Week 3 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 3 and take a look at what fantasy managers can expect heading into Week 4.
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 Mac Jones
Left Knee PCL Aggravation: Week-to-week
Jones got the start for a second straight week for the Niners with Brock Purdy battling a turf toe injury. He tweaked his knee late in the game when he took a hit in the backfield, and if you were watching ARI/SF, you saw Jones come back in on the next drive with a brace on his left knee. He wasn’t 100% but battled through for the final drive, leading the Niners down the field for FG attempt to ultimately win the game. Jones injured his PCL in the off-season and reportedly aggravated that same injury. The fact that he was able to continue playing through the injury suggests it’s relatively minor, but his mobility will certainly be affected if he is forced to start again in Week 4. That said, I do expect Purdy back this week after getting in some practice work last week.
Players impacted: Brock Purdy
RB Najee Harris
Torn Left Achilles: Out for the year
Sadly, Najee Harris‘ 2025 season is over as he suffered a torn Achilles on Sunday against the Broncos. It was a classic pre-load/backwards step mechanism that we’ve seen far too often in recent years. He’ll undergo surgery to repair his Achilles and attempt to rehab ahead of the 2026 season. Unfortunately, Harris is only in LA on a one-year deal, so his NFL future hangs in the balance. He’ll be 28 years old next year, and generally speaking, it takes longer than a year to come back from this type of surgery. Because of that, there’s a good chance we’ve seen the best from Najee.
Players impacted: Omarion Hampton
RB James Conner
Right Foot/Ankle Injury (Specific Diagnosis Unknown): Out for the year
Conner took a carry in the second half and got his right knee/ankle awkwardly trapped under a defender while being tackled. Sadly, it resulted in a season-ending right foot injury that will need surgery. It was initially reported as an ankle injury, but Jonathan Gannon confirmed on Monday that his injury is actually to his foot. Perhaps it’s just semantics, and honestly, it doesn’t really affect his short-term outlook given that he’s out for the year regardless, but it could have implications on his outlook in 2026. Dynasty managers will want to keep an eye on this injury throughout the rest of the season and ahead of the 2026 off-season. Conner has one more year on his current deal with the Cardinals.
Players impacted: Trey Benson
RB Tyrone Tracy Jr.
Dislocated Right Shoulder: Out 2-4 weeks
Tracy was running well behind taking a hard hit on Sunday night against the Chiefs. He took a direct shot to the top of the right shoulder, resulting in a dislocated shoulder in a mechanism that was very similar to what we saw in Week 1 with Xavier Worthy. Like Worthy, I do not expect Tracy to play for multiple weeks, and if he is able to avoid surgery, he’s at an elevated risk of re-injury given the position that he plays. It’s very difficult to avoid repeat shoulder instability injuries in a contact sport like football, especially when playing the RB position where you’re getting hit or blocking on the vast majority of plays. It would not be a surprise to see the second-year RB land on IR.
Players impacted: Cam Skattebo, Devin Singletary
WR CeeDee Lamb
Left High Ankle Sprain: Out at least 2 weeks, likely 3-4 weeks
Lamb suffered a high ankle sprain on Sunday against the Bears, and now he’s set to miss a few weeks with a Grade II sprain. These high ankle sprains generally swell up and get worse before they get better, so even though Lamb attempted to return to the game on Sunday and claimed he believed he could play in Week 4, we now know that won’t be happening. Lamb will rehab for a few weeks before returning to the field, but the good news here is that generally speaking, when players do complete their full rehab with this injury, they’re able to return to form later in the year. Fantasy managers should plan to be without Lamb for Week 4 and Week 5 at a minimum, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see this linger into mid October. There’s a chance Dallas puts CeeDee on IR, which would mean he’d miss a month.
Players impacted: Dak Prescott, George Pickens, Jake Ferguson
WR Mike Evans
Left Hamstring Strain: Out multiple weeks
The veteran exited Sunday’s game in the second half with a left hamstring strain. The #1 predictor of future hamstring injuries is previous hamstring injuries, and Mike Evans‘ hamstring problems are well documented with this same injury keeping him on the sidelines for a month just a year ago. Evans is now 32 years old, which definitely matters in terms of recovery speed. Research shows that younger players do tend to get back on the field a bit sooner, so despite some optimism out of Tampa on the low severity of this injury, I still expect Evans to miss multiple weeks. He’ll miss Week 4 at a minimum and should be considered Doubtful for Week 5.
Players impacted: Baker Mayfield, Emeka Egbuka, Chris Godwin, Cade Otton
WR Terry McLaurin
Quad Strain: Questionable for Week 4
McLaurin injured his quad in the second half Sunday against the Raiders and despite being labeled as Questionable, he did not return. It’s possible he was held out as a precaution given that the game was already well in hand, but a quad strain for a WR who’s calling card is stretching the field vertically is usually not a recipe for success. Even a mild Grade I strain would put McLaurin’s availability for Week 4 in doubt. For now, fantasy managers will want to monitor Washington’s injury report when the team returns to the practice field on Wednesday.
Players impacted: Jayden Daniels, Deebo Samuel, Zach Ertz
WR Dyami Brown
Shoulder Injury (Diagnosis Unknown): Questionable for Week 4
Brown left Sunday’s game against the Texans early in the first half with a shoulder injury and did not return after taking a hard hit from a Houston linebacker. Speaking Monday, head coach Liam Cohen did not provide an update on Brown’s injury, so for now, it’s wait-and-see mode on the Jags’ wide out.
Players impacted: Trevor Lawrence, Brian Thomas Jr., Travis Hunter, Parker Washington
TE Ja’Tavion Sanders
High Ankle Sprain: Out multiple weeks
Sanders has been diagnosed with a high ankle sprain following his MRI on Monday and is expected to miss multiple weeks. The second-year tight end suffered the injury late in the final quarter of Sunday’s win against the Falcons and was seen in a walking boot following the game. Sanders wasn’t really a top-12 fantasy TE option, but does vacate a few targets per game, and with Xavier Legette battling a hamstring injury and Jalen Coker still on IR because of an August quad strain, target could even further condense around Tetairoa McMillan and Hunter Renfrow. Tommy Tremble will now handle TE1 duties for the Panthers.
Players impacted: Tommy Tremble, Bryce Young
TE Colston Loveland
Hip Injury: Questionable for Week 4
Chicago’s rookie TE did not play much on Sunday against the Cowboys, leaving in the first half with a hip injury. Fortunately, Adam Schefter reported on Monday that the Bears believe Loveland avoided a severe injury and that the tight end could play in this week’s game against the Raiders in Las Vegas. We’ll have a better idea of Loveland’s Week 4 availability when the Bears return to practice on Wednesday.
Players impacted: Cole Kmet
Players evaluated for a concussion on Sunday:
- TE Noah Fant
- TE Michael Mayer
- WR Alec Pierce
- WR Zay Jones