The NFL season is nearing its end. As happens every year, injuries are rearing their ugly heads. As fantasy football managers prepare to set Week 17 lineups, it’s important to stay informed on the latest injury news. Josh Jacobs couldn’t finish last week’s game. What is his current status and outlook for tonight’s game?
Is Josh Jacobs Playing Week 17?
Jacobs has been dealing with a knee contusion since the Week 11 game against the New York Giants. The injury has limited his practice participation for several weeks, but Jacobs has consistently played through the discomfort and remained productive. Last week presented a different scenario, as Jacobs did not practice at all leading up to the Bears game yet still suited up.
The running back’s night ended prematurely in Week 16. Jacobs stopped taking the field at some point in the second half after taking a hit to the knee on a fourth-and-1 play that caused the injury to stiffen up.
Emanuel Wilson handled the backfield duties the rest of the way, outsnapping Jacobs 33 to 28 and matching his 14 carries while outgaining him 82 yards to 48 yards. Jacobs later acknowledged he “wasn’t even 100 percent supposed to play in the game” and that he “already knew what it was going to be” for his workload that day.
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Jacobs was limited at practice all three days this week. That represents a significant upgrade from last week’s complete absence from the field. Most importantly, Jacobs did not receive a game status designation on the final injury report, meaning he is cleared to play without any official limitations.
The Packers did not issue a questionable tag for Jacobs despite his limited practice participation throughout the week. He is fully expected to handle his normal workload against the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday night. Fantasy managers can confidently insert Jacobs into their championship lineups without concern about his availability.
Jacobs’ Fantasy Football Outlook
And this, friends, is why the NFL is a game for gladiators.
Jacobs was on crutches during the work week and signed up for having 11 grown athletes chase him around the field on Saturday. I slept funny on Monday and was wondering aloud if I’d have to pull out of playing HORSE with my nephew on New Year’s Eve.
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There are levels to this and NFL players are unique behind comprehension. We’ve become so immune to superhuman recoveries that defy logic that when something like the Jacobs situation happens, we are taken aback.
Quarter 1: 52.9% snap share
Quarter 2: 31.8% snap share
Quarter 3: 60% snap share
Quarter 4 and Overtime: 12.5% snap share
When an extended rest was possible, Jacobs was trying to give it a go, but his health simply wasn’t sustainable and that shouldn’t be viewed as a surprise.
Again, he opened the week on crutches.
So yea, you can complain about his 14 touches netting just 4.8 PPR points for you, but if you think about the facts we had entering the game, you were the one that elected to click him in with the risk known.
It doesn’t sound as if he did any additional damage to his bulky knee and with Green Bay battling for that final playoff spot, I think it’s more likely than not that we see him suit up again on Saturday night.
Emanuel Wilson is a must roster at this point because we simply don’t know. Could the Pack rest Jacobs this weekend with the hope that he’s close to healthy for Week 18 and (hopefully) a playoff game or two?
At the end of the day, I think you’re playing Jacobs if we think he can handle 15+ touches. This run game worked last week (Wilson ran for 82 yards on 14 carries and that was without his average being inflated by a single attempt) and with potential chaos/limitations at the QB position, I’d expect this offense to function through the handoff.
I currently have Jacobs as in and handling 15-17 touches. That’s obviously not the 20+ that we were getting through the first two months, but he is averaging a career-high 0.90 PPR points per touch this season and that would be enough to get us home, even at lesser usage.
— Kyle Soppe, PFSN Fantasy Analyst
