With the bulk of Week 5 about to get rolling, let’s run down the latest injuries ahead of the action to make sure that your fantasy football lineups are in a position to succeed.
Remember to check back as inactives roll in and statuses are confirmed, but there is plenty of actionable reports to put you in a position to be prepared.
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Brandin Cooks, WR | Out
One of the stranger injuries of this past week is Brandin Cooks coming down with a knee infection. Initially, he was only going to miss a week or two, but he is now on injured reserve.
Jalen Tolbert will now be an every-down player in two-receiver sets. Kavontae Turpin, Jalen Brooks, and Ryan Flournoy will rotate in three and four-receiver sets. None of them are fantasy options.
Christian McCaffrey, RB | Out
For the fifth consecutive week, Christian McCaffrey will not play due to Achilles tendinitis. Jordan Mason remains an elite RB1 and a must-start in all formats.
Cooper Kupp, WR | Out
The Rams continue to be without their top two wide receivers. Cooper Kupp is believed to be targeting a return after the Rams’ Week 6 bye.
Jordan Whittington and Tutu Atwell have been the most productive pass catchers in his and Puka Nacua’s absence. Both are on the WR4 streaming radar in Week 5.
Davante Adams, WR | Out
How hurt is Davante Adams? That’s not up to us to speculate. He’s allegedly going to be ready to play in Week 6, but it’s highly unlikely it will be for the Raiders. Jakobi Meyers will step up to earn the privilege of being blanketed by Pat Surtain II.
Jaylen Warren, RB | Out
The notoriously tight-lipped Steelers have provided no details on Jaylen Warren’s injury. All we know is that it’s to his knee, and he’s not playing this week.
With Cordarrelle Patterson also nursing a sprained ankle, Najee Harris is set for another heavy workload. Aaron Shampkin (who?) is the RB2 and will see the field when Harris is tired.
Joe Mixon, RB | Out
Despite getting in a limited practice and drawing a questionable tag ahead of Week 4, Joe Mixon did not practice all week and was ruled out on Friday. Mixon reportedly did not suffer any sort of setback; he’s just not ready.
With Dameon Pierce also still sidelined, Cam Akers is set to make another uninspiring start. It’s a great matchup against the Bills’ run funnel defense, but Akers has proven he’s nothing more than a touchdown-or-bust RB3.
Jonathon Brooks, RB | Out
Still recovering from a November ACL tear, the Panthers’ rookie second-round running back, Jonathon Brooks, continues to wait to make his NFL debut. He’s close to returning to practice but will need at least a couple of weeks to get up to game speed.
Chuba Hubbard has been excellent filling in and remains an every-week RB2.
Jonathan Taylor, RB | Out
Jonathan Taylor’s ankle injury was described as a mild high ankle sprain. After not practicing all week, the Colts ruled Taylor out on Friday.
Trey Sermon will start and is purely a volume-based play against a good Jaguars run defense. Tyler Goodson should operate as the change-of-pace back and is an option for the truly desperate.
Khalil Shakir, WR | Out
Josh Allen already had a 2023 Patrick Mahomes-like ragtag group of wide receivers. This week, it’s even weaker with Khalil Shakir absent due to an ankle sprain.
The prevailing thought is Curtis Samuel will step into the Shakir role, but quite frankly, I’m not buying it. Keon Coleman is the only Bills WR worth starting, and only in desperation scenarios.
Malik Nabers, WR | Out
Despite being afforded an extra three days, Malik Nabers was unable to progress through the concussion protocol and was ruled out on Friday. Wan’Dale Robinson should remain a solid PPR option, while Darius Slayton becomes a desperation WR4 option.
Nick Chubb, RB | Out
Nick Chubb is nearing a return from his devastating Week 2 knee injury from last season. He returned to practice this week but won’t be activated just yet. Jerome Ford remains a solid weekly RB2 until Chubb not only gets back on the field, but up to speed.
Evan Engram, TE | Out
Evan Engram continues to battle a hamstring injury and will look to return to action next week in London against the Bears.
Brenton Strange will continue to fill the role vacated by Engram, though he simply isn’t used in the same way. Strange’s target count has decreased in all three of his games as the primary tight end in this offense and is nothing more a streamer for those in desperation mode to fill the position.
Rashee Rice, WR | Out
We still don’t have any clarity on Rashee Rice’s knee injury. The fear is he tore his ACL, but that has yet to be confirmed.
Regardless, Rice is out indefinitely. The Chiefs placed him on IR earlier this week. Fantasy managers may be expecting an increased role from Xavier Worthy, but I don’t think his value changes at all. JuJu Smith-Schuster, Justin Watson, and Skyy Moore are nowhere near the fantasy radar.
