The Infirmary Report: Post Week 10

by Jason Allwine · Fantasy Football

The worst part of our beloved game is the frequency of injuries. It’s an unfortunate byproduct of such a fast-paced, contact-heavy sport. It’s something that is important to remember as we approach the first full week of the preseason. Luckily for the NFL players, they have access to some of the best doctors in the world and can usually return to form at least by the next season. Unfortunately for us fantasy players, it’s not always easy to know when a player will get hurt. To another degree, sometimes your roster isn’t big enough to plan ahead for an injury. This series, the Infirmary Report, will give you advice on the injuries that have happened every week during the season. Without further ado, here is the Infirmary Report: Post Week 10 of regular season action.

Zach Ertz, TE, Cardinals

Injury: Ertz suffered a knee injury in Sunday’s win over the Rams.

Expected Return: The exact severity and timeline are still unknown, but he’s expected to be out a few weeks (Editor’s Note: This was written before Ertz was ruled out for the season).

Key Takeaway: 

Trey McBride SZN is upon us! He didn’t do much yesterday in Ertz’s absence, but that should change when Kyler Murray returns and there’s more favorable game scripts than the John Wolford led Rams. McBride was the first tight end drafted in this year’s class and had a 1,000-yard season his senior year at Colorado State- highlighting his 99th percentile college dominator score. Ertz had the second most tight end targets going into the contest while also being top five in snap share, route participation, air yards, deep targets, red zone targets, touchdowns, receptions, and fantasy points per game. That’s a high ceiling for the rookie tight end.

Khalil Herbert, RB, Bears

https://twitter.com/nflfootballeve1/status/1591897416176992260

Injury: Herbert picked up a hip injury in Sunday’s loss to the Lions.

Expected Return: He is currently Questionable for Week 11.

Key Takeaway: 

Justin Fields is on fire right now! If Khalil Herbert does miss time, that does bring David Montgomery back into bell-cow territory. Montgomery and Herbert have been in a near 60/40 split, and Herbert had been more efficient. Depending on the severity of the hip injury- Montgomery slides right into RB2 territory with RB1 upside. Hopefully, Fields doesn’t keep running for 150 yards every game.

Jerry Jeudy, WR, Broncos

Injury: Jeudy sustained an ankle injury in Sunday’s loss to the Titans.

Expected Return: The exact severity and timeline are still unknown, but he will probably miss at least one week.

Key Takeaway: 

Jerry Jeudy was injured early in the contest, so Courtland Sutton had himself a small bounce-back. It wasn’t anything spectacular, but he did see 11 targets which he took for 66 yards and six catches. Expect him to see a similar volume while Jeudy is out. Greg Dulcich surprisingly flopped, but he should also see an uptick in volume if Jeudy’s injury is serious.

JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, Chiefs

Injury: Smith-Schuster suffered a concussion in the win over the Jaguars.

Expected Return: He is currently Questionable for Week 11.

Key Takeaway: 

With Mecole Hardman out, JuJu Smith-Schuster was in for some more volume. However, he was hurt early and Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Kadarius Toney had great games. Toney scored his first NFL touchdown and is looking like he will be vital to this offense moving forward. He is the biggest benefactor from Smith-Schuster’s concussion. You can safely fire up Toney if Smith-Schuster misses time.

Gerald Everett, TE, Chargers

Injury: Everett picked up a groin injury on Sunday Night Football.

Expected Return: He is currently Questionable for Week 11.

Key Takeaway: 

Considering he didn’t leave the field after the injury and instead stayed on the sideline with his uniform on- this injury probably isn’t that serious. But to be honest, Everett hasn’t done much in Keenan Allen and Mike Williams’s absence anyway. The same is true with Josh Palmer. Only DeAndre Carter and Austin Ekeler have been startable options. Expect the same moving forward, especially if Everett is sidelined again. You just can’t expect Justin Herbert to turn into Superman when he’s had two weeks to do it and hasn’t. One of them was even against the Falcons.

Cooper Kupp, WR, Rams

Injury: Kupp injured his ankle in the loss to the Cardinals.

Expected Return: The exact severity and timeline are still unknown, and he is expected to at least miss 1-2 weeks.

Key Takeaway: 

This injury looked really serious. He may have avoided the “worst-case scenario,” but there is no way he doesn’t at least miss one week of action. So, analyzing this as the best-case scenario means to me that Ben Skowronek and Tyler Higbee will have solid weeks in Cooper Kupp‘s absence. Allen Robinson slides into the WR1 role, but I feel as if that will be too much to handle for him. He’s struggled this year against worse corners, so it’s hard to imagine the thing that has been holding him back is the fact that he was behind Cooper Kupp. The Rams’ offense has struggled, and they will most definitely continue to struggle.

Leonard Fournette, RB, Buccaneers

Injury: Fournette injured his hip in the win over the Seahawks.

Expected Return: He is currently Questionable for Week 11.

Key Takeaway: 

That video is when he got injured, and the most we see is a wince. NFL players are tough dudes, and Leonard Fournette is no exception. Rachaad White truthers are going to be hoping that this is more serious than it is, but Fournette will likely be out there next week. However, White did earn the starter role with his performance against Seattle. Look for this backfield to be closer to 50/50 for the rest of the year. White may even get near 60-percent in some weeks. One take while I’m talking about the Buccaneers- they are BACK. Look for a fantastic second half for this team. Go trade for any member.