Week 13 Fantasy Football Injury News: Brock Purdy, Breece Hall, and More
Chris Allen and Jorge Martin examine the NFL injury news impacting fantasy football going into Week 13, featurning Brock Purdy, Breece Hall, and more.
Chris Allen and Jorge Martin dive into the Week 13 NFL injury news impacting fantasy football.
Fantasy managers who have no players on this list should be extra thankful going into Week 13 of the season. Though for everyone else—likely EVERYBODY who plays fantasy football—there are plenty of questions going into the penultimate week before the fantasy playoffs. Every decision matters.
We're here for you. Let's get to the most important players for fantasy football with injury designations in Week 13 after the Thanksgiving Day games. Could they play? We'll keep updating this article up until inactives are announced before Sunday's early games.
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Quarterback
Brock Purdy (shoulder): Purdy logging limited practices the first two days of the week before practicing in full on Friday is encouraging that he’ll return to the lineup. That would be welcomed news for the 49ers, as pass catchers will get a decided upgrade if Purdy returns even close to his previous performance.
Purdy will need to be close to full health, as traveling for the second week in a row will see the 49ers playing in Buffalo on Sunday Night Football. He will be without his main blindside protector, Trent Williams, which is always a concern for the San Francisco attack. Weather could have an impact, as snow is in the forecast with temperatures in the 20s and winds in the 10-MPH range. If Purdy can go, he’ll need to keep up with Josh Allen on an MVP tear. Purdy is currently QB23 in our rankings, and probably better left on benches in single-QB leagues. Though pass catchers Jauan Jennings, Deebo Samuel, and George Kittle would all get upgrades with Purdy playing against Allen in a game where the 49ers will need to pass to keep up.
Trevor Lawrence (shoulder): HC Doug Pederson said that he expects Lawrence to play on Sunday. That’s fantastic news for the Jaguars, as Mac Jones was unable to surpass 138 passing yards in his two games subbing for Lawrence.
Temps are expected to be a balmy 62 degrees with minimal wind, so perfect conditions this time of year. This is an upgrade for BrIan Thomas Jr. and Evan Engram. Both may be needed very much, as C.J. Stroud and Co. should move the ball at will for the Texans against a Jaguars defense that’s at or near the bottom against the passing and running games. Nothing like starting players who are chasing points.
Bo Nix (back): Nix popped up on the injury report with a questionable tag and logged a limited practice on his first day leading into the Monday Night Football game against the Browns. As of now there’s no worry about sitting Nix, who is on a run of throwing multiple TDs in four of his last five games. This is a situation we’re following.
Running Back
Isiah Pacheco (leg): Fantasy managers who get to put Pacheco back in starting lineups are giving thanks on Black Friday. Just temper the expectations, as the first week will probably be a timeshare with Kareem Hunt, who has compiled rush-attempt percentages between 76% to 88% Weeks 8-12.
Playing the Raiders in KC, it will be a good game for Pacheco to get in some reps while Hunt is playing on short rest. If you’ve waited this long, start Pacheco though the best hope may be that he gets rush attempts near the goal line in a game where the Chiefs are favored by almost two touchdowns.
Brian Robinson Jr. (ankle): It initially looked like Robinson might miss this week, but after logging two LP designations to start the week he practiced in full on Friday and should be ready to go. Robinson will likely have the backfield to himself, though it is a a tough matchup.
The Titans come to the nation’s capital and are allowing the 5th-fewest rushing yards to RBs this season (68.2). Since Jahmyr Gibbs went for 127 rushing yards in Week 8, no running back has surpassed 55 rushing yards against this tough Titans defensive front. Robinson may get the bulk of the carries if he’s active, but may not have much room to maneuver. Robinson will get heavy volume, but it could be far from easy sledding.
Austin Ekeler (concussion): Ekeler went DNP all three days of practice and is in the concussion protocol. He was ruled out on Friday afternoon and placed on IR on Saturday. With Ekeler having to miss a minimum of four games, that will keep him out of fantasy lineups at least through Week 17. With roster spots being valuable this late in the season, he's probably a waive candidate. Tough news for one of the truly good guys in the NFL and a friend of the fantasy industry. Get well soon, Austin.
J.K. Dobbins (knee): Dobbins suffered what looked like an ugly knee injury, sending shivers up the spines of those who've been rooting for him coming off ACL and Achilles tears. An MCL sprain was a positive diagnosis, but putting him on IR will also keep him off the field until no sooner than Week 17, fantasy championship weeks. Like with Ekeler, the valuable roster spot could justify Dobbins being dropped in leagues without IR spots.
