Week 12 of the NFL season arrives with major injury storylines that will shape fantasy playoff races. Several high-profile players across every position group are battling injuries, leaving fantasy managers scrambling for clarity before lineups lock. What can you expect from Joe Burrow? How about Josh Jacobs and Travis Etienne? This comprehensive Week 12 Fantasy Football Injury Report breaks down expected timelines, performance outlooks, and risk considerations to help you make confident roster decisions as the playoff push intensifies.
Quarterbacks
Lamar Jackson
Injury: Ankle injuryAnalysis: Lamar was limited early in the week with a mild ankle injury, but is going to play. An ankle injury can obviously impact his ability to quickly change direction while running, but when it is mild like his seems to be, it is unlikely to be much of an issue. His passing should remain sound, and his rushing should not see much of a hit. Re-injury rates are high, though re-injuries are not always severe. Fantasy managers can continue to confidently start Jackson as an elite QB1.
Joe Burrow
Injury: Toe injuryAnalysis: Oh, this just got interesting! Burrow, who is just over two months post-op from a grade III turf toe injury, has ramped up his practice significantly this week. Being just two months out from surgery, the tissues repaired are not yet at 100%, but Burrow does not need them to be to play well. With this being his left big toe, he would only be stressing it during running, not throwing.
His right big toe takes on immense loads with each throw, and if the injury were to his right big toe, there is no way we would be having the discussion of Burrow potentially playing this week. As of this writing, Burrow is still questionable, but if he does play, he should be able to throw the ball well and can instantly be seen as a low-end QB1 who should quickly resume his high-end QB1 status after a week or two.