Here’s a Week 6 Thursday Night Football injury preview and the first look at the rest of the slate from an injury perspective.
Thursday Night Football
Travis Kelce - Ankle
Start him everywhere but temper exposure to him in cash due to reinjury risk.
Javonte Williams - Hip
Will likely play in Week 6, but with a three-headed committee, there’s no way you can start him with any sort of confidence.
Guys to monitor throughout the week
Davante Adams
Demario Douglas
DK Metcalf
Jakobi Meyers
Jordan Addison
JuJu Smith-Schuster
Kadarius Toney
Treylon Burks
Tyreek Hill
Zay Jones
Quarterbacks
Deshaun Watson - Shoulder (Rotator cuff contusion)
Watson has a rotator cuff contusion. The issue is swelling and pain in the muscles that are used to throw a football. It's not looking good for him in Week 6, per Josina Anderson. Week 7 or 8 is looking more likely. P.J. Walker is a deep (deep) league consideration.
Derek Carr - Shoulder
Carr should bounce back this week and feel even better than last year. Buy the micro-dip on Chris Olave.
Daniel Jones - Neck
Jones has yet to practice this week and is trending in the wrong direction for Week 6. With Saquon ailing, Waller not 100%, and the Giants being a general mess, there’s no reason to trot him out there.
Running Backs
Austin Ekeler- High ankle
Ekeler should return this week, and the last time he returned after a high ankle sprain, he scored 85% of his seasonal average in fantasy points. Managers should expect about that from the fantasy star this week and be happy if it's more than that with a touchdown.
Saquon Barkley - High Ankle
Barkley is practicing in a limited fashion again this week, but his ankle is heavily taped, and on video, he still isn't moving quite right. This is technically a re-injury for Barkley, so there's a chance the symptoms are worse. It would make some sense for New York to wait on bringing back Saquon if Daniel Jones doesn't go this week, either. Just stay locked on his status as the weekend unfolds.
Roschon Johnson - Concussion
Still not at practice on Thursday, but he has another 2 days to clear concussion protocol. It is certainly not a lock, so D'Onta Foreman should be 100% rostered, with Khalil Herbert and Travis Homer also out.
Jahmyr Gibbs - Hamstring
This makes Gibbs volatile ROS due to the 24% reinjury rate for hamstrings. On average, RBs miss 1.2 games per injury, and only 20% of RBs miss 2+ games. Still, like we saw with Aaron Jones and the Packers, a conservative medical squad can throw those averages off. This is enough of a concern to bump David Montgomery into a legitimate top 10 RB the rest of the way.
Miles Sanders - Shoulder
Sanders has a shoulder issue that forced him to sit out practice 2 days in a row. According to The Season Long Playbook, these injuries can knock RBs out for 1-3 weeks. With the groin injury probably not fully cleared up yet and the Panthers on a bye in Week 7, Sanders will likely not play this week.
Jeff Wilson Jr. - Ribs
Wilson Jr. is back, but will likely be eased back in. Salvon Ahmed or even Chris Brooks could be a sneaky flex play and tournament play in Week 6.
Wide Receivers
Amon-Ra St. Brown - Abdomen
ARSB practiced fully on Thursday and should be good to go on Sunday. There should be no performance setbacks, but there is a small chance of re-injury enough to fade him in cash games this week.
Chris Olave - Toe
Olave sustained a toe injury at some point in recent weeks, but given he still saw his usual share of air yards and just missed on a touchdown, he's in the clear for now.
Tee Higgins - Ribs
Higgins returned to practice this week, but it's tough to trust a dude who still has broken ribs. The Bengals offense is probably back, but Higgins isn't necessarily a must-start in 12-team leagues if he plays. He's certainly not a must-start in 10-team leagues. The primary concern here is re-injury (16% likelihood).
Mike Evans - Hamstring
Evans was limited in practice on Thursday. He could certainly bounce back in Week 6, but that is far from a lock. He should be used very cautiously in DFS, if at all, and I'm personally reaching out to trade partners for his teammate, Chris Godwin. We've seen 30-year-old wide receiver movies before. It's not rosy. He'll have to prove it in Week 6 for me to consider changing my mind.
Demario Douglas and Wan’Dale Robinson - Concussion
Unchanged, as they have not practiced this week. Don’t expect them to play.
Tight Ends
Darren Waller - Groin
Waller, who has a chronic hamstring/low back issue, is now on the report with a groin injury. With Daniel Jones and Saquon both ailing, the Giants will have no choice but to pepper Waller heavily. The downside is that the higher his usage, the higher the likelihood to tweak these injuries. Waller is highly volatile.
Sam LaPorta - Calf
Sam LaPorta sat out practice on Thursday. Here's what you should know: 80% of TEs are OUT on Sunday when they don’t practice Thursday, but 80% are ACTIVE if they get in a limited practice Friday. Overall since 2018, 40% of TEs miss 0 games while 25% miss 1 game. So, even though, in theory, LaPorta should be okay for Week 6, the Lions' conservative injury management may result in him sitting out Week 6. Monitor his status closely but stock up on tight ends.
Cole Kmet - Hamstring
Kmet is limited due to a hamstring strain. Be cautious in DFS exposure.
Donald Parham Jr. - Wrist
Parham has been seen at practice with a heavily taped wrist. This could lead to more targets going Gerald Everett's way in the red zone.
