Week 2 Injury Apocalypse
Throughout Week 2, more and more players were showing up on injury reports. As the week progressed, those players received the “Out” designation. Fantasy players were forced to make key changes to their lineup. Big names like George Kittle and Michael Thomas were unable to play due to their injuries. Week two was then filled with a plethora of other injuries. Not only were there a lot of fantasy relevant players injured, many star defensive players were unable to finish the game as well. Here is the fantasy injury report for Week 2.
Saquon Barkley, Running Back for New York Giants
This injury hurts to see. Saquon left the field in the first half of the game on Sunday holding his right knee. Barkley was clearly distraught as he left the field on a cart. After watching the video, it’s clear that when Barkley was getting tackled his right knee gave out on him. His leg planted and accompanied with a slight twisting motion. Usually, that specific force of the knee is the mechanism of injury for a torn ACL. Fantasy managers got the devastating news before the end of the game that Barkley did indeed suffer a torn ACL.
What does this mean for fantasy managers? Well, unfortunately Barkley is a top three fantasy pick in almost every draft. Barkley managers will be left scrambling at the waiver wire for any running back option. It is unlikely the Giants will stick to a backfield consisting of Dion Lewis and Wayne Gallman. The Giants will likely look at free agent options to come in and split the workload with Lewis and Gallman. Meaning, the Giants running back room in regards to fantasy will be mainly irrelevant.
Drew Lock, Quarterback for Denver Broncos
It was only a matter of time that the Broncos quarterback picked up a knock in this game. It seemed like every drop back, if a Broncos quarterback wasn’t sacked, he got hit. Unfortunately, one hit to his right shoulder took Lock out for the rest of the game. Lock landed straight on his right shoulder and he immediately looked like he was in pain. Lock was originally tagged with the “Questionable to Return” tag but then was downgraded to “Out” before the half ended.
Shoulder injuries on the quarterbacks throwing arm is always tricky. Usually, not only will it take extra time for the player to come back, the quarterback will also lose a lot of arm strength the first couple weeks back. Initial reports though that Lock suffered an AC joint sprain. After further evaluation, the original time frame for return stayed the same at 2 to 6 weeks, but the diagnosis changed. It is now confirmed that Lock damaged his labrum/rotator cuff muscle of his throwing shoulder.
The rotator cuff muscle is the primary muscle used in the throwing motion. There are actually four different muscles that make up the rotator cuff. It doesn’t really matter which muscle specifically he damaged as the result and timeline would be the same.
Remember when Cam Newton hurt his throwing shoulder back in 2017? He partially tore his rotator cuff and you could see it bothered him throughout the season. So much that whenever the Panthers needed a Hail Mary, Newton would come off the field for the backup QB because he didn’t have the strength to make it down the field. Newton later had surgery on the injury as it didn’t get any better. Hopefully Lock’s injury is not as bad as Newton’s.
Jeff Driskel seems to be the option at quarterback until Lock returns. It is unlikely that fantasy managers will start any Bronco quarterback for the foreseeable future. The Broncos pass catchers in my opinion don’t see much of a change in their rest of season outlook. Driskel was able and willing to push the ball down the field the Broncos pass catchers. As long as the Broncos receiving options stay healthy themselves, their outlook looks the same as before the Lock injury.
Parris Campbell, Wide Receiver for Indianapolis Colts
A rising player in the fantasy community, Campbell was carted off the field after sustaining a severe knee injury in the first half on Sunday. Injuries have plagued the young Colts wideout. Campbell missed all of his rookie season with various injuries last year. This year, it looks like Colts may miss him again for a significant time period. After being tackled at the knees, Campbell went immediately down, grabbing at that left knee.
The team was originally worried that Campbell tore his ACL. Sources confirmed that he didn’t, but that didn’t mean he didn’t escape a major injury. After the MRI, sources confirm that Campbell has a PCL injury. The PCL is the other ligament that functions to stabilize the knee along with the ACL. It is less commonly injured than the ACL. The team hasn’t stated the extent of the injury yet, but it is possible that Campbell will require surgery if it is completely torn. Another bad break for a young player in this league.
It is likely that Campbell misses an extended time this year even if the PCL isn’t fully torn. If this is the case, expect a Michael Pittman Jr breakout sooner rather than later. He will see more snaps and will run as the WR2 in this offense behind an often injured T.Y. Hilton. In Campbell’s absence, Pittman received the most targets among Colts wide receivers. Yes, more than T.Y. Hilton. If you have an extra bench spot, grab Michael Pittman Jr now before he really breaks out and have to spend up for him.
Raheem Mostert, Running Back for San Francisco 49ers
After an explosive first half, Mostert went to the locker room just before the half ended. We didn’t see Mostert return for the rest of the game. This injury is added to a large list of injuries to key players on the 49ers team. Like George Kittle, Mostert was diagnosed with an MCL sprain. The team hasn’t come out yet with any further information on how long he will miss. A beast of a man in Kittle with this same injury has already missed a game. Monitor team reports and expect at least a game on the sidelines.
