It’s always a challenge to navigate through injuries in fantasy football, and the RB position is riddled with ailing players every season. The time to set Week 5 lineups is upon us. What is the latest injury information on Saquon Barkley, Jonathan Taylor, and Aaron Jones?
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Injury Updates for Top Fantasy Football RBs
Saquon Barkley, New York Giants
It’s been two weeks since we last saw Saquon Barkley take the field. He is dealing with a high ankle sprain.
Ahead of Week 4, Barkley was able to get in three limited practices. However, the New York Giants never really gave him a shot to play, listing him as doubtful. The fact that Barkley practiced at all had me quite optimistic about his status for this week, though.
Unfortunately, this week has been more of the same. Barkley was limited all three days. While that doesn’t preclude him from playing, it would’ve been nice to see him get in a full session on Friday. That was not the case.
Furthermore, videos from practice showing Barkley do not reveal a player that looks quite ready to go. He’s definitely getting closer, but the questionable tag feels more aspirational than anything else.
The Record Sports’ Art Stapleton agrees.
#NYGiants were outdoors practicing on their grass fields in a light rain. Saquon Barkley spent early part of special teams period getting his right ankle taped, chatting it up with Brian Daboll on the side and then joined the QBs for position drills.
Barkley took a few handoffs.…— Art Stapleton (@art_stapleton)
While Barkley has been participating in practice, “limited” can really mean anything less than full. It appears as though Barkley didn’t do a whole lot and was more rehabbing his ankle than actually preparing to play. On Sunday morning, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Barkley is not expected to be on the field in Week 5.
The good news is the Giants play at 1 p.m. ET. We will know Barkley’s status in time to set lineups. Despite my pessimism regarding Barkley’s status, our PFN Consensus Rankings have to assume he plays. He’s either a top-six option, or he’s inactive — there is no in-between.
If Barkley can’t go, Matt Breida will once again dominate touches in this backfield. He’s seen snap shares of 82% and 73% in his two starts and would vault into the top 30 sans Barkley.
Editor’s Note:Â Saquon Barkley has been ruled OUT for this matchup against the Miami Dolphins.
Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts
The conspiracy theorists out there will tell you Jonathan Taylor wasn’t actually hurt during training camp, and the ankle injury was a facade for his holdout. I believe Taylor was actually still dealing with lingering effects from his 2022 ankle injury. We will never know the actual answer.
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Amidst all the contract disputes and injury theories, Taylor did return to practice this week. The Colts opened his 21-day window to be activated from IR. Barring a setback, that means we will see JT on the field sometime in the next three weeks.
Taylor does appear to be fully healthy now. He practiced in full all three days this week. The Colts initially listed him as questionable. But on Saturday, they activated Taylor from IR and removed the questionable designation. Taylor is playing.
The matchup isn’t the best one for Taylor’s return, as the Tennessee Titans have one of the best run defenses in the league. Plus, we shouldn’t expect Taylor to be a three-down back or return to his 2022 usage just yet.
With that said, Taylor is worth starting. Just temper expectations for his first game back in a tough matchup.
Aaron Jones, Green Bay Packers
After a two-game absence, Aaron Jones returned last week to a limited role in a Thursday night loss to the Detroit Lions. Heading into this week, Jones got in three limited practices and is listed as questionable.
Jones will have had an extra 11 days to recover, which is great. However, the fact that he’s yet to get in a full practice is a bit concerning.
There weren’t any reports of a setback. According to Matt LaFleur, Jones’ workload was the same on all three days at practice.
Matt LaFleur said Jones' workload today was no different or no less than it had been in the previous practices this week. He's listed as questionable. https://t.co/zZLKCGscEt
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky)
It’s always a tough spot for fantasy managers when there’s a questionable player going on Monday night. If you have Jones, hopefully, you have a replacement available on your roster. Technically, AJ Dillon counts, even though he’s a terrible alternative.
Other possible replacements are Jayden Reed, Jakobi Meyers, and Luke Musgrave. All of these guys could reasonably be on fantasy benches.
If you need to make a call on Jones Sunday morning, I would be more inclined to roll the dice. He played last week. It’s been 11 days. We’ve heard no reports of any setbacks. I tentatively expect him to play. Just be mindful of the risk you are taking by leaving him in your lineup. If he ends up sitting, the available options on the waiver wire will be extremely unappealing.
