Fantasy Football: Week 2 Injury Recap
Joe Mixon
Arthroscopic knee surgery: out 2-4 weeks
The Bengals’ second year running back exited the Thursday Night Football game multiple times but did return to finish the game. He had his knee examined while on the sidelines with news breaking after the game that there was a “dislodged particle” in the knee. This is likely due to a small piece of cartilage becoming dislodged inside the joint, which can lead to irritation and swelling of the joint. Mixon underwent arthroscopic surgery on Saturday and will miss about 2-4 weeks. In the meantime, Giovani Bernard is in for a huge bump in workload.
Other players impacted: Giovani Bernard, Mark Walton
LeSean McCoy
Fractured rib cartilage: week to week
Shady McCoy fell to the ground during a play in which a teammate landed on top of his left side. He immediately clutched at his side as he was in obvious pain and was helped off the field, ending his Week 2. McCoy is currently dealing with broken rib cartilage, which is actually different than a fractured rib. Your ribs attach onto your breast bone via an extensive piece of cartilage, and when fractured, it is an extremely painful injury. McCoy isn’t expected to miss much time and may even suit up in Week 3. This is merely a pain tolerance issue, so the medical staff will likely use injections for pain control and have McCoy wear a flack jacket for extra padding. Consider him week to week for now.
Other players impacted: Chris Ivory
Jay Ajayi
Lower back spasms: day to day
Ajayi played just two snaps in the first half against the Bucs as he left the game with back spasms and tightness. It’s unclear exactly what happened with Ajayi, so there isn’t much to comment on here. Fortunately, he returned for the second half and found his way into the end zone. He will likely be limited in practice this week, but he isn’t expected to miss time. Look for Ajayi to ramp up his practice activity as the week goes on.
Other players impacted: Corey Clement, Darren Sproles, Wendell Smallwood
Antonio Brown
Calf strain: day to day
It’s unclear when exactly Brown injured his calf, but reports surfaced after the team’s Week 2 loss to the Chiefs that he was battling a calf injury during the game. When I went back and watched the game after the fact, you can see Brown moving in ways to protect his calf and he looks less explosive than he normally does. Like hamstring strains, calf strains are very difficult to play through, so his status certainly warrants monitoring as the practice week begins. Don’t be surprised to see Brown limited in practice this week.
Other players impacted: Ben Roethlisberger, JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Washington
Dalvin Cook
Hamstring cramping: day to day
Cook exited Week 2 early with a hamstring injury in the 4th quarter and didn’t return for overtime. After the game, reports surfaced that Cook was just dealing with cramps, but given that he’s such a high profile fantasy football asset, his status bears monitoring. For now, consider Cook day to day, but I do expect him to be out there in Week 3.
Other players impacted: Latavius Murray
Joe Robbins/Getty Images
Larry Fitzgerald
Strained hamstring: day to day
Larry Legend left Week 2 with a hamstring injury, but like Dalvin Cook, this injury is not expected to be serious. The main issue with hamstring strains is that the biggest risk of re-injury is in the first two weeks upon returning to the field. So long as Fitz is practicing in full by the end of the week, this injury shouldn’t concern fantasy owners. He will likely be limited to start the week in practice as the Cardinals give him some veteran rest.
Other players impacted: Sam Bradford, J.J. Nelson, Christian Kirk
Mike Wallace
Fractured fibula: out at least one month
The Eagles’ field stretcher was carted off on Sunday with a fractured fibula in his right leg. Head coach, Doug Pederson, spoke in a press conference yesterday and stated that the team does not have plans to put him on injured reserve at this time. Pederson also stated that Wallace will undergo more testing in the next few days in order to determine the optimal treatment. I anticipate that Wallace will likely undergo surgery in the coming days, but look for more details to surface soon.
Other players impacted: Nelson Agholor, Alshon Jeffery, Shelton Gibson
Jordan Wilkins
Ankle sprain: day to day
The Colts’ leading rusher on Sunday exited briefly with an ankle injury but later returned. He was in the game during the fourth quarter when the team was trying to run the clock out and looked effective, piling up 61 yards on the ground. Because he returned to the game, this injury isn’t expected to be serious, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Colts limit his reps throughout the week. He should be fine for Week 3 against the Eagles.
Other players impacted: Marlon Mack, Nyheim Hines
Greg Zuerlein
Groin strain: week to week
Kicker news! Greg “the Leg” Zuerlein is currently dealing with a groin injury and is likely going to miss multiple weeks. The team signed Sam Ficken to replace him in the meantime. Groin strains for a kicker can be very problematic as we saw with Dan Bailey last season. Fantasy owners will need to find a replacement for the foreseeable future.
Other players impacted: Sam Ficken