Gross Bombs: NFL Props for Week 16
Josh Gross
There aren’t a plethora of injuries to talk about for the Conference Championship Week, but the ones that are there are quite important. The four teams are mostly healthy offensively, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t some key players with question marks.
This is the Saturday update to the injury report. See at bottom for the original Monday writeup.
NFL Conference Championship Weekend DFS Injury Report
Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens
We do know Mark Andrews is going to be active Sunday, but what we don’t know is just what to expect. There are reports of Andrews being on some type of snap count and it was interesting to hear Andrews talk about two-TE sets. Since we have George Kittle, Travis Kelce and Sam LaPorta all available on this slate, Andrews is better left for larger-field GPPs, but I would say Isaiah Likely is not out of play. If Andrews can’t play a full load and/or Baltimore wants to run him and Likely together, it’s going to be sneaky to play one of those players.
Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ers
Not only was Deebo Samuel able to make it back and be active for the NFC Championship Game, but he’s not even listed on the injury report. He started the week as 50/50 to play and there are certainly games where he gets hurt and can frustrate you. Still, knowing he’s not even on the injury report has to give you confidence in deploying him.
Isiah Pacheco, Kansas City Chiefs
I don’t believe there is much of a concern about Isiah Pacheco missing the game, despite being listed as questionable. The Chiefs listed him with a toe and ankle injury. so there’s at least an outcome where Clyde Edwards-Helaire could get more touches, but I’m not thinking that’s the case at this point. What could hurt more is the loss of offensive lineman Joe Thuney. The last thing Kansas City and their offense needed was an injury along the offensive line, especially to someone as good as Thuney.
Original Monday Injury Report
After a very dramatic weekend of football, we are down to just four teams left vying for the Super Bowl.
The Chiefs are heading to their sixth consecutive AFC Championship game against the Ravens, while the San Francisco 49ers survived against the Packers and need to beat the Lions this week. As we stand now, there are only two notable injuries, but they are big ones.
Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens
We thought Mark Andrews might be back for the game against the Texans, but he wasn’t quite ready to go. The Ravens didn’t need him, as they handled their business with Isaiah Likely playing 65% of the snaps and logging a touchdown on three targets. No Raven saw more than five targets, and they ran away with the game in the second half. It sure seems like Andrews could be back this weekend to attempt to knock off the Chiefs.
Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ers
The early report for Deebo Samuel is that he avoided any fractures in his shoulder, which is great news for the 49ers. However, he’s also reportedly “50/50” to play this weekend, and that could make things difficult for the 49ers. Samuel only played nine snaps on Saturday night, and Jauan Jennings stepped into his role with 62% of the snaps. Christian McCaffrey led the team with 12 targets, but after that, Jennings and Brandon Aiyuk tied with six targets. That was behind George Kittle with seven, but Jennings would be a wildly popular cheap play for DFS if Samuel is forced to miss this game.
