The Infirmary Report: Post Week 1 Injuries

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 are the injuries from the first week of regular season action.

Dak Prescott, QB, Cowboys

Injury: Dak Prescott fractured his right thumb in the loss to the Buccaneers.

Expected Return: He’s expected to miss 6-8 weeks.

Key Takeaway: 

When it comes to hand injuries for a quarterback, we have learned they tend to linger. It’s probably safe to say you can fade the Cowboys for the next few weeks. If Prescott comes back like Wilson did last season from his broken finger, then it may be a tough year entirely. In superflex leagues you can pick up Cooper Rush who will at least pass the ball a lot. The Cowboys will be playing from behind often, so Rush may not be bad in garbage time. Ezekiel Elliot will probably not see as much time anymore either as Tony Pollard comes in when the Cowboys are down. Dalton Schultz should also continue to see plenty of targets.

Elijah Mitchell, RB, 49ers

Injury: Elijah Mitchell suffered a knee injury in Sunday’s contest against the Bears.

Expected Return: There is no timeline yet as the severity of the injury is still unknown- although it looks pretty serious.

Key Takeaway: 

Pick up Tyrion Davis-Price! I know he was a healthy scratch this week, but Jeff Wilson can not handle workhorse volume. It’s very possible Davis-Price was held out because of the terrible weather and also because he doesn’t play special teams. He profiles better than Wilson, and the 49ers used their third round pick on him for a reason. Deebo Samuel will also likely see more carries again like he did last season when Mitchell was out.

Najee Harris, RB, Steelers

Injury: Najee Harris injured the same foot he had a Lisfranc injury on during the preseason.

Expected Return: No timeline yet as the severity is still to be discovered, it isn’t believed to be serious.

Key Takeaway: 

I’m not gonna buy the downplaying of this injury for one second. If this is the same foot, which it is, there is absolutely no way Najee Harris makes it through the season with the same kind of workload he’s used to. And if he does, then there’s absolutely no way he’s highly efficient with that volume. Jaylen Warren is the backup and took 3 carries for 7 yards on Sunday. He’s an undrafted rookie with an average profile. It is likely that the Steelers will bring in another RB if Harris’s injury gets, or is, worse.

Tee Higgins, WR, Bengals

Injury: Tee Higgins suffered a concussion against the Steelers last week.

Expected Return: He is currently Questionable for Week 2.

Key Takeaway: 

It’s a concussion, so there isn’t much to take away.

Tee Higgins Advanced Stats & Metrics Profile

He will probably miss most of practice this week and end up playing on limited snaps in Week 2. It’s also possible he isn’t held back at all for the game. Another takeaway is that Ja’Marr Chase may see another whopping 16 targets this week.

Wan’Dale Robinson, WR, Giants

Injury: Wan’Dale Robinson suffered a knee injury in the win against the Titans.

Expected Return: Robinson is questionable for Week 2. The injury is believed to not be serious.

Key Takeaway: 

With the injury ending up not being that serious, there isn’t much to take away. The main takeaway from this game is Saquon Barkley looks amazing, and Kadarius Toney barely saw the field. So for Toney owners who were hoping Robinson would miss some time, it appears that he won’t be. As far as injuries go, it doesn’t appear to be very serious.

Keenan Allen, WR, Chargers

Injury: Keenan Allen suffered a hamstring injury against the Raiders this Sunday.

Expected Return: He is Questionable for Week 2 which is Thursday Night Football.

Key Takeaway: 

Allen is probably going to miss the Thursday night game against the Chiefs. At the very least, he will be limited if he does play. Hamstring injuries have the capacity to linger all season. He’s also well past the age apex, so this is cause for concern. Mike Williams should see an uptick in volume but so should other pass catchers Gerald Everett and Josh Palmer.

Brandon Bolden, RB, Raiders

Injury: Brandon Bolden suffered a hamstring injury against the Chargers this Sunday.

Expected Return: He is Questionable for Week 2.

Key Takeaway: 

Bolden took his five touches for 28 yards and a touchdown before exiting the game with an injury. Like Keenan Allen, this hamstring injury is a concern because Bolden is well past the age apex at 32 years old. This is an opportunity for Zamir White to get a spot in this crowded backfield. White didn’t see a snap Sunday while Ameer Abdullah saw 12. Josh Jacobs could also get an uptick in volume as the RB1.

Justin Watson, WR, Chiefs

Injury: Justin Watson suffered a chest injury against the Cardinals this week.

Expected Return: He is questionable for Week 2.

Key Takeaway: 

Watson is fairly buried on the depth chart, so it isn’t like his injury means much fantasy wise for other players. However, with the way Patrick Mahomes played this week, any pass catcher missing time is good for the other pass catchers. Mahomes hit 10 different receivers with six different players getting three or more catches. He is spreading the ball out as much as possible, so an injury to a target means more volume for the others. Although in Watson’s case he only had one target before exiting.