Week 5 didn’t hurt too bad. We’ve lost LeGarrette Blount and Julio Jones for a while, but they’ll be back. The most significant loss was Josh Morgan, who was really starting to play well the past couple of weeks. He’s now done for the year with a leg injury. Of course there were a few more dings and dents around the league. That tends to happen in a game that features 300 lb. men trying to knock the snot out of each other. Let’s have a look around the NFL and see who’s hurting this week.
BYE WEEKS: CARDINALS, BRONCOS, CHIEFS, CHARGERS, SEAHAWKS, TITANS
OUT FOR THE SEASON
Not only are their bodies hurt, but so are their feelings.
- Chad Henne (MIA – QB)
- Jamaal Charles (KC – RB)
- Kenny Britt (TEN – WR)
- Danny Amendola (STL – WR)
- Josh Morgan (SF – WR)
- Marcus Easley (BUF – WR)
- Roscoe Parrish (BUF – WR)
- Jordan Shipley (CIN – WR)
- Domenik Hixon (NYG – WR)
- Nate Kaeding (SD – K)
- Garrett Hartley (NO – K)
OUT FOR WEEK 6
Some big names are on this list and I’m not happy about it.
- Peyton Manning (IND – QB)
- LeGarrette Blount (TB – RB)
- Joseph Addai (IND – RB)
- Brandon Jacobs (NYG – RB)
- Andre Johnson (HOU – WR)
- Julio Jones (ATL – WR)
- Mike Sims-Walker (STL – WR)
- Braylon Edwards (SF – WR)
- Anthony Armstrong (WAS – WR)
- Donald Jones (BUF – WR)
- David Buehler (DAL – K)
Quarterbacks
Tony Romo (ribs): Probable. I’m sure the bye week helped Romo quite a bit. I’m also sure a terrible Patriots pass defense and a healthy Miles Austin will help quite a bit. He’ll be wearing a Kevlar vest and will have a pain-killing injection before the game, but Romo is a no-brainer this week which makes it a lot easier on me.
Matt Schaub (shoulder/thigh): Probable. Make no mistake – Schaub is banged up. He was limping around the field late in last week’s game against the Raiders. He practiced in full on Friday and is officially listed as probable, but expectations should be kept in check for a few reasons: Andre Johnson is out, the Ravens are really good on defense, it’s a road game in Baltimore, and he’s not 100% by any stretch.
Jason Campbell (foot): Probable. Full practice for Campbell on Thursday. He’ll be out there against the Browns and is a decent spot start for Philip Rivers owners.
Running Backs
Arian Foster (quadriceps): Probable. After not being listed on the injury report on Thursday, Foster popped up on it Friday. Fantasy owners need not worry about Foster’s playing status. He’ll be out there in a big game against the Ravens.
Rashard Mendenhall (hamstring): Questionable. The Steelers are optimistic Mendenhall plays, but he’ll likely have a limited role. Limited roles mean limited fantasy points, so I’d only consider him if you’re limited with able bodied options.
Felix Jones (shoulder): Probable. He’s practicing in full and is fresh off his bye week, so there’s no reason to believe Jones won’t be out there on Sunday. Running backs are scoring 19.8 fantasy points per game against the Patriots. That sounds pretty pretty pretty good to me.
BenJarvus Green-Ellis (toe): Questionable. The Law Firm was limited in Wednesday’s practice, he didn’t practice at all on Thursday, then practiced in full on Friday. Officially questionable, like the Patriots management of the injury report. Honestly I don’t have a clue if he’ll play or not and New England plays a late game so this really sucks. I’d be prepared with a late game option if he’s out. NE, DAL, HOU, BAL, CLE, OAK, NO, TB, MIN, CHI, MIA, and NYJ play afternoon/late games.
Danny Woodhead (ankle): Questionable. He’s back to practicing on a limited basis, which bodes well for his playing status this week. Even if he does play it won’t be a lot. I wouldn’t count on him for much. He’ll be an “only if you must” option this week, if he even plays at all.
