• Another one gone: With a handful of starting QBs already down for the year, Week 14 saw us lose Justin Herbert for the remainder of the season after exacerbating his broken finger suffered several weeks back.
• Stars on injury watch: Jonathan Taylor, Alexander Mattison, Kenny Pickett, and Christian Watson have already been ruled out while Tyreek Hill, C.J. Stroud, De’Von Achane, and Chris Olave among others are in legitimate danger of missing this weekend.
• Dominate your fantasy league in 2023: For up-to-date fantasy draft rankings and projections, check out PFF’s fantasy rankings tool!
Estimated reading time: 9 minutes
The fantasy football playoffs have officially arrived for a vast majority this week, raising the stakes even higher amidst some intense playoff races in both the AFC and NFC.
As always, injuries look to play a major role this week with many big names already ruled out and a hefty list of players trending toward missing the weekend’s contests. We are well beyond the point in the season that everyone is playing banged up to some degree, making many of these situations day-to-day and extremely fluid.
With Week 15 marking the fantasy playoffs, these types of situations become even more impactful when considering roster and lineup decisions, and they require additional attention to stay on top of to maintain a competitive edge. Also of note, this week kicks off the NFL’s Saturday slates for the remainder of the season, adding an extra wrinkle to those lineup decisions. Let’s take a look around the league at the most impactful injuries ahead of a pivotal Week 15.
QB C.J. Stroud (concussion), Houston Texans
The rookie phenom has not practiced this week after suffering a concussion late in the Texans' loss to the New York Jets in Week 14. Davis Mills has been prepping as the starter, but head coach Demeco Ryans has not closed the door on Stroud potentially seeing the field on Sunday. With the Texans' run game struggles and a banged-up receiving corps, this offense is pretty unappealing for their Week 15 trip to Tennessee, but Stroud has certainly shown enough this year to consider keeping in the lineup should he play.
WR Tyreek Hill (ankle), Miami Dolphins
Concern is beginning to mount that the current fantasy WR1 could be in jeopardy of missing this weekend's game against the Jets with an ankle sprain suffered on Monday. He’s a must-start if he goes even given the injury and matchup, but there’s still a very realistic possibility fantasy managers are without him this week.
QB Geno Smith (groin), Seattle Seahawks
A late scratch in Week 14, Smith’s groin issue appears to be trending positively after putting in a limited practice Thursday ahead of the Seahawks' Monday night matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles. While this is certainly encouraging for the Seahawks skill position players, he’s a tough endorsement on Monday night after late scratching last week. Drew Lock is a fine pivot in the worst case, but it’s probably a good idea to have other options going into Sunday should Smith’s status not be definitive by the noon slate.
WR Chris Olave (ankle) and WR Rashid Shaheed (thigh), New Orleans Saints
Missing practice both Wednesday and Thursday, Olave has a serious chance of missing the Saints matchup with the New York Giants on Sunday, so his status will need to be monitored through the weekend. If he misses, his primary beneficiary will figure to be Rashid Shaheed, who has struggled with a thigh issue of his own going back to Week 12, which caused him to miss the previous two contests. Olave remains in must-start territory, but Shaheed has boom potential as well this week with an advantageous matchup.
RB Brian Robinson (hamstring), Washington Commanders
Coming off the Commanders' bye week, Robinson has missed two days of practice due to a hamstring strain that has him in doubt of missing their Week 15 matchup with the Los Angeles Rams. He may try to gut it out and play, but in the likely case he’s sidelined, expect Antonio Gibson to get the majority of the work with Chris Rodriguez Jr. mixing in.
RB Raheem Mostert (knee) and RB De’Von Achane (toe), Miami Dolphins
Mostert returned to practice Thursday, but Achane has sat out thus far this week due to a toe issue, casting some doubt about the electric rookie’s availability for Sunday against the Jets. Mostert remains a solid play, but Achane feels like a bit of a risk at this point in the season if he goes. The boom potential is always there, but the Dolphins have erred on the side of caution with him this season, so any downward trend could be cause for them to keep him on the sideline.
WR Michael Wilson (neck) and WR Marquise Brown (heel), Arizona Cardinals
After missing practice Wednesday, Brown returned Thursday, giving him a positive trend heading into the weekend. This heel issue has bothered him for a few weeks and through last week's bye, so skepticism is fair, as he is tough to trust in the fantasy playoffs. His running mate Michael Wilson has not played since Week 10 with a few nagging injuries keeping him sidelined, but by all reports, he intends to play against the San Francisco 49ers this weekend, a team he lit up for 76 yards and two touchdowns in Week 4. Both seem to be solid upside plays in deeper formats given the expanse of injury issues around the league.
TE Dalton Kincaid (thumb/shoulder), Buffalo Bills
Limited this week by thumb and shoulder issues, Kincaid’s availability for the Bills' matchup with the Dallas Cowboys this weekend is worth watching. The fact he has been involved to some degree is encouraging, and another solid day of practice on Friday would put him on pace to play. If he can go, an unfavorable matchup and potential limitations of each injury make him a tough start if comparable options are out there.
