The fantasy championships are over, and if you have been reading my articles all season, I hope you are a champion! While the general fantasy season is over, let's be honest: you are probably going to continue playing daily fantasy or making prop bets from Week 18 through the Super Bowl, making it critical that you continue to tune in for breakdowns of all the major injuries. Week 17 didn't hit us too hard, with no star players suffering major injuries, but plenty sustaining mild to moderate injuries that will be a factor ahead of Week 18. Let's dive into the week 17 NFL injury recap and learn about the injuries to Josh Allen, Blake Corum, Luther Burden, and many more.
Quarterbacks
Josh Allen
Injury: Right foot injury
Analysis: Allen clearly aggravated his right foot on Sunday. However, he did continue to play, and although he looked slightly slower, he still performed fairly well. Allen had X-rays again, which were negative, continuing to hint at a sprain in the mid-foot. As we discussed during last week's injury preview article, the mid-foot is a critical junction in the foot for throwing and running. The mid-foot adapts shape depending on what the foot and body are doing. When the foot is accepting weight, it flattens out to absorb ground reaction forces, and when the foot is ready to pushoff the mid-foot creates a rigid arch to generate power from. When an injury is mild, this function is spared, but moderate-severe sprains (which do not appear to currently be the case for Allen) disrupt the mid-foots shape-shifting ability and impact power generation needed for throwing and running.
Right now, there is no indication Allen is dealing with anything more than a mild injury, and pain is the main factor that could impact performance. Allen will receive plenty of treatment throughout the week and will likely utilize either a supportive insert or heavy tape job to protect the midfoot and allow him to play fairly well, but he may not be at 100% until this foot heals more. Rushing upside is the main potential impact, though at times it appeared Allen was not comfortable fully pushing off his right foot to throw.
Malik Willis
Injury: Right shoulder injury
Analysis: As we discussed last week, Willis was able to play really well through his right shoulder injury, accounting for 288 passing yards and over 34 fantasy points before re-injuring. With an aggravation of his right shoulder injury, it is unclear if he will be able to get the pain and function where it needs to be for week 18. Packers starter Jordan Love may also be back from a concussion, buying Willis time to rehab before potentially being needed again in the playoffs.