We are a mere TWO WEEKS away from the NFL Kickoff, folks! We’ve been waiting all offseason for this moment. We even pretend to care about the NBA and Olympics just to bide our time! Don’t worry, friends. It is officially the appropriate time to think about football all the time. With the NFL season right around the corner, it is prime Fantasy Football season. When deciding to target or fade a player, a huge consideration is their injury situation. Here are the BIGGEST Fantasy Football injuries to watch for NFL Week 1!
Welcome to the Fantasy Football Injuries To Watch – 8/25/2024 Edition! Injury news happens fast and can change quickly, so for the most up-to-date news and analysis, follow me on X @TheDegenDoc !
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Fantasy Football Offseason Injury Update
Guys holding out and have not practiced
Dallas Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb
Cincinnati Bengals Ja’Marr Chase
San Francisco 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk
The one surefire way to NOT get better at football is to not play football. These guys are all studs, but I would love for them to get at least two weeks of practice to ramp up for the NFL season. From both a rust and injury risk perspective, the sooner they return to practice, the better.
Players OUT for the 2024 Season
Minnesota Vikings QB JJ McCarthy (meniscus repair)
Atlanta Falcons WR Rondale Moore (knee)
Christian McCaffrey (RB) San Francisco 49ers
Injury: Calf Strain
Injury Date: 8/4/2024
Expected Recovery Time: 1-3 weeks
Recovery Time to Week 1: 5 weeks
Let’s kick off this fantasy football injuries article with none other than 1.01 himself. Niners All-World RB Christian McCaffrey finds himself in familiar territory to last season, dealing with a calf strain before important football. McCaffrey injured his calf at the beginning of the month, and the team has decided to hold him out of all preseason and training camp work.
It’s hard to imagine McCaffrey would have played much, if at all, in the preseason anyway. However, I’m sure the team would have preferred a healthy scratch. A calf strain refers to damage to the calf muscle that is attached to your heel. With a minor strain, there is typically a 1-3 week recovery timeline associated. With five weeks of recovery time until the start of the season, McCaffrey is going to be perfectly fine for Week 1.
Curtis Samuel (WR) Buffalo Bills
Injury: Turf Toe
Injury Date: 8/12/2024
Expected Recovery Time: 1-3 weeks
Recovery Time to Week 1: 3.5 weeks
Bills new WR Curtis Samuel is a player who was rising up fantasy football rankings before his injury. Unfortunately, early last week in practice, he picked up a turf toe injury. This refers to an injury to the main joint of the big toe and affects a player’s ability to properly push off while running. If not managed properly, this is a pesky injury that can linger throughout the season. However, Samuel thankfully picked up this injury with just about enough time in the offseason that it should not affect him much.
Although it has not been explicitly stated, all indications are that this is a minor turf toe injury. With a minor injury a 1-3 week recovery timeline is expected. Samuel is looking at about 3.5 weeks of recovery time before suiting up for Week 1. There is reason to be optimistic here for Samuel but this injury bears watching to ensure he does not suffer a setback when he returns to practice. Barring any setbacks, I expect Samuel out there Week 1.
Christian Kirk (WR) Jacksonville Jaguars
Injury: Grade 1 (Minor) Calf Strain
Injury Date: 8/15/2024
Expected Recovery Time: 1-3 weeks
Recovery Time to Week 1: 3.5 week
Another fantasy football injury, another calf strain. Jaguars WR Christian Kirk comes into the season as squarely the #1 WR in this offense. He is set up for a big season, but injuries can derail those plans. Thankfully, the minor calf strain he picked up last week is unlikely to lead to that.
The Jaguars made a wise decision of keeping Kirk out of practice this week and looking to work him back in next week. Due to the moderate reinjury risk with these injuries, there is zero reason for Kirk to be rushed back. I would expect Kirk to slowly be introduced back to practice next week and be able to get some good reps in during game week. If Christian Kirk is not working his way back to practice next week, then we can be concerned but for now, draft away.
Tyreek Hill (WR) Miami Dolphins
Injury: Thumb Injury
Injury Date: 8/20/2024
Expected Recovery Time: 2-3 weeks
Recovery Time to Week 1: 3 weeks
There is not many things that can slow down Tyreek Hill in this world. Injuries do make that short list, although I don’t expect this one to keep the Cheetah down for long. Hill was spotted wearing a hand brace in practice this week and sat out of team periods in practice. Although there has not been an injury diagnosis given, the reports are it is a minor thumb injury.
