Week 7 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 7 and take a look at what fantasy managers can expect heading into Week 8 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 Jayden Daniels
Rib Injury: Questionable for Week 8
Daniels exited in the first quarter on Sunday against Carolina and did not return due to a rib injury. On Monday, multiple reports confirmed that X-rays were negative, so the good news is that Daniels is not dealing with fractured ribs. However, rib injuries and rib cartilage injuries are difficult for a throwing athlete to play through given the stress that’s put on the ribs with any twisting (throwing) motion. I expect Daniels to miss practice time this week and receive treatment throughout the week, but it’ll still be tough for him to play in Week 8 against the Bears. If I had to guess early in the week, I lean towards the rookie sitting in Week 8 with a chance to return in Week 9.
Players impacted: Marcus Mariota, Terry McLaurin, Zach Ertz
QB Aidan O’Connell
Fractured Right Thumb: Out 4-6 weeks
AOC broke his right thumb in Monday’s loss to the Rams when his hand collided with a defender on a follow through while attempting a pass. He’ll land on injured reserve and miss at least a month while recovering from the injury. As of this writing, it has not been confirmed if O’Connell will require surgery as that decision comes down to the degree of the fracture and location within the joint. Regardless of whether or not he requires surgery, it will take time for O’Connell to rehab and regain strength in his thumb. It’s nearly impossible to grip and throw a football without full strength of the thumb. On Monday, the Raiders signed Desmond Ridder off the Cardinals’ practice squad to add depth to their roster.
Players impacted: Gardner Minshew, Jakobi Meyers, Brock Bowers
QB Deshaun Watson
Torn Achilles: Out for the year
Watson tore his Achilles in his right leg on Sunday against the Bengals, ending his 2024 season. He’ll have surgery this week and begin rehabbing for the 2025 campaign. Given the timing of the injury, Watson will be limited throughout the off-season, but he should be cleared in time for Week 1. Worth noting, Dorian Thompson-Robinson also left this game in the fourth quarter with an injury to his middle finger on his right hand. X-rays on that finger were negative, but he’s awaiting an MRI, so as of this writing, his Week 8 availability is also in question. It could certainly be Jameis Winston under center for the Browns next week when they take on the Chargers.
Players impacted: Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Jameis Winston
QB Tyler Huntley
Right Shoulder Injury: Week-to-week
Snoop Huntley left their game against the Colts in the second half with an undisclosed right shoulder injury and did not return. The injury as of this writing has not been confirmed as far as the official diagnosis, though it appeared to be an AC joint based on video. He should be considered questionable for Week 8 and monitored throughout the week. Fortunately (relatively speaking), it may not matter for Miami as they could get their starter back this week. Tua Tagovailoa could return in Week 8 so long as he officially clears concussion protocol. He is expected to return to practice this week, and if he’s able to clear protocol, he’ll start against the Bills.
Players impacted: Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle
WR Brandon Aiyuk
Torn ACL + MCL: Out for the year
Aiyuk took a direct hit to his right knee when trying to make a catch on Sunday against the Chiefs, causing his knee to buckle awkwardly. Unfortunately, during that hit, he tore the ACL and MCL in his right knee, ending his 2024 season. Given the angle of the knee at the time of injury and the direct contact injury, there’s also a chance that Aiyuk also suffered additional damage to the cartilage and/or meniscus. This would make the recovery more complex and lengthen the recovery timeline. Look for Aiyuk to be limited throughout the 49ers’ off-season program.
Players impacted: Brock Purdy, Deebo Samuel, Ricky Pearsall, Jauan Jennings, George Kittle
WR Deebo Samuel
Pneumonia: No timetable for return, could sit in Week 8
News broke just before the start of the Niners’ game against the Chiefs that Samuel was dealing with an illness. He attempted to play through it, but he only played a handful of snaps in the first half before emerging from the locker room after halftime in street clothes. On Monday, it was confirmed that the do-it-all wide out for San Francisco was hospitalized due to pneumonia. Obviously, this is a situation to monitor ahead of Week 8. Worth noting, his teammate, Jauan Jennings missed last week’s game with a hip injury that he suffered on October 10 against the Seahawks. On Deebo and Jennings, Shanahan said “With Jauan and Deebo, not sure if we’ll get them back this week or not.” Both WRs should be considered Questionable for Week 8. Even Chris Conley is battling a minor ankle injury right now. San Fran needs the bye week more than ever.
Players impacted: Brock Purdy, Ricky Pearsall, Jauan Jennings, George Kittle, Jacob Cowing
D.K. Metcalf
Sprained MCL: Doubtful for Week 8
Metcalf suffered a mild (Grade I) sprain of the MCL in his right knee on Sunday against the Falcons. The good news here is that this injury recovers easily thanks to the great blood supply in the area. That said, it’ll still be difficult for Metcalf to play at 100% just seven days after suffering the injury. The MCL is the ligament that sits on the inside of the knee and is responsible for lateral stability. It’s difficult to plant and cut with this injury, so Metcalf could easily miss Week 8, though I do expect him to return in Week 9.
Players impacted: Geno Smith, Tyler Lockett, Jaxon Smith-Njigba
WR Ja’Lynn Polk
Concussion: Week-to-week
Polk left the game against the Jaguars in London in the second half after taking a hit to the head. He’ll now enter the league’s concussion protocol and attempt to progress through the step-by-step symptom based protocol. As of now, he should be considered questionable for Week 8 and monitored throughout the week.
