Fantasy Football Injury News and Player Notes 11-29-12


Quarterbacks

*-The drama surrounding Ben Roethlisberger will likely come down to the wire. Roethlisberger practiced again today in limited fashion and while that's good, the issue is whether he'll have enough motion in his arm and the arm strength to throw the deeper passes. Consider Big Ben to be a full blown game time decision.

*-Michael Vick is struggling to pass the last of his concussion tests and it's a foregone conclusion he isn't going to play week 13. It's very likely that unless Nick Foles completely melts down, we won't see Vick in the regular season again in 2012.

*-Brandon Weeden practiced again today and while the Browns haven't said he's been cleared for game action, it's believed he has passed all of his concussion tests and should be okay for week 13.

*-Carson Palmer has a minor thumb injury but he will start week 13 for Oakland without issue.


Running Backs

*-DeMarco Murray practiced again today in limited fashion and it now appears he will be able to return from his foot injury and start week 13. Likely he'll be listed as Questionable on Friday's injury report but Murray is expected to be the primary RB this week with Felix Jones also getting more playing time than normal when Murray plays as Murray probably isn't ready for 20+ carries.

*-Darren McFadden also practiced again today and he is expected to return as the primary RB for the Raiders this week. Backup Mike Goodson is also expected back this week, too, but it's more likely Marcel Reece will act as the top backup to McFadden this week. Not sure if McFadden is ready for a full load, so a split between him and Reece is likely.

*-Matt Forte makes it a clean sweep of the RB's who practiced again today and are expected to play week 13. Forte should be okay for close to his normal role this week but has a tough matchup against the Seahawks and will still lose some carries to Michael Bush.

*-Jonathan Stewart missed practice again today and while not ruled out for week 13, it's sounding unlikely that he will be able to play. Even if active, it's very likely DeAngelo Williams will be the primary RB this week for Carolina. Not that I'd trust any Panthers RB.

*-Cedric Benson underwent surgery today to repair his Lisfranc foot injury. This means Benson will NOT be back this season. His foot wasn't healing up as well as was hoped and the surgery was considered necessary. James Starks and Alex Green will split up the RB duties for the Packers the rest of the season.

*-As expected, Mikel Leshoure returned to practice today. Concerns about his ankle yesterday apparently were overblown by some media outlets and Leshoure will be fine for week 13.

*-No surprise that Ahmad Bradshaw didn't practice today. Bradshaw has been practicing in limited fashion once a week the last couple of weeks because of his foot injury and he'll start week 13 as he usually does.


Wide Receivers

*-Percy Harvin was unable to practice again today because of his ankle injury and he is shaping up to be a game time decision for week 13. Even if Harvin were to be active this week, I would strongly encourage you to keep him benched as he clearly will be limited, probably both in abilities and in playing time on the field.

*-Justin Blackmon and Cecil Shorts of Jacksonville were both held out of practice today. Blackmon reportedly has a groin injury and Shorts reportedly a hamstring issue. Neither player was listed at all on yesterday's practice report injury list so it's fair to wonder if this is something that happened yesterday or today. Maybe it was just a day of rest. We don't know at this point and I strongly encourage you to check out my team by team news and notes I post in my blog on Saturday for an update on both Jaguars WR's.

*-Danny Amendola is not expected to practice at all this week again because of his foot injury and reports are that he will be a game time decision for week 13. Amendola played last week after not practicing at all, albeit in very limited fashion, and while he could do so again, he is a guy you'd really be gambling on if you inserted him into a fantasy lineup. I'd keep him benched even if active.

*-Miles Austin practiced in limited fashion again today despite his hip injury and while he may not be 100% for week 13 he is expected to start and be fine.

*-Andre Roberts was unable to practice again today because of an ankle injury. His status for week 13 is Questionable.

*-Mohamed Sanu was limited in practice because of a foot issue. He wasn't on yesterday's report so this must have occurred in practice. Consider him Questionable unless he returns to a full practice tomorrow.

*-Julian Edelman practiced again today in limited fashion. The Patriots have said nothing about Edelman and whether he's passed all of his concussion tests, but it's looking like he will be okay for week 13 barring any word otherwise.  


Tight Ends

*-Kyle Rudolph practiced today after missing yesterday with a shoulder issue. Rudolph should be okay to consider for fantasy lineups this week.

*-And just like yesterday, Aaron Hernandez was limited again in practice today. He likely will be listed as Questionable on Friday's injury report but he's also fully expected to be able to play week 13 despite his ankle not having healed up fully yet.


Kickers

*-An update on 49ers kicker David Akers: his undisclosed injury turns out to be a pelvis injury. The 49ers haven't signed another kicker yet, and they may not do so at all and Akers may be fine for week 13, but like I said yesterday, Akers owns the worst FG % in the league at 70.4 and you likely would be better off finding a suitable replacement for him who isn't injured and isn't missing nearly 30% of his FGA's.