I have no issue with the Dolphins being extra-cautious here and sitting Hill out of practices still over two weeks away from the season. Minor thumb sprains typically heal in 2-3 weeks and that’s the expectation I have here. This is not a fantasy football injury that scares me at this point but it’s absolutely worth watching.
Jaylen Warren (RB) Pittsburgh Steelers
Injury: Hamstring Strain
Injury Date: 8/17/2024
Expected Recovery Time: 2-3 weeks
Recovery Time to Week 1: 3 weeks
Arthur Smith seemed to find the perfect landing spot with two good running backs who aren’t afraid of some contact. Unfortunately, one of these chess pieces picked up an injury last week and now becomes a bit of a question mark for NFL Week 1. Steelers RB Jaylen Warren left the team’s second preseason game with a hamstring injury. A hamstring strain refers to damage to the hamstring muscle and it is a difficult injury to recover from.
Hamstring strains are particularly dangerous during the season as players are trying to rush their rehab to get back to the field. These injuries are notorious for feeling better before the muscle tissue is actually healed, leading to high reinjury rates. This is a situation we are looking to avoid here with Warren.
The question still remains whether Warren suffered a Grade 1 (minor) or Grade 2 (moderate) hamstring strain. The majority of reports hint at a minor hamstring strain with a 2-3 week recovery timeline. With just three weeks until the start of the season, this becomes a tight but possible timeline.
There becomes some risk vs reward conversations for the Steelers regarding their willingness to have Warren suit up just three weeks after his hamstring strain. At this point we have more questions than answers but this injury does give me some pause on Warren’s early season expectations. A clearer picture should be made during the practices of that first game week.
Jordan Addison (WR) Minnesota Vikings
Injury: High Ankle Sprain
Injury Date: 8/14/2024
Expected Recovery Time: 3-6 weeks
Recovery Time to Week 1: 3.5 weeks
This is another example of a fantasy football injury that was overreacted to initially. One day after losing rookie QB JJ McCarthy for the season, news out of practice was WR Jordan Addison getting carted off the field. Despite the initial fears, thankfully Addison avoided a serious injury.
However, I don’t think he is quite of the woods. Based on the video of the play, there is concern he suffered a high ankle sprain which even in mild cases can be difficult. As the video shows, the Browns defender lands on the outside of his planted foot, causing the foot to roll inwards. This is the opposite mechanism of injury for the common low ankle sprain and causes some concer.
High ankle sprains refer to damage to stronger ligaments that are more difficult to injure. If enough force is applied to the ankle to cause the injury, it typically leads to a longer recovery time. Even a mild high ankle sprain would be closer to a 4-6 week recovery as opposed to a 1-2 week low ankle sprain recovery. This is NOT season-ending threatening, but at this point, I’m concerned for Addison’s Week 1-3 production.
Vikings WR Jordan Addison Injury 🤕
Shout out to Jeff for finding the footage 👇
Tend to agree with concern for high or medial ankle sprain vs low ankle sprain
Browns player lands on the outside of Addison’s leg with his foot planted
High/medial ankle sprains are stronger… https://t.co/uaTiswJxeV
— Sebastian Fearon DPT, CSCS, OCS (@TheDegenDoc) August 14, 2024
Jahmyr Gibbs (RB) Detroit Lions
Injury: Hamstring Strain
Injury Date: 8/12/2024
Expected Recovery Time: 2-3 weeks
Recovery Time to Week 1: 3.5 weeks
Here is another fantasy football injury that does not create much concern. RB Jahmyr Gibbs suffered a minor hamstring strain last week. The severity has been confirmed, and the Lions will look to work him back into practice next week. Despite the elevated reinjury risk with these injuries, Gibbs has enough recovery time to not be pushed too soon. Assuming the Lions continue to be smart and have no setbacks, Jahmyr Gibbs will be good to go for NFL Week 1.
