As Week 1 gets closer, so do the injuries. Training camp week 4 has delivered plenty of injury updates that fantasy football managers need to know before draft day. With drafts ramping up across the country, understanding which players are hurt and how those injuries could affect their 2025 season is critical. Below, we highlight the most important fantasy football injury news from camp, breaking down which stars you may want to fade and which banged-up players could turn into draft-day sleepers.
If you want even deeper analysis on every fantasy-relevant player, make sure to check out our Fantasy Injury Draft Guide. It’s packed with player profiles, detailed injury histories, recovery timelines, and our expert breakdown of how each situation impacts fantasy value. Whether you’re trying to avoid a landmine pick or spot the next big sleeper, the guide gives you the edge you need to dominate your draft.
Travis Hunter
Injury: Upper Body Injury
Analysis: Hunter is dealing with an undisclosed upper-body injury that is not expected to be serious. Jacksonville is likely being ultra-cautious with their two-way rookie. They understand that Hunter’s role puts incredible demand on his body, and he needs to be as fresh as possible to hold up playing both sides of the ball. At this time, there is no cause for concern for fantasy players.
Ashton Jeanty
Injury: Upper Body Injury
Analysis: Jeanty took a shot to his right shoulder early in Saturday’s preseason game. He was evaluated and quickly returned to the game and shined. We will monitor his status in the coming week, but as of now, this does not appear concerning.
Matthew Stafford
Injury: Disc Injury
Analysis: We have essentially no updates here. Those close to Stafford have kept quiet about his supposed Saturday workout. Lumbar disc injuries are very tough for a thrower to manage. I am cautiously pessimistic about Stafford’s ability to stay healthy this season.
Jordan Love
Injury: Thumb Ligament Surgery
Analysis: Love will be sidelined after having surgery on his left thumb to repair a torn ligament. This would be an issue if it were his right thumb, but being his non-throwing hand, this is essentially a non-factor for fantasy purposes. Love is one of my favorite late-round QBs with low risk and high upside.
De’Von Achane
Injury: Lower Body Soft Tissue
Analysis: Coach McDaniel is staying vague, referring to Achane’s injury as a “lower body soft tissue”. This is somewhat concerning, as all lower-body soft tissue injuries have moderate-to-high recurrence rates. The exact tissue injured does make a difference, but at this moment, we do not have that information. Prior to this injury, I had Achane rated as “medium risk” for injury for reasons like this. The good news is this injury does not appear to threaten his week 1 status, but we will closely monitor.
Justin Jefferson
Injury: Hamstring Injury
Analysis: Jefferson’s hamstring will be re-evaluated next week. What this likely means is that criteria like strength, range of motion, single-leg stability in various hop tests, and potentially imaging will be reassessed to ensure they are all progressing towards 100%. The results of these tests will drive how much Jefferson’s rehab ramps up. At this time, Jefferson is not believed to be at risk for missing week 1. Re-injury will remain a risk going forward, as 20-30% of hamstring injuries will experience a recurrence in season. Minnesota appears to be managing his situation very well, which should reduce the risk for re-injury.
Malik Nabers
Injury: Toe and Shoulder Injuries
Analysis: Nabers continues to miss practice due to a toe, shoulder, and possibly another injury. All are deemed mild and should not risk their week 1 status. The toe is the most concerning. Nabers has been dealing with the toe injury since college. A chronic injury like this will not go away in-season, and I would expect Nabers to frequently miss practices and see questionable tags throughout the season. This does not mean he can’t play through the injury and play very well, but he may miss a game or two here and there.
AJ Brown
Injury: Hamstring Injury
Analysis: Presently, there is some confusion around AJ Brown’s hamstring injury, with some reporters thinking he suffered a setback while rehabbing. Whether he did re-injure or not is unclear. What we do know is that Brown has just under three weeks until week one. Receivers average missing under two weeks with a hamstring injury, but hamstring injuries are notorious for recurring. Brown has experienced three hamstring injuries in his career, putting him at a higher risk for future injury. Mild hamstring injuries take 3–4 weeks, which should be adequate time for Brown to be ready for week one.
Joe Mixon
Injury: Foot Injury
Analysis: Mixon’s situation continues to get hazier, with reports now suggesting week 1 is in doubt. Mixon has been dealing with this foot injury for months now, which tells us it is significant and of high severity. Foot injuries of this magnitude often impact the ability of the foot to adapt to the ground to cut and pivot, and experience high recurrence rates. This is a major red flag, and I recommend avoiding Mixon at all costs. Even prior to this foot injury, Mixon was rated “high risk” in my draft injury guide.
Sam LaPorta
Injury: Undisclosed
Analysis: We have not been given any details on LaPorta’s injury, but it is reported to be mild. We will look out for updates.
Kenneth Walker
Injury: Foot Injury
Analysis: Walker continues to miss some time with a sore foot. He is practicing part-time, making it appear this is a load management situation. With that being the case, this is unlikely to affect production, but it could be something that lingers throughout the season.
