Fantasy Football News and Notes 11-12-13
News and Notes from Tuesday Night's "Red Zone" Radio Program
Fantasy News and Notes 11-12-13:
BYE WEEKS: Dallas, St. Louis
Quarterbacks
Jake Locker suffered a Lisfranc foot injury and requires surgery. His season is done. Tennessee placed him on injured reserve today. Ryan Fitzpatrick will finish out the 2013 season as the Titans starting QB.
Jay Cutler suffered a high ankle sprain and he has been ruled OUT for week 11 already. Josh McCown will start in his place. Cutler may miss more than just one week.
Peyton Manning aggravated his ankle injury this past Sunday. An MRI came back negative though and while Manning may not practice as much as he normally does, he is currently fully expected to start week 11 for Denver as they take on the Chiefs.
Green Bay will start Scott Tolzien at QB this week as Seneca Wallace suffered a groin injury week 10 and is likely heading to injured reserve. Matt Flynn was signed to be Tolzien's backup until Aaron Rodgers can return. Rodgers is tentatively expected back in week 13 when the Packers play the Lions on Thanksgiving Day.
Michael Vick is not expected to play week 11 because of his hamstring injury. With Nick Foles having some great performances, it's a good bet Vick won't get the job back even when the hamstring is healthy, which should be another week or two.
Minnesota is tentatively expected to start Christian Ponder week 11. That is if Ponder's dislocated non-throwing shoulder injury doesn't hinder him in practices. We should know more later in the week. Personally, with a matchup against Seattle, I think Ponder should be hoping Matt Cassel or Josh Freeman makes the start instead.
Running Backs
Arian Foster was officially placed on injured reserve today because of his back injury. His season is over. Ben Tate takes over as the starter for Houston with Dennis Johnson as his top backup.
Tampa Bay placed Doug Martin on injured reserve last Friday, ending his season. His replacement, Mike James broke his ankle in last night's game and his season is done, too. The Bucs go forward with Brian Leonard and Bobby Rainey as their 2 headed RBBC. Leonard is considered the "starter", but Rainey is a better rusher and could push his way past Leonard. It's likely the Bucs will go looking for a veteran to add to their RB corps.
New England is expected to activate Shane Vereen off the IR/Designated for Return list sometime this week. Vereen is expected to immediately take over as the 3rd down RB and likely be the top change of pace to Stevan Ridley. Brandon Bolden and LeGarrette Blount are likely to be on the outside looking in going forward.
It's a safe bet that Darren McFadden isn't going to play week 11 because of his hamstring injury. The Raiders have nothing to gain by rushing him back and Rashad Jennings has done well filling in. Expect Jennings to be Oakland's featured RB again this week.
Wide Receivers
Seattle activated Percy Harvin from the PUP list yesterday and he is expected to play week 11. Harvin may be limited some in his first game action of the season after having had surgery to repair a hip injury suffered back in July, but he at least can be considered. He may even be chomping at the bit to play against his former team. His return is expected to hurt the fantasy potential of Jermaine Kearse and Doug Baldwin. Golden Tate should retain his value and may even benefit some.
Buffalo's Steve Johnson suffered a groin injury and his status for week 11 is very uncertain. Johnson has battled several injuries this season and this one may cause him to miss more than one game. But we won't know for sure until later in the week. It's possible Buffalo could be without both of its normal starting WR's as Robert Woods is no sure bet to return this week after missing last week with an ankle sprain. T.J. Graham and Marquise Goodwin could end up starting for the Bills.
Kansas City's Dwayne Bowe was arrested Sunday night for speeding and possession of marijuana. While it's unlikely the league itself will do anything about the incident before it goes through the court process, it is conceivable the team may take disciplinary action of its own. We'll see whether they do anything about it later in the week.
Minnesota is debating whether to suspend Jerome Simpson for week 11 after he was popped for DUI over the weekend. Considering the matchup is against Seattle and I think I'd stay away from Simpson regardless of whether he's active or not.
Tennessee's Damian Williams is considered week to week with a quad injury. He isn't going to play Thursday night when Tennessee faces Indianapolis. Williams had been serving as the Titans #3 WR and this could mean we see a bit more of rookie Justin Hunter. I doubt we see much of Kenny Britt.
Michael Floyd suffered a sprained shoulder injury but the Cardinals say they expect him to be okay to play week 11. We'll see whether Floyd practices at all this week. If he misses practices, I have a hard time believing he'd be effective in the game even if active. Andre Roberts could end up starting.
The Jets expect Santonio Holmes to return to game action this week. Holmes has missed the last few weeks with a hamstring injury. He'll likely be mixed in quite a bit with Jeremy Kerley expected to miss the game with an elbow injury.
Indianapolis activated Da'Rick Rogers from the practice squad. Normally I wouldn't mention something like this, but Rogers was a favorite of mine in the NFL draft as he has tons of talent, but came with tons of off-field issues too. With Darrius Heyward-Bey not performing, and the Colts having no one else besides LaVon Brazil and Griff Whalen in his way, Rogers at least has an outside chance of being relevant if he keeps his head in the game.
San Francisco released Kyle Williams today. Williams had started a few games for the 49ers earlier this season but was predictably ineffective. This shouldn't affect anyone's fantasy rosters.
Tight Ends
Vernon Davis suffered a concussion week 10 and his status is uncertain for week 11. Davis will need to pass all concussion tests before being allowed to play in a game. While some may think this would mean a bump up for rookie Vance McDonald, McDonald has had opportunities before and never taken advantage of them. Hopefully we know more by Thursday about whether Davis will play week 11 or not.
Tony Gonzalez suffered a toe injury week 10 and his status for week 11 is very uncertain. Hopefully we know more about whether it's a serious injury or not later in the week.
Kellen Winslow is expected back for the Jets this week now that he's finished serving a league imposed 4 game suspension. However, he'll only have any value if the bye week wasn't enough time for Jeff Cumberland to get over his concussion.
It's tentatively expected that Jermaine Gresham will be able to play week 11 for Cincinnati. Gresham missed week 10 because of a groin injury but reportedly was close to being able to play.
Ben Watson suffered a concussion week 10 and he'll need to pass his concussion tests to be available for his usual nominal role in the Saints offense week 11.
Kickers
New Orleans worked out a few free agent kickers today. Garrett Hartley has missed 4 of his last 6 FGA's, and while he's not believed to be in immediate danger of losing his job, the team is updating their list in case he doesn't get it corrected soon.