Daniel Thomas (hamstring): Probable. He said himself he expects to play Monday night, barring a setback. Feel free to start him if you need to.
Tim Hightower (shoulder): Questionable. Hightower will be active against Philly. The Eagles are a golden match up, but the Redskins backfield is crapshoot with extra crap. I think Hightower will see some touches, but it’s a question at this point as to how much he’ll play. You’re gambling if you start him, but the payoff could be huge. Big time boom or bust.
LaDanian Tomlinson (calf): Probable. Limited practice for LT. He should be a go for the Monday nighter. I wouldn’t expect much, but you could do worse at your flex spot.
Ben Tate (groin): Questionable. Tate has been limited in practice, but even if he plays he won’t see a lot of work. He should only be on a fantasy roster if that roster has Arian Foster on it.
Wide Receivers
Roddy White (thigh): Probable. White is practicing in full so he’ll be good to go. He’ll be heavily relied upon this week with Julio Jones already ruled out in what figures to be a high scoring game against the Panthers.
Miles Austin (hamstring): Probable. Welcome back, Miles. We’ve missed you.
Dez Bryant (thigh): Probable. Full practice for Dez. The Cowboys are back to full strength on offense. You know what to do.
Greg Jennings (groin): Probable. Adam Schefter tweeted that he’s active this week. The Rams secondary won’t stand a chance. I’m counting on at least one Lambeau Leap from Mr. Jennings the weekend.
Percy Harvin (ribs): Questionable. Although Harvin missed Thursday’s practice and was limited on Friday, head coach Leslie Frazier expects him to play. Only start Harvin if you must. His quarterback is just above a corpse when it comes to production which makes things awfully difficult for Harvin to do anything worth a crap.
Michael Crabtree (foot): Probable. He’s active. Josh Morgan is out for the year and Braylon Edwards is still wearing a skirt. Crabtree needs to step his game up in a big way this Sunday against the Lions. He’s worth starting as a flex in every league, and can even be considered a WR2 in deep leagues.
Josh Cribbs (knee): Probable. Cribbs is practicing in full, so if you need him as an emergency option he should be good for a few points.
Devery Henderson (calf): Probable. It looks like Devery is going to play which is pretty lame. This screws up the value of every Saints receiver. Jimmy Graham is the only option that can be counted on for consistent production in the Saints’ passing game. Every other receiver is a gamble. I sure hope nothing happens to Devery Sunday morning. If anyone asks, I was in California, okay?
Kevin Walter (illness): Probable. I’d imagine by Sunday Walter’s illness will be history. The Texans don’t seem worried, so I’m not worried either. If you need him, Walter can fill the bye week void on your starting roster. What a swell guy.
Jacoby Jones (knee): Probable. Jones is practicing and hopefully it’s helping since he didn’t do diddly-poo last week. Andre Johnson is expected to be out again, so Jones needs to do a hell of a lot better than 1 catch for 9 yards on 11 targets. I don’t trust him, but with so many big name WRs either hurt or on their bye weeks, you may just have to roll the dice with Jones. I’ll pray for you.
Tight Ends
Tony Gonzalez (elbow): Probable. Gonzo has been upgraded from questionable to probable. Unless he suffers some kind of setback between now and kickoff, he should be starting and contributing a lot with Julio Jones on the shelf.
Aaron Hernandez (knee): Questionable. All signs point to Hernandez playing on Sunday against the Cowboys despite the questionable status. When I see Patriots vs. Cowboys on the docket, I see a faux slot machine of fantasy points for all players involved. Pull that lever and let ‘er ride sumbitches!
These are the significant injuries in my estimation, but if you’d like a more extensive injury report, check the ESPN injury report or the CBS Sports injury report.
This post will be updated as needed right up to Sunday kickoff.