Fantasy Football Injury Recap for Week 2
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 1 and take a look at what fantasy managers can expect heading into Week 2 and beyond.
Don’t forget to 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.
Saquon Barkley
Torn ACL: Out for the year
Barkley tore the ACL, meniscus, and MCL (the unhappy triad in the PT world) in his right knee on Sunday against Chicago and is done for the year. He was traveling towards the right sideline while trying to fend off a tackler, stuck his right foot in the ground, and in classic fashion, his knee buckled inward. Barkley will undergo surgery in a few weeks and be placed on IR. Because of the fact that this is a multi-ligament injury involving the meniscus, the surgery will be more complex and will result in a longer recovery relative to that of a “clean” ACL injury.
Players impacted: Dion Lewis, Wayne Gallman, Daniel Jones
Christian McCaffrey
High Ankle Sprain: Out multiple weeks
McCaffrey injured his right ankle in Sunday’s loss to the Bucs and despite getting his ankle taped on the sideline, he was not able to return. After getting an MRI on Monday, it was confirmed that CMC is battling a high ankle sprain and will miss multiple weeks.
Players impacted: Mike Davis, Reggie Bonnafon
Davante Adams
Hamstring Strain: Week to week
Adams picked up a hamstring injury in the second half against Detroit on Sunday. His Week 3 availability depends on the severity of the injury, but as always, these soft tissue injuries are troublesome, especially for skill position players. Adams should be considered questionable for Week 3.
Players impacted: Aaron Rodgers, Allen Lazard, Aaron Jones
Courtland Sutton
Torn ACL: Out for the year
This injury flew under the radar on Sunday as there was no report of this injury until Monday morning. An MRI confirmed the injury, and Sutton will now miss the remainder of the season as he undergoes surgery this week to repair the torn ligament. It’s a bummer for a player who also missed Week 1 with an AC joint injury in his shoulder.
Players impacted: Drew Lock (also injured), Jerry Jeudy, Noah Fant, KJ Hamler
Drew Lock
Rotator Cuff Strain: Out at least 3 weeks
Drew Lock injured his right shoulder Sunday. He was tackled and landed on his right elbow, which causes the upper part of the humerus (upper arm bone) to jam into the top of the shoulder blade. The force from the elbow being driven up into the top of the shoulder joint can cause the rotator cuff muscles to be injured, as was the case with Lock. This is usually a multi-week injury for a non-QB, but the fact that this injury happened to Lock’s throwing shoulder makes me worried about a longer recovery.
Players impacted: Courtland Sutton, Noah Fant, Jeff Driskel
Jimmy Garoppolo
High Ankle Sprain: Week to week
Garoppolo suffered a mild high ankle sprain Sunday against the Jets when his right ankle got rolled up on. He was able to play through the injury for a short period of time before being ruled out in the second half. This is because with a high ankle sprain, the swelling usually develops slowly and as the swelling gets worse, so does the pain and stiffness.
Players impacted: George Kittle (also dealing with knee injury), Brandon Aiyuk, Nick Mullens
Raheem Mostert
MCL Sprain: Out at least one week
The 49ers are easily the NFL’s most injured team. They are now going to be without Raheem Mostert after he suffered a sprained MCL in his knee on Sunday. This injury will heal well without surgery given its excellent blood supply as suggested by doctors from WhiteSands in Fort Myers. Mostert will miss Week 3 but has a chance to return Week 4 if this is a grade I injury.
Players impacted: Tevin Coleman (also injured), Jerrick McKinnon, Jeff Wilson Jr., Jamycal Hasty
Tevin Coleman
Knee Sprain: Out multiple weeks
The 49ers’ injury woes continue as their RB2 will miss multiple weeks after picking up a knee injury on Sunday. For now, consider this a knee sprain, but the specifics of the injury haven’t been released. A sprain, as was reported in the media on Monday, would imply a ligament injury.
