Week 4 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 4 and take a look at what fantasy managers can expect heading into Week 5 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 Anthony Richardson
Hip Pointer & Oblique Strain: Questionable to play in Week 5
Richardson took a hard hit to his left hip on Sunday against Pittsburgh and briefly exited the game. He did return after just a few plays, but he was unable to conitnue and was ultimately ruled out in favor of Joe Flacco. A hip pointer is a contusion (bruise) of the hip muscles that attach at the top of the pelvis and is a very painful injury to try to manage in game. Fortunately, Richardson avoided serious injury, but this is one to watch this week as these injuries tend to get worse before they get better. Look for A Rich to be limited in practice this week at the very least, with the decision to play or not to come down to the wire. If he is still experiencing discomfort late in the week, the medical staff can use a pain relieving injection to help Richardson get on the field, but those are difficult to administer to this region. Even with that possible treatment, however, this injury is difficult for a mobile/rushing QB, so we do need to downgrade expectations in terms of his threat as a runner. If Richardson does suit up in Week 5, he’s unlikely to be 100% as these injuries can affect power and the ability to rotate during throws.
Players impacted: Joe Flacco, Michael Pittman, Josh Downs
#Colts QB Anthony Richardson has gone to the locker room. This was the injury: pic.twitter.com/uZEtZgv9dY
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 29, 2024
QB Will Levis
Right Shoulder AC Joint Sprain: Severity TBD
Levis injured his right shoulder on Monday night against the Dolphins when he landed on his right shoulder while extending for a first down. His mechanism of injury was consistent with a sprained AC joint. Mason Rudolph finished the game after replacing Levis. Heading into their Week 5 bye, Levis may not miss any time, assuming he’s still the starting QB.
Players impacted: Will Levis, Calvin Ridley, DeAndre Hopkins
RB Jonathan Taylor
Right High Ankle Sprain: Questionable/Doubtful for Week 5
Both members of the Colts backfield were injured Sunday as JT joined his QB on the sideline for most of the fourth quarter after he injured his right ankle. The mechanism is consistent with a high ankle sprain and while the reporting around this injury seems to indicate JT avoided serious injury, he’s not a lock to play next week. In fact, I’d lean towards Taylor sitting in Week 5 given the low grade high ankle sprain and his injury history. This is the same ankle that Taylor had surgery on last off-season. Much like Joe Mixon‘s high ankle sprain two weeks ago, even these mild injuries usually take at least 1-2 weeks before they’re healed. For now, I’d consider Taylor questionable at best for their Week 5 tilt with the Jags, but early in the week, I lean towards him sitting.
Players impacted: Trey Sermon
RB Cordarrelle Patterson
Ankle sprain: Severity TBD
With Jaylen Warren out in Week 4 due to a knee injury, C-Patt got some run in the first half alongside Najee Harris and was effective with his opportunities until he was knocked out of the game with an ankle injury. As of this writing, the severity of Patterson’s injury is not known. Mike Tomlin usually provides updates at his pressers on Tuesday afternoons, so I suspect we’ll get some clarity then. For now, consider Patterson questionable for Week 5 and look for him to pop up on the injury report this week.
Players impacted: Najee Harris, Jaylen Warren
RB Travis Etienne
Shoulder Injury: Day-to-day
Etienne was deemed questionable to return in the first half on Sunday against Houston after suffering a shoulder injury in the first quarter. Despite missing some time, he did return to the game, playing through the injury. Given that he was able to return to the game on Sunday, I expect the Jags RB to be able to continue to play in Week 5, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see the former Clemson RB miss some practice time this week.
Players impacted: Tank Bigsby
WR Rashee Rice
Right Knee Hyperextension: Status TBD; Out indefinitely
What a disaster it was for the Chiefs to start the game. On the same play that Mahomes threw an INT, he collided with Rice, resulting in a hyperextension of his right knee. Following the game Sunday, the initial reports on the injury suggested a torn ACL, but following imaging Monday, the status of Rice remains up in the air. According to multiple reports, Rice will continue to undergo further testing to evaluate the extent of the knee injury but according to head coach Andy Reid, Rice will be “out awhile.” Without speculating too much, it’s possible that Rice’s knee is too swollen in order to get clear imaging, so I suspect we’ll get clarity in the coming days. In addition, it’s possible that there’s additional ligament injury warranting additional evaluation. Regardless of the outcome, Rice is expected to land on IR and miss several weeks, if not the entire season.
