I’m not repeating myself without reason. I promise, these articles aren’t simply recycled on a weekly basis and I forget to remove parts of the article. Instead, it is the reality that we live in called the 2021 NFL season. 

Depending on what side of things you were on this week, up was down, down was up, and everything was just a nice big jumbled mess. As usual, we had some injuries take place through the day that made an even greater mess of things, so let’s at least get you updated on that. 

At the very least, I hope those with Jonathan Taylor on their rosters this week brought home the victory. 

Quarterback

Russell Wilson didn’t leave the field at all on Sunday, and it’s hard to know to what extent his finger is actually limiting him, but Wilson struggled against Arizona completing just 14 passes for 207 yards. It was a tough match-up this week, and things will get better next week, but there is some cause for concern. 

Seeing anyone leave the game with injury is never good thing, but when it necessitates a trip to the hospital, then things really are not good. In the case of Justin Fields, the concern is around both his ribs and spleen, and with the Bears playing on Thursday, Andy Dalton is slated to get the start. It goes without saying that Fields’ health is the priority, but Chicago was able to move the ball with Dalton under center as he threw two long touchdown passes as he completed 11 passes overall for 201 yards. 

What toe injury? Maybe next week things won’t come as easily against the Rams’ defense, but despite Aaron Rodgers discussing it as a serious issue, you would have never known it on Sunday as he completed 23 passes for 385 yards and four touchdowns. Don’t be alarmed if he doesn’t practice this week. 

Running Back

At this point, there shouldn’t any concern with Ezekiel Elliot regarding his status for Thursday’s game, but he did have issues with his recurring knee injury once again this week. Elliot didn’t do much, nine carries for 32 yards and six receptions for 36 yards but early indications are that it will just be a nagging issue and nothing more than that. 

After picking up a combined 113 yards on Sunday as carried the ball 16 times while catching six passes, you wouldn’t suspect there to be any health issues with Mark Ingram. With that being said, he did appear on Monday’s Injury Report as a limited participant with a knee injury listed, but at this point, it still appears that Ingram will be starting once again on Thursday with Alvin Kamara potentially still sidelined. 

The Jets are a mess, but their running game is (or was) starting to come together as of late. Michael Carter had nine carries for 63 yards on Sunday, but that was short lived as he was forced out of action with an ankle injury. At first glance, this doesn’t seem like something that will go away in the next few weeks, so that means we should get prepared for Tevin Coleman (five carries for 16 yards and one catch for two yards) and Ty Johnson (13 yards on two touches) until we hear otherwise. 

With Chris Carson out, and now done for the year, there is an opportunity in Seattle’s backfield as Alex Collins hasn’t fully grabbed a hold of the job. For yet another week, Rashaad Penny was unable to take advantage of that as he left with a hamstring injury after carrying the ball twice for 19 yards. 

The Philadelphia backfield has become a crowded place, and after carrying the ball 10 times for 63 yards, Jordan Howard left Sunday’s game with a knee injury. It’s unclear what this means for Howard heading into next week (early indications are that he will be out), but Miles Sanders would get the biggest boost with Boston Scott behind him. Kenneth Gainwell who was a healthy scratch this week could also come into play again. 

Clyde Edwards-Helaire returned to action on Sunday, rushing 12 times for 63 yards and at touchdown while catching two passes for 13 yards, but it’s clear who the backfield belongs to now. Jerick McKinnon left with a hamstring injury pretty early on, but there shouldn’t be a fantasy impact here.

Wide Receiver

Mike Evans was busy on Monday as he caught six passes for 73 yards and a touchdown before the Tampa Bay offense took off most of the fourth quarter. Towards the end of the game, Evans appeared to pull up briefly, but he only left the field for one play and while it might be something to monitor, it doesn’t appear to be anything serious. 

What appeared to be cramping forced Tyler Boyd out in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game as he had to receive an IV, but he was busy prior to that point. The receiver caught six of his eight targets for 49 yards before exiting, and with Cincinnati on bye next week, Boyd should be good to when the Bengals take the field again. 

Overall, it was a mess today in Tennessee. A.J. Brown was able to return from a hand injury, but then a chest injury ended his day after five receptions for 48 yards. I wouldn’t expect much from Brown at practice this week, what else is new, but at this point it doesn’t seem like anything that will keep him out of action. 

A lot of fantasy managers, and football fans for that matter, waited patiently for what was expected to be a high scoring and exciting game between Dallas and Kansas City, but instead that didn’t exactly take place. We don’t want to trivialize injuries here, but CeeDee Lamb leaving with a concussion certainly didn’t help anything. The other issue at play here, is that Dallas has a quick turnaround to their customary Thanksgiving game, and Lamb’s status (along with Amari Cooper) is squarely in doubt. With that being said, there does appear to be optimism surrounding Lamb at this point in the week. Keep a very close eye on Michael Gallup and Cedrick Wilson as Dallas’ healthy receivers. 

Jamal Agnew didn’t do much to distinguish himself this week, four touches for 20 yards, before leaving with a hip injury. At this point, Agnew was a borderline FLEX option, but after being placed on Injured Reserve, that means he is heading to the waiver wire in fantasy leagues. 

Tight End

Kyle Rudolph plays a supporting role behind Evan Engram, and there generally isn’t enough there to support him from a fantasy perspective. In fact, based on how Daniel Jones and the offensive line, we can say that for most of New York’s skill position players though. After one catch for 28 yards, Rudolph left with an ankle injury. Should he be forced to miss time, it could mean a slight boost for Engram though.