Week 5 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 5 and take a look at what fantasy managers can expect heading into Week 6 and beyond.
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QB Aaron Rodgers
Sprained Ankle: Likely to play in Week 6
Rodgers got banged up in the second half on Sunday morning against the Vikings, picking up a sprained ankle in their London game. He was able to stay in the game and finish the game, so this injury is not likely to keep him out of game action moving forward. On Monday, head coach Robert Saleh said that “All the preliminary stuff says he’ll be fine.” It sounds like the QB has already had imaging on the ankle, which has ruled out any major injury. Fortunately for Rodgers and the Jets, they play on Monday night in Week 6, so he’ll have an extra 24 hours to be ready for their upcoming game against the Bills.
Players impacted: Garrett Wilson, Mike Williams, Allen Lazard
QB Derek Carr
Rib/Oblique Injury: Severity Unknown
The Saints QB left in the second half on Monday night against the Chiefs when he took a hard hit to his oblique/ribs. As of this writing on Tuesday morning, details on the severity of the injury aren’t known, but Carr is headed for an MRI on Tuesday. On a shorter week, this makes Carr’s status up in the air for Week 6 against the Bucs.
RB DeVon Achane
Concussion Protocol: Week-to-week
Achane left in the first quarter on Sunday when he took a carry towards the right sideline and slammed his head off the turf while being tackled. After being evaluated on the sideline, Achane was taken to the locker room for further evaluation and quickly ruled out. Achane and the Dolphins go on bye in Week 6, so it’s possible he doesn’t miss any game action, but no two concussions are the same, so we’ll have to wait and see how Achane progresses through the protocol over the next two weeks.
Players impacted: Raheem Mostert, Jaylen Wright
RB Aaron Jones
Hip Injury: Questionable for Week 7
Jones left the Vikings’ Week 5 game in London against the Jets early and did not return with what the team described as a hip injury. As I noted in my immediate reaction video this week, I believe this is more of a soft tissue injury based on the way he grabbed for his glute/proximal hamstring. Regardless, the bye week comes at a perfect time for Jones and Minnesota. He’ll have two weeks before their Week 7 game, so it’s possible Jones won’t miss games, but that is far from a guarantee. For now, consider Jones questionable for Week 7.
Players impacted: Sam Darnold, Ty Chandler
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WR Nico Collins
Hamstring Strain: Doubtful for Week 6
Collins made a huge play, hauling in a deep TD reception from Stroud on Sunday against Buffalo, but he paid the price in the process. Collins injured his hamstring on that play and did not return. On Monday, Adam Schefter reported that Collins is “day to day” so it sounds like a relatively minor strain. That said, even mild hamstring injuries are difficult for WRs to play through in just one week, so at best Collins should be considered questionable for Week 6 against the Patriots. Even if he does play in Week 6, he’s unlikely to be 100%. Early in the week, I’d be surprised if Collins is able to go.
Players impacted: C.J. Stroud, Tank Dell, Stefon Diggs
WR Xavier Legette
Left Shoulder Injury: Likely to play in Week 6
Legette landed hard on his left shoulder while making a catch in the first half against the Bears. After the game, he talked to reporters and said he “just got a little banged up” and should be available for Week 6. While we always want to take players’ evaluation of their own injuries with a grain of salt, it seems like Legette’s injury is minor. As of now, I lean towards him playing next week, but he’s a name to monitor on the injury report for the Panthers ahead of their Week 6 game against the Falcons.
Players impacted: Andy Dalton, Diontae Johnson, Jonathan Mingo
TE David Njoku
Undisclosed Knee Injury: Situation to monitor
Njoku only played 25 snaps on Sunday against Washington in his first game back, exiting early with a knee injury. As of this writing, the results of Njoku’s MRI aren’t known, so for now, this is a situation to monitor ahead of Week 6 against the Eagles. Even if this is a minor injury, it’s tough to see Njoku playing a full compliment of snaps next week after suffering his second injury of the season.
Players impacted: Deshaun Watson, Amari Cooper, Jerry Jeudy
Additional Injury Notes
QB Josh Allen – left multiple times during their game against the Texans for a concussion check and evaluation on his ankle. Did return to the game and finish but worth monitoring on the Bills’ Week 6 injury report.
QB Will Levis – Exited Week 4 with a minor right AC joint sprain but should be back as the starter as the team comes out of their Week 5 bye.
QB Justin Herbert – Was battling through a high ankle sprain in Weeks 3 and 4 prior to the team’s Week 5 bye. He may not be back to 100% quite yet, but he’ll be much healthier than he was in late September.
RB Zack Moss – Evaluated for an ankle injury in the second half but did return. Could miss practice time ahead of Week 6. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo said Moss’s injury was “mostly a scare.”
RB Jaylen Warren – Missed Weeks 4 and 5 with a knee injury. It has since been reported that Warren is dealing with a Grade I PCL sprain. His injury is not as severe as Puka Nacua‘s but this could still linger for a couple more weeks as PCL sprains are notable for slow recoveries.
RB Travis Etienne – Etienne has been battling a shoulder injury for the last two weeks, and as a result, he’s played just 52% and 38% of the snaps. Assuming he continues to be listed on the injury report with the shoulder injury, Tank Bigsby should continue to be involved.
RB Nick Chubb – Browns opened his 21-day window last week. He could return in Week 6, but I lean towards a Week 7 return to give him additional time to ramp up. He was limited to individual drills last week.
WR Rashee Rice – Placed on IR last week. He’ll undergo a knee scope on Tuesday to further evaluate his Week 4 right knee injury. With the scope, the doctors can further evaluate the integrity of the ACL, PCL and associated ligaments and meniscus. For now, this is a wait and see approach until Rice’s procedure, but early reports indicate concerns for damage to the LCL. Even if this is the only ligament injured, Rice will miss the remainder of the season if this ligament is repaired.
WRs AJ Brown & DeVonta Smith – Both players missed time prior to the Week 5 bye. I expect both to return and be ready for Week 6. Brown missed three games with a hamstring injury while Smith was in the league’s concussion protocol.
WR Cooper Kupp – Rams go on bye in Week 6, but the team is reportedly targeting a Week 7 return for Kupp. He suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 2, so assuming he does return in Week 7, he’ll have had five weeks to recover.
TE TJ Hockenson – The Vikings opened his 21-day window on Friday last week and now Minnesota enters their bye week. He could return in Week 7, but the team plays on Thursday in Week 8, so it’s possible they hold him out until then to give him more time to acclimate to the game plan.