The Dynasty Doctor: Week 15 Injury Report

Scott Peak

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Editor’s Note: Injuries are a huge part of winning and losing each year in fantasy leagues. Staying abreast of injury situations is key, as knowing what to expect from your players health-wise in the short term can help you make educated decisions in managing your team. Lucky for us, we have a Doctor in the house. Dr. Scott Peak is an ABPN board certified neurologist and neuro-oncologist. He is also a dynasty football addict and a Senior Writer for Dynasty League Football. He’s excited to lend his expertise in medicine with hopes he may help the DLF Team and its followers better understand medical conditions and injuries that may impact NFL players and dynasty football owners.  

If you have a question for The Dynasty Doctor, just click here. Please remember The Dynasty Doctor is geared towards questions regarding medical science, injuries to players and their collective impact in fantasy football. Stay tuned each week as we’ll post his thoughts each and every Tuesday.

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A.J. Green, WR CIN

Green injured his back in practice on Saturday and was unable to finish the game against San Francisco. This came as a surprise and he left fantasy players with just one reception for 37 yards. Ouch. That Green was able to play is encouraging, but back injuries can be unpredictable. He left the game in the third quarter and did not return. It’s possible his absence was more related to a total pasting of the San Francisco Forty Niners, but monitor his practice participation this week. The Bengals get Denver on the road next week, so fantasy owners may want to consider other options in week 16, as crazy as that sounds. I don’t think this injury changes the dynasty value for Green.

LeSean McCoy, RB BUF

McCoy injured a knee and it is being described as an MCL sprain. The injury is reportedly “minor”. If he has a grade 1 MCL, it is conceivable he could be back this week. Grade II MCL sprains are two-four week injuries, and grade III sprains are four-eight+ weeks.   Adam Schefter reports the MCL is torn. It’s not a big surprise, given a sprain involves some degree of torn fibers in the ligament. But, if this is anything more than a very minor tear, he might not be able to play week 16. The Bills were officially eliminated from the playoffs, and we’ll see if McCoy gets more time to heal. Monitor his practice participation and we’ll see if he plays week 16. I would consider him questionable right now.

Marcus Mariota, QB TENmariota

Mariota sprained an MCL for the second time this year (first one was on his left knee). After the game, he noted some concern about the stability of his right knee. It was reported that he might miss the rest of this year, but Titans interim head coach Mike Mularkey disputed that report. As noted with McCoy, sprained MCLs can be multi-week injuries, depending on the severity of injury. It would seem logical for Mariota to sit out the next two games and prepare for 2016 but we’ll see how the Titans handle it. Mariota is the QB19 this year. I’d rather have Jameis Winston, (QB10 this year) but Mariota is still a solid quarterback for dynasty teams. I’m not concerned about this injury adversely impacting his dynasty value.

Alshon Jeffery, WR CHI

Jeffery has seemingly been hurt for the entire 2015 season, and he left the game early this week with a hamstring problem. Jeffery has had injuries to his shoulder, groin, calf, hamstring, an illness and now adds another hamstring injury to the list this season. He has missed six games this year, and has just four touchdowns on the year. He did give his owners a touchdown on one reception for ten yards this week, so it wasn’t a complete disaster for those who started him. Jeffery hadn’t missed a game since 2012 so hopefully this has been an anomaly this year. I’m still a buyer in dynasty formats.

Melvin Gordon, RB SD

The nightmare season for Gordon continues for the Chargers running back. Gordon left the game with a knee injury and has been placed on injured reserve with cartilage damage in his knee. That sounds a bit concerning to me. Whenever I hear cartilage damage, I start to wonder about risk of a degenerative condition long-term. I wouldn’t panic sell on that news, but I would consider trading him for a reasonable return. He has had a terrible first year, with 600 yards rushing, 3.6 YPC and no touchdowns. He leads the NFL with seven fumbles on 201 touches, and is currently the RB43 in PPR formats. For some perspective, the only other running back to have as many fumbles is Adrian Peterson, and he has 296 touches. It’s not all on Gordon, as an injury-decimated Chargers offensive line has been awful, and is presently ranked 30th in run blocking by Pro Football Focus. Hopefully Gordon will show some improvement next year, but dynasty owners have to be concerned about him, especially given the cost in acquiring him before this season started. I’m not a buyer in dynasty given the nature of his injury, poor performance, high cost, and the Chargers have too many personnel issues to trust that his development will advance.

Danny Amendola, WR NE

Amendola injured a knee and was unable to return to play. Amendola cannot stay healthy, and managed just one reception for three yards. It’s hard to trust Amendola when inserting him into starting line-ups, but he has been productive, with two 100+ yard games this season and bonus in leagues that count return yards. Still, he’s had 6 games with less than 30 receiving yards on one-four receptions, so consistency has been a problem when starting him. Amendola has minimal value in dynasty and I’m looking elsewhere. I just don’t trust that he can stay healthy.

Adrian Peterson, RB MIN

Peterson injured his left ankle. The injury mechanism looks concerning for a high-ankle sprain. Non-surgically-managed high-ankle sprains can take two to eight weeks to recover from, and can be nagging injuries. It’s interesting to note that, since 2010, Peterson has only finished in the top 30 RBs once in games 15 and 16 (2012 RB4 games 15 and 16), and despite being an elite asset at his position, he hasn’t been much help in the fantasy playoffs. Initial reports are Peterson might be able to play this week, but I’m skeptical at how effective he’ll be with a high-ankle sprain. It’s a tough choice for fantasy owners, but if he’s active it’s hard to bench him.

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