Marquise Brown (WR) Kansas City Chiefs
Injury: SC Joint Dislocation
Injury Date: 8/10/2024
Expected Recovery Time: 4-6 weeks
Recovery Time to Week 1: 4 weeks
This next injury is the scariest injury in this article from a quality of life perspective. Chiefs new WR Marquise Brown was driven down hard to the ground in last weeks preseason game. The combination of the force of the hit and the ground led to Brown’s clavicle being pushed back towards his neck. This SC joint dislocation is a scary injury as it poses the risk of affecting a person’s major vascular system in the neck.
Thankfully, he had the joint reduced (put back into place) and was released from hospital the same day. Brown has since rejoined the team, but his Week 1 availability has become squarely a concern. This injury comes with an expected recovery timeline of 4-6 weeks. Based on reports, it sounds like Week 1 is an unlikely option for a return. Week 2 is a bit more realistic, but I would not be shocked if Week 3 were the target date for Marquise Brown. This is a scary injury that many players would not want to risk happening again.
Josh Downs (WR) Indianapolis Colts
Injury: High Ankle Sprain
Injury Date: 8/7/2024
Expected Recovery Time: 4-6 weeks
Recovery Time to Week 1: 4.5 weeks
The Colts’ young wide receiver Josh Downs is another player who avoided the worst-case scenario. Much like fellow WR Jordan Addison, he was carted off the field, but thankfully, the injury was not as significant as expected. Downs did pick up a mild high ankle sprain with a minimum 4-6 week recovery timeline. Players also tend to struggle with production their first week or two returning from the injury. Although he avoided a major injury, it’s hard to be too optimistic about Downs’ start to the season. He may be active for Week 1 but he will not be 100%.
Puka Nacua (WR) Los Angeles Rams
Injury: Knee Sprain
Injury Date: 8/3/2024
Expected Recovery Time: 2-4 weeks
Recovery Time to Week 1: 5 weeks
Breakout WR Puka Nacua is the next player up for this fantasy football injury watchlist. There is some mystery with this injury as we were simply told he has a “knee sprain” and that he is considered week to week. Head coach Sean McVay has called it a minor injury and said that he is not concerned about his Week 1 availability. Puka returning to practice soon would be a nice indication of the minor severity of the injury, but the expectation is he will be out there in Week 1.
Deandre Hopkins (WR) Tennessee Titans
Injury: Knee Sprain
Injury Date: 8/1/2024
Expected Recovery Time: 4-6 weeks
Recovery Time to Week 1: 5 weeks
Replacement Player(s) to Target: None
Another fantasy football injury, another WR, another ambiguous “knee sprain”. Another tough read here without the exact diagnosis but we were given an expected recovery timeline of 4-6 weeks. Since the injury, reports have claimed that a 4 week returns seems more likely than a 6 week. If this is the case, Hopkins would return with a week to practice before Week 1. This would be the best case scenario but there’s alot of assumptions here.
Juwan Johnson (TE) New Orleans Saints
Injury: Foot Injury
Injury Date: 6/12/2024
Expected Recovery Time: 8-12 weeks
Recovery Time to Week 1: 12 weeks
Replacement Player(s) to Target: None
We are ending this fantasy football injury report with one of My Guys. At the start of the offseason, there was a nice hype train for Saints TE Juwan Johnson. However, Johnson injured his foot back in June, and the hype train quickly went off the tracks. This significant reaction to simply fade Juwan Johnson due to this injury was commonplace. Luckily, we were told he would need foot surgery, and his expected recovery timeline was about 12 weeks.
Having just about 12 weeks until the start of the season, there was no reason for mass panic on Johnson. As I advised below, this was a perfect opportunity to buy the dip and it seems like this may pay off. Johnson was just activated off the PUP List and will be ramping up in practice for the season. It’s time to get back on the hype train before we leave the station.
Fantasy Football Value ALERT 🚨#Saints TE Juwan Johnson
His ADP has PLUMMETED since the injury news 📉
But I think the market has it wrong on this one 🤷🏽♂️
Not all injuries are created equal 🤕
Find out why I’m targeting Johnson as a late round steal 🎯👇 #AskFFT #WhoDat ⚜️ pic.twitter.com/kzqvzhUpmh
— Sebastian Fearon DPT, CSCS, OCS (@TheDegenDoc) July 8, 2024