WR Jayden Reed (ankle), WR Dontayvion Wicks (ankle), and WR Christian Watson (hamstring), Green Bay Packers
A mixed bag of injury struggles for the Packers as they head into Week 15, and it sounds as if they will be without Christian Watson again due to the hamstring issue that forced him to sit out Monday night against the Giants. Reed and Wicks have put in varying practice statuses capped with limited participation on Thursday and will need to be monitored heading into the weekend. Reed seemingly has the inside track as the top dog in the room, especially with Watson out, but Wicks and Romeo Doubs are certainly capable of putting up a usable week against a Tampa Bay Buccaneers secondary that has allowed the third-most 15-plus-yard receptions and 3rd highest yards per passing attempt this season.
RB Isiah Pacheco (shoulder), Kansas City Chiefs
Pacheco continues to rehabilitate a shoulder injury that caused him to miss last weekend's loss to Buffalo, and it doesn’t sound like he is trending toward playing against the New England Patriots with two missed practices heading into the weekend. With him sidelined in Week 14, the Chiefs split backfield work almost evenly between Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Jerick McKinnon, both of whom are sneaky upside plays if you’re desperate for RB help despite a tough matchup with a New England run defense that is allowing just 3.3 yards per carry this season.
RB A.J. Dillon (thumb) and RB Aaron Jones (knee), Green Bay Packers
Dillon popped up on the injury report this week due to a broken thumb, as he missed Thursday’s practice, making his status uncertain for Sunday’s matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Luckily for Packers fans and fantasy managers alike, Aaron Jones is on track to play Sunday barring any setbacks after getting limited work in practice this week. There’s certainly a situation where the Packers continue to bring him along slowly, in which case the Packers could roll out some combination of Patrick Taylor and Kenyan Drake at RB. Even if Jones plays, it’s tough to trust someone who has been banged up as extensively as Jones this year in your fantasy lineups.
WR Noah Brown (knee) and WR Nico Collins (calf), Houston Texans
Knocked out early in the Texans’ Week 14 loss to the New York Jets, Nico Collins is yet to practice ahead of Week 15’s matchup with the Tennessee Titans. With Tank Dell already on injured reserve and C.J. Stroud likely sidelined this week as well, the Texans offense looks increasingly desolate not even accounting for Noah Brown’s prolonged knee issues that cost him Weeks 11 and 12, and has limited him in practice since. Recent trends would indicate he plays, but with Davis Mills behind center and little to alleviate defensive attention outside of Brown and Dalton Schultz, this offense seemingly has a wide range of potential outcomes that are hard to get excited about.
WR Chris Godwin (knee), Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Godwin has missed two days of practice this week due to a knee injury picked up in the Bucs' Week 14 victory, putting his availability in serious doubt for Sunday’s contest in Green Bay. It’s worth keeping an eye on his status Sunday morning, but for now don’t count on him playing.
RB Rhamondre Stevenson (ankle), New England Patriots
Stevenson missed Week 14 wdue to an ankle sprain suffered early in Week 13 and has yet to practice ahead of this week's matchup with the Chiefs, likely giving Ezekiel Elliott the keys to the backfield once again.
Others to monitor
RB Travis Etienne (ribs), Jacksonville Jaguars
Limited in practice this week, it doesn’t sound like Etienne is in major doubt of missing the Jaguars matchup on Sunday Night Football. As always, attention will need to be paid to his status on Friday and Saturday. Have a pivot in mind should worse come to worst.
WR D.J. Moore (ankle), Chicago Bears
Moore sat out of practice Wednesday but returned Thursday, and reports are optimistic he will be good to go for Sunday. His absence would hurt the Bears offense, particularly Justin Fields, but don’t expect to be without him barring a Friday or Saturday setback.
RB Breece Hall (ankle), New York Jets
Hall played through his ankle issue last week despite major doubt and ended up catching eight passes for 86 yards and a touchdown to supplement his 39 yards on the ground in the Jets' win over Houston. Limited once again this week, it sounds like he is on track to be in the lineup again on Sunday against Miami barring a setback on Friday.
WR Justin Jefferson (chest), Minnesota Vikings
Jefferson has been limited in practice this week but has stated he intends to play this week against the Cincinnati Bengals. With Nick Mullens behind center, it’s hard to get excited about him this week, but he’s Justin Jefferson, so keep him on the bench at your own risk.
TE Darren Waller (hamstring), New York Giants
Waller has been designated to return from injured reserve and could suit up this weekend after putting in limited practices on Wednesday and Thursday. He’s a hard endorsement as a must-start given his tumultuous injury struggles this season, but there are certainly worse options out there for streaming options.
RB Kareem Hunt (groin) and RB Jerome Ford (wrist), Cleveland Browns
Both Browns backs are questionable this week with their respective injuries, but it sounds as if both are tracking towards playing this weekend against the Chicago Bears pending any setbacks on Friday.
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