Fantasy Football News and Notes 10-9-13
News and Notes from Wednesday Night's "Red Zone" Radio Program
Fantasy News and Notes 10-09-13:
BYE WEEKS: Atlanta, Miami
Quarterbacks
Although he was expected to miss at least one game, and maybe two, Michael Vick was able to practice some today despite the hamstring injury he suffered week 5. This was unexpected and while there is a chance he may be able to play this week, the smart money is on Nick Foles getting the call. Vick owners should roster Foles as insurance.
Houston is sticking with Matt Schaub as their starting QB in week 6. But this will likely be a last chance for Schaub to keep his job. Considering he gets a Rams defense that is struggling, there's a good chance for a bounce back from Schaub.
Christian Ponder returned to a limited practice today for the Vikings. Ponder has a rib injury that prevented him from playing week 4 and even though he returned today, it's still expected that Matt Cassel will start this week against Carolina. It's also believed that it will only take a few weeks before recently signed Josh Freeman pushes both Ponder and Cassel to the pine.
Running Backs
Kansas City's Jamaal Charles was held out of practice today. It was revealed Sunday that he's been dealing with blisters on his toes the last 2 weeks. While blisters are painful and annoying, they haven't prevented Charles from playing and aren't likely to in week 6.
Houston's Arian Foster was limited in practice because of listed thumb and chest injuries. The mere fact he was able to practice in even limited fashion leads me to think these are minor injuries and nothing to be concerned with.
C.J. Spiller was limited in practice today because of his lingering ankle injury. Spiller played through it last Thursday night and while he isn't 100% recovered, he's likely to play week 6 without issue.
New England's Stevan Ridley practiced in limited fashion today. This is a good sign after he missed all practices last week and then sat out week 5 with a knee injury. The Patriots haven't said what the exact nature of the knee injury is, but if Ridley is able to practice all this week, I'd expect him to reclaim the primary RB duties after LeGarrette Blount literally fumbled away his opportunity in week 5. Brandon Bolden also was limited with a knee injury but he's been playing through it and hasn't shown any signs of it being a concern for his playing status.
Zac Stacy didn't practice today because of what's being called a chest issue. This lends credence to the idea he did suffer some sort of ribs injury week 5. Rams coach Jeff Fisher said that Stacy was just sore and that he does expect Stacy to be fine to start week 6.
In a bit of a surprise, Oakland's Darren McFadden was able to practice in limited fashion today. McFadden is dealing with a hamstring injury and while this is a good sign that the injury isn't too serious, he's still expected to sit out the Raiders week 6 game against Kansas City. With Oakland having the bye in week 7, it's a good bet McFadden should be a full go in week 8.
McFadden's teammate Rashad Jennings was also able to practice in limited fashion today despite his own hamstring injury. Jennings is sounding likely to be able to play this week, although he'll likely be in a time share with Marcel Reece.
Mark Ingram was limited in practice today. It's the first practice he's taken part in the last couple of weeks as he recovers from a toe injury. No word if he'll be active this week or not but even if he is, he's clearly behind Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles in the Saints RB pecking order.
Dallas backup Lance Dunbar missed practice with a hamstring injury. He's unlikely to play week 6. This opens the door for rookie Joseph Randle to make a case for being the top backup to DeMarco Murray.
Green Bay's James Starks is still unable to practice because of the knee injury he suffered in week 3. Johnathan Franklin never saw the field again in week 5 after nearly losing a fumble, so it looks like we can expect Eddie Lacy to have a monster workload this week.
With Ahmad Bradshaw placed on injured reserve yesterday, Indianapolis signed Dan Herron off the Bengals practice squad. Herron will serve as the Colts #3 RB behind Trent Richardson and Donald Brown.
Wide Receivers
It's official, Julio Jones is going to require season ending foot surgery. If you're in a re-draft league and haven’t done it yet, drop Jones and acquire a replacement. Harry Douglas isn't a proven talent but he's likely to be the Falcons top WR with Jones out and Roddy White struggling with his own injuries. Brian Robiskie was signed today to provide depth, but he is behind both Drew Davis and Kevin Cone.
Calvin Johnson was held out of practice today. Megatron almost always sits out Wednesday practices so that's not a good indicator of whether he'll be able to play week 6 or not. I'm pretty sure Johnson isn't going to practice tomorrow either and that he'll be Questionable and considered a game time decision again week 6. Luckily, the Lions play an early game again this Sunday so we'll know for sure about an hour before kickoff whether he is active or not.
Buffalo's Steve Johnson missed practice today because of the back injury he suffered week 5. It was believed the injury wasn't serious but that doesn't exactly mean he will play week 6.
Danny Amendola was limited in practice today, and likely will be limited every practice the rest of the season. But after he got through week 5 without any setbacks in his groin injury, he should be okay for week 6. Only if it sounds like Amendola is in danger of missing game action will I be updating him again.
Miles Austin put in a full practice today in Dallas. It appears that barring any setbacks between now and the weekend, Austin will play week 6. However, considering his lengthy history of recurring hamstring issues, he is hard to trust. I think the bigger impact is that this could lead to fewer targets for rookie Terrence Williams in what is a nice matchup against a weak Washington secondary.
The Saints Lance Moore was unable to practice today because of the hand injury that has prevented him from playing the last couple of games. Moore is droppable in all league formats in my opinion.
Several WR's were either limited or did not practice today but are fully expected to be fine for their normal roles week 6. The List includes Houston's Andre Johnson (shin), Jacksonville's Cecil Shorts (groin), Tampa Bay's Mike Williams (hamstring), and Baltimore's duo of Marlon Brown (thigh) and Jacoby Jones (knee).
Tight Ends
Houston placed Owen Daniels on the injured reserve/designated for return list today because of his lower leg fracture. He is eligible to return in week 14. Hold onto Daniels in dynasty leagues, but in re-draft I think you can drop him as there is no guarantee he'll be ready to return when he's eligible to
Chicago's Martellus Bennett is Questionable on the injury report for Thursday night's game because of a knee injury. While he is being called a game time decision, Bennett is tentatively expected to play after getting in limited practices both Tuesday and Wednesday.
Also Questionable for tomorrow night's game is the Giants Brandon Myers. Myers has an ankle injury, but he is expected to play.
Greg Olsen missed practice today with a foot injury. The severity of the injury and the exact nature of it are unknown. Consider Olsen questionable for week 6 and be sure to have a backup plan ready in case he isn't able to play.
As expected Washington's Jordan Reed was able to practice in full today and he is set to start week 6. Reed was starting to really assert himself as the top Washington TE before suffering a quad injury and he should pick right back up where he left out with a nice matchup against Dallas this week.
The Jets Kellen Winslow missed practice with his chronic knee issue. He'll likely be okay for this week but you'd need to be desperate to be thinking of starting Winslow. Teammate Jeff Cumberland is the better fantasy option in my opinion, and really Cumberland isn't even a fantasy TE2.
And you thought you were going to get away without hearing about New England's Rob Gronkowski? Sorry. He's still practicing in limited fashion and all reports say that he is tentatively expected to play week 6.