Bryce Young Ankle Injury & Fantasy Impact

What Happened to Bryce Young?

Bryce Young exited Sunday’s game against the New York Jets in the third quarter after suffering a right ankle injury. After reviewing the video, we can see that Young’s right lower leg gets kicked from the outside while his toe is planted on the turf. This created a brief eversion stress on the ankle, a mechanism that can cause a high ankle sprain.

Anatomy of Bryce Young’s Ankle Injury

A high ankle sprain occurs when the two shin bones, the tibia and fibula are pulled apart from one another. The syndesmotic ligament as well as the Anterior Inferior Tibiofibular Ligament (AITFL) and the Posterior Inferior Tibiofibular Ligament (PITFL), hold the two bones together. With an eversion force one or more of these ligaments are stressed and depending on severity can lead to injury. When a grade II or grade III high ankle sprain is present there is a significant loss of ankle stability and pain.

Return to Play Timeline and Re-Injury Risk

To fully assess Bryce Young’s return to play timeline we need to know the grade of injury. A grade I injury can be played through, grade II and III injuries often lead to notable time missed. While Young’s foot is only briefly caught in the turf, which will reduce the total force through the ligaments, he is expected to miss week 8 and possibly more indicating this is likely a grade II injury. Quarterbacks average missing 1.6 games, but many have missed more. Presently we are watching Vikings quarterback JJ McCarthy miss well over a month with a similar (but likely more severe) injury.

High ankle sprains are notorious for lingering. Research shows around a 10% recurrence risk, but also grade II and III high ankle sprains can influence mechanics “up the chain” that can influence other injuries.

Fantasy Impact

The critical thing to consider is that this is Young’s right ankle. As a right handed passer he pushes off of his right leg for throw power and to step up in the pocket. A grade I injury won’t lead to any loss of stability and should not impact his throw power. A more severe grade II injury would be associated with loss of stability and difficulty powering off the right leg. With Young’s being most likely a grade II injury this could pose a threat to throw power when he returns.

Fortunatley, quarterbacks average no drop-off in fantasy points when they return from a high ankle sprain. Young himself is not a fantasy starter outside of superflex leagues. But the Panthers are beginning to have a few valuable pieces on their offense. If Young is to miss time, his backup Andy Dalton should be able to provide similar value to Tetairoa McMillan, Rico Dowdle, and Chuba Hubbard.