Romeo Doubs, WR | Out
Reportedly, Romeo Doubs refused to show up for practice on Thursday and Friday because he was frustrated with his usage. The Packers suspended Doubs for one game due to conduct detrimental to the team.
Dontayvion Wicks was already a popular start this week. Doubs’ absence elevates Bo Melton to the WR3 role and makes him an intriguing deep-league streamer.
Taysom Hill, TE | Out
The Saints’ gadget man won’t play in Week 5 due to rib fractures. The biggest beneficiary of Taysom Hill’s absence is actually Alvin Kamara, who is now less likely to be vultured at the goal line.
T.J. Hockenson, TE | Out
The Vikings opened up the three-week window for T.J. Hockenson, who is coming off a late-season ACL tear. He’s expected to return in Week 7 or 8 but won’t play this week. Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison are the only Vikings pass catchers with any fantasy relevance.
Zamir White, RB | Out
Continuing an alarming trend of players picking up injuries at practice, Zamir White tweaked his groin on Wednesday, resulting in two missed practices and his not playing in Week 5.
Alexander Mattison was already coming for White’s job. This is the proverbial nail in the coffin. Mattison is a solid volume-based RB2/3.
Simply facts@AlexMattison22 is not one of the 111, but he is one of the 5 pic.twitter.com/48yQwLuwAr
— Kyle Soppe (@KyleSoppePFN) September 29, 2024
Anthony Richardson, QB | Doubtful
The Colts initially listed Anthony Richardson as questionable but downgraded him to doubtful on Saturday. That’s all we need to know. Joe Flacco is going to start today.
Not only is the most elite QB to ever play the game a viable fantasy streamer against the Jaguars’ pass funnel defense, Flacco also elevates Michael Pittman Jr. into strong WR2 territory and Josh Downs to viable WR3.
Devin Singletary, RB | Doubtful
Apparently, Devin Singletary tweaked his groin against the Cowboys last Thursday. The injury doesn’t appear to be overly serious, but Singletary was only able to get in a limited practice on Friday. He’s not going to play, which sets up rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr. to make his first career start.
Fantasy managers can start Tracy but should temper expectations. The matchup is a tough one against the Seahawks, and Eric Gray will likely mix in more than projections are accounting for.
Cordarrelle Patterson, RB | Doubtful
Patterson ran well when called upon last week, but an ankle injury resulted in an early exit from that contest and will hold him out at least a week.
With Warren out, Harris profiles as a bell cow against a banged-up Cowboys defense, landing him safely inside of our top 20 for the week.
David Njoku, TE | Questionable
David Njoku suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 1 and hasn’t played since, but he is expected to return to action this week. Reports suggest that his role could be limited this week, though a matchup with the Commanders is advantageous all the same.
Njoku ranked ninth at the position in on-field target share and should be reasonably involved when out there today. The TE position is struggling to produce across the league, and that allows even a limited version of him to enter the top-12 discussion. His activation results in a minor ding in the upside cases for both Amari Cooper and Jerry Jeudy while solidifying the DFS case for Deshaun Watson.
Christian Watson, WR | Questionable
Christian Watson missed eight games last season with a variety of ailments and is unlikely to play against the Rams today. With just five catches in his four games (albeit two with Malik Willis under center) and this injury, Watson is closer to a fantasy lineup cut than he is a member of the Flex discussion.
His injury, however, does clear up the target hierarchy in Green Bay, and that’s valuable with Jordan Love seemingly healthy. Wicks is the primary beneficiary for Week 5 (and likely moving forward), as Doubs is suspended and trending out of favor with the team.
Tucker Kraft has moved into a regular role in this offense and is a viable option in all formats at the tight end position.
Dameon Pierce, RB | Questionable
Dameon Pierce continues to be hampered by a hamstring injury and is likely to sit today against the Bills. With Mixon also out, this paves the way for a 13-16 touch game for Akers, though he’s largely underwhelmed up to this point in that role.
With four teams on a bye and various injuries at the position, Akers is a viable Flex play in a game that should see plenty of scoring. Yet, the upside isn’t that of a top-12 option.
Odell Beckham Jr., WR | Questionable
Odell Beckham Jr. is back with the Dolphins and has been activated off of the PUP list, putting him in line to make his season debut today against the Patriots.
We’ve seen every member of this Miami offense struggle since Tua Tagovailoa went down with a concussion, and there’s no reason to invest on an ancillary piece like Beckham … yet.
