Fantasy Football: Week 6 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 4 and take a look at what fantasy managers can expect heading into Week 7 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.
Kareem Hunt
Right calf strain: Out 4-6 weeks
Kareem Hunt entered Week 6 with wrist and knee injuries, and now he’s dealing with a right calf strain that is going to keep him out at least a month. Hunt picked up the injury in the second half of the Browns’ loss to the Cardinals and will now go on injured reserve, indicating he’ll miss a minimum of three weeks. Calf injuries can linger, especially for running backs, and the re-injury risk is high. As a result, it will likely be the end of November before we see Hunt back on the field. Worth noting, Nick Chubb missed Week 6 with a calf injury of his own and should be considered on the wrong side of questionable for Thursday Night Football.
Players impacted: Nick Chubb, D’Ernest Johnson, Demetric Felton
Baker Mayfield
Recurring left shoulder instability: Likely to continue to play through injury
Mayfield re-injured his left shoulder on Sunday against the Cardinals, suffering a second shoulder dislocation. Mayfield originally dislocated his shoulder in Week 2 and has since been playing with a harness on his shoulder while trying to manage a torn labrum. Mayfield will continue to play through this injury but now that he’s dislocated his shoulder twice, the labrum injury is more significant and as a result, he’s at an even greater risk of re-injury moving foward. The Browns QB will continue to try to play through this injury, but in the offseason, he’s going to require surgery to repair his torn labrum.
Players impacted: Odell Beckham, Jarvis Landry, Austin Hooper
Odell Beckham
Right shoulder AC joint sprain: Week to week
Odell Beckham landed on his right shoulder while being tackled on Sunday, which is the mechanism of injury consistent with an AC joint sprain. OBJ was in obvious pain on the sideline before making his way to the locker room for a likely injection for pain relief. He did return and was effective, catching 5-of-8 targets for 79 yards. Beckham has a quick turnaround for Thursday Night Football, so don’t be surprised to see him miss practice this week. He will likely be able to play through the injury with an injection and/or extra padding for pain control.
Players impacted: Baker Mayfield, Jarvis Landry, Donovan Peoples-Jones
Dak Prescott
Right calf strain: Week to week
Prescott injured his right calf on the last play in overtime on his game-winning TD pass to CeeDee Lamb and could be seen visibly limping following the game. Prescott was also in a walking boot as a precaution on Sunday evening, but this is not indicative of a more serious injury. Fortunately for Dak and the Cowboys, Dallas is on bye in Week 7, giving Dak two weeks to recover. I do not anticipate Dak will miss any time, but depending on the degree of the injury, Prescott could be a bit limited in terms of his mobility out of the pocket.
Players impacted: Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb, Dalton Schultz
Kadarius Toney
Ankle sprain: Likely out Week 7
Kadarius Toney has been on the Giants injury report for the last few weeks with an ankle issue but has been playing through it. Then in Week 5, Toney picked up another ankle injury. Despite three limited practices and being ruled questionable before Week 6, Toney was active for the Giants’ game against the Rams but exited on the first drive after aggravating his ankle injury. I expect Toney to miss at least one week.
Players impacted: Sterling Shepard, Kenny Golladay, Darius Slayton, Daniel Jones
Antonio Gibson
Stress fracture and Calf strain: Likely Out Week 7
Gibson first popped up on the Football Team’s injury report in Week 4 with a shin injury. Initially, there was minimal concern around this injury as it was downplayed by the team. However, over the last three weeks, things have really taken a turn in the wrong direction for Gibson. We now have confirmation that the RB is dealing with a stress fracture in his tibia (shin bone). He was in obvious pain on Sunday against Kansas City and left the game multiple times due to this injury as well as a new injury he picked up on Sunday. Gibson is now dealing with a calf strain on top of the stress fracture. Gibson’s short term outlook is bleak, as this injury won’t be going away any time soon. He’ll either be playing at far less than 100% or trying to play through pain. Either way, it’s difficult to see Gibson being effective over the next couple of weeks. In reality, it’s probably in his best interest if the team sits him through their Week 9 bye.