Players impacted: Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Xavier Worthy
WR Christian Watson
Left High Ankle Sprain: Out at least 3 weeks, could land on IR
Watson got his left ankle caught under a defender on Sunday, resulting in a high ankle sprain. X-rays confirmed there is not a fracture, but this sounds like a Grade II sprain at a minimum. He’s now set to miss multiple weeks with this injury with some rumblings that he could be a candidate for injured reserve. Regardless of whether the team decides to put him on IR or not, Watson is very likely to miss Weeks 5 and 6 at a minimum. Right now, the absolute best case scenario is that Watson is back in Week 7, but it would not be surprising to see this injury linger well into late October.
Players impacted: Jordan Love, Dontayvion Wicks, Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs
WR Malik Nabers
Concussion Protocol: Questionable for Week 5
Nabers picked up a concussion late in the game Thursday night against the Cowboys and remains in concussion protocol. No two concussions are the same but the fact that Giants had their “mini bye” after TNF last week, Nabers’ chances of clearing protocol are pretty good given the extra time to progress through the league’s protocol.
Players impacted: Daniel Jones, WanDale Robinson
TE Taysom Hill
Abdominal Injury: Severity Unknown
Taysom was off to a fast start Sunday against the Falcons, but he didn’t play in the second half after being ruled out with an abdominal injury. Worth noting, he was previously battling a rib injury, which forced him to miss Week 3. Given his play style, these two combined injuries could definitely affect Hill’s short term effectiveness. With the Saints playing on Monday night, it’s possible we won’t know more about this injury until Thursday when
Players impacted: Juwan Johnson, Derek Carr
Additional Injury Notes
QB Tua Tagovailoa – Met with specialists around the country in regards to his concussion recovery, which signals that he is now symptom free. I do expect him to play again in 2024 at some point, but he remains on IR and will continue to miss multiple games at a minimum.
QB Justin Herbert – played through his right high ankle sprain in Week 4 for a second straight week. With the Chargers going on bye in Week 5, I expect Herbert to be much closer to 100% in Week 6. Look for his mobility out of the pocket to improve.
RB Joe Mixon – Returned to practice last week for the first time since his Week 2 high ankle sprain. I expect him back this week at close to 100%.
RB Christian McCaffrey – Expected to begin ramp up period this week after he received PRP treatments in Germany. While I’m hopeful this means McCaffrey will recover fully, it is by no means a guarantee, and when CMC does get back in the lineup, I’d be surprised if he’s given a full workload right away given how long this injury has lingered. News also surfaced that McCaffrey is dealing with tendinitis on both Achilles, which means this situation is even more volatile than it was before. Look for this saga to continue into November.
RB Nick Chubb – Expected to practice for the first time this week as the Browns open his 21-day window. Chubb suffered a partial dislocation of his knee in Week 2 last year and required multiple surgeries to address his ACL, meniscus, capsule and other tissues. While I’m excited about Chubb’s return and hope he can contribute, I think it’ll be several weeks before we’re even considering him as a fantasy option.
WR Kendrick Bourne – Spent the first four weeks on PUP recovering from his 2023 ACL injury. He is expected to return to practice this week as the Pats open his 21-day window.
WRs AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith – Both Eagles WRs sat in Week 4 due to a hamstring injury (Brown) and a concussion (Smith). With the Eagles going on bye this week, I expect both players to return in Week 6
WR Keenan Allen – Returned to the lineup this week but shared some details on his heel injury at the end of the week. He’s been dealing with this injury since joint practices with the Bengals in August. Initially, this injury was a bone spur in the heel but this has now progressed to plantar fasciitis. I expect Keenan to continue to try to play through the injury, but he’s highly volatile from an injury standpoint moving forward. Look for Chicago to try to manage his practice reps whenever possible this year.
WR Davante Adams – Injured his hamstring late in practice last week and missed Week 4. Given the late week injury and reports that Adams is “week-to-week” I fully expect the veteran wide out to sit in Week 5. Week 6 is not a guarantee either.
TE Evan Engram – Has not played since suffering a pre-game hamstring injury in Week 2. I expect him to return to practice this week, but it’s not a guarantee he’s back in Week 5. If he’s not back this week, I’d expect him back for Week 6.
TE David Njoku – Has missed three weeks with his high ankle sprain. Like Engram, I expect him back at practice this week, but he’s Questionable for Week 5.