His stock could rise in short order if he displays health and we get positive reports on the status of Tagovailoa. But until there is some signal in that direction, the one-time fantasy star can be left on waiver wires.
Skylar Thompson, QB | Questionable
All signs point to Tyler Huntley being the starter in Miami, but this isn’t an offense to target in any capacity at the moment. The Dolphins have their bye next week before a pair of favorable spots (at IND, vs. ARI), so there is hope that the team’s three primary playmakers can produce for you sooner rather than later.
Alvin Kamara, RB | Questionable
There aren’t any signs that Kamara (ribs/hip) will be inactive for Monday night, as he played through these injuries last week and handled 26 touches (119 yards and a touchdown) against the Falcons.
Expecting that sort of usage might be optimistic, but with Taysom Hill sidelined, the high-value touches are Kamara’s to assume. You can feel good about penciling him in as a strong RB1 this week and until otherwise noted.
Russell Wilson, QB | Questionable
Russell Wilson (calf) has been practicing in a limited capacity all week and appears poised to assume the backup role behind Justin Fields.
The presumption entering the season was that Wilson would be the QB1 in Pittsburgh, but with this team sitting at 3-1, the odds of him carving out a role in the short term are low.
Fields owns the more fantasy-friendly skill set and is to be considered a low-end QB1 this week.
Brian Robinson Jr., RB | Questionable
Brian Robinson Jr. (knee) is “good to go” as Washington looks to continue its impressive offensive start to the 2024 season.
The Commanders’ lead back has scored in three of four games and is averaging 18.5 touches per game. There’s some risk if the injury flares up today, but not enough to keep him outside of the top 15 in our consensus rankings for Week 5.
Miles Sanders, RB | Playing
Miles Sanders (illness) missed some practice reps this week but is expected to be active. His path to fantasy value is more clear than it was, with Andy Dalton adding upside to this offense as a whole, but Hubbard is pretty clearly the lead of this backfield.
Brooks remains sidelined, but with him potentially being added to the mix in the second half of the season, Sanders isn’t a must-roster player.
Diontae Johnson, WR | Playing
An ankle injury sidelined Diontae Johnson from Wednesday’s practice, but he rounded out the work week by participating in full and should be viewed as a reliable WR2 as long as Dalton is under center.
Johnson is more valuable in PPR formats than non-PPR, as he clearly has established a high-volume role. However, he profiles as one of the more consistent options at the position moving forward.
Cole Kmet, TE | Playing
A knee injury was nagging at Cole Kmet earlier this week, but he was fully removed from the injury report and is good to go.
Whether or not you should play Kmet is a different story. Despite the positive matchup, he falls outside of our top 10 tight ends this week due to a lack of involvement in an inconsistent lineup. Just once this season has Chicago’s tight end reached 35 receiving yards, and with all of his teammates healthy, the path to more than five targets isn’t clear.
Jordan Love, QB | Playing
Love (MCL) showed some rust during the first half of his first game back after consecutive DNPs last week. But his confidence improved as the game wore on, and the version of Love that we all expected to see this preseason appeared.
Health-wise, there’s no reason to doubt Love entering this game, and the matchup with the Rams is a great one. You can plug in Green Bay’s signal-caller with confidence a a road favorite this week.
Tank Dell, WR | Playing
His chest injury resulted in a DNP last week, but Tank Dell practiced in full to end the week and was ultimately not mentioned on the final injury report.
Nico Collins has established himself as the alpha in Houston’s offense, and Stefon Diggs has shown nice juice in his slot role. Dell offers top-20 upside on a weekly basis, but the floor is just as concerning.
Using health isn’t the reason to be skeptical of Dell this week. If you can swallow the range of outcomes, you can play him in what could be the highest-scoring game of the day.
Travis Etienne Jr., RB | Playing
Travis Etienne Jr. was battling through a should injury early in the week, but he’s considered fully healthy heading into this favorable matchup with a Colts team that has allowed two running backs to gash them for over 150 yards on the ground.
Jacksonville has experimented with a committee backfield at points this season, and that introduces downside into Etienne’s profile. Still, he has top-12 potential and can be started in all formats.
Tank Bigsby, RB | Playing
If the shoulder injury wasn’t enough to stop Tank Bigsby from ripping off a 58-yard run last week, it shouldn’t be factored into your decision-making this week.
Bigsby is more of a stash than anything at this point. He’s being introduced more into this offense than he was a season ago, but the touch count isn’t stable enough for managers to count on in anything but the deepest of formats.
