Fantasy News & Analysis

NFL Week 1 Injury Report: All you need to know for DFS and fantasy football

October 11, 2020; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (85) warms up against the Miami Dolphins before the game at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

• Create a contingency plan for Johnson: Pittsburgh Steelers WR Diontae Johnson should play in Week 1 despite an A/C joint sprain in his shoulder; however, fantasy managers need to be aware that Johnson might have to wear a harness and carries re-injury risk.

• Don't start Godwin: It would be unwise for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to rush back star WR Chris Godwin for Week 1, but even if he does play, fantasy managers should look elsewhere because he's going to be extremely limited.

• Sit Kittle: San Francisco 49ers TE George Kittle has played through injury throughout his career, but the risk outweighs the reward Week 1. Even if he plays, he carries significant re-injury risk and should only see limited snaps.

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

A player's injury status can have a significant effect on both real life and fantasy football. So, each week, PFF injury analyst Mario Pilato will comb through the official injury reports for each NFL game and give updates and analysis for fantasy-relevant players.

Injuries are fluid, so make sure to stay up to date by following @PFF_Mario on Twitter.

KEY
DNP: Did not participate in practice
LP: Limited participation in practice
FP: Full participation
(-): Not listed
OUT: Player will not play
D: Player is unlikely to play
Q: Player is not certain to play
Rest: Not injury-related or resting veteran

Last updated: 09:15 pm ET, Friday, Sept. 9

LAR @ BUF | BLT @ NYJ | NO @ ATL | NE @ MIA | CLV @ CAR | PIT @ CIN |
SF @ CHI | PHI @ DET | IND @ HST | JAX @ WAS | KC @ ARZ | LV @ LAC |
GB @ MIN | NYG @ TEN | TB @ DAL | DEN @ SEA

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Sunday, Sept. 11

Baltimore Ravens @ New York Jets

Name Position Team Injury Fantasy Rank Proj. points Wed. Status Thurs. Status
J.K. Dobbins RB BLT Knee RB41 13.9 LP LP
Nick Boyle TE BLT Rest/Ankle N/A 0.4 DNP
Zach Wilson QB NYJ Knee N/A 0.3 DNP DNP

Injury Analysis: Ravens RB J.K. Dobbins has been slow to recover from his multi-ligament injury that he suffered in early September of last year. I am pessimistic he plays in Week 1 but if he ends up playing, I do not believe he would see a normal volume.

Jet's QB Zach Wilson suffered a bone bruise and meniscal tear in the first preseason game. He will not play in Week 1 and I believe he will come back in the next four weeks.

New Orleans Saints @ Atlanta Falcons

Name Position Team Injury Fantasy Rank Proj. points Wed. Status Thurs. Status
Drake London WR ATL Knee WR40 11.6 LP (-)
Michael Thomas WR NO Hamstring WR25 11.4 LP LP
Parker Hesse TE ATL Personal N/A 2.9 DNP (-)
Tre'Quan Smith WR NO Groin WR115 2.8 DNP DNP
Dwayne Washington RB NO Hamstring N/A 0.0 DNP DNP

Injury Analysis: Falcons WR Drake London has been dealing with knee injury since the first game of the pre-season. He has been limited this week but I do believe he makes his NFL debut in Week 1.

Saints WR Michael Thomas has been dealing with a hamstring injury for the past couple of weeks. I believe he is dealing with a Grade 1 and will be ready for Week 1.  WR Tre-Quan Smith has a groin injury and has been ruled out for Week 1. He is likely dealing with a Grade 1 strain, RTP two to three weeks.

New England Patriots @ Miami Dolphins

Name Position Team Injury Fantasy Rank Proj. points Wed. Status Thurs. Status
Jaylen Waddle WR MIA Quad WR21 12.2 LP FP
Jakobi Meyers WR NE Knee WR49 11.1 LP LP
Chase Edmonds RB MIA Groin RB22 9.5 LP FP
Ty Montgomery RB NE Knee RB79 2.6 LP LP
Myles Gaskin RB MIA Neck RB85 1.8 LP FP
Salvon Ahmed RB MIA Heel N/A 1.0 LP LP
Alec Ingold RB MIA Hamstring N/A 0.0 LP LP
Tanner Conner TE MIA Knee N/A 0.0 LP LP

Injury Analysis: Dolphins RB Salvon Ahmed has been a limited participant all week with a heel injury. I do not believe it is a major concern and he will be ready for Week 1.

Patriots WR Jakobi Meyers injured his knee in the final preseason game and his been limited in practice all week. I am optimistic Meyers plays in Week 1.  RB Ty Montgomery suffered a potentially serious ankle injury in the preseason finale. The Patriots have interestingly enough labeled Montgomery as a knee injury on their report. When I saw his injury I thought he would be a long shot to play Week 1, he has a chance to play but is likely a game-time decision.

