Week 5 Fantasy Football Injury Report

Bye weeks have started to kick in for the NFL, which makes life more difficult for fantasy football managers who are also dealing with injuries. There’s no shortage of injuries this week so let’s get rolling and dive in.

Week 5 Fantasy Football Injury Report

Khalil Shakir, WR, Buffalo Bills

The Bills are looking to bounceback after getting thrashed by the Ravens last week, but they will have to do it without Khalil Shakir. He’s going to miss the game against the Texans with an ankle injury, which should mean more targets for Dalton Kincaid, Keon Coleman and Curtis Samuel. However, it’s important to remember that no player for Buffalo has a target share higher than 16.5% so far this year.

Joe Mixon, RB, Houston Texans

Joe Mixon is still out of action, but one aspect managers should keep in mind is that Cam Akers might have some additional competition for touches this week. Dare Ogunbowale was already sharing with Akers in the past two weeks, but now Dameon Pierce might be back as well. That could make this backfield extremely volatile this week and hamper everyone’s production if Pierce is back.

Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts
Anthony Richardson, QB, Indianapolis Colts

We know Jonathan Taylor is out. What we don’t know is how the running back roles will play out. The smart bet is Trey Sermon leads with Tyler Goodson providing some carries as well. However, coach Shane Steichen said Friday that it would be running back by committee, the worst words a fantasy manager can hear. This team could be without their starting quarterback as well since Joe Flacco took the majority of first-team reps during Friday’s practice. The Colts are a weird team where the backup quarterback likely doesn’t hurt the pass catchers in the offense all that much, so Michael Pittman Jr. and Josh Downs shouldn’t see a huge downgrade to their outlook.  

George Kittle, TE, San Francisco 49ers

There are some players who don’t need practice to suit up Sunday, and George Kittle is one of them. That’s a good thing because Kittle did not practice all week with a rib injury but he is still just listed as questionable and not ruled out. It would be a little nerve-wracking to start him with a rib issue but at the same time, the tight end position is so poor this year that Kittle managers won’t have much choice.

Malik Nabers, WR, New York Giants
Devin Singletary, RB, New York Giants

The New York Giants will be trying to knock off the Seahawks in Seattle without two of their main cogs in the offense. Rookie sensation Malik Nabers is out with a concussion, and he’s been such a huge part of the offense that it’s hard to know what the ripple effects will be. His target share is over 33% and the only other receiver that is over 9.7% is Wan’Dale Robinson. He’s likely going to see another 8-12 targets but the Giants will need some type of deep threat. The best option is Darius Slayton, who is already sporting an 85.7% route participation.

The running game is likely to take a hit as well since Devin Singletary is doubtful, opening up playing time for Tyrone Tracy Jr. and Eric Gray. I’m worried about how effective the offense will be overall but Seattle could be without five members of their starting front seven on defense. That would help, but New York is certainly in a tough spot.

Romeo Doubs, WR, Green Bay Packers
Christian Watson, WR, Green Bay Packers
Luke Musgrave, TE, Green Bay Packers

The Packers are going to be missing some key ingredients to their offense this week. Christian Watson is out, Romeo Doubs is doubtful, and Luke Musgrave is questionable but has not practiced this week. The spotlight is going to be on the trio of Dontayvion Wicks, Jayden Reed and Tucker Kraft and the majority of the passing game is going to run through them. That should put all three of them into a ton of starting lineups in Week 5 and will likely result in plenty of popularity in DFS settings as well. Wicks has always been highly productive when he’s been given a chance, Reed has had two great games when Jordan Love has played, and Kraft has a pulse with upside at the tight end position. That is worth his weight in gold at this point. Receiver Bo Melton could have some DFS appeal with how many bodies the Packers are missing.

Brian Robinson Jr., RB, Washington Commanders

Austin Ekeler is out of concussion protocol for Week 5 and it might be perfect timing. Brian Robinson Jr. has not practiced all week and is being called a game-time decision, which would open up more work for Ekeler. He’s only had 13 carries so far this year in three games but he’s been very productive with 6.4 yards per carry. Jeremy McNichols also chipped in eight carries last week when Ekeler was out, so it would likely be more of the same plan, with McNichols taking up 5-8 carries to supplement Ekeler if Robinson doesn’t play.

Original Monday Injury Report

There weren’t a ton of fantasy-relevant injuries in Week 4, but the ones that happened seemed more on the serious side. There are still two games on Monday night to be played, so hopefully those get through without any major injuries.

Rashee Rice, WR, Kansas City Chiefs  

Arguably the most important injury for fantasy was the injury to Rashee Rice, who likely suffered a torn ACL. Not only does that take him out of action, but it has ripple effects for the Kansas City offense as well. They are now without Rice, Hollywood Brown and Isiah Pacheco. That’s a lot of weapons, and they are mostly down to Travis Kelce and rookie Xavier Worthy as the main pass-catching options. We can reasonably expect an uptick in their production, but the ship may have sailed for Patrick Mahomes to be an elite fantasy option this season. Even with Rice in the lineup, Mahomes was outside the top 10 in fantasy points and is now 14^th. Justin Fields, Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield and even Derek Carr all have more fantasy points this year. It’s tough to say that gets better for Mahomes without Rice, even if the Chiefs can continue to win football games. 

Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts 
Anthony Richardson, QB, Indianapolis Colts

Jonathan Taylor (28) in game action during a NFL game between the Indianapolis Colts and the Las Vegas Raiders on December 13, 2020 at Allegiant Stadium, in Las Vegas, NV. (Photo by Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire)” class=”wp-image-84528″ style=”width:343px;height:auto”/>

There isn’t firm reporting on what sort of timeline Jonathan Taylor is looking at. His injury is the dreaded high-ankle sprain, which can be a bit difficult to come back from. The Colts are claiming that he’s alright, and even though his game was cut short on Sunday, Taylor still totaled 108 scrimmage yards and a score. Trey Sermon would be the next man up, even though his five carries on Sunday turned into just eight yards. 

The other injury was to Anthony Richardson, who left the game in the second quarter with a hip pointer. Someone should probably tell the coaching staff that it’s not the best idea to watch your quarterback get hurt, sit out a couple of plays and then call a play with a quarterback run option on his first snap back in the lineup. Richardson was hurt on his consecutive plays, and then Joe Flacco came on in relief. Flacco threw for 168 yards and two touchdowns, and there is something to be said that Flacco is not much of a downgrade for the receiving options. He’s so much more of a traditional quarterback that Michael Pittman Jr. and Josh Downs may not suffer if Richardson misses any time. 

Christian Watson, WR, Green Bay Packers 

While it looks like Christian Watson avoided a fractured ankle, the injury is still going to keep him out for a bit, and he may land on IR. It continues the poor string of luck for Watson in the past year or so, and he can now add this injury to the list of hamstring issues he’s had. The big factor coming out of that injury is Dontayvion Wicks, who ran a route on 80% of dropbacks, had a 24% target share and 35% of the air yards share. The game script certainly favored the pass for the Packers since they were down by at least two scores in a hurry, but Wicks is one of the top waiver adds for Week 5 and beyond.

Taysom Hill, TE, New Orleans Saints 

It was a great first half for Taysom Hill on Sunday with two scores, but that was the only part of the game he played in. The abdomen injury kept him out of the second half for the Saints, which is a loss for this offense. If Hill misses time, it helps Alvin Kamara near the end zone, and it was interesting to see tight end Juwan Johnson run a route on nearly 70% of the dropbacks. That was roughly 20% above his season average, which is notable with how horrible the tight end position has been for fantasy.