Week 9 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 9 and take a look at what fantasy managers can expect heading into Week 10.
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 Jayden Daniels
Left Elbow Dislocation: Likely out for the year
Daniels suffered a gruesome looking left elbow injury Sunday night against Seattle. He dislocated his elbow and now faces a lengthy recovery. Fortunately, X-rays on the elbow were negative, so we can rule out a major fracture, but as of this writing, the MRI results aren’t known. The imaging will certainly show an injury to the ulnar collateral ligament (Tommy John ligament), among other things, but the degree of damage here will determine whether or not the 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year will require season-ending surgery. If Daniels does not need surgery, there’s a slim chance he could return later in the season with a brace on the elbow. Given that this is his non-throwing arm, he could return if the Commanders are in the playoff hunt. Unfortunately, per NextGenStats playoff model, Washington only has a 4% chance of making the post-season as they sit at just 3-6. With Daniels suffering a knee sprain, hamstring strain and now this dislocated elbow, it’s fair to wonder if Washington takes the long view here in what is essentially a lost season. They’re one of the most injury-affected teams in the NFL. Worth noting, Terry McLaurin is also set to miss a few more games (at least) with his quad/hip flexor strain that he aggravated a couple of weeks ago against the Chiefs. Given that this is a re-injury, I do expect Washington to be conservative here, especially since they just paid McLaurin prior to the start of the season.
Players impacted: Marcus Mariota, Deebo Samuel, Zach Ertz
QB C.J. Stroud
Concussion Protocol: Questionable for Week 10
Stroud took a hard hit to the chest on Sunday against Denver while scrambling, and when he did, his head slammed backwards into the turf. He showed visible signs of concussion on the field and was ruled out after additional evaluation. He now enters the league’s concussion protocol and will attempt to progress in practice this week. Worth noting, Stroud suffered a concussion during his rookie season in 2023 and missed two starts, so he does have a concussion history that might lead to a game missed.
Players impacted: Davis Mills, Nico Collins, Christian Kirk
RB Aaron Jones
AC Joint Sprain: Questionable for Week 10
Jones landed hard on his shoulder in their win over the Lions, resulting in a sprained AC joint. The good news here is that this sounds like a Grade I injury, which is generally about a 1-2 week recovery. That does give him a chance to suit up in Week 10 against Baltimore, but he may need extra padding under his shoulder pads and/or a pain relieving injection to play through the injury (like Flacco last week). For now, I’d consider him 50/50 to play next week, and at the very least, he’ll miss some practice reps. If he does not play this week, I do not anticipate a multi-game absence.
Players impacted: Jordan Mason
RB Samaje Perine
High Ankle Sprain: Questionable for Week 11
Perine picked up an eversion/high ankle sprain Sunday against the Bears and now faces a multi-week recovery. The bye comes at a nice time for Cincy, but that does not guarantee that Perine is back for Week 11 when they come out of the bye week. For now, I’d consider him Questionable until we learn more about the severity here.
Players impacted: Chase Brown
WR Puka Nacua
Rib Injury: Questionable for Week 10
Puka took an end around near the goal line and when he was tackled, he landed on the ball with the defender’s body weight on his back. This force and impact now has Puka dealing with a sternal contusion/rib injury. Speaking Monday, Sean McVay said he feels “optimistic” about Puka moving forward but also noted that he’s undergoing additional scans to further evaluate the injury. As of Tuesday morning, the results of those scans aren’t known. I remain optimistic that this won’t be a long-term injury given that Nacua did return to the sideline with his helmet on, but he didn’t return given the scoreboard. For now, consider Nacua questionable for Week 10 against the Niners.
Players impacted: Matthew Stafford, Davante Adams
WRs Brian Thomas Jr. & Dyami Brown
BTJ – Left Medial/High Ankle Sprain: Doubtful for Week 10
Brown – Concussion Protocol: Questionable for Week 10
The Jags are dealing with some major injury issues at WR and pass catcher. Sadly, Travis Hunter landed on IR last week after suffering a non-contact knee injury in practice, and now they’re dealing with injuries to Brian Thomas Jr. and Dyami Brown. Brown is in the league’s concussion protocol, so like Stroud, he’s got a 50/50 chance to clear by next week. As for Thomas Jr., he had a nice catch and run play late in the fourth quarter, but he got dragged down by a defender from behind, resulting in his left ankle getting trapped under a defender. The mechanism by video is consistent with a medial/high ankle sprain. He limped off the field late in the fourth quarter but never played in OT, so this is certainly something to monitor. Depending on severity here, there’s a non-zero chance BTJ is out multiple games. In addition to these WR issues, TE Brenton Strange is still expected to miss another couple of games as he remains on IR for a hip flexor injury.
