monday, Kevin Stefanski said Chubb won’t require surgery on his foot, which is good news, but with only a few weeks left in the season, there’s not enough time for Chubb to return this year. He’ll be limited during the early part of the off-season but will be fully healed by the time training camp kicks off next summer.
Players impacted: Jerome Ford, D’Onta Foreman
RB David Montgomery
Torn MCL: Out for the year
Lions RB David Montgomery is done for the season after tearing the MCL in his right knee this past Sunday against the Bills. On Monday, head coach Dan Campbell confirmed that Monty will require surgery on his knee to repair the MCL, which indicates a Grade III (complete) tear. Most rehab protocols for an isolated MCL repair require a 4-6 month recovery. Monty will miss a good portion of the Lions’ off-season program, but he’s not in danger of missing Week 1 next year, assuming this reporting is accurate. It’s very rare for players to need surgery for an isolated MCL injury, so it’s possible there’s a secondary injury at play (meniscus, etc.). My hope is that this is not the case, but dynasty managers will need to monitor this news closely over the next few weeks and months.
Players impacted: Jahmyr Gibbs
RB Jaleel McLaughlin
Quad Injury: Doubtful for Week 16
McLaughlin left their game early against the Colts with a quad injury and did not return. It’s unclear if this is a strain or a contusion, but either way, it’ll be difficult for McLaughlin to play on a short week with the Broncos taking on the Chargers on Thursday Night Football. Worth noting, McLaughlin was listed as a DNP on Monday’s estimated injury report. If he doesn’t return to practice in some fashion on Tuesday, it’s unlikely he plays against their division rival in primetime.
Players impacted: Javonte Williams, Audric Estime
WR Alec Pierce
Concussion Protocol: Questionable for Week 16
Pierce was forced out of the Colts’ loss to the Broncos with a concussion and is now in the league’s protocol. If he’s unable to clear protocol ahead of next week’s game against the Titans, AD Mitchell should step into the WR3 role next to Josh Downs and Michael Pittman.
Players impacted: Anthony Richardson, Adonai Mitchell
WR Jaylen Waddle
Right Knee MCL Sprain: Likely Out Week 16
Waddle got his right leg trapped under a Texans defender during a DeVon Achane rush attempt this past Sunday, and fortunately, it looks like he avoided serious injury. The concern based on the mechanism of injury is a sprained MCL. On Monday, Mike McDaniel said regarding Waddle’s injury: “not major, no surgery.” If this is a Grade I sprain, I’d expect Waddle back in Week 17, but it is worth mentioning that the Dolphins (6-8) are just about mathematically eliminated from the postseason picture. If they lose this week, it would not be a surprise to see them shut him down for the final couple of games.
Players impacted: Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, Jonnu Smith
WR Xavier Legette
Groin Strain: Doubtful for Week 16
Legette left their game against the Cowboys early due to a groin injury and did not return. Like Kamara, it’s difficult for skill players to play through this injury given the stress on this muscle group with lateral movements like cutting. I’d be surprised if Legette can go next week, and I’d consider him questionable for Week 17 depending on the severity of this injury. It’s also worth pointing out that news broke over the weekend that Legette will require wrist surgery after this season is over. The specifics of that injury aren’t known, but if this groin injury lingers into Week 17, I could see the team shutting him down to start the process of recovery from a wrist procedure sooner.
Players impacted: Jalen Coker, Adam Thielen, David Moore
TE Zach Ertz
Concussion Protocol: Questionable for Week 16
Ertz made a beautiful one handed catch on Sunday against the Saints but the play ended in an injury unfortunately. The veteran TE slammed his head off the turf while being tackled near the goal line. He was taken to the locker room for a concussion evaluation and was shortly ruled out after that. Like the other players in this article who picked up a concussion (Pierce, DeVito), Ertz should be considered questionable for next week. We’ll have to monitor Washington’s injury report to get an idea of Ertz’s availability for Week 16 against Philly.
Players impacted: Jayden Daniels, Ben Sinnott
Additional Injury Notes:
QB Derek Carr – Is unlikely to return in 2024 as he’s still recovering from two fractures in his left hand/wrist. His off-season outlook remains favorable, but for this year, it’ll be Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler the rest of the way.
RB Tony Pollard – Entered Week 15 questionable with an ankle injury (DNP, DNP, LP) and played through the injury but aggravated his ankle sprain and as a result, played just 44% of the snaps, his lowest snap count of the year. With Pollard banged up, I’d expect him to miss practice time and would consider him questionable for next week.
RB Kenneth Walker – Missed his second straight game with a calf strain. Per Mike MacDonald, Walker has a chance to return this week, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him miss one more game. Walker has not practiced since picking up this calf injury, and calf strains require some ramp up time before being fully cleared for game action.
WR Marquise Brown – Returned to practice last Friday for the first time this year after requiring an SC joint repair procedure earlier this season. Per Ian Rapoport, Brown could be cleared to play in Week 16.
WR Cedric Tillman & TE David Njoku – Both Browns pass catchers missed Week 15 with Njoku battling a hamstring injury and Tillman still in concussion protocol. Njoku did not practice at all last week, so his outlook for next week is very much up in the air. As for Tillman, last week was his first time since his head injury stacking back-to-back limited practices. Assuming no setbacks, I do expect him to return this week.
WR AJ Brown – Had his left ankle trapped under a defender on Sunday against Pittsburgh during a hip drop tackle. There’s been virtually no reporting on this, but it is one I’m keeping an eye on this week after Brown was seen on the sideline getting his left ankle examined.
WR George Pickens – Missed his second straight game with a Grade II hamstring strain that he suffered in practice ahead of Week 14. This week is the first week that he could have a chance to play, but I lean towards Pickens sitting in Week 16 against Baltimore. One thing that the Steelers will need to consider – the Steelers play on Christmas Day, the following Wednesday, so it’s possible they hold him out this week in order to have him available for their Week 17 matchup against the Chiefs.