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The Detroit Lions have won a football game. I repeat the Detroit Lions have won a football game! It took since December 6th of last season but the Lions have finally won a game after being fairly competitive all year. However, enough of the “real” football talk. Let’s talk about fantasy football. More specifically, injuries that affect fantasy football. Here is your week 13 fantasy football injury report.
Adam Thielen, Wide Receiver, Minnesota Vikings
Unfortunately for one of the top wide receivers this season in fantasy football, Thielen left Sunday’s loss to the Detroit Lions extremely early in the game. He was later ruled out for the rest of the game with an ankle injury. Head coach Mike Zimmer reported after the game that Thielen suffered an ankle sprain during the game which led him to miss the rest of the game. Further testing confirmed that Thielen suffered a high ankle sprain. We have seen many players miss an extended period of time with this same injury. Fantasy managers expect to be without Thielen heading into fantasy playoffs.
As we saw on Sunday, Justin Jefferson had himself a DAY without Thielen for the majority of the game. Jefferson has been good this year, but expect the ceiling for Jefferson that we saw last year heading into fantasy playoffs without Thielen in the mix. KJ Osborn will fill in as the teams WR2 and can be a fantasy option as a flex player when the Vikings face a depleted Steelers team followed by a divisional matchup against the Bears.
Miles Sanders, Running Back, Philadelphia Eagles
Miles Sanders has been a disappointing fantasy player this year, coming into this week as the overall RB47 this week. Some of the poor performance can be placed on the offense the Eagles have run so far this year. Other blame can be on injury for Sanders as he has missed three games due to injury. Sanders finds himself back on the injury report following week 13’s win against the New York Jets. He was quickly ruled out at the end of the game with a re-aggravation of his ankle injury he suffered early on in the season. Sanders reported after the game that he expects to be back following the Eagles bye week in week 14. However, that is too optimistic of a timeline for my liking.
Due to the NFL guidelines in reporting injuries during bye weeks, unfortunately there’s a good chance we won’t hear an update for Miles Sanders’ status until the week leading up to their next game. Boston Scott, if he is healthy as well, had been the lead backup Running Back to Sanders for most of the year. The recent resurgence of Jordan Howard and upgrade in touches for rookie Kenneth Gainwell makes the backfield much harder to predict if Sanders misses any time. Someone may be fantasy relevant, but to me it’s too hard to predict to suggest anyone of them as a waiver wire pickup heading towards the end of the fantasy season.
Kenyan Drake, Running Back, Las Vegas Raiders
This was an injury that most turn their heads in disgust as ankles/knees aren’t meant to bend the way Drake’s did during the play that knocked Drake out for the rest of the game. It was confirmed later that Drake had fractured his ankle and will miss the rest of the season. It is unfortunate for a Raiders team who are making a push for the playoffs in a wide open AFC conference.
With Drake’s absence, this led to an increase in receiving opportunities for Josh Jacobs this past game. I expect more of the same for Jacob’s future as long as he stays healthy himself. Jacobs’ floor increases without Drake and it couldn’t have come at a better time for managers that have Jacobs on their team. Jacobs should be an RB1 the rest of the way into fantasy playoffs.
Logan Thomas, Tight End, Washington Football Team
Logan Thomas was having himself a nice day until unfortunately he was knocked out late into Sunday’s win against the Las Vegas Raiders. It was initially reported that the Football Team worried that Thomas tore both his ACL and his MCL. Usually, reports like this are confirmed following MRI’s. The specifics of the injury aren’t reported yet, however, Head Coach Ron Rivera claimed “There is some damage there”. To me, this report means it is likely just a sprained MCL and ACL or a bone bruise, which is the best case scenario for Thomas and his future. Thomas may end up on IR again this season, which may end his fantasy season, however, if the Football Team makes a playoff run he may be back to help the team try to advance.
We have been down this road before. Logan Thomas out means increase in receiving work for the running backs along with Rickie Seals Jones when he isn’t hurt as well. Now, we are approaching fantasy playoffs. I can’t imagine playing a hurt Seals-Jones in any circumstance. So what does this really mean? Once McKissic returns from his injury, he is a flex option with his receiving upside. Gibson seems to have expanded his role even more as a pass catcher, which makes his upside heading into the fantasy playoffs much higher. Expect more for the running backs for the Football Team moving forward.
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