Week 10 Injury Report: Tuesday’s Gone

Welcome to Week 10, ladies and gentlemen. 

We’ve reached a real impasse here over the halfway mark of the NFL season. Major stars are down, breakout players are rolling, and Mike White is a starting quarterback in the NFL. The draft wouldn’t be further behind us and our expectations have been subverted every step of the way. This is where winners are made and losers are born. 

Tuesday’s gone with the wind. And we’re coming up hard on Sunday morning. 

Anyway! The teams on bye this week are the Bears, Giants, Bengals, and Texans. See ya next week!

Starting off with the Buffalo Bills, famously fathered by Urban Meyer, who are facing off against the New York Jets. Zack Moss has cleared concussion protocol, clearing the way for him starting against the Jets. Before last week, I would have said the Bills are going to absolutely eat the Jets for breakfast but after that Jaguars loss and the return of THE GOAT QB for the Jets… It’s hard to be so sure. 

For the Jets, Zach Wilson is chopped liver. He’s listed as doubtful but I’d be shocked if we saw him, even if something happens to Mike White. They’ll likely be getting back Corey Davis and Tevin Coleman, beefing up their offense a bit. I’m mainly joking about this teams ability to beat the Bills, who have to be due to bounceback after that embarrassment they put up last week but I unironically like Mike White. Is he a bonified starter? Probably not but as a backup, he can get the ball out quick, he’s got a good arm, and his decision-making isn’t terrible. What else can you ask for? Well, your 1st round pick to play well but that might be asking too much. 

Tampa Bay, fresh of their bye, will be facing the Football Team. Tampa looks to be without Antonio Brown with an ankle injury and Rob Gronkowski still dealing with the effects of broken ribs and a punctured lung. Sheesh. Chris Godwin is dealing with foot injury and is going to be a game-time decision. He practiced Friday but it doesn’t seem like there’s a ton of confidence he’s going to be out there. We might be seeing some Tyler Johnson and Jaelon Darden this weekend, Johnson being the higher upside play in a pinch. Brady’s going to have to throw to someone and we know Mike Evans is going to be getting targeted. Might as well see who’s going to collect the scraps. 

For the Football Team, Curtis Samuel is out again with his groin injury. Talk about a disappointing season from this guy. Antonio Gibson shed his injury designation but that shin injury is definitely still hanging around, limiting his explosive upside we were so excited about in days of yore. It’s like we’re flipping a coin every week on if J.D. McKissic is worth starting and against this Tampa run defense? I’m not excited about that at all. 

The Jaguars, facing off against the Colts, are still waiting on a decision for James Robinson who’s been struggling with a heel injury. In his absence, we’ll see Carlos Hyde again who put up 67 yards against Buffalo. Eh. 

The Lions will be in Pittsburgh and they’ll be missing Jamaal Williams, giving D’Andre Swift the keys to the city. He’s essentially the only decent thing about the entire Lions offense, so we have to hope Dan Campbell will lean on him. 

The Steelers will be without Chase Claypool who injured his toe on Monday night. Is this the Ray-Ray McCloud breakout game? No, probably not but James Washington should see a bump in targets against a horrid Lions secondary. Also though, if Ray-Ray McCloud catches a touchdown everyone reading this owes me $20. 

The Cowboys will be hosting the Falcons in Dallas. Cedrick Wilson is dealing with a shoulder injury but he looks likely to suit up but could see a lower target count with the return of Michael Gallup from IR for the first time since Week 1. 

The Browns will be playing the Patriots without almost all of their running backs. Nick Chubb, Demetric Felton, and John Kelly are all out on Covid Protocols. Yep, It’s D’Ernest Johnson SZN. 

The Patriots look to be without Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson who are still in concussion protocol and haven’t practiced. Even if they clear protocols, we still might see the Patriots lean on Brandon Bolden and J.J. Taylor. 

The Saints are going to be down Alvin Kamara against the Tennesee Titans, giving Mark Ingram a chance to shine. We will probably also see some running plays with Taysom Hill out, especially in the red zone. The Saints better hope they’re not going to be down Kamara for long because right now their offense has to lean on him for success and his absence could prove to be a major blow against a hot Tennessee team. 

The Titans will likely have Ryan Tannehill active Sunday after he missed practice with an illness with Vrabel signaling he’s got the green light. A.J. Brown shed his injury designation but still sat out of practice Friday. He’s probably playing but worth keeping an eye on. Julio Jones is questionable with a hamstring injury. Frankly, I’m approaching the point where Julio is getting dropped. I find myself starting him just waiting for that throwback game and it just hasn’t come. It’s demoralizing, dammit!

The Panthers will be facing the Arizona Cardinals and they’ll be doing it without Sam Darnold. Darnold is out for at least 4 weeks and he might never play another snap for Carolina after they signed hometown hero Cam Newton. It’s still uncertain whether Cam is going to be ready to play Sunday but it’s looking more like P.J. Walker will go while Cam gets adjusted and up to speed. 

The Cardinals will be missing Chase Edmonds, who is dealing with a high ankle sprain that will keep him out for a few weeks. James Connor is going to lead the backfield with Eno Benjamin picking up the slack. Maybe we’ll see Eno sniping Connor’s touchdowns just for some fantasy karma? Kyler Murray is going to be a game-time decision with his ankle injury that held him out last week. If he’s out we’ll see the encore performance of Colt McCoy who lit up San Francisco last week. DeAndre Hopkins and Rondale Moore are both questionable and uncertain if they’ll play. In their absence, we should see Christian Kirk, A.J. Green, and Zach Ertz taking the offensive load. 

The Seahawks will be getting back Russell Wilson just in time for their matchup against Green Bay. Thank you for your service, Alex Collins. This should hopefully boost back up Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf with Russ slinging the rock. 

The Packers QB Aaron Rodgers has officially cleared Covid Protocol and is in line to start Jordan Love. That horrible Jordan Love showing against the Chiefs last week should have guaranteed Rodgers a blank check in Green Bay but we’ll see what this incompetent management group decides to do this offseason but I think it’s fair to say that drafting Jordan Love while you have an MVP caliber QB and pissing him off just isn’t worth the “upside”. 

The Chiefs will be facing the Raiders Sunday night in Las Vegas. They’re still without Clyde Edwards-Helaire who’s on IR and we might see some more Derrick Gore. I won’t lie, when I was watching the Chiefs-Giants game two weeks ago I actually jumped up in my living room and said “Is that Frank Gore?!” I was almost convinced. The Chiefs are also down both of their RTs and are playing some bum so we should see Maxx Crosby absolutely decimating the right side. The Raiders are going into the game without anyone with an injury designation and will be gaining DeSean Jackson as a speedy deep threat. Just Win Baby!