In this series, we’ll cast a wide net to cover many different injuries that occurred during each week of the NFL regular season and what the implications are for your fantasy teams. If there were large injuries during the week, we’ll be sure to have a detailed piece in addition to this article. If there is any injury on your mind that you believe I missed, please feel free to comment below and I’ll give you my thoughts!
Another week of fantasy football brought more surprises, breakouts, dud performances, and unfortunately, more injuries. We’ve officially entered critical weeks for determining both fantasy playoff teams and seedings. It’s crucial to gain every edge you can, which is why understanding injury situations for the whole NFL, not just players on your fantasy teams, is so important. Week six brought a few injuries that potentially have important fantasy ramifications. Let’s delve into them!
Amari Cooper, WR OAK
Injury: Concussion
In what was a complete dud game for the Raiders out in London, they were without their best playmaker for much of the game. Cooper suffered a concussion on a big hit in the second quarter and would remain sidelined the rest of the way. This is Cooper’s second documented concussion in as many years. In week 12 of 2017, he was sidelined a full game due to a concussion. The Raiders are on bye in next week, so it’s likely Cooper will not have to miss more game time with this injury.
[am4show have=’g1;’ guest_error=’sub_message’ user_error=’sub_message’ ]
The more pressing and interesting news about Amari Cooper is the Raiders’ interest in shopping their former first-round pick. Cooper has been a disaster for fantasy owners over the last year. His usage has been questionable and unpredictable with his biggest games coming when fantasy owners have lost faith in starting him. According to my albeit small sample size poll, most would prefer the Colts or Cowboys as a possible landing spot for Cooper. Should Cooper get dealt, we’ll be sure to have a complete analysis of what it means for his fantasy value.
In regards to his injury, if Cooper were to miss time, Jared Cook, Jordy Nelson, and Jalen Richard would be the most likely beneficiaries. While Cooper’s targets have been spotty, his snap shares have been consistently high week to week. Any missed time will open up an opportunity for others on the team, and the three aforementioned players have been receiving the majority of valuable targets already this season. This is a situation to keep an eye on.
Josh Allen, QB BUF
Injury: UCL
For all the baseball fans out there, you may recognize this injury as the same one that often requires Tommy John surgery for pitchers. Allen is likely not to require the surgery, as NFL throws cause much different stress on the ligament than throwing a pitch. However, it’s worth the comparison to show how this injury may be a serious one for Allen.
Marcus Mariota recently had a lesser grade UCL injury than the one Allen currently has, and he was forced to miss some time. The Bills’ hopeful franchise QB will undoubtedly miss game time, with many reports saying longer than a month. Nathan Peterman can be picked up in superflex leagues as a desperation bye-week play.
Cooper Kupp, WR LAR
Injury: MCL
The emerging second-year wide receiver for the Rams makes the injury report in week six again, but this time for a different issue. Kupp left Sunday’s matchup against the Broncos with a knee injury, currently being reported as a MCL sprain. Some other notable players to suffer MCL sprains this season have been O.J. Howard, Evan Engram, Doug Baldwin. The former was able to recover during his bye week and not miss any time. The latter two we all know have missed a good chunk of the season thus far. Baldwin has returned, but Engram is still recovering. This shouldn’t be a long-term issue for Kupp past early November, if that long.
In the meantime, Robert Woods and Brandin Cooks remain very strong weekly starts. Woods has been the more consistent producer of the two, but both players should be plug-in starters each and every week for your fantasy teams. There will inevitably be talk of Josh Reynolds taking over as the number three receiver in Kupp’s absence. I really liked Reynolds as a prospect and am excited to see what he can do now with a full week of practice with the starters. He has a big-play skillset worthwhile to stash on your dynasty teams if he’s on waivers. However, I do not expect Reynolds to simply gain all of Kupp’s lost production.
Quincy Enunwa, WR NYJ
Injury: Ankle
Enunwa has been easily rookie quarterback Sam Darnold’s favorite target throughout 2018. Coming back from an injury in 2017, Enunwa posted four weeks of a 23% or greater target share with his lowest weekly target share sitting at a solid 19%. Unfortunately, Enunwa left Sunday’s game early and was diagnosed with a high ankle sprain. He will reportedly miss about a month of time with the injury. The Jets have a week 11 bye, so I would expect him to return to game action in week 12.
For fantasy owners, a week 12 return means essentially all of the rest of the fantasy football regular season is lost for Enunwa. He’s certainly still worth holding onto in redraft leagues (and of course in dynasty), but we’ll need to look at other options in this offense for production. As Sunday’s game showed, the player to benefit most from Enunwa’s absence should be Jermaine Kearse.
Last year’s PPR WR26 on the season, Kearse excelled to the tune of nine catches for 94 yards on Sunday, mostly from the slot. He and Robby Anderson, who is more of the big-play type, will compete be Darnold’s primary options moving forward until Enunwa’s return. Kearse is likely on your waiver wire both in redraft and dynasty and would be a worthwhile pickup if you need short-term bye-week production.
Calvin Ridley, WR ATL
Injury: Bone Bruise
After leaving Sunday’s shootout early, there was reason for concern about Ridley’s future availability. According to reports, an MRI Ridley underwent revealed nothing too serious. As the report suggests, the standout rookie wideout may be in line to sit out next week’s game against the Giants. This would give Ridley a full two weeks to recover given Atlanta’s week eight bye. Should Ridley sit, Mohamed Sanu and Austin Hooper would continue to see an uptick in targets. Perhaps, even, Julio Jones would have a better chance of scoring a touchdown.
Other notable injuries, but of lesser fantasy significance: Tavon Austin (Groin), Niles Paul (Leg), Cody Latimer (Hamstring)
As we hit the second half of the fantasy football season running, injuries can be the difference between making the playoffs and coming up just short. However, we are not only concerned with injuries for players on our own teams. Identifying trade targets based on your leaguemates’ injury needs is a common tactic I use as people try to make a final push towards the playoffs. We’ll be sure to keep giving you the injury coverage you need to make all those moves.
[/am4show]
- Week 17 Positional Rankings - January 1, 2022
- Week 16 Positional Rankings - December 23, 2021
- Week 15 Positional Rankings - December 16, 2021
