Week 6 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 6 and take a look at what fantasy managers can expect heading into Week 7.
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.
WR Puka Nacua
Left Ankle Sprain: Likely Out Week 7, Could return Week 9 after the bye
Nacua left their game this past week with a left ankle injury, but he was able to return, which is great news for Nacua’s long-term health. Upon returning, he certainly wasn’t himself and did nothing in the box score, acting primarily as a decoy/blocker. Following additional testing Monday, McVay called Nacua “day-to-day” but I’d consider him more “week-to-week” particularly because of the current schedule for LA. They fly to London later this week, and then they go into their bye week. With Nacua being critical to their success moving forward, I suspect we see the Rams play it safe for Week 7, then have him return to the lineup in Week 9. Ultimately, I’m not expecting too much of an impact on Nacua’s performance once he is able to return to the field.
Players impacted: Davante Adams, Matthew Stafford
WR Garrett Wilson
Knee Hyperextension: Out multiple weeks
Wilson injured his knee in their overseas game against the Broncos. Following a Monday morning MRI, it was confirmed that Wilson avoided serious structural damage, which is great news, but fantasy managers will still need to plan to be without Wilson for a couple of weeks. The Jets have two games before their Week 9 bye, so it makes all the sense in the world for the team to hold him out through the bye, especially given that there’s no reason to rush him back with the Jets sitting at 0-6 and headed for a top-five pick in next April’s NFL Draft.
Players impacted: Justin Fields, Mason Taylor
WR Emeka Egbuka
Hamstring Strain: Out multiple weeks
The Bucs’ WR injury issues continued in Week 6 when they lost Ohio State rookie sensation Emeeka Eg-Big-Boo left their contest early with a hamstring injury and did not return. There’s really no such thing as a one-week hamstring injury, especially for a WR who needs to be able to open it up and sprint throughout the entire game. The Bucs have a bye in Week 9 and currently sit at 5-1. Given their record and timing of the schedule, I do expect Egbuka to sit through the bye week in an effort to ensure this injury doesn’t become a problem in November and December. I’ll touch on his teammates in the ‘Additional Injury Notes’ section below.
Players impacted: Baker Mayfield, Mike Evans, Sterling Shepard, Tez Johnson, Cade Otton
WR Calvin Ridley
Hamstring Strain: Out multiple weeks
The analysis here is primarily the same as Egbuka’s, although we’re still waiting on clarity from the team on the severity of his injury. Ridley was on the sideline with a hot pack on his hamstring and was seen trying to test his hamstring on the sideline, but ultimately, he did not return. Like Egbuka, I expect a multi-week absence for Ridley. Like other players in this article, timing could impact return to the field – the Titans have a bye in Week 10, so it’s certainly possible he’s on the shelf for the next month or so. If this is a Grade II injury (or worse), we won’t see Ridley until after the bye.
Players impacted: Cam Ward, Elic Ayomanor
WR Marvin Harrison Jr.
Concussion Protocol: Week-to-week
Harrison’s return to Indianapolis where his father had a brilliant career unfortunately did not go according to plan. Marv slammed the back of his head on the turf and was ruled out after being evaluated for a concussion. As is the case with all concussions, Marv will now enter Week 6 Questionable as he attempts to progress through the league’s return to play protocol. Harrison did have one documented concussion last season (didn’t miss a game), and he’s got one known concussion during his time at Ohio State, so this is certainly something to monitor for the remainder of the season. We’ll have to watch Arizona’s practice reports to get a sense of Harrison’s Week 6 availability against the Packers.
Players impacted: Trey McBride, Kyler Murray/Jacoby Brissett
WR DJ Moore
Undisclosed Injury: Questionable for Week 7
Moore reportedly left Monday night’s game against the Commanders in an ambulance and stayed overnight in DC as a precaution. As of this writing, we don’t have full details on Moore’s status, but it’s obviously worth monitoring ahead of Week 7. He played 94% of the snaps last night, so something must have happened late in the game.
Players impacted: Caleb Williams, Rome Odunze
WR Joshua Palmer
Left High Ankle Sprain: Questionable for Week 8
Palmer got off to a fast start on Monday night against the Falcons, but he exited early after being taken down in an awkward tackle that resulted in his left knee and ankle getting twisted in the turf. As of this writing early Tuesday morning, it remains to be seen how severe this injury is, but given that the Bills head into their bye this week, it’s at least possible he doesn’t miss any games. For now, we’ll await more details from the team as Palmer is set to undergo further evaluation and imaging in the coming days.
Players impacted: Keon Coleman, Dalton Kincaid, Khalil Shakir
TE David Njoku
Knee Hyperextension: Likely Out Week 7
David Njoku hyper extended his left Sunday against the Steelers. Despite leaving for evaluation, he did return for a portion of the game before ultimately exiting for good. When speaking Monday, head coach Kevin Stefanski said the team didn’t have an update on Njoku’s status, so for now, we’ll have to wait and see what shakes out in Cleveland. These hyper extension injuries can result in a bone bruise and/or swelling in the knee, so even if Njoku avoided ligament injury, it’s still possible he misses Week 7. At the very least, I suspect we’ll see him limited in practice throughout the week.
Players impacted: Harold Fannin Jr., Jerry Jeudy
TE Mike Gesicki
Pec Injury: To be placed on IR
Gesicki left the Bengals’ Week 6 loss against Green Bay with a pec injury and did not return. On Monday, it was reported that Gesicki will “be out awhile” which signals an IR stint is coming. Even if this is a pec muscle injury (i.e. strain), it’ll be a few weeks at a minimum. However, if this is a tendon injury, there’s a chance Cincy’s TE could be out for the year.
Players impacted: Joe Flacco, Noah Fant
Additional Injury Notes:
–Lamar Jackson heads into the bye week after missing the last couple of starts with a hamstring injury. I do expect him to be able to return to the lineup following the team’s Week 7 bye.
-Tampa Bay Buccanners injuries are plentiful this time of year – Bucky Irving (Foot, Shoulder) and Chris Godwin (Fibula) have already been ruled out for this week. Mike Evans has a chance to return for this week’s game, but he won’t be 100% in his first game back from a Week 3 hamstring strain. If he sits this week, I do expect him back the following week. As for Bucky and Godwin, there’s a pretty good chance we see the team exercise caution and sit those guys through the Week 9 bye.
–Aaron Jones is out this week, but he’s got a good chance to return in Week 8. Including the bye, it’ll be six weeks since his hamstring injury when he returns to the field, so there’s a good chance we see him at or near 100%, assuming no setbacks between now and then.
–CeeDee Lamb has a good chance to return to the lineup this week against the Commanders. Lamb injured his left ankle in Week 3 against the Bears and over the last two weeks has gone from individual rehab drills to running and some light cutting, based on beat reporter notes. Assuming that trend continues, I expect Lamb to do some work with the team this week. How much he does throughout the week will determine his status for this Sunday’s game against Washington.
–George Kittle could return to practice this week as the team is likely to open his 21-day window off IR in the coming days. That gives him a chance to return from his Week 1 hamstring injury, but it’s also possible the team wants to give him at least one week of practice prior to putting back in the lineup. For now, managers should consider him Questionable fort this week’s game against the Falcons.
–Brock Bowers is set to miss another game this week as he’s still recovering from his PCL sprain and bone bruise. The Raiders have a bye next week, so the team will hold him out for the next two weeks, giving him a decent chance to return in Week 9 or Week 10.