Tank Bigsby so far this season:
Car. 21
Yds. 172
Avg. 8.6 p/a
Keep in mind Tank has 2 games where he registered 0 and 2 carries🤯
—If fed properly, Tank is a matchup nightmare— pic.twitter.com/L52DKr6Bi5— Hunter P Stevens (@HPS904) September 30, 2024
Gabe Davis, WR | Playing
Gabe Davis is good to go for the Jaguars, but that doesn’t mean he should be even remotely close to fantasy lineups (or rosters, for that matter).
With Trevor Lawrence underperforming, even a strong matchup doesn’t warrant your consideration in anything but a GPP DFS build. Davis has seen his yardage count decline every week, and his next catch gaining more than 22 yards as a Jaguar will be his first.
Kareem Hunt, RB | Playing
Kareem Hunt (shoulder) was limited at practice but is poised to assume the lead role in Kansas City on Monday night. He’s still part of a committee situation, but Hunt is the lead role and should be penciled in as a top-20 play.
In his season debut against the Chargers last week, Hunt racked up 85 yards on 16 touches. That is a reasonable expectation this week, though downside needs to be factored in if Carson Steele is more of a factor.
Raheem Mostert, RB | Playing
A chest injury resulted in an early Week 1 departure of Raheem Mostert, but on Friday, the Dolphins removed him from their final injury report.
His role should remain the same as it did last season, but it’s considerably less valuable today than it was a month ago. Mostert relies on touches inside the 20-yard line to provide Flex value, a role similar to that of David Montgomery in Detroit.
Of course, that role means much more when the offense is consistently threatening the red zone. With Tagovailoa sidelined, we simply can’t project that for Miami in the short term, making Mostert a bench (but hold) in all formats.
Kendrick Bourne, WR | Playing
Kendrick Bourne (knee) has been activated from the PUP list and is poised to make his season debut against the Dolphins today.
If you have the space to speculate, Bourne has shown the ability in the past to produce viable numbers, though this Patriots offense is prohibitive under Jacoby Brissett. In adding Bourne, you’re hoping that a move to Drake Maye happens sooner rather than later.
That said, no Patriot receiver had 100 receiving yards in September. Bourne is a luxury add in deeper formats, not a must-add player that you need to beat your league to.
Wan’Dale Robinson, WR | Playing
Wan’Dale Robinson is good to go, and there are targets available with Nabers (concussion) on the shelf this week. New York’s slot machine has been a PPR asset this season and will likely keep his role unchanged with the team missing its WR1, lining him up to again provide value as a Flex play.
Darius Slayton is the name to watch in deeper leagues and/or DFS formats, as he is the player most likely to absorb the vacated downfield looks.
Kenneth Walker III, RB | Playing
An oblique injury cost Kenneth Walker III time in September, but he came back last week with a bang against the Lions (116 yards on 16 touches) and is positioned and set to assume lead duties again this week.
Walker is to be labeled as aN RB with elite upside on a weekly basis. The floor is lower than the backs in Tier 1, but the ceiling can take over a slate.
Tyler Lockett, WR | Playing
The veteran receiver continues to be put on the injury list and continues to play. Health isn’t the concern with Tyler Lockett as much these days as his role.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba is pushing for the WR2 role in Seattle next to DK Metcalf, and with a potent run game, Geno Smith isn’t likely to provide value to three receivers on a consistent basis.
Keeping Lockett rostered is fine, but he’s outside of the Flex conversation as long as the two other featured options in this passing game are healthy.
Austin Ekeler, RB | Playing
Austin Ekeler missed a game with a concussion, but he’ll be active today to backup Robinson. The veteran was running hard prior to the injury and is likely to earn 8-12 touches, something that might be enough given how efficient this offense has been through the first month.
We have Ekeler labeled as a low-end Flex play, understanding that the touch downside is there, but there is role potential if Robinson struggles to make it through the game.
Trey McBride, TE | Playing
McBride (ribs) will suit up against the 49ers, which means he can be plugged into all fantasy lineups.
McBride has yet to capitalize on the promise that he showed down the stretch of last season. Yet, with at least six targets in all three games in which he has played and a game script that is likely to lean toward the passing game, there should be no hesitation in starting him.
George Kittle, TE | Playing
Kittle is giving it a go this week against the Cardinals and, in this matchup, that vaults him into a top-five ranking at the position.
Arizona is a bottom-10 defense in terms of expected points added, red-zone efficiency, and ability to get off the field on third down. Kittle is always a player that comes with a low floor, given the number of weapons playing alongside him, but the upside is too much to ignore at a position that lacks production outside of the top of the ranking board.