This fantasy football is a whirlwind. One week, we get a fantastic performance from a top-four round pick, the next week, they are ruled out for a month. There are already so many names out for the year before the midway point this season. Malik Nabers, Tyreek Hill, and James Conner are not playing again this season, while Joe Burrow’s best shot at a return is in mid-December.
Fortunately, there is some good news on the injury front as multiple key fantasy pieces like CeeDee Lamb, George Kittle, and Chuba Hubbard returned last week and contributed in varying degrees. Whether they all return to their fantasy-friendly roles as soon as possible is to be determined, but this step is huge nonetheless.
This piece seeks to discuss players ruled out this week, or in recent weeks, if they are on BYE. The presence of BYE weeks is useful for these injured players to maximize their rehab and recovery, but also a tool for teams to keep them out an extra week if necessary. BYE weeks are our injured players’ friends because these athletes do not know their bodies as well as they would like. Hopefully, the players listed below are allotted the proper timelines to heal and not rushed back…
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QB Lamar Jackson (BAL), Hamstring
The two-time league MVP is on BYE this week with a likely return in Week 8. Lamar Jackson has not played since Week 4 against the Chiefs, and the Ravens have fallen four games below .500 in this span. To everyone’s shock, Cooper Rush could not hold down the fort. The good news is that Jackson should be 100% healthy from his low-grade hamstring injury after three weeks off.
Baltimore is in a vulnerable spot, but they were smart to keep Jackson out an extra week with their Week 7 BYE. The schedule opens up through the next couple of months, and Jackson should be able to lead them back to a winning record before this season ends. With the Steelers’ loss on Thursday night, Baltimore is only three games behind them for the division lead.
Panic Level: 2/10. Hamstring injuries are never fun and can linger, but Jackson had ample time to recover. He may take it easy on the run during the first few weeks back and rely more on his playmakers, which is not a bad thing, given the talent on offense.
QB Jayden Daniels (WAS), Hamstring
Rushing QBs with hamstring injuries seem to be a theme today…
Jayden Daniels will miss time again this season due to a lower-body issue. He suffered a sprained knee in Week 2 that caused him to miss Week 3 and 4, but he returned in Week 5 and didn’t miss a beat. Daniels rushed for 126 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries through the past three games and ran an offense of fringe receivers and Deebo Samuel well.
This hamstring injury is not deemed serious, but it is another issue to compound on this season. Samuel and McLaurin are both ailing, and now Daniels’ rushing is at risk. Hamstring injuries, like any soft tissue problem, can linger. With the Commanders sitting below .500, there is a risk of Daniels returning sooner than he is ready to, and risking further issues.
Panic Level: 5/10. The injury itself is not severe, but anytime you add up lower-body injuries, it is not ideal for an athlete like Daniels. It is good that Daniels is ruled out already for Week 8, but if McLaurin and Samuel struggle to stay healthy all season, his outlook is bleak for the sake of upside.
RB Omarion Hampton (LAC), Ankle
This mystery ankle injury, sidelining Hampton for at least four weeks, has no specific designation. There is footage of the injury, but we do not know whether it is a sprain, fracture, or potentially both. The Chargers revealed that this injury will not keep him out for the season, but may require more than the minimum four weeks on IL. This is extremely ominous despite the “positive” update, especially with the Chargers having a Week 12 BYE.
Realistically, we may not see Omarion Hampton again until Week 13, and there is no guarantee that the injury will not linger like Isiah Pacheco’s fractured leg last season. Hampton is in the midst of missing his second game. If the Chargers do not trade for a significant RB upgrade in this span, like Breece Hall, Alvin Kamara, or someone else of that caliber, we can be confident in Hampton’s production and usage upon return.
Hampton’s role before injury was extremely valuable, and he looked electric. Hopefully, he can return to full strength as soon as Sunday Night Football against the Steelers in Week 10.
Panic Level: 7/10. If they do make a deal for that level of RB mentioned above, I am going to raise that panic level to 9.5.
RB Bucky Irving (TB), Shoulder/Foot
Bucky Irving’s foot injury was frightening at first because it was described as a “mid-foot” issue. This typically translates to Lisfranc, a death sentence for most athletes in a given season. Luckily, Irving was cleared of a fracture and is taking several weeks off to return to health. The bad news is that he is also dealing with a shoulder injury, which does not compound to add weeks onto his timeline, but it is never ideal.
Irving is inherently more injury-prone given his workload and size. 5’10” 195lbs is not only on the smaller end of the RB scale, but atypical for workhorse backs due to the number of hits they absorb. There is no true timeline for Irving, but with their Week 9 BYE and the quality performance of RB2 Rachaad White, we can assume Irving is out until Week 10 at the earliest.
