Week 7 Fantasy Football Injury Report: AFC

The week 7 fantasy football injury report is here to help you make decisions on your players. There are some interesting injuries this week that we need to keep an eye on to see how players respond during practice.

Week 7 Fantasy Football injury report: QBS

Kenny Pickett

Pickett suffered a concussion in week 6. He was replaced by Mitch Trubisky, who helped to lead the Steelers to a victory over the Buccaneers. Pickett was reportedly cleared to practice in full today. This is excellent news for Pickett, as it seems he is progressing well through the concussion protocol. Head coach Mike Tomlin has already said that if Pickett is cleared, he will start this week.

Tua Tagovailoa

Tua will be returning to the field this week. He has cleared the updated concussion protocol and reportedly saw multiple specialists regarding his head injury. He has been named the starter for week 7. This is excellent news for Tua and the Dolphins, who have gone 0-3 without Tua. This is an impressive recovery for the young athlete, who everybody saw go down with what appeared to be a severe head injury.

Mac Jones

After suffering a high ankle sprain in week 3, Jones was listed as a game-time decision in week 6. Realistically he didn’t have much of a chance to play. He is still limping around in practice and has yet to put in a full workload. With Bailey Zappe playing well these past few weeks, it will be interesting to see what the New England Patriots plan to do going forward. If Mac is still limited heading into week 7, I could see them holding him out on Monday night against the Bears.

Our small sample size shows that QBs, on average, only miss 1.9 games with a high ankle sprain. Initial reports were that Mac suffered a more severe injury. This likely explains why he has already missed 3 games and may miss a 4th. Luckily for fantasy managers, few people are counting on Jones as their QB1. We will keep an eye on this for those in 2 QB leagues, but I don’t think you can count on him for Monday night in week 7.

Russel Wilson

Wilson continues to struggle despite receiving a PRP injection for his lat injury. He completed only 15/28 passes for 188 yards against the Chargers. Not only is he dealing with a lat injury, but he also picked up a hamstring injury in week 6. The start of the season for Wilson has certainly been disappointing. His new hamstring injury can only make matters worse.

Wilson’s new hamstring injury certainly may keep him out of week 8. He reportedly got an MRI on his hamstring and is labeled “day to day.” I have said this in the past, but I don’t love when players need to get an MRI on their hamstring injuries. This means it was likely at least a grade 2 strain. As a mobile quarterback, Wilson depends on his legs to get out of the pocket. Our small sample size shows a decline of -5.7 fantasy points for QBs in their first game after a hamstring injury. This would be a considerable blow to Wilson, who has already been highly frustrating to have on your team.

Week 7 Fantasy Football injury report: RBS

Jonathan Taylor/Nyheim Hines/Deon Jackson

Initial reports on Taylor were promising as he was not expected to miss much time. I initially thought he would play in week 6 after putting in limited practices at the end of the week. Jonathan Taylor has missed the last 2 games with his ankle injury. His availability in week 7 is still in the air, but I think he will be back. Our data shows that RBs miss an average of 2.2 games after a high ankle sprain. This means he is right in line with the rest of the data. Upon return, these running backs see a decline of only -0.9 fantasy points. I wouldn’t expect much of a decline in an elite back like Taylor.

Hines suffered a concussion in week 5 and sat out in week 6. He posted a full practice at the end of the week but was still held out of the game. I would expect him to be healthy with no issues in week 6, but with any concussion, we will have to watch his practice reports to see if he has any increased headaches or symptoms.

Deon Jackson played well in his start during week 6. He had 22 total touches for 121 yards and a touchdown. Unfortunately, he sustained a quad injury and did not return to the game. Our data shows that running backs miss an average of 1.9 games with a quad injury. The range is 0-6 games with an average decline of -2.3 ppg in the first game back. The Indy backfield will be interesting to watch throughout the week.

Damien Harris

Harris will continue to rehab his hamstring injury this week. Our data shows that RBs miss an average of 2.2 games with a range of 0-6. I would expect Harris to miss at least 1 more week, with a potential return in week 8. Fire up Rhamondre Stevenson again in week 8.

J.K. Dobbins/Justice Hill/Gus Edwards

Dobbins had 7 rushes in week 6 before exiting the game with knee “tightness.” This one hurts, as Kenyan Drake went off for 119 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. This injury is particularly interesting based on Dobbins’ recovery. Best case scenario, they were able to pull Dobbins before he re-injured or pulled his hamstring. We will have to closely watch the Ravens’ backfield this week. There certainly will be value to be had, as they face the Browns in week 7, who have been giving up a lot of production on the ground.

Justice Hill continues rehabbing the hamstring injury he sustained in week 4. Based on our data, there is a good shot he will be able to play in week 7 against the Browns. Our data shows that RBs only declined by -0.7 PPG in the first game back after a hamstring injury. Hill was looking great before his injury, posting 6.58 YPC. If Hill is back and Dobbins is out, he may be an exciting streaming option this week.

Gus Edwards was designated to return from the PUP list on October 6. He has 21 days to be activated, meaning he should be activated to the 53-man roster by week 8. Edwards makes for an interesting stash pickup, as he may have some value depending on the health of the rest of the RB room going forward.

Week 7 Fantasy Football injury report: WRS

Rashod Bateman

Bateman is allegedly “close to return,” per head coach John Harbaugh. I find this hard to believe as he still has not put in a limited practice. This, combined with the fact that the Ravens signed 35-year-old free agent Desean Jackson tells me they are not confident about Bateman’s progress thus far. As mentioned, most receivers with a Lisfranc injury miss the rest of the season as they often require surgical stabilization. Safe to say, I am nervous about Bateman’s availability going forward.

Week 7 Fantasy Football injury report: TES

Pat Freiermuth

Freiermuth suffered a concussion in week 5. He was held out in week 6. This is Freiermuth’s 3rd concussion in his short NFL career, which is certainly concerning. Luckily, he appears to be doing well, and reports expect him to be ready to play in week 7.

Darren Waller

Waller suffered a hamstring injury near the beginning of the game in week 5. Luckily, the Raiders had a bye in week 6, so he had some time to rehab his injury. Depending on the severity, Waller could easily miss a few weeks, so managers with Waller need to be prepared with a backup plan. Our data have TEs missing 2.1 games after a hamstring injury. Given that Waller was already dealing with hamstring issues in training camp, he will likely need some more time to be at 100%.