Cleveland Browns @ Carolina Panthers

Name Position Team Injury Fantasy Rank Proj. points Wed. Status Thurs. Status
Christian McCaffrey RB CAR Shin RB1 19.5 (-) FP
Eddy Pineiro K CAR Left Hip K32 8.0 FP FP
Giovanni Ricci TE CAR Hip N/A 0.0 LP LP

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cincinnati Bengals

Name Position Team Injury Fantasy Rank Proj. points Wed. Status Thurs. Status
Diontae Johnson WR PIT Shoulder/Cramps WR19 10.6 LP LP
Drew Sample TE CIN Knee N/A 1.5 FP FP
Trent Taylor WR CIN Hamstring N/A 1.4 (-) LP
Mitchell Wilcox TE CIN Ankle N/A 0.3 LP LP
Devin Asiasi TE CIN Quad N/A 0.0 DNP DNP

Injury Analysis: Steelers WR Diontae Johnson has been dealing likely with an A/C joint sprain in his shoulder. I believe he will play in Week 1 but he may require a harness and/or pain injection. If he does land in a similar manner he could easily reinjure his shoulder.

San Francisco 49ers @ Chicago Bears

Name Position Team Injury Fantasy Rank Proj. points Wed. Status Thurs. Status
George Kittle TE SF Groin TE5 12.8 DNP TBD
Jimmy Garoppolo QB SF Right Shoulder N/A 0.3 FP TBD

Injury Analysis: 49ers TE George Kittle was reported to be dealing with a groin injury Monday. He is a tough player that is known for playing through injuries but I just do not believe he will be ready for Week 1. If he does he as at high risk for making the groin injury worse and would be limited on the field.

Philadelphia Eagles @ Detroit Lions

Name Position Team Injury Fantasy Rank Proj. points Wed. Status Thurs. Status
Miles Sanders RB PHI Hamstring RB28 10.6 FP FP
Austin Seibert K DET Right Groin K27 8.6 LP FP

Indianapolis Colts @ Houston Texans

  • No fantasy-relevant players listed

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Washington Commanders

Name Position Team Injury Fantasy Rank Proj. points Wed. Status Thurs. Status
Logan Thomas TE WAS Knee TE39 5.7 LP LP
John Bates TE WAS Calf TE41 3.0 FP FP
Cam Sims WR WAS Concussion N/A 2.8 LP LP
Cole Turner TE WAS Hamstring N/A 0.0 LP LP

Kansas City Chiefs @ Arizona Cardinals

Name Position Team Injury Fantasy Rank Proj. points Wed. Status Thurs. Status
JuJu Smith-Schuster WR KC Knee WR30 11.4 FP FP
Rondale Moore WR ARZ Hamstring WR48 10.1 (-) LP
Zach Ertz TE ARZ Calf TE9 9.5 LP DNP
A.J. Green WR ARZ Hip WR73 8.8 FP FP
Jonathan Ward RB ARZ Shoulder N/A 0.2 LP LP

Injury Analysis: Cardinals WR Rondale Moore has been ruled out of Week 1 with a hamstring injury. He is likely dealing with a Grade 1 strain and could miss one to three weeks. TE Zach Ertz sandwiched Thursday's DNP with two limited practices due to his calf issue. I am optimistic Ertz is ready in time to play Week 1.

Las Vegas Raiders @ Los Angeles Chargers

  • No fantasy-relevant players listed

Green Bay Packers @ Minnesota Vikings

Name Position Team Injury Fantasy Rank Proj. points Wed. Status Thurs. Status
Donald Parham TE LAC Hamstring TE36 4.9 DNP DNP
Isaiah Spiller RB LAC Ankle RB69 2.1 FP FP

New York Giants @ Tennessee Titans

Name Position Team Injury Fantasy Rank Proj. points Wed. Status Thurs. Status
Sterling Shepard WR NYG Achilles WR90 8.9 LP LP

Injury Analysis: Giants WR Sterling Shepard has been working his way back since tearing his Achilles last season. He will be ready to play Week 1 but his production will likely get better as the season progresses. 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Dallas Cowboys

Name Position Team Injury Fantasy Rank Proj. points Wed. Status Thurs. Status
Dak Prescott QB DAL Ankle QB11 20.4 (-) LP
Russell Gage WR TB Hamstring WR57 13.6 LP LP
Chris Godwin WR TB Knee WR42 10.9 FP DNP
Julio Jones WR TB Not Injury Related WR56 6.3 DNP FP
Giovani Bernard RB TB Ankle RB82 3.6 LP LP
Michael Gallup WR DAL Knee N/A 0.0 LP LP

Injury Analysis: Bucs WR Chris Godwin has been making great progress from his multi-ligament injury he suffered in early January. I do not believe it is smart for a Super Bowl-aspiring team to rush their star player back from a serious injury. Risk drastically decreases after nine months. I believe he will not play in Week 1, but if he does play he will likely be extremely limited volume-wise and will increase as the season goes. WR Russell Gage will likely be ready for Week 1 after dealing with a hamstring issue for the past few weeks.

Cowboys QB Dak Prescott suffered an ankle injury this week but it sounds like it was more of a shoe malfunction. He will be ready to go Week 1. WR Michael Gallup has been working his way back from an ACL tear. He did not get surgery until February so I do not believe he plays Week 1 and will not play until around the nine month mark.

Monday, Sept. 12

Denver Broncos @ Seattle Seahawks

Name Position Team Injury Fantasy Rank Proj. points Thurs. Status
Kenneth Walker III RB SEA Hernia RB68 8.4 DNP
K.J. Hamler WR DEN Knee/Hip WR77 9 LP

Injury Analysis: Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III is recovering from his hernia surgery and I do not expect him to be ready for Week 1. He should be ready to make his rookie debut in the next week or two.

Broncos WR K.J. Hamler has made great progress with his serious knee/hip injury he suffered 11 months ago. I believe he will be ready to go for Week 1.

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