Panic Level: 7/10. There is a lot of re-injury risk for Irving, especially if he returns soon. Two injuries make that twice as likely, and his frame naturally allows for more than the usual RB weekly.
WR Puka Nacua (LAR), Ankle
The Rams faced a massive scare in Week 6. Nacua landed awkwardly in the end zone and was helped off the field. There was fear of a fracture or other severe foot/ankle issue, but he came out with a potentially mild injury. Nacua returned to the field after working out on the sideline, but was not utilized again, and was shortly removed from the field entirely.
With a BYE in Week 8, the Rams decided to sit Nacua for this week’s London game against the Jaguars and reevaluate during their extra time off. The team’s phrasing left the door open for Nacua to miss games beyond the BYE, but they seemed confident in Nacua, ruling out the possibility of an IR stint.
Panic Level: 3/10. Nacua’s dealt with several lower-body issues since college, between his knees and ankles, but he is a tough player who can play through pain. Ideally, he recovers to 100%, but even if this issue lingers, he should be fine if the initial injury wasn’t awful.
WR Garrett Wilson (NYJ), Knee
This is not a serious Jets team whatsoever. They are making a QB change from Justin Fields to Tyrod Taylor, which is equivalent to the Alex Jones “before and after” meme. Wilson’s selling point this season was his relationship with Fields from college and the barren Jets WR room. This panned out for a few weeks this season, but this knee injury and their winless record complicate things.
Wilson was just extended by the team this past offseason. Their priority with him has to be protecting his health for future seasons. While he is expected to return this year, the severity of this injury is unclear and could be treated with caution. Even if he returns, the Jets might shut him down as soon as possible. The likeliest scenario is that he misses Week 8 and uses the Week 9 BYE to get closer to 100%.
Panic Level: 5/10. The injury itself is not a season-ender, but the Jets’ season is virtually over. They will win a couple of games, and Wilson will try to contribute, but the likelihood that we can rely on him in the fantasy playoffs is low.
WR Deebo Samuel (WAS), Heel
This is an injury Samuel has been managing for weeks. He played through it in Week 6, but he failed to produce. The Commanders decided to sit him out in Week 7 and allow the injury to heal, but we are still unsure whether it will nag. Samuel is familiar with nagging injuries and usually toughs it out. Unfortunately, the injuries often limit his production as the season progresses.
The “heel” is frightening to hear because it could be an achilles issue the team is masking. We are not going to speculate beyond this, but the rule of thumb is to assume it is worse than these NFL teams lead on. The Commanders’ practice report will be crucial to follow this week for Samuel and several others.
Panic Level: 4/10. If it is a “bruised heel” as the team reported, we can hope that a week’s rest and an extra day with an upcoming MNF game are enough to recover. Luckily, this is not a soft tissue injury, which often plagues Samuel for months.
WR Terry McLaurin (WAS), Quad
The Commanders cannot catch a break. Between Samuel, McLaurin, and Jayden Daniels, their offensive core is in shambles. Luckily, it appears that McLaurin is on the mend and could return as soon as MNF against the Chiefs. Any soft tissue injury is difficult to navigate, and unfortunately, an injury like this was not shocking due to McLaurin’s offseason holdout.
We often see players more prone to in-season issues when they miss key parts of the offseason to ramp up. The Commanders did the right thing keeping McLaurin out for the past several weeks, and it could pay off down the stretch if it does not linger.
Panic Level 5/10: The re-injury risk still exists despite McLaurin’s extended absence. However, with Samuel ailing too, McLaurin could benefit if he becomes the priority second-half target. Ideally, Jayden Daniels is healthy as well for everyone’s benefit.
TE Brock Bowers (LV), Knee
This injury is very frustrating. Bowers hurt his knee midway through Week 1 and did not return. He played the following three weeks and looked like a shell of himself. It was then revealed that he reaggravated his knee and had been playing through a sprained PCL and bone bruise.
The Raiders are on BYE this week after deciding to hold out Bowers in Week 7 despite a limited practice showing that Friday. They are hoping this month off will be enough for a return to form, and we should be optimistic. Bowers is re-entering an offense desperate for his presence and could see an even higher target share than expected with Jakobi Meyers re-requesting a trade.
Panic Level 4/10: The injury should be healed by now, and Bowers looked incredible in Week 1 at full strength with Geno. The big concern is Las Vegas’s record getting out of hand after a 2-5 start to the season. Bowers has shutdown risk like Garrett Wilson, but if he can play, he will do everything to be out there.