Players impacted: J.D. McKissic, Jaret Patterson
Tyreek Hill
Quad Contusion: Injury to monitor
Tyreek Hill missed practice last week on Wednesday and Thursday before returning Friday and playing on Sunday. Despite being able to finish the game with a solid 9/76/1 stat line, Tyreek appeared to aggravate his quad injury just before halftime. He did return but only played 57% of the snaps. Look for the Chiefs to continue to manage Hill’s reps in practice. He should play in Week 7, but he’s a name to monitor throughout the week as he appears to be playing at less than 100%.
Players impacted: Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Mecole Hardman
Latavius Murray
Left high ankle sprain: Likely out Week 7
Latavius Murray picked up a left ankle injury in the third quarter on Sunday and despite being listed as questionable to return, didn’t take another hand-off. Devonta Freeman and Le’Veon Bell handled the RB touches after Murray’s injury, which looked consistent with a high ankle sprain on video. Look for Murray to sit in Week 7 with the potential to miss more time if this injury is severe enough.
Players impacted: Devonta Freeman, Le’Veon Bell, Ty’Son Williams
Alex Collins
Hip injury (Diagnosis unknown): Day to day
Collins picked up a hip/glute injury late in the game Sunday night against the Steelers. Speaking Monday, Pete Carroll told reporters, “He’s not out of next week. We’ve got to see how he handles it.” There aren’t any other details available at this time, but based on the lack of news surrounding Collins, he’s likely not dealing with anything major. Collins is likely to see limited practice time ahead of Week 7, but he’s probably more hurt than injured. Chris Carson (neck) is already on IR.
Players impacted: DeeJay Dallas, Travis Homer
TY Hilton
Quad strain: Likely Out Week 7
Hilton made his 2021 debut in Week 6 as he’s been dealing with a serious neck injury to start the year, and now he’s dealing with a quad injury. Hilton exited early against the Texans with a quad strain and didn’t return. Given his age, history of multiple soft tissue injuries (including prior quad strain) and the fact that he got injured in his first game back, Hilton is extremely unlikely to play in Week 7. He could miss multiple weeks.
Players impacted: Carson Wentz, Michael Pittman, Parris Campbell, Zach Pascal
Parris Campbell
Left Foot Sprain: Out several weeks
Parris Campbell injured his left foot on a 51-yard TD reception Sunday against the Texans. On Monday, it was reported that Campbell is dealing with a significant foot injury, but a specific diagnosis has not been confirmed. Campbell will land on the injured reserve, meaning he’ll miss at least three weeks. However, the reality is Parris Campbell may miss the remainder of the year if this sprain is severe enough.
Players impacted: Carson Wentz, Michael Pittman, Zach Pascal
Terrace Marshall
Concussion: Week to week
Terrace Marshall left Week 6 with a concussion and now enters the league’s concussion protocol. As with any concussion, the recovery process is non-linear and depends on Marshall’s symptoms each day as he participates in practice. Be sure to monitor Marshall’s practice activity throughout the week.
Players impacted: Sam Darnold, D.J. Moore, Robby Anderson
Julio Jones
Hamstring strain: Out multiple weeks
Julio Jones left Monday Night Football early with a hamstring injury and didn’t return. He originally injured his hamstring back in Week 3, which forced him to miss Weeks 4 and 5 before returning last night. Unfortunately, Julio seems to have re-injured the same hamstring that he’s been dealing with over the last few weeks, which spells bad news for his short term outlook over the next month. Julio’s 2020 season was plagued by hamstring injuries, and it seems as though he could be going down a similar path. As of this writing, we don’t have specific details regarding the severity of Julio’s injury, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Julio land on IR for the reasons previously described.
Players impacted: A.J. Brown, Derrick Henry, Ryan Tannehill