Week 8 Fantasy Football Injury Report

The injury list for the NFL could grow longer on Monday night since there are two games, but there are also plenty to deal with already. There are multiple season-ending injuries to discuss and others that we’re still waiting on for more information.

Week 8 Injury Report

Deshaun Watson, QB, Cleveland Browns

I’m going to imagine that it’s time for Jameis Winston in Cleveland, as Deshaun Watson tore his Achilles on Sunday. It seemed obvious when it happened, but testing on Monday confirmed it. Winston didn’t play a lot on Sunday. In fact, he was made inactive before the game. Dorian Thompson-Robinson played after the injury, but he got nicked up himself, leading Winston to come in toward the end of the game as the emergency third quarterback. 

Brandon Aiyuk, WR, San Francisco 49ers 

It’s a good thing Brandon Aiyuk got his contract extension done before the season because he very likely tore his ACL on Sunday. It was a tough-looking hit that saw his leg bend the wrong way, and the team fears the worst, though they will perform testing to be sure. Deebo Samuel Sr., George Kittle and Jauan Jennings are going to have to pick up the slack in the passing game, and Christian McCaffrey might be back after their bye week. While Aiyuk is a difficult loss to sustain, San Francisco is one of the few offenses that might be able to manage and keep playing at a high level. 

DK Metcalf, WR, Seattle Seahawks

DK Metcalf took a hit while he was in mid-air on Sunday, and when he landed, his leg did sort of a weird whipping motion, which knocked him out of the game. It sounds like Metcalf avoided a serious injury, but the extent of it is still not reported. If Metcalf was to miss some time, Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba would lead that passing game. There is no chance they can replace Metcalf and the physical presence he brings to the table, but it would mean more targets for the other two receivers and might trickle down to tight end Noah Fant as well. 

Aidan O'Connell, QB, Las Vegas Raiders 

The Raiders are falling apart in quick order, as Aidan O'Connell suffered a broken thumb on Sunday. The timeline is 4-6 weeks for his recovery, so Gardner Minshew II will likely be under center. He can’t play a whole lot worse than he did on Sunday. He was responsible for four turnovers, despite not starting the game. Minshew was simply horrific, and I’m not sure how much will change in the near future. 

JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, Kansas City Chiefs 

We knew that JuJu Smith-Schuster was dealing with a hamstring injury coming into Sunday, but he immediately aggravated it and didn’t make it out of the first quarter. The receiving options in the Kansas City offense seem quite poor right now, as Travis Kelce and Xavier Worthy saw 13 combined targets and turned them into 7/36. Noah Gray led the team in yards with 66, and no other receiver was over 22 yards receiving. There’s not a ton of appeal for fantasy in this offense right now, which seems bizarre for a Patrick Mahomes-led offense.

Jayden Daniels, QB, Washington Commanders 

Rookie sensation Jayden Daniels missed almost all of the game on Sunday after dealing with a rib injury suffered mid-game. The X-ray came back negative, but the Commanders will be performing more tests to come up with a diagnosis. It’s fair to wonder if it’s not that serious and the Commanders just didn’t want or need to put Daniels back on the field. Washington was up 17-0 against Carolina in the blink of an eye, so Marcus Mariota came in and the Commanders coasted. We’ll just have to wait and see if the injury is anything to worry about.