The Chargers' backfield will likely be a rotation between Gus Edwards, Kimani Vidal, and possibly Hassan Haskins in these first few games. Edwards will likely be the bruiser who gets early work for the Chargers. Keep an eye on Vidal, who is currently rostered in just 13% of Yahoo leagues. He got a lot of love in the preseason from draft experts, but he has just 93 scrimmage yards through 11 games.
Zamir White (quadriceps) and Alexander Mattison (ankle): The top two RBs for Las Vegas have been ruled out for the Friday afternoon game, though Ameer Abdullah will likely have a tougher time since his Week 12 RB9 performance when he amassed 65 total yards and a touchdown. This will be a tougher test for Abdullah, as the Chiefs have not allowed more than 58 rushing yards to any running back this season.
Breece Hall (knee): After missing Wednesday’s practice with a knee injury, Hall returned in a limited fashion on Friday. That’s good news for Hall’s fantasy managers, and there is hope that he will be able to start going into a home matchup against the Seahawks.
Seattle has improved dramatically on defense the first two games coming out of its bye, though Christian McCaffrey did compile 106 scoreless yards in Week 11. We’ll keep an eye on the practice reports, but Hall is starting if he’s playing.
Wide Receiver
Josh Downs (shoulder): Downs was ruled out on Friday afternoon, which is tough news for Anthony Richardson to be missing his top target. Michael Pittman, who was on the injury report before practicing fully the past two days, will be the focal point of the passing game after seeing 28% and 30% target shares, respectively, the past two games.
Adonai Mitchell could also see bumps in targets with Downs sitting, as he did see deep targets earlier this season when Downs was out the first two games. This is a dome team going into the elements in New England—temperatures are expected to be around 37 degrees with light wind. After the Patriots allowed 4 passing TDs in back-to-back games, this could be a passing environment to take fliers on a deep threat like Mitchell with Downs sidelined.
Cedric Tillman (concussion): Tillman missed the entire week of practice in the concussion protocol and was ruled out on Saturday. This opens up opportunity for others in the Cleveland passing game.
The Denver defense has been one of the best against the pass, though there have been some recent chinks in the armor. Jakobi Meyers (121 receiving yards) and Tre Tucker (82) had good games last week, and in Week 9 Zay Flowers put up a 127-2 line. Before that no WR had surpassed 78 receiving yards against Denver’s defense.
DK Metcalf (shoulder): Missing consecutive practices to start the week is never a good sign for a player’s availability. However, teams do sometimes sit stars in practice before gearing them up for Sunday. Metcalf may be a late example, as he practiced in full on Friday, setting him up to play on Sunday.
Still, take a hard look at Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s usage. In Weeks 8 and 9 when Metcalf was out, JSN saw target rates of 28% and 38%, respectively. In Week 9, the second-year wideout saw 13 targets and put up 7 catches, 180 yards, and 2 TDs for a WR1 overall finish. The Jets are coming off a bye, though they did get beat up by Richardson and the Colts for 272 yards and a touchdown in Week 11.
DeVonta Smith (hamstring): After missing Week 12, Smith logged a pair of limited practices after starting the work week on the sideline. As of now, it looks like he's a game-time decision and will test it out. Though reports are not optimistic that he's going to be able to play. This will mean another heavy workload for A.J. Brown, who saw a whopping 39% target share last week. With the Ravens still at the bottom in fantasy points and receiving yards allowed, this could be a big spot for AJB. He could be a great play in DFS if Smith does end up sitting. FYI, the Eagles-Ravens are in the late window, so some decisions will have to be made before the early slate.
Tight End
Ja'Tavion Sanders (neck): After a scary fall where he landed with all of his weight on his head last Sunday, Sanders was taken to the hospital for testing before being released that same evening. That's great news.
The Panthers did not take chances with the talented rookie. He did not practice this week and was ruled out on Friday. Short and intermediate routes should go to Adam Thielen, in his second game back from the IR. The Buccaneers are fourth in the league with 250 passing yards allowed per game.
Dalton Kincaid (knee): After missing Week 11 before the Bills' bye, Kincaid is not back. He's been ruled out for the Sunday night tilt against the 49ers. Amari Cooper could see an increase in playing time after seeing just a 53% snap share and 8% target share in his return from a two-game absence with a wrist injury.
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