Atlanta gears up for their Week 13 road contest against the New York Jets while managing injury concerns across their offense. Drake London exited the team’s overtime defeat to Carolina two weeks ago with a knee injury and has not played since. Will fantasy football managers have their elite receiver available this week?
Drake London Injury Update
London was sidelined during overtime after hauling in seven catches for 119 yards against the Panthers. The rapid decision to shut him down sparked immediate worries about the knee problem’s severity. However, initial reports following the contest offered some reassurance.​
ESPN’s Adam Schefter relayed Sunday evening that London’s knee injury is “not thought to be overly serious” and that the receiver was scheduled for an MRI on Monday to assess the extent of the damage. Most encouragingly, Schefter mentioned the possibility that London “might not miss time,” representing the optimal outcome for Atlanta’s struggling offense. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reinforced that outlook, reporting London is believed to have avoided major knee damage.​
The fact that multiple prominent insiders delivered cautiously positive reports suggested the Falcons may have dodged a significant injury.​
However, London sat out Week 12. Ian Rapoport confirmed that London would miss “at least” Week 12 with a sprained PCL. This news proved concerning because PCL sprains can be unpredictable in their recovery timelines.​
London did not practice at all last week. But head coach Raheem Morris did provide an encouraging update. Morris said he is hopeful London can return in Week 13. The coach revealed that if it were up to London, he would have played in Week 12. Morris explained the team needs to “protect Drake from Drake.”​
While this falls short of guaranteeing London plays this week, it does seem to eliminate any concerns that the Falcons would shut London down for the season. The Falcons may be 4-7, but they are only two games behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are in free fall right now.
NFL teams do not abandon hope of making the playoffs until it is mathematically impossible. The Falcons cannot be eliminated from playoff contention until at least Week 13. London appears on track to return no later than Week 14.​
London’s Fantasy Outlook
London has been outstanding throughout the 2025 campaign. He entered Week 11 having compiled three consecutive 100-yard receiving performances and scored 18.9 fantasy points or more in each of his last three games before the injury struck. His reliability has positioned him as an elite WR1 option, making his potential unavailability a crushing blow for fantasy managers during the playoff stretch.​
Beyond London’s own health status, another significant concern involves Michael Penix Jr.’s availability moving forward. The Falcons quarterback is done for the season, forcing the team to turn back to Kirk Cousins.​
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At one point, there was thought amongst NFL fans and fantasy managers that perhaps Cousins’ 2024 struggles were because he wasn’t fully healthy. That may still be true, but it’s abundantly clear that Cousins is done.
London is not an elite WR1 with Cousins distributing the football, but he remains on the WR1/WR2 threshold when he’s able to suit up. The drop-off from Penix to Cousins substantially affects London’s upside, as Cousins has performed poorly this season and lacks the arm talent to fully utilize London’s downfield prowess.​
