Fantasy Football Running Back Handcuff Report: Week 13
Published: Dec 01, 2021
Week 12 injuries to Christian McCaffrey (ankle) and Dalvin Cook (shoulder) remind us about how important it is to roster your primary back’s handcuff.
Chuba Hubbard wasn’t great for the Panthers, but he was certainly serviceable in the five games he filled in for McCaffrey from weeks four through eight. As of Tuesday afternoon, he was available on the waiver wire in 60% of Yahoo! Fantasy football leagues. Look for Ameer Abdullah to grab a few carries and backup Hubbard with McCaffrey out for the season.
Cook is only expected to miss a couple of games with Alexander Mattison temporarily taking over the mantle for the Vikings.
Hubbard being dropped in many leagues after McCaffrey returned to action, reminds us that if we have the spot on our fantasy rosters, we probably should try to hold on to our RB handcuffs if possible. For instance, Kareem Hunt looked good in his return to the Browns’ backfield, but with the fragility surrounding the RB position you might not want to drop D’Ernest Johnson just yet.
There are several more injury situations that you need to monitor heading into Week 13.
There’s some optimism in New Orleans as Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram, who missed Week 12 due to injury, returned to the Saints’ practice field earlier this week. Tony Jones Jr. would again be the lead back with Ty Montgomery backing him up, if both Ingram and Kamara are out again in Week 13.
There’s still several days before kickoff but it’s not looking as if Lions starting RB D’Andre Swift (shoulder) will be available for Week 13 against the Vikings. Luckily for the Lions, Jamaal Williams is healthy enough to take on a full workload and he’ll have Jermar Jefferson and Godwin Igwebuike backing him up.
Ezekiel Elliott has been dealing with a knee injury that has been hampered him for the past few weeks. He’s been able to play through the injury but with just a 3.06 YPC average over his last three games he’s obviously not playing at full capacity. Monitor his progress in this short week against the Saints who give up the fewest average fantasy points per game to RBs this season.
Keep an eye on Eagles RB Miles Sanders and the WFT’s pass catching specialist J.D. McKissick for injury news as Week 13 approaches. If McKissick is forced to miss time Jaret Patterson should have an expanded role in the WFT’s backfield.
Bills
We probably haven’t seen the last of Zack Moss in the Bills’ backfield, but with three TDs (2 of them receiving) in his last three games Matt Breida has at least temporarily leapfrogged over him for now. No individual Bills RB has been lighting it up this season and they all have to compete with QB Josh Allen for carries from time to time, but with the number of injuries to fantasy RBs piling up, you should take notice of Breida’s recent increased role in the Bills backfield.
Texans
Sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures and depending on your situation you may consider picking up Rex Burkhead off the waiver wire. With Phillip Lindsay now working out of the Dolphins’ backfield his workload has increased. Unfortunately, opportunity doesn’t always go hand in hand with fantasy production. If you’re not that desperate, you might be better off taking a flier on Jets practice team call up Austin Walter, but again don’t expect much.
Player News
CBS’ Matt Zenitz reports the Patriots are “targeting” Lions DL coach Terrell Williams for their defensive coordinator vacancy.
ESPN’s Rob Demovsky writes that Christian Watson (knee) is “not likely” to be fully recovered from his torn ACL before the 2025 season starts.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports Buccaneers DL coach/run game coordinator Kacy Rodgers is interviewing with the Packers on Tuesday for their defensive line coaching vacancy.
ESPN’s Stephen Holder reports Anthony Richardson will work with biometric coach Chris Hess this offseason.
The Athletic’s Dan Pompei believes Bears head coach Ben Johnson will “empower” Caleb Williams in 2025.
Rams WR Cooper Kupp said he intends to play next season but is unsure of his future in Los Angeles.