Fantasy Football Injury Report: Week 6

The Titans are in London this week but wide receiver Treylon Burks will not be joining them. He’s out once again, and that should raise the floor and ceiling of DeAndre Hopkins, who logged over 80% of the snaps in Week 5 and saw double-digit targets. 

Miles Sanders, Carolina Panthers 

Miles Sanders has been dealing with an injury for a couple of weeks, but now it’s hit the point where he’s going to miss a week. Chuba Hubbard is expected to carry the load against the Dolphins with Raheem Blackshear as the backup. Laviska Shenault could see a couple of carries here, but for the most part, it should be Hubbard’s show. 

Jeff Wilson, Miami Dolphins 

Miami did open up the 21-day window for Jeff Wilson to return from injured reserve, but that looks like it will have to wait one more week. He’s being listed as doubtful, which means Raheem Mostert and Salvon Ahmed should take up just about every running back touch against the Panthers. 

Khalil Herbert/Roschon Johnson/Travis Homer, Chicago Bears 

The Chicago backfield has been decimated by injuries this week, and they are down to the tandem of D’Onta Foreman and Darrynton Evans. This should leave Foreman with just about every running back touch against the Vikings, which isn’t the worst spot ever. 

Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns 

Despite coming off the bye, Deshaun Watson is not ready to play and could still miss time past Week 6. PJ Walker could be at the helm until Watson can return, but he is not recommended for any format this week against San Francisco. 

Tank Dell/Robert Woods, Houston Texans 

Rookie receiver Tank Dell is still in the concussion protocol, so it would seem very iffy that he can suit up this week. Normally, that would push veteran Robert Woods into the No. 2 role behind Nico Collins but he’s also listed as questionable with a rib issue. If both are out, John Metchie is likely the next in line but it’s difficult to tell what to expect. He’s yet to be targeted more than twice and 43% of the snaps is the most he’s played in any game. 

Zay Jones, Jacksonville Jaguars 

Week 5 saw Zay Jones suffer another injury, forcing him from the game, and now it will force him to miss another. That doesn’t have a huge effect on any players but Calvin Ridley and Christian Kirk. It will concentrate the targets in the receiving corps and raise the floor and ceiling combo. 

Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals 

After not being able to play in Week 5, Tee Higgins is reportedly ready to roll in Week 6 after a rib injury. Provided we don’t get any reports to the contrary, we’d have to expect him to be at full strength and ready to resume his role as the wide receiver two in the Bengals’ offense. 

Jahmyr Gibbs/Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions 

The Lions are in Tampa to face the Buccaneers, but Jahmyr Gibbs won’t be on the field. He’ll miss his second consecutive game, which means David Montgomery is in line for another huge workload. As far as Sam LaPorta goes, it is being reported that he’s going to play, but it’s never comfortable when a player gets added to the injury report after Wednesday’s practice. That is what happened with LaPorta, so it is wise to have a backup plan in mind if things go poorly and he can’t play. 

Saquon Barkley/Daniel Jones, New York Giants 

It’s certainly been a frustrating few weeks to be a Saquon Barkley manager. The Giants have said he’s close repeatedly, but yet, he’s still limited in practice and listed as questionable. New York is in a rough spot, sitting at 1-4 in the NFC East. They really could use him back in the lineup because quarterback Daniel Jones has been ruled out. Tyrod Taylor is going to start this game and the hope is he can bring some level of competence. He hasn’t started a game since 2021 but he did complete 60.7% of his passes and had a 5: 5 TD: INT ratio. It’s still tough to suggest him even as a stream since he’s thrown 23 passes in the past two seasons. 

Dalton Kincaid/Dawson Knox, Buffalo Bills 

The Bills could be down at least one tight end, if not two. Dalton Kincaid is still in the concussion protocol and Dawson Knox has a wrist issue. Both players are listed as questionable, but the lean would be that Knox could play while Kincaid is forced to sit out. If Kincaid does miss, the appeal of streaming Knox in a tight end spot certainly rises in a hurry since they have been eating into each other’s fantasy upside.