Players impacted: Trevor Lawrence, Parker Washington
WR Kayshon Boutte
Hamstring Strain: Doubtful for Week 10
Boutte left in the first half of Sunday’s win over Atlanta with a hamstring injury and did not return. Mike Vrabel told the media on Monday that Boutte is not expected to practice to start the week while also mentioning that he’s excited to see rookie Kyle Williams get more opportunities moving forward…Translation: We are highly, highly unlikely to see Boutte in Week 10. For a guy like Boutte who wins down the field, this injury can certainly be problematic, and with the Pats headed towards the post-season, I suspect they take the conservative approach here in an effort to avoid making a 1-2 week injury a bigger problem.
Players impacted: Drake Maye, Stefon Diggs, Demario Douglas, Kyle Williams
WR Matthew Golden
Shoulder Injury (Specifics Unknown): Questionable for Week 10
Golden left Sunday’s loss against the Panthers with a shoulder injury, and despite being listed as Questionable to return, he was later ruled out. Speaking Monday, head coach Matt LaFleur called his rookie WR “day to day” and indicated that the injury is not long term. Unfortunately, there’s not any noticeable injury on video and no clear mechanism, so for now, this is a situation to monitor until we get more info. With Jayden Reed still on IR and Dontayvion Wicks still recovering from a calf injury, the Packers’ pass catcher group is ultra thin heading into Monday Night Football against Philadelphia.
Players impacted: Jordan Love, Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson
TE Tucker Kraft
Torn ACL: Out for the year
Kraft’s impressive 2025 season is sadly over after he tore his ACL in his right knee Sunday against Carolina. His injury was a rare contact injury (most are non-contact), so this one does concern me in terms of being one of those ACL+ type recoveries. He’s very likely to also have an MCL injury, but it’s possible there’s also a meniscus/cartilage injury. For dynasty managers and those looking ahead to 2026, those details will matter as it does affect his recovery timeline, and therefore, chances of being 100% in 2026. As of now, given the November injury and surgery, we should expect Kraft be limited all off-season and be less than 100% to open the 2026 campaign.
Players impacted: Luke Musgrave, Jordan Love, Romeo Doubs
TE Cole Kmet
Concussion Protocol: Questionable for Week 10
Kmet exited Week 9 early with a head injury and did not return after being evaluated for a concussion. He now enters the league’s concussion protocol and should be considered 50/50 to clear by next week’s game against the Giants. Rookie Colston Loveland popped off for a monster game and could be in line for even more playing time if Kmet is out for this Week 10 matchup against the Giants.
Players impacted: Colston Loveland, Caleb Williams
Additional Injury Notes:
– The Browns opened the 21-day window for WR Cedric Tillman (hamstring) this week. I expect him to miss this week’s game as it’ll take time to ramp up, but he’s got a chance to return in Week 11 or Week 12. RB Quinshon Judkins was seen practicing on Monday coming out of the bye week. In Week 8, he suffered a mild AC joint sprain, so this is great news for his availability for this week’s game.
– Kyle Shanahan told the media on Monday that WR Brandon Aiyuk will not have his 21-day window opened this week as he continues to rehab his complex ACL+ injury. It’s possible they do make that move next week, but given that Aiyuk has not practiced once with the team all season (or off-season), we should not expect Aiyuk to be startable in fantasy at all this season. Perhaps he can contribute for the Niners in the post-season if they can make a run.
– WR Garrett Wilson missed two games prior to the bye week with a hyperextended knee, but he is expected to return to practice this week. I do expect him to play in Week 10 without limitation as he’ll now be 3+ weeks removed from his date of injury.
– RB Omarion Hampton remains on IR with an ankle injury that he suffered back in Week 5. Two weeks ago, Hampton was seen still wearing the boot, so he’s not close to a return. Head coach Jim Harbaugh confirmed this on Monday when he shared that Hampton is unlikely to have his 21-day window opened until after the team’s Week 12. bye.
– Eagles RB Saquon Barkley picked up a groin injury in Week 8 prior to the bye, and WR A.J. Brown did not play in that game after going DNP, DNP, DNP in practice because of a hamstring injury. I’m tracking these two soft tissue injuries for the Eagles’ main skill guys as they prep for their Monday night game in Lambeau against the Packers. It is worth highlighting that Brown missed time in training camp because of a hamstring injury and then got off to a slow start, potentially because of it. As for Barkley, all reports immediately after the game were positive in that the injury was relatively minor. However, groin injuries are really tricky for RBs given the need to move laterally. I’m hopeful Saquon can go this week, but it’s certainly not a guarantee.