DFS: Week Eight Injury Watch

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Week Eight brought yet another flurry of injuries to discuss as the NFL season carries on. As always I’ll mention every DFS relevant player and their respective injury (or suspected injury) and what to expect moving forward from a medical perspective. Enjoy this first version of the Week Eight Injury Watch!

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Adam Thielen

Thielen injured his hamstring on Sunday afternoon in the first half against the Lions, and was ruled out for the rest of the game. Thielen and the Vikings remain optimistic about his availability, but I’m not so certain we should follow suit. As I’ve mentioned week after week, grade I and grade II hamstring strains can take anywhere from one to three weeks to heal. Thielen did not practice Tuesday, only adding to the concern that the swelling and pain are likely still significant. It would be an extraordinary feat if Thielen is able to play on Thursday.

Update: Thielen has been officially ruled out.

Kerryon Johnson

Kerryon is now on IR following a “procedure” on Tuesday. Consider firing up Ty Johnson up who is $4,900 on Draft Kings and $5,200 on FanDuel.

Will Fuller

Fuller, who has a history of hamstring strains, has already been ruled out by the Texans so consider both Keke Coutee and Kenny Stills as they are under $6,000 on FanDuel and under $5,000 on Draft Kings.

Matt Ryan

Ryan was injured after being sacked by Aaron Donald on Sunday. I tweeted about it here. The Falcons are acting like it isn’t too serious, but I have my concerns. Based on the mechanism of injury, he either has an eversion ankle sprain (think Keke Coutee in the preseason) or a high ankle sprain (think Saquon Barkley). Both of those injuries (if significant enough) can cost players between one and four weeks. Check back with me about Ryan’s availability later this week after more reports become available.

Update: Ryan did not practice on Wednesday but there are reports that he could be good to go on Sunday. This tells us he likely avoided the dreaded high ankle sprain. Check back with me for further updates.

Davante Adams

Thursday marks four weeks since Adams picked up this grade II turf toe injury, making Week Eight his first real shot at playing again. Grade II turf toe can take between four and six weeks to heal, so it isn’t a slam dunk that he’ll play just yet. There is still a chance that the pain has no fully subsided, so make sure to bookmark this article as I’ll continue to update it as the week progresses.

Christian Kirk

Next up on the DFS Week Weight Injury Watch is Christian Kirk. Kirk suffered a high ankle sprain in Week Four and like Adams, has his first legitimate shot at suiting up on Sunday. Last week he was a game time decision, so that tells us that he’s getting close. As always, make sure to check back with me for more updates.

Update: Kirk practiced again in a limited capacity on Wednesday. This is a sign that he is indeed moving towards being active on Sunday against the Saints.

David Johnson

Last week D.J. was the cause of many headaches around the DFS community as his ankle injury was evidently much more severe than Kingsbury made it sound. Hopefully you read my Final Injury Report here and backed off of your D.J. shares. This week, I’ll continue to monitor his progress and try to gather new information before Sunday.

Update: Johnson did not practice on Wednesday but that doesn’t move the needle on his status one way or the other. As the week progresses, I’ll continue to watch his status. With the signing of Zach Zenner and Alfred Morris it’s important to know that third string running back D.J. Foster is also injured. Neither of those two newly signed backs have ever led a backfield and together have been cut by four or five teams within the last calendar year. Additionally, they profile as a pass catcher and a grinder respectively. All of this is to say that I believe they’re merely depth signings with the Cardinals keeping worst case scenario in mind.

Additions

Adrian Peterson

Peterson told reporters this week that he had an MRI and was diagnosed with a grade II lateral ankle sprain and a grade I high ankle sprain. Now, part of me does not believe the full extent of this diagnosis as no human on this planet would play in an NFL game with these injuries. The flip side of my thinking is that AP has proven to us time after time that he is not like the rest of us. In fact, he returned to NFL action and was in the running for MVP in 2013 just nine months removed from an ACL tear. The reality is that the truth about his current injuries probably lies somewhere in the middle. Unfortunately, “the middle” is significant enough to scare me away from using much of AP tonight, especially in cash.

Alvin Kamara

Kamara is banged up and missed practice on Wednesday as he is currently dealing with a knee sprain (likely MCL) and a high ankle sprain (some people in the media like to say “high ankle issue” but make no mistake, it is indeed a sprain despite the severity). There is also a belief that since the previously mentioned Zach Zenner was released by the Saints that Kamara is close to returning. Although this could be true, there is also a good chance Zenner was signed prior to knowing the severity or extent of Kamara’s injuries. The point I’m making is that I’m not convinced Kamara plays this week just yet.

Drew Brees

Brees’ situation is still cloudy as he just started practicing again in a limited fashion on Wednesday. He tells the media it’s his plan to start, but still isn’t sure of his strength. As a quarterback, he requires close to full strength and definitely full fine motor control of his surgically repaired thumb making me slightly concerned about him playing this week. On average, athletes can return to sport between four and seven weeks. One specific study done by Werner and colleagues found that in a sample of nine skill position football players, the return to sport time was seven weeks. Arguments against Brees returning are obvious: the Saints have not lost since his injury, Teddy Bridgewater is rolling, and NOLA has a Week Nine bye. Why bring Brees back this week if he’s admittedly not sure of himself just yet? I would not be surprised if Brees waits until after Week Nine, but stay tuned for more updates.

That’s it for the DFS Week Eight Injury Watch. Start building those lineups and check back with me for up to the minute injury updates.

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Image courtesy of Keith Allison.