I originally had a paragraph typed out about how I would rather have Jerick McKinnon over Tevin Coleman in this backfield and why. Well, with recent news, this question got a lot easier. Tevin Coleman sustained an injury himself and will miss time. The 49ers will roll with Jerick McKinnon as their lead back and that is valuable in fantasy football. We have seen many running backs produce in this offense. McKinnon has looked good in his limited time this year. It is finally Jerick McKinnon time folks.
Tevin Coleman, Running Back for San Francisco 49ers
Like I mentioned earlier, Tevin Coleman suffered an injury himself along with fellow teammate Raheem Mostert. Coleman suffered a knee injury in Sunday’s game against the Jets. There are no specifics to what exactly the diagnosis of the knee injury is, so it’s hard to look ahead to his outlook for the upcoming weeks. The only piece of information we can look at is that the 49ers have stated that he will miss multiple weeks. Again, a vague statement to make.
With what we know, Coleman and Mostert will miss time. How long? Mostert seems to have a better outlook even with the uncertainty of Coleman’s injury. Jerrick McKinnon will see the workload for week three as both Coleman and Mostert seem to be heading to the sidelines this week. As for the future, it is safe to drop Coleman as McKinnon and Mostert seem to have the backfield locked for a while.
Cam Akers, Running Back for Los Angeles Rams
Cam Akers left Sunday’s game against the Eagles on the first drive of the game. It was unfortunate for fantasy managers as Akers took the majority of the snaps of the game while he was healthy. The Rams looked like they were going to try to get the rookie involved in the game, giving him three early carries. He was then taken out of the game with a rib injury. He was deemed questionable to return until finally the Rams called him inactive. As of right now, there is not much information out on the injury.
Practice reports will be crucial when deciding what to do with Akers. With this rib injury it’s very simple. If he practices, then he will play. If he doesn’t practice, he will not play. Simple right? If this injury is minor and Aker does play week three, I would be scared to play him in any capacity. Not only is he at risk of reinjuring that rib, Darrell Henderson looked really in Akers absence. If it wasn’t already a timeshare, it will be now. Akers will be limited to make sure the rib is fully healed, and Henderson/Malcom Brown will be involved as they have both looked great so far this season. Stay away from Akers for at least week three and possibly longer.
Christian McCaffery, Running Back for Carolina Panthers
The fantasy nightmare continues. McCaffery left Sunday’s game in the 4th quarter with an ankle injury. He was initially injured in the 1st quarter but returned. He was then officially labeled as out in the 4th quarter. The medical team tried taping McCaffery up so he could continue to play, however, after testing it he was unable to continue. An MRI was performed early Monday and revealed a high ankle sprain.
Although McCaffery’s time table is not as lengthy as the torn ACL suffered by Saquan Barkley, the team has reported that he is expected to miss 4-6 weeks. I expect him to return closer to four weeks then six weeks. However, like we saw from Saquan Barkley last year, high ankle sprains severely prohibits cutting and acceleration on that ankle. We saw Barkley lose a lot of explosiveness after his injury which equated to a disappointing fantasy finish compared to where he was drafted. If you have the option, try not to play McCaffery the first week or two back from the injury.
With McCaffery out, unlike Barkley, we know exactly who is the running back to own in Carolina. It is Mike Davis. He carried the workload when McCaffery went down. How excited am I to own Mike Davis? Not very. He will be a starting running back in Carolina, so he is guaranteed to get some touches. However, Teddy Bridgewater has actually looked decent so far this season so I imagine the team will rely on Teddy’s arm a little bit more now. Davis will be a spot start at flex with all the injuries seen this week. But the production, as expected, will not be even near to the production Christian McCaffery gets.
Courtland Sutton, Wide Receiver for Denver Broncos
Not gonna lie, this injury surprised me. While I was watching this game I saw Sutton walk into the locker room with a limp and grabbing at what looked like his hamstring. I didn’t see a specific play that knocked Sutton out for the game. I saw the update on Sutton and I was shocked.
Team sources confirm that Sutton “Tore up his knee”. Tearing up your knee can mean a variety of things. In the knee, there are four different ligaments that are stabilizing the knee that he could have “tore up”. There are muscles that run along the knee that he could have “tore up”. There is a meniscus inside the knee that is used for cushioning and lubricating the knee joint that he could have “tore up”. Whatever Sutton tore up though, team sources also announced that he will miss the rest of the season. Week two of injuries gets worse and worse.
With Sutton missing the rest of the season and quarterback Drew Lock missing time with his own injury, the once promising, young Broncos offense is decimated. Who benefits from Suttons injury? To be honest, I don’t think any player really benefits. Noah Fant and Jerry Jeudy will receive the majority of the targets that Sutton will leave behind, but how valuable are those targets? To me, not valuable coming from either a hurt Drew Lock or Jeff Driskel. The managers of these pass catching options for the Broncos will likely succeed more with a fully healthy Jeff Driskel then Drew Lock for at least the first couple of weeks he is back from his injury. This offense just got a lot more messy than it was during the offseason.
