DFS: Midweek Injury Update

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In Week Ten, more people than usual in the Premium Gold group chat shared winning lineup screenshots- and we love to see it. As the DFS season moves forward it will be imperative to stay on top of injury news to join this winner’s circle. Most imperative of all, make sure to read my Injury Fade/Play article that comes out every Saturday morning as I’m currently sitting at a 70% accuracy for injury outlooks. And it’s totally free! With that said, I’ll get into the DFS Midweek Injury Update. Note that all prices below are from FanDuel.

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James Conner ($14,500)

Conner has been sidelined by an AC joint sprain and as expected, is set to return this week right at the two to four week average layoff. Conner is a decent play in the single game slates this week as the Browns are middle of the pack in terms of rushing defense. Volume will be key for Conner as I don’t expect him to be limited from this injury.

Matt Breida

I’m treading lightly here because Breida must truly be made of iron and nails at this point, but I will say that it looks like he’s going to sit Week 11 out.

George Kittle ($7,500)

Kittle did not practice at all last week as he is dealing with knee and ankle injuries. He has been significantly banged up with these non-specific injuries for a few weeks now, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they hold him out again against the Cardinals this week, so Kittle can take the Week 12 bye to get healthy. Surprisingly, Ross Dwelley ($4,900), had seven targets in Week Ten against the Seahawks and could serve as a cheap tight end option in tournaments on Sunday against the Cardinals who are abysmal terrible awful the worst bad below average against tight ends.

Update: Kittle was officially ruled out for Sunday by Shanahan.

Jacoby Brissett ($7,500)

Brissett was a surprise scratch that was announced Saturday morning before kickoff on Sunday. The Colts (likely) sat him with the impression that the Dolphins weren’t worth worrying about

Narrators Voice: They were wrong.

At any rate, Brissett should definitely be ready to go in Week Eleven barring any setbacks as he progressed through practice as a limited participant all of last week. This week the Colts take on the Jaguars who are ranked 12th in pass DVOA.

Update: Brissett should be good to go on Sunday.

Matthew Stafford ($7,900)

Stafford’s back injury seemed to come out of nowhere last week and he sat out for Week Ten. Due to the fact that Matt Patricia falls from the Patriots coaching tree, there has been very little reported about the injury itself and it has been called “week to week and day to day” all in one sentence. The bottom line is that if Stafford is dealing with the same back issue that plagued him all of last year, this could be a multi-week absence. My guess from this limited amount of information is that Stafford could be having back spasms. Why do back spasms happen? We’ll stand by and monitor his practice participation before going down that rabbit hole which ends badly for Stafford. If Stafford is inactive again, Jeff Driskel ($6,700) is in play as a deep, deep money saver in tournaments.

Update: Stafford hasn’t practiced yet this week and it’s not looking like he’ll play on Sunday.

Adam Thielen ($7,000)

The reset button was hit on Thielen’s hamstring injury in Week Nine when he re-aggravated it and didn’t finish the game. As we all know, hamstring injuries can cause one to three week absences for players, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Thielen sits out this week then takes the Week 12 bye week to get fully healthy before the home stretch. In an odd turn of events, Kyle Rudolph ($4,500) has received 19 targets since Thielen’s initial injury. He’s a weak option to keep in mind as a tournament play as the Broncos have been solid against tight ends this year.

Update: Thielen has not practiced this week. I would not count on him playing this week.

Emmanuel Sanders ($6,900)

Sanders took a big hit on Monday night and the reports are that he now has cartilage damage. The thing about ribs injuries is that they’re mostly self-limiting in nature which means that if the player can tolerate taking hits with minimal pain, they can go. The catch is that ribs injuries can be excruciating as the rib cage needs to constantly expand and relax to breathe while at rest, let alone while playing in an NFL game. It’s early in the week, but even if Sanders is active, I would not expect him to be productive. He could be active solely as a decoy but I would avoid him in tournaments and cash games this week. On the other hand, Deebo Samuel ($5,600) popped off against Seattle and could be a fine tournament play against the lowly Cardinals pass defense.

Update: Based on the reports, it doesn’t seem like Sanders will be active.

Additions

Alshon Jeffery ($6,200)

Jeffery continued to sit out of practice on Thursday due to an ankle injury he’s been nursing since before the Eagles’ bye week. At this point, there’s no way to trust Jeffery will be active, but if he is that ankle joint lacks the maximal stability required for his physical style of play. For that reason, even if active he’s a fade in all formats. The bright side (if there is one when discussing player injuries) is that Dallas Goedert ($5,000) is an excellent play in cash games given the desolate tight end landscape. With Zach Ertz becoming the de facto number one option, New England might choose to key on him this week and allow Goedert to catch a touchdown or two while playing a game in which the Eagles are likely to be in a negative game script from the kickoff.

Marquise Brown ($5,600)

The fact that “Hollywood” didn’t practice on Thursday is simply perplexing. He’s been listed on the injury report most of the season with this ankle injury and his practice participation is sporadic on a week to week basis. For example in Week Nine he practiced in a limited fashion on Thursday then did not practice Friday. This Wednesday he practiced but did not practice on Thursday. To top it off, I’ve gone back and watched fourth quarter film on him and he doesn’t show signs of limitations or a specific injury to point to. You’re guess is as good as mine when it comes to Brown’s status for Sunday, which by default means you should not count on him for cash games. However, he’s a yellow light in tournaments in this favorable matchup against Houston.

David Montgomery ($6,400)

Montgomery was already limited by an ankle injury before “lightly rolling it” again on Thursday according to Matt Nagy. At this point, it would be hard to use Montgomery in any formats given the volatile Bears offense and his lack of production against a Lions defense who usually gives up big time production to running backs. Tarik Cohen ($5,300) is a “meh” option for the single game slates.

Will Fuller ($6,300)

The speedster is in a good spot playing in a likely negative game script that should be high scoring. The problem is that Fuller has shown a significant history of hamstring injuries over the last two years. That makes him a volatile option due to the legitimate chance at re-injury. For those reasons he’s only a tournament play.

Thank you for reading the DFS Midweek Injury Update. Make sure to follow me on Twitter for up to the hour updates and analysis on player injuries and DFS implications. See you for the Fade/Play article on Saturday!

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Featured image courtesy of Keith Allison.