Jalen McMillan
Injury: Neck/Back/Concussion
Analysis: Still awaiting final reports on McMillan’s injury, but initial reports suggest a neck and back injury and evaluation for a concussion. McMillan landed awkwardly after having his legs taken out while jumping to make a catch. We will continue to monitor McMillan’s status, but would expect him to at minimum miss the final preseason game.
Najee Harris
Injury: Eye Injury
Analysis: Najee is starting to work his way back onto the field after his eye injury. It’s unclear when Harris will be fully back, but this should not affect his production when he does return.
Chris Godwin
Injury: Ankle Dislocation
Analysis: Rumors swirled this week that Godwin may start the season on the PUP list. This is not surprising. Casual fans appear to be misunderstanding the severity of his injury, surgery, and how hard it is to return from an ankle dislocation. I wrote in-depth about this a few weeks back. Presently, Godwin’s ADP is WR37 and 83 overall. This is insanely overpriced for a player who has a significant battle to return to his prior level of function. Of course, I am rooting for Godwin to exceed my expectations, but I would not be surprised if he is never the same player. In contrast, his teammates Emeka Egbuka and Jalen McMillan have ADPs of 104 and 168 overall and provide much better value.
Josh Downs
Injury: Hamstring Injury
Analysis: Downs injured his hamstring on Thursday. Receivers average missing 1.7 weeks with hamstring injuries and experience higher rates of reinjury compared to other positions. It remains to be seen if this will affect his week 1 status.
Chris Olave
Injury: Ankle Injury
Analysis: Olave continues to rehab his ankle. Ankle injuries have high recurrence rates, putting Olave at elevated risk for re-injury. Olave has a lengthy concussion history, and interestingly, a correlation has been found with concussions increasing the risk for ankle injuries (as well as other concussions).
Quentin Johnston
Injury: Concussion
Analysis: Johnston left Saturday’s preseason game with a concussion and was sent to the hospital for observation. Johnston will have to pass through the concussion protocol before returning.
Tyreek Hill
Injury: Oblique Injury
Analysis: Hill continues to rehab his oblique injury. Obliques are critical for rotating the torso to make a catch and turn to get upfield. Fortunately, they usually heal well and are not long-term problems.
Alec Pierce
Injury: Groin Injury
Analysis: Pierce did not play in Saturday’s preseason game as he rehabs a groin injury. The groin is highly involved in sprinting and cutting, and recurrence rates are around 18%. Fortunately, receivers average missing just 1.2 weeks.
Mike Gesicki
Injury: Hamstring Injury
Analysis: Gesicki won’t play Monday night as he continues to rehab a hamstring injury. Cincinnati continues to say it’s mild and are focusing on him being ready for week 1. A 29-year-old is more prone to recurrence than a player in his early 20s, and Cincinnati is wise to take a cautious approach. Tight ends average missing 2 weeks with a hamstring injury.
Shedeur Sanders
Injury: Oblique Injury
Analysis: Sanders did not play in Saturday’s preseason game due to an oblique injury. The obliques are long, powerful muscles critically involved in the rotation of the torso during throwing. When injured, a quarterback’s throwing power and accuracy will be impacted. Fortunately, they typically heal well. I do not expect this to be a long-term issue.
Allen Lazard
Injury: Shoulder Injury
Analysis: Lazard is missing time with a shoulder injury. We do not have specifics, but it is expected he will miss two weeks. Most shoulder injuries do not impact receiver performance when they return, but can have high recurrence rates depending on the tissue involved.
Jayden Blue
Injury: Heel Bone Bruise
Analysis: Jayden Blue is missing valuable training camp time with a bone bruise in his heel. This is much better than it could have been, as his injury was initially presumed to be a major ankle injury. Bone bruises heal extremely well, and when pain and bruising subsides, function will be fully restored without lingering effects.
Alexander Mattison
Injury: Neck Injury
Analysis: Mattison underwent neck surgery shortly after exiting last week’s preseason game. We don’t have specifics about what his surgery was, but the haste with which it was performed makes me think there was a fracture that needed to be fused (that is speculative, however). His season is over.
Jonnu Smith
Injury: Knee Injury
Analysis: Smith is dealing with knee soreness and has been held out of practice to ensure this does not affect his week 1 status. If it is truly just soreness, this is not a major concern.
Jermaine Burton
Injury: Undisclosed
Analysis: Burton is missing time with an undisclosed injury. We will continue to monitor his status and look out for more detailed reports on what he is dealing with.
Romeo Doubs
Injury: Back Injury
Analysis: Doubs is dealing with a mild back injury. Assuming this is just stiffness/soreness, this should not affect his week 1 status. We will look out for further details.
Kareem Hunt
Injury: Quad Injury
Analysis: Hunt is missing time with a quad contusion. Contusions usually clear up in 7–10 days, but often leave behind some muscle injury that also needs to heal. Quad injuries can impact a runner’s ability to accelerate, reach top speeds, and change direction. Fortunately, running backs average missing just over one week with a quad injury. Recurrence rates are 10–15%.
