Week 8 Fantasy Football Injury Report: AFC

Injuries in the NFL continue to pile up, and many fantasy managers will have to make difficult decisions in the coming weeks. The week 8 fantasy football injury report is here to help you gauge how long some key players will be out. As always, feel free to reach out to us to ask questions about any injuries!

Week 8 Fantasy Football Injury Report: QBs

Ryan Tannehill

Tannehill injured his ankle in week 7 and was quoted saying his ankle “doesn’t feel great.” Although he was seen in a walking boot after the game, it appears he is progressing well just a few days after the injury. We don’t have much clarity on the type of ankle injury, but it is safe to assume it was either a high ankle sprain or a lateral ankle sprain.

With a high ankle sprain, there is a greater chance that Tannehill will be out compared to a lateral ankle sprain. Our data shows QBs with high ankle sprain will miss 1.9 games on average, vs. only 0.8 games for a lateral ankle sprain. Malik Willis would draw the start should Tannehill be unable to play.

Matt Ryan

Ryan suffered a shoulder sprain during the Colt’s week 7 loss to the Titans. He reportedly sustained a grade 2 shoulder sprain. Interestingly, the team has already come out and said that Sam Ehlinger will start week 8 and for the rest of the season. Most QBs in our data set do not miss any time with a shoulder sprain. Only 2/7 QBs missed any time with this type of injury. This leads me to believe his injury is more severe, or the team is simply looking for an excuse to bench Ryan

A “shoulder sprain” is not a very specific injury. If we get more information that Ryan either has an AC joint sprain, shoulder dislocation, or a rotator cuff tear, we could give a better idea of the recovery timeline. This being said, the fact that the team already declared Ehlinger as the starter, it doesn’t have a significant impact on fantasy players.

Russell Wilson

Wilson will look to return in week 8 after sitting out in week 7 with a hamstring and lat injury. Reports out of Denver have been confusing at best. First, the team feared a significant hamstring tear. Then after the MRI, they reported “no structural damage.” Then before the game on Sunday, they said that Wilson has a partially torn hamstring and may be out until week 10.

Our data on Hamstring strains would suggest that Wilson will miss week 8 as well. QBs miss an average of 2.7 games. This said, we have a limited data supply with only 3 QBs. Two of the QBs missed 1 game, while 1 missed 6 games. RBs miss an average of 2.2 games, while WRs typically miss 1.8 games. Wilson’s injury is challenging to navigate as there have been conflicting reports regarding his recovery thus far. He has been known to push through injuries in the past, even if it means his performance will decline. This will likely become a game-time decision on Sunday morning in London.

Week 8 Fantasy Football Injury Report: RBs

Breece Hall

Hall tore his ACL during the Jets’ 16-9 win over the Broncos. Luckily for fantasy managers, he didn’t completely ruin the week, as he put up 72 yards and a touchdown before injury. Along with his ACL tear, it has been reported that Hall also damaged his meniscus. We will likely not know if Hall undergoes a meniscus repair or just a cleanout until later in the offseason. As discussed on our injury pages, a meniscus repair is generally better for the athlete’s health long-term but can delay rehab in the first few weeks after surgery.

Our injury data shows that RBs, on average, return 59 weeks after injury. Given it is already week 7, this would mean Hall won’t be ready to play until week 14 in the 2023 season. This does not automatically eliminate Hall from starting in game 1 of the 2023 season, but it shows us how long these players truly take to get back to a high-performance level. We will certainly track this injury throughout the offseason. Best of luck to the young running back as he sets his sights on next season. For reference, J.K. Dobbins returned to play at 56 weeks, while Gus Edwards returned at the average of 59 weeks.

Mike Boone

Boone injured his ankle in week 7 and has already been placed on IR. This means he will miss at least 4 weeks with his injury. The team already signed Marlon Mack from the 49ers practice squad to help fill in behind Melvin Gordon and Latavius Murray. Boone was not seeing a large workload this season, so this should have minimal impact on fantasy managers.

Week 8 Fantasy Football Injury Report: WRs

Ja’Marr Chase

Chase suffered a hip injury that was originally described as “soreness”. Now the team has come out and said that he may end up on IR and miss 4-6 weeks. This is extremely unfortunate news for managers with Chase on their team. In terms of type of injury, it is difficult to say what he may be dealing with. If it is a hip flexor strain, I would not expect him to be out for this long. Our data shows that these injuries only cause receivers to miss 1.4 games. We will continue to monitor this injury going forward, but for now managers need to be prepared to go without chase for the next few weeks. If Tyler Boyd happens to be available on your waiver wire, he should be an instant addition to your team.

Mike Williams

Williams suffered a painful-looking high ankle sprain in week 7. Luckily, the team is already on bye in week 8, so managers won’t have to worry about his injury until week 9. Our data on high ankle sprains in WRs is not great. The average WR will miss 3.4 games and, upon return, will see a decline of -2.9 fantasy points. Williams could easily miss somewhere in the 2-6 weeks range with this type of injury. For managers with an IR spot, Williams is an obvious stash, as he should be back to full health before the playoffs. In other leagues with smaller benches or those of you with losing records, it may be worth trying to trade Williams for another asset.

Corey Davis

In week 7, Davis suffered an MCL sprain and did not return to the game. Our data shows that WRs miss an average of 2.7 games after this injury. Players will miss closer to 4-6 weeks in more severe sprains. Upon return to the field, receivers see a decline of -2.5 fantasy points and don’t see a return to baseline fantasy performance until about games 4-6 after injury. Elijah Moore is expected to return to the field in week 8 after missing week 7 due to a personal matter.

Nico Collins

Collins picked up a groin injury in week 7. The young wide receiver had been performing surprisingly well the past few games, so this comes at an unfortunate time. Luckily for fantasy managers, groin injuries are not as troublesome as one may think. Our data shows that WRs miss an average of 1.5 games. Upon return to play, they see no decline in fantasy performance compared to baseline. In several instances, we have witnessed WRs return to play without missing any time after a groin injury.

Week 8 Fantasy Football Injury Report: TEs

David Njoku

Similar to Mike Williams, Njoku also suffered a high ankle sprain in week 7. He was seen in a walking boot and crutches after the game and is expected to miss a few weeks. Unfortunately, our data shows that TEs perform worse after a high ankle sprain than WRs. This is likely due to the increased body mass and size of tight ends compared to wide receivers. If he misses the average of 4.6 games with this injury, he would be ready to go around weeks 11-12. Similar to Williams, if you can afford to keep Njoku on your bench, it may be worth doing so. He should be back to full health this season and may be a valuable piece in the fantasy playoffs. In a world where performing TEs are hard to come by, Harrison Bryant is worth an add.

Mark Andrews

Andrews injured his knee in week 6. He was able to play in week 7, but saw 0 receptions, and only 1 carry for 4 yards. This was a huge disappointment for the #2 TE on the year. Heading into week 8, he was unable to practice from Monday-Wednesday and is officially listed as questionable heading into Thursday night’s matchup against the Bucs. The options at tight end are extremely limited. If Andrew’s is active tonight, you essentially have to start him as his cieling is extremely high, and his floor is just as low as any other startable tight end.