Players impacted: Jerick McKinnon, Jeff Wilson Jr., Jamycal Hasty
Parris Campbell
PCL and MCL Sprain: Out several weeks
Parris Campbell took an end-around and was hit on the left knee. He immediately grabbed for his left knee and was carted off the field. He suffered a multi-ligament injury, resulting in a sprained PCL and MCL. The MCL isn’t a concern – that will heal well after a few weeks without surgery. However, a PCL injury is one that may or may not need surgery. It’s a case by case basis, and even if Campbell doesn’t require surgery, he won’t be back on the field for several weeks. It’s a very slow recovery. For fantasy purposes, he can safely be dropped.
Players impacted: Philip Rivers, T.Y. Hilton, Michael Pittman Jr.
Cam Akers
Rib Cartilage Injury: Day to day
Akers picked up the ribs injury on Sunday against the Eagles early in the game. When he got tackled, multiple Eagles defenders fell on top of Akers. All of that body weight falling on the ribs can cause an injury to the rib cartilage. Typically, this is a pain tolerance issue, so Akers does have a chance to play next week, but he’ll likely play with a flak jacket and receiving an injection for pain control pre-game. He’ll be limited in practice.
Players impacted: Darrell Henderson, Malcolm Brown
Sammy Watkins
Concussion: Week to week
Watkins took a helmet to helmet hit on Sunday against the Chargers and didn’t return. He’s now in concussion protocol, and as I’ll say in this article frequently throughout the season, no two concussions are the same. Watkins’ status will be monitored throughout the week. Worth noting, Watkins and the Chiefs play on Monday night in Week 3, so he’s got an extra day to progress through the protocol.
Players impacted: Demarcus Robinson, Mecole Hardman, Patrick Mahomes
Tyrod Taylor
Partially Collapsed Lung: Likely out Week 3
This came out of nowhere. Apparently Tyrod picked up a rib injury in practice and received an injection for pain control in pregame warm-ups. In getting the injection, Taylor actually experienced a partially collapsed lung, which led to rookie Justin Herbert getting the start against the Chiefs. Head coach, Anthony Lynn, has said that Taylor will start if he’s back to 100%, but it’s very unlikely Taylor is 100% in Week 3. I expect him back in Week 4.
Players impacted: Justin Herbert, Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Austin Ekeler
Sterling Shepard
Turf Toe: Out at least one week
Shepard left Week 2 early with a turf toe injury and is expected to miss at least one week. A turf toe injury results in hyperextension of the big toe, resulting in a sprain of the ligaments that attach at the base of the big toe. For wide receivers and running backs, this injury is tricky because it usually feels okay walking around after a few days but when running, the toe is susceptible to re-injury because it stresses the healing ligaments. I expect Shepard to miss at least one game.
Players impacted: Daniel Jones, Golden Tate, Evan Engram
Breshad Perriman
Ankle Sprain: Week to week
Breshad Perriman sprained his ankle on Sunday and didn’t return. He now considered week to week and is likely to miss at least one game. If he does play in Week 3, it will be at less than 100%.
Players impacted: Jamison Crowder (also battling a hamstring injury), Chris Herndon, Sam Darnold
Will Fuller
Hamstring Strain: Day to day
Fuller was seen on the sidelines on Sunday getting his hamstring worked on, but he did return in the second half. However, this is notable for a player like Will Fuller who has missed a ton of time over the past few years. It’s unclear if this is related, but the Texans signed two WRs to their practice squad on Monday, potentially signaling Fuller’s hamstring is more than just a situation to monitor.
Players impacted: Deshaun Watson, Brandin Cooks, Randall Cobb
Will Fuller pic.twitter.com/k25ciBoDGi
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) September 20, 2020
Dawson Knox
Concussion: Week to week
Dawson Knox is now in concussion protocol after Sunday’s win against Miami. Like Sammy Watkins, he’ll try to progress through the NFL’s concussion protocol and be ready for Week 3, but as previously stated, no two concussions are the same.
Players impacted: Josh Allen, Tyler Kroft