Players impacted: Drake Maye, Demario Douglas, Hunter Henry
WR Demario Douglas
Illness: Week-to-week
Douglas attempted to play through the illness on Sunday morning in London but was in and out of the game multiple times and clearly not 100%. There hasn’t been much reporting around this situation since their game over seas, so for now, Douglas is a name to monitor on the injury report this week. He’s emerged as a go to option for Drake Maye, so his absence could have a big effect on the target share in New England.
Players impacted: Drake Maye, Hunter Henry
WR JuJu Smith-Schuster
Hamstring Strain: Out multiple weeks
Entering Week 7, it was reported that Smith-Schuster experienced “hamstring spasms” in practice on Thursday. Head coach Andy Reid spoke on Friday and said that the reason they listed JuJu on the report “in case he suffered a setback.” After playing just seven snaps, it seems as though JuJu did indeed suffer a setback. He’s already been ruled out for Week 8 and could easily miss Week 9 as well.
Players impacted: Patrick Mahomes, Xavier Worthy, Justin Watson
WR Mike Evans
Right Hamstring Strain: Out multiple weeks, could land on IR
Evans “tweaked something in his leg last week” according to Todd Bowles. We found out in the middle of the week that Evans was dealing with a hamstring injury that he suffered in their Week 6 game against the Saints. Entering the week, Evans was deemed a game time decision then was completely removed from the final injury report. The management here is confusing to say the least, especially when you consider Evans’ history of hamstring injuries. He left in the first half on Monday night football, aggravating that right hamstring injury. Given his age, injury history and play style, Evans is certainly going to miss multiple weeks. It would not surprise me to see him land on IR.
Players impacted: Baker Mayfield, Cade Otton, Jalen McMillan, Sterling Shepard
WR Chris Godwin
Left Ankle Fracture-Dislocation: Out for the year
Godwin was having a career season. Sadly, his 2024 season is over after he suffered a dislocated left ankle with an associated fracture late in the Bucs’ loss to the Ravens on Monday night. Godwin will undergo surgery in the next day or two and be placed on IR as he preps for the 2025 season. He’ll be limited throughout the off-season, but he does have a good chance to be ready for Week 1.
Players impacted: Baker Mayfield, Mike Evans, Cade Otton, Jalen McMillan, Sterling Shepard
WR Zay Flowers
Right Medial/High Ankle Sprain: Situation to monitor
Flowers got his right ankle trapped under a defender on Monday night when he was tackled, and he immediately left the field in pain. The good news here is that he was able to return with his ankles heavily taped, but he was largely ineffective upon returning, catching one ball for 11 yards. As of Tuesday morning, there isn’t much reporting on this injury. The fact that he was able to return to the game is obviously a great sign, but it would not be surprising to see Flowers miss practice time this week or even miss Week 8 against Cleveland, depending on the severity here. These types of ankle sprains generally get worse in the days following the initial injury. The goal for the training staff will be to mitigate swelling over the next few days.
Players impacted: Lamar Jackson, Rashod Bateman, Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely
Additional Injury Notes:
QB Tua Tagovailoa – Tua is expected to practice this week ahead of Week 8 and has a chance to return to the lineup. He still needs to clear the concussion protocol based on practice status. In other words, he still needs to be able to practice without symptoms before returning to game action.
QB Will Levis – Missed Week 7 with the AC joint injury in his right shoulder, but to me, there’s a good chance this is the coaching staff using health as an excuse to give Mason Rudolph a chance to play. Regardless, I do not expect Levis to start in Week 8.
RB Christian McCaffrey – Reportedly ramping up activity without setbacks as he manages his Achilles tendinitis. He won’t play in Week 8 but there’s optimism he could return following the Niners’ Week 9 bye. It will still likely take a couple of weeks for McCaffrey to work up to a full snap count and full workload.
RB David Montgomery – Picked up a minor knee injury on Sunday against the Vikings but was able to return on a limited basis. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Monty miss some practice time this week with Gibbs handling a heavier workload in the short term.
RB Travis Etienne – Missed Week 7 with a hamstring injury. He did not do much in practice last week, so we’ll need to see him ramp up his activity to have any confidence in his availability and effectiveness for Week 8. Even if he plays, he’ll share touches with Tank Bigsby with Bigsby leading the backfield as Etienne ramps up from the injury. I’d consider him questionable for this week but lean towards him sitting again.
WR Cooper Kupp – Kupp is expected to return on Thursday Night Football against the Vikings. He’s now 5.5 weeks out from his recovery from his high ankle sprain suffered in Week 2. McVay has been vocal about “return to performance, not return to play” on his star WR. Given that verbiage, it’s possible Kupp’s reps are limited on the short week, but I’m optimistic about his health moving forward after taking a month and a half to recover. Puka Nacua still (PCL) remains weeks away.
WR Curtis Samuel – Exited in Week 7 against the Titans with a shoulder injury. Minimal reporting on the injury right now, so this is a situation to monitor for Week 8.
TE George Kittle – The 49ers need the bye week more than ever. Not only are CMC, Aiyuk, Deebo and Jennings dealing with injuries, their stud TE is also dealing with a minor foot sprain. On Monday, Kyle Shanahan called the injury “day-to-day.” We’ll see if Kittle pops up on the injury report this week, but if he’s less than 100%, I could see the team opting to sit him through the Week 9 bye.