Fantasy Football Injury Report (Week 4)

Every Monday during the NFL season, the Injury Report goes through the injuries around the NFL position-by-position as they relate to your season-long fantasy football teams. 

Friday Update

Patriots quarterback Mac Jones can’t move around on his injured left ankle. The Patriots are kidding themselves if they think he’s actually suiting up this week. 

Bears running back David Montgomery hasn’t been ruled out yet, but he didn’t practice Thursday and it doesn’t look good. Commence Khalil Herbert SZN if Montgomery were to miss Week 4. 

Lions coach Dan Campbell said running back D’Andre Swift is out for Week 4. It’s Jamaal Williams SZN and Craig Reynolds SZN if you’re desperate. 

Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas is out for Week 4 with a toe injury and quarterback Jameis Winston is also out with a back injury. I’d feel better about using Chris Olave with Winston in there as opposed to Andy Dalton. Jarvis Landry could see extra work underneath with Dalton in and Thomas out. 

Lions star wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown is out for Week 4 with an ankle injury. D.J. Chark is third in the entire NFL in air yards and should see an increase in opportunity. Josh Reynolds saw 10 targets last week and quarterback Jared Goff has shown trust in him going back to last year. Perhaps no one has more to gain from St. Brown’s absence than tight end T.J. Hockenson, who could see more short targets this week. 

Original Injury Run

Quarterback

Patriots quarterback Mac Jones will have an MRI today after X-rays on his injured ankle were negative, according to Jeff Howe of the Athletic. There is concern Jones suffered a high ankle sprain, which would likely keep him out anywhere from 4-6 weeks, but nobody knows until we see the MRI. If Jones were to miss time, Brian Hoyer would likely fill in for New England. Much like with Jimmy Garoppolo replacing Trey Lance due to injury, Hoyer can safely be left on the wire in all formats save for 2-QB and Superflex leagues, and even then bid conservatively.

Jets coach Robert Saleh is expecting quarterback Zach Wilson back in Week 4, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. This puts Wilson on the streaming radar in standard leagues considering how much the Jets are throwing the ball these days. Joe Flacco had a good run, I guess. 

Running Back

Bears coach Matt Eberflus says the prognosis on running back David Montgomery is good and that he’s day-to-day with a lower-leg injury, according to Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times. This would seem to be good news after Montgomery left Sunday’s contest with the Texans early and saw backup Khalil Herbert put up a career game with 157 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Herbert would continue to see an expanded workload if Montgomery is unable to get back on the field in Week 4. 

Vikings running back Dalvin Cook’s shoulder dislocated again, according to NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero. If that sounds familiar that’s because Cook has dislocated his shoulder before, but in the past he’s worn a harness and been able to play through the injury. He’s expected to do that this week and potentially the rest of the season. If Cook were to miss any time, Alexander Mattison would be the prime beneficiary in the Minnesota backfield. 

Lions running back D’Andre Swift wasn’t using his left arm much in the locker room after the game and appeared to have received treatment for an injured shoulder, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Swift was already dealing with an ankle injury and picked up another injury here, which really isn’t a good sign considering the rap on him coming into the season was that he struggles to stay healthy. He had 15 carries in Week 1 against Philadelphia but has carried the ball just 12 times in the two games since then. In Week 3 against Minnesota, his 4.4 yards per carry was down considerably from the first two games. That may still seem like a good average, but with the holes the Lions offensive line is opening up this year, it’s really not. Backup Jamaal Williams led the team in carries in Week 3, and it wouldn’t be surprising if that trend continued. Williams already seems to have a chokehold on the goal-line work in Detroit. 

Bengals running back Joe Mixon said the sore ankle that caused him to miss the end of the game is all good, according to Jay Morrison of the Athletic. Samaje Perine scored a touchdown in this game and would be the biggest beneficiary in the Bengals backfield if Mixon were to miss time. 

Wide Receiver

Saints head coach Dennis Allen said wide receiver Michael Thomas suffered a toe injury. Jarvis Landry also injured his ankle in this game. It would be irresponsible to speculate on either of their injury timetables without more information, but it’s not exactly a good sign to see two 29-year-old receivers unable to finish a game this early in the season. It would seem to bode especially poorly for Thomas, who has been severely limited by injury over the past two seasons. Regardless of the injury status of these two, rookie receiver Chris Olave seems to be the receiver to have in New Orleans. Olave has had 13 targets in each of the last two weeks and delivered nine catches and 147 receiving yards in Week 3. 

Be sure to check back for the Friday update and hit us up in the FTN Fantasy Football Discord with any additional injury questions.