The Green Bay Packers received an unexpected development during Wednesday’s practice preparations when their star running back appeared on the injury report. Josh Jacobs was listed with a designation that caught fantasy managers off guard after showing no signs of concern in recent weeks. Should fantasy football managers be worried about their reliable workhorse heading into Week 7?
Josh Jacobs Injury Update
Jacobs appeared on Wednesday’s practice report as a limited participant, which raised immediate concerns given his importance to Green Bay’s offensive game plan. However, the veteran running back is not dealing with any injury whatsoever. Instead, Jacobs is merely managing a minor illness that kept him from full participation during the team’s first session of the week.
This represents a zero on the panic meter for fantasy managers who have relied on Jacobs’ consistent production throughout the season. Illnesses are common occurrences during the NFL season, particularly as weather changes and players are in close contact during practices and team meetings.
There is absolutely no chance that an illness on Wednesday will keep Jacobs out of Sunday’s game. The four-day gap between Wednesday’s limited practice and Sunday’s kickoff provides more than adequate time for any minor illness to resolve completely.
Jacobs has shown remarkable durability throughout his career and has consistently played through minor ailments without missing game time. His veteran status and professional approach to preparation mean he understands how to manage his body through temporary setbacks like this.
The Packers’ medical staff and coaching personnel are well-versed in managing player health throughout the week, and listing Jacobs as limited rather than holding him out entirely suggests this is purely precautionary rather than indicating any serious concern.
Update: Jacobs was limited again on Thursday. Whatever is ailing him appears to still be an issue. We’d obviously rather Jacobs be fully healthy, but he remains at no risk of missing this week’s game.
Jacobs Fantasy Outlook
There are running backs in the league, heck, within this division with a higher weekly ceiling than Jacobs, but when it comes to knowing what you’re signing up for weekly, few elite options offer a more narrow range of outcomes than Green Bay’s RB1.
Jacobs has 20-26 touches in every game this season and has scored 22 times in 22 games with the Packers. Everything this offense wants to do is centered around #8 and he paid off that single-digit number by looking awfully fluid in space as a pass catcher as he hauled in 4+ passes with a 25+ yard gain for the third consecutive game.
In an era of specialists and committees, Jacobs is going to bring his lunchpail to work every week and give you exactly what you’re expecting. I’d expect more of the same this weekend against a Cardinals defense that has already allowed north of 23 PPR points to running backs in this mold (Christian McCaffrey in Week 3 and Jonathan Taylor over the weekend).
— PFSN Fantasy Analyst Kyle Soppe