Original Injury Breakdown

Injuries are never fun to deal with in fantasy football, and Week 5 had some very big-name players fall victim to the injury bug. The severity is still up in the air, so the next few days are going to be vital for managers.

Week 6 NFL Injury Report

Zay Jones, Jacksonville Jaguars 

Zay Jones played for the first time in two weeks in Week 5 but was unable to finish this game, logging just 43% of the snaps. While he scored for those managers who played him, Christian Kirk and Calvin Ridley will continue to see a bump in their role in the Jacksonville passing game if he’s out again.

Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings 

Arguably the biggest injuries from Week 5 came in one game, and Justin Jefferson appears to be the more serious issue. Jefferson was forced from the game in the fourth quarter as the Vikings were trying to mount a comeback and never returned. Tests are coming up for him this week, which tends to signal a shorter absence. The duo of rookie receiver Jordan Addison and veteran K.J. Osborn will have to do their best to fill the void should he miss time. Addison is widely rostered but Osborn is not.

Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs

The injury for Travis Kelce appears to be less serious on the surface since he was able to play in the second half. Kelce scared everyone when he went down without contact, and it looked like he was dealing with a much more serious injury. However, the report is a low ankle sprain, which is better than a high ankle sprain. The biggest hitch in the plan for Kelce is the Chiefs have to play Thursday night, so Noah Gray could be an interesting streaming candidate or a cheap option for DFS lineups if Kelce misses. 

Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts 

The initial report out of Colts camp is that Anthony Richardson suffered a Grade 3 AC joint sprain. If that is accurate (to be confirmed by an MRI), Richardson is likely looking at a month of missed time or possibly more. It could require a trip to the IR, curbing what has been a promising, but bumpy rookie year. Gardner Minshew will step in for Richardson, as he’s done twice already. Minshew has 83 attempts this year but is only averaging 6.7 yards per attempt and has just two touchdowns. He’d be on the QB2 radar moving forward. 

Khalil Herbert/Roschon Johnson, Chicago Bears 

The Chicago backfield is a bit of a mess right now, as Khalil Herbert is expected to miss multiple weeks with an ankle injury, and Roschon Johnson left the last game with a concussion. D’Onta Foreman will be active moving forward and could get the first shot at the bulk of the work, especially if Johnson is not cleared for this week. Many teams already roster Johnson, so the waiver target this week will be Foreman. 

Tank Dell, Houston Texans 

Rookie Tank Dell was forced from the Falcons matchup with a concussion, which has typically meant missing at least one game. The concussion protocol has been changed for the NFL, and it seems more difficult to get cleared immediately, which is not exactly a bad thing. Dell could miss Week 6, and then the Texans have a Week 7 bye, so keep an eye on your waivers. If managers are in a pinch, they may need to drop Dell, and he’d be well worth stashing for those with a deep bench. In the meantime, Robert Woods played 67% of snaps and drew nine targets. He appears to be the running mate with Nico Collins if Dell misses Week 6. 

Daniel Jones, New York Giants

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Daniel Jones was ruled out quickly in Week 5 after taking a big hit from behind in the pocket. Backup Tyrod Taylor finished the game and went 9-for-12 for 86 yards, but it’s hard to get excited for much in this offense. The offensive line is struggling mightily, and the collection of receivers just isn’t getting it done. 

James Conner, Arizona Cardinals 

The matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals started well for James Conner before he was forced out with a knee issue after just 12 snaps. Emari Demercado took over from there, logging 77% of the snaps and touching the ball 11 times. He’ll be popular on waivers, but it should be noted that Keaontay Ingram was inactive with a neck injury in this game. The only competition for Demercado for touches was Rondale Moore. Demercado had been working his way into the mix and has six receptions on the year, so it’s not unreasonable to think he gets the bulk of the work if Conner misses time.