Home › 2015 Fantasy Football › 2015 Fantasy Football: Week 2 Injury Updates

2015 Fantasy Football: Week 2 Injury Updates

By on • ( 1 )

It seems that regular season is going to follow the lead of the preseason when it comes to injuries, with many notable players suffering setbacks in Week 1. Let’s take a look at a few injuries sustained in Week 1 and what it means for Fantasy Football owners.

Week 2 Fantasy Football Injuries

WR Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys

Bryant underwent foot surgery recently for his broken foot, specifically his 5th metatarsal. His expected timeline to return is four to six weeks. But, rumors imply it could be closer to eight. His absence leaves a big void for the Cowboys and Fantasy players to fill. Terrance Williams is listed as next on the depth chart. He has a similar height, build, and reach to Bryant, so he should get a lot of looks in the end zone. He’s currently owned in 45% of ESPN leagues. The sneakier pick up, however, is Lance Dunbar. Dunbar lead the backfield receptions in the Cowboys kickoff game and looked good in his routes. I predict he’s going to see a healthy boost in targets (Think Pierre Thomas for the Saints). He’s currently owned in 4% of ESPN leagues. With the Cowboys run game seemingly in flux, Dunbar seems like one of the safer bets, especially in PPR leagues.

RB Andre Ellington, Arizona Cardinals

Bruce Arians has announced that Ellington suffered a “mild PCL Sprain”. What he didn’t announce was a time table for his return. One to three weeks is the presumed timetable. WR Breshad Perriman is currently suffering from the same injury, and he’s been sidelined since July 30th. This doesn’t bode well for Ellington’s return. Even though Ellington hasn’t been ruled out for this week’s game against the Chicago Bears, I’d be making other plans for my team. Chris Johnson looks to suit up in Ellington’s stead. Though Johnson enjoyed a timeshare with Chris Ivory during his time with the New York Jets, I don’t expect him to eat too much into Ellington’s touches once he returns. He’s currently owned in 12% of ESPN leagues.

WR DeSean Jackson, Washington Redskins

Jackson suffered a hamstring injury Sunday against the Miami Dolphins. He’s expected to miss three to four weeks. This leaves a hole for the Redskins to fill at receiver, and Pierre Garcon is next in line for targets. He performed well after Jackson left the game, pulling in six receptions. But, this boost should only last as long as Jackson is out. Currently owned in 63% percent of ESPN leagues, Garcon could perform well as a flex player against favorable defenses. The bigger story out of Washington is Jordan Reed. Reed saw the most targets on the team, and was the receptor of the only Redskins touchdown. He is currently owned in 32% of ESPN leagues. Kirk Cousins may not be the best quarterback, but Reed is his biggest target. If you have a shot at him, snag him.

RB Reggie Bush, San Francisco 49ers

Bush left Sunday’s game early with a calf injury. While his injury doesn’t look to be too serious, he’s currently listed as questionable for the 49ers’ upcoming game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. If Bush is out, Jarryd Hayne will likely be featured on passing downs. While Hayne did record an epic fumble on his opening play,(muffed punt return) he looked good running his routes. Carlos Hyde looked absolutely phenomenal against the Vikings. He finished with 168 yards and two touchdowns, but between plays, he looked a little gassed. He’ll need a reliever to catch his breath. Hayne is currently owned in 3.2% of leagues and could be an effective stash for if anything happened to Hyde or Bush.

RB CJ Anderson, Denver Broncos

Anderson is suffering from an ankle/toe injury. He had a disappointing opener against the Ravens, with only 12 carries for 29 yards. He also missed practice on Monday, and is currently listed as questionable for Thursday’s game against the Chiefs. The shortened week isn’t going to do his return chances any favors. Ronnie Hillman stepped up after Anderson left the game, finishing with 3.4 YPC. If the Broncos backfield has taught us anything it’s that their running backs can step up after an injury. Even if Anderson returns, I would be cautious about his fantasy production. I had Anderson listed on my Do Not Draft List, and I’m sticking to my guns. I’m not sold on the guy. Hillman is currently owned in 47% of ESPN leagues.

WR TY Hilton, Indianapolis Colts

Hilton suffered a knee injury against the Buffalo Bills. While his outlook is day-to-day, he’s likely to miss Monday’s game against the New York Jets. Hilton was the top target for Indianapolis, so his vacancy is significant. Donte Moncrief is next in line for targets, though historically, Luck tends to fall back on his tight ends. Luck didn’t perform up to his typically flawless numbers on Sunday, but I don’t expect that to continue. Even if Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen see the end zone targets, Moncrief will still see a meaningful increase in receptions. Moncrief is owned in 31% of ESPN leagues.

QB Derek Carr, Oakland Raiders

Carr suffered a hand injury against the Cinncinati Bengals. He’s currently listed as questionable for this week’s game against the Baltimore Ravens. Carr is a Fantasy afterthought, but his absence boosts Latavius Murray’s fantasy projections. I for one, am avoiding all Raiders players besides Murray. The Raiders are looking to be shopping the quarterback free agent market. Notable names are Christian Ponder, and (dare we hope) Tim Tebow.

QB Josh McCown, Cleveland Browns

McCown suffered a concussion Sunday against the New York Jets. He is currently going through NFL concussion protocol and is expected to miss Week 2. Replacement Johnny Manziel looked shaky in the opening game. He ended the game with 182 yards, one touchdown, one interception and two fumbles. Though, he did add 35 rushing yards to his stats. The Browns looked rough offensively and until I see something more, I’m not high on any player on the Browns. Manziel is owned in 3% of ESPN leagues.

WR Demaryius Thomas, Denver Broncos

Demaryius Thomas has a mild hand injury. He participated on “jog through” practice on Monday and is listed as probably. I don’t expect his injury to hamper his Thursday performance against the Kansas City Chiefs.

WR Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Evans was a surprising scratch on Sunday against the Titans. His nagging hamstring injury looks to be more serious than first thought, and he’s currently listed as questionable for the upcoming game against the New Orleans Saints. If last week is any indication, he’ll once again be a game-time-decision. Vincent Jackson and Austin Seferian-Jenkins look to benefit from Evans truancy. Jackson is the more consistent of the two but is already owned in most leagues. Seferian-Jenkins is more of a dark horse, but he looked great in his second-season debut. Jenkins is only owned in 25% of ESPN leagues, so you have a shot at snagging him.

UPDATES:

RB Tre Mason, St. Louis Rams
Mason is still listed as questionable with a hamstring injury.

TE Julius Thomas, Jacksonville Jaguars
Thomas was originally set to return in Week 4, but according to Coach Bradley, this is no sure thing. It’s more likely that he will return in Week 5 or Week 6.

WR Dwayne Bowe, Cleveland Browns
Bowe is dealing with a hamstring injury and is currently questionable to return for Week 2. The Browns could benefit from the experience of the veteran receiver, but it doesn’t look good for his return against the Titans.

WR Victor Cruz, New York Giants
Cruz is still not back from a preseason calf injury. While he’s listed as questionable for the Giants next game against the Atlanta Falcons, I wouldn’t hold my breath. Cruz has yet to participate in practice. I would expect him to return closer to Week 3 or Week 4.

RB Arian Foster, Houston Texans
All reports are good from Houston on Foster’s progress from groin surgery. He’s officially listed as out for Week 2, but the Week 4 timeline may not be far off for his return.

‹
›

Categories: 2015 Fantasy Football

Tags: , , , ,

1 reply

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

%d bloggers like this: