With less than one week remaining until the start of the 2022 NFL regular season, the final fantasy football drafts are going down. While the 53-man rosters have been finalized, there are still some injury concerns for teams across the league and, likewise, for fantasy managers. Here’s a look at the latest fantasy football injury report for WRs.
Fantasy football injury report | Wide receivers
Tee Higgins, CIN
The Cincinnati Bengals were forced to hold some of their starters out of the preseason due to various injuries. One such starter was blossoming WR Tee Higgins, who has been sidelined all training camp and preseason due to an offseason shoulder surgery. Head coach Zac Taylor has been vocal about Higgins being physically ready, and they’ve been slowly working him back into the swing of things.
However, according to Ben Baby of ESPN, Higgins was absent from practice on Aug. 31. While nothing has come from Taylor, the setback is a bit concerning with the Bengals season just a week away. Higgins hauled in 74 receptions for 1,091 yards and six touchdowns last season. With the young WR commanding some fantasy value, keep an eye on his practice status throughout the week.
Van Jefferson, LAR
How about an update on the reigning Super Bowl champions? Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay gave a slight update on Van Jefferson ahead of their Thursday night season opener against the Buffalo Bills. While McVay did not explicitly state Jefferson’s status, he did say, “He’s making good progress. We’re taking it one day at a time with Van.”
This is not the most promising update on the fantasy football injury report, as there are just five days until the Rams’ season opener. Los Angeles still has Cooper Kupp and Allen Robinson as QB Matthew Stafford’s starters, but having Jefferson would be a significant boost against one of the AFC’s Super Bowl hopefuls. If Jefferson’s not ready to go, the Rams will need one of Tutu Atwell or Ben Skowronek to step it up.
Michael Thomas, NO
The next fantasy football injury report entrant will elicit cheers from New Orleans fans. According to Jeff Duncan of TheAthletic.com, it would be surprising if Michael Thomas was not in the starting lineup against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1. Thomas, who hasn’t played an NFL game since January 2021, had worked his way back from an ankle sprain to return to training camp this preseason. However, a pulled hamstring has sidelined him for almost two weeks.
Before the hamstring issue, Thomas was a full participant in team drills and exercises, showing the WR is healthy and ready to return from his ankle sprain. Whether Thomas starts Week 1 in a full or limited capacity, the offseason additions of Jarvis Landry and rookie Chris Olave should help him ease into the season. The good news keeps rolling in for New Orleans at the right time.
Deebo Samuel, SF
The final WR getting some breaking news on the fantasy football injury report is San Francisco 49ers Deebo Samuel. Samuel suffered a bone bruise in his knee in the 49ers’ final preseason game against the Houston Texans and has been held out of practice since then.
As Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News reported on Thursday, Samuel was held out of practice but still able to get some conditioning in on the side.
Samuel is far and away the 49ers’ most dynamic playmaker. While there’s hope he can play Week 1, he will need to return to practice at the very least for starting even to be a consideration. The offense should be able to get by without Samuel for a week, but if the bone bruise lingers, his absence could significantly impact the 49ers’ success this season.