The Dynasty Doctor: Week One

Scott Peak Posted On September 13, 2016

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.

Keenan Allen, WR SD

The worst news of the week occurred when Allen went down with a right knee injury. He planted his right leg and fell to the ground. Unfortunately, it’s reported he has a torn anterior cruciate ligament. The 2016 season ended as fast as it began for Allen and he is done for the year. I’ve been selling Allen in dynasty, as I’m concerned that he just can’t stay healthy. He missed eight games last year with a lacerated kidney and came into the NFL with a torn left posterior cruciate ligament. Allen has had a variety of other nagging injuries and hasn’t finished an entire 16 game season yet in his career. That said, he is still only 24 years old. If dynasty owners are frustrated with Allen’s frequent trips to injured reserve, it might be a good move to get him cheap. But I’m not looking to trade for Allen unless his price is heavily discounted. He should have ample time to recover for the 2017 season, but can he be trusted to stay healthy?

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Demaryius Thomas, WR DEN

Thomas underwent an MRI for a hip injury and Denver is getting a second opinion on it. Reports have suggested he could miss time, but it is noteworthy that he was able to return to play and with a significant workload. Possible injuries include stress fractures, cartilage injury and soft tissue injuries like contusions or strains. Labral injury or femoroacetabular impingement are on the list as well. Fingers crossed that it’s not serious. Cody Latimer might get a chance to resuscitate his dynasty value and Virgil Green might get more targets if Thomas is out awhile. Thomas reportedly will practice this week and that would be a great sign.

Jamaal Charles, RB KC

Something fishy is going on in Kansas City. Charles was inactive week one and Spencer Ware had a huge game in his place (70 yards on 11 rushes, 129 receiving yards and seven receptions, plus a touchdown). Charles tore an ACL in October 2015 and has had almost a year to recover. There are cases of osteoarthritis occurring with ACL tears (13 percent with isolated ACL tears, 21 to 48 percent with associated injuries such as meniscal tears). Or perhaps the soon-to-be 30 year old running back is getting pushed by Ware. Either way, his dynasty value is taking a big hit. However, it’s important to remember Charles has never averaged less than five yards per carry in his career and it’s premature to give up on him. For those who own Charles, I would be patient and give this situation more time to develop. Selling Charles cheap may be a bit hasty right now. Ware may have guaranteed a role with his performance this week and Kansas City might employ the dreaded RBBC even when Charles returns. As a side note, start your running backs against a poor Chargers defense.

Rob Gronkowski, TE NE

Gronkowski was unable to play this week with a hamstring injury. He sustained the injury in mid-August and it has been described as minor. Of course, trusting the Patriots with injury information can be risky. Re-injury of hamstring strains is about 30 percent and aggravations of a previous hamstring strain can take longer to recover. The Patriots could be exercising caution with their star tight end. It’s probably best to consider Gronkowski week-to-week at this point. Monitor his practice participation as that would be a good sign for his return to play. However, there’s no adverse impact on his dynasty value. Martellus Bennett would seem to be a good choice to benefit while he’s out, but his fantasy performance on Sunday Night Football was disappointing (3 receptions for 14 yards on 5 targets).

DeVante Parker, WR MIA

Parker was inactive with an aggravation of a prior hamstring injury. As noted with Gronkowski, re-injury is unfortunately a common issue for hamstring strains. It is noteworthy that head coach Adam Gase suggested Parker needs to take better care of himself. Risk factors for hamstring strains include inadequate warm-up and muscle fatigue. Given comments by Gase, Parker’s hamstring injuries may be a product of poor conditioning and can be corrected. I’m still intrigued by Parker and would target him in trade at a discount. Even though a history of hamstring injuries is a risk factor for future injuries, I don’t expect this to be a long-term issue for him. I’d kick the tires on Parker and see if he can be acquired on the cheap from frustrated owners.

Russell Wilson, QB SEA

Wilson injured his ankle and it looked suspicious for a high-ankle sprain. If he did have a high-ankle sprain, the most important issue will be whether he requires surgery or not. If he has a grade 1 sprain, depending on which ligaments are involved, he could miss a few days of practice, or longer (2 to 8 weeks). If he needs surgery, though, he’s looking at 3-4 months and his season would be over. Notably, Wilson was able to play with his ankle taped, so that’s a good sign. Wilson admitted the ankle was sore, but felt he’d be fine. His running ability might take a hit if he is able to keep playing. I don’t think this adversely impacts his dynasty value long-term but could be a hindrance to his fantasy production in the coming weeks.

Sammy Watkins, WR BUF

Twitter was abuzz with angst following reports of Watkins having soreness in the same foot that underwent surgery for a foot fracture in the off-season. He reportedly does not have any structural issues or surgical options per Rotoworld. If that’s the case, then non-union of bone, repeat fracture or a broken screw seems unlikely, as surgery would be likely necessary in those situations. There are published articles describing chronic pain in a subset of patients with fifth metatarsal fractures (38% at 4 months, 28% at 1 year). Notably, in a recent article (see info below), less than 10% of patients in this study had limitations in their activities.¹ There are also reports of irritation from hardware sometimes used in these surgeries or scar tissue that builds up at the surgical site resulting in pain.² Hopefully this isn’t something that plagues Watkins but we’ve seen athletes return from foot fractures in the past that had a tough time (i.e. Dez Bryant last year). Although Watkins is young and talented, it’s fair to wonder how long his body can withstand the physical stress of playing in the NFL. Once he’s back to playing up to expectations, I’d consider trading him for similar value.

References:

Bigsby E et al. Functional outcome of fifth metatarsal fractures. Injury 2014 Dec:45(12):2009-2012.
Lui, TH. Lateral foot pain following open reduction and internal fixation of the fracture of the fifth metatarsal tubercle: treated by arthroscopic arthrolysis and endoscopic tenolysis. BMJ Case Rep 20014 April: pp 1-4

Zach Ertz, TE PHI

Ertz reportedly has a first-rib displacement and this sounds like a sternoclavicular dislocation. The first rib attaches to the sternum and can be pulled off the bone with a significant shoulder impact. These injuries can sometimes be reduced without surgery, but re-injury can be a concern (21%-100%).¹ Sternoclavicular dislocations can sometimes be treated conservatively, depending on the type, severity and location of the dislocation, and can recover well. This could be a multi-week injury (2-4 weeks or longer).

Morell DJ et al. Sternoclavicular joint dislocation and its management: A review of the literature. World J Orthop 2016 April 18;7(4):pp 244-250

Robert Griffin III, QB CLE

Griffin was placed on injured reserve for a left shoulder injury. He reportedly has a coracoid fracture of the scapula and that can occur in association with a shoulder sprain. Depending on the severity of the sprain, it is possible ligaments can heal in 3-6 weeks. But, if surgery is necessary, he’ll likely be done for the year, as that can be a 6 month or longer post-operative rehabilitative process. Griffin’s dynasty value is essentially gone and there isn’t much hope left that he will resuscitate it. Josh McCown has more lives than Rasputin and he’s back in the picture.

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