It is the Fantasy Alarm early week NFL Injury Report Article as we head into Week 11! This NFL season is flying by and we are close to three quarters of the way through it. In this article we will once again explore the more important statuses that we should be keeping an eye on heading into the latter part of the week.

Christian McCaffrey RB, CAR (Shoulder) 

As many have feared that CMC may be in store for more than just a one-week absence, Head Coach Matt Rhule is optimistic and “hopeful” that the newly sustained shoulder injury from Week 9 will not keep him out of the Panthers upcoming home game against the Lions on Sunday. This is all just speculation however, as there has not been any new reports on the recovery process so far on the A.C. joint in question. Hopefully we have more of a clearer report come Friday’s article on his status heading into the weekend. 

Calvin Ridley WR, ATL (Foot)  

Ridley was spotted getting some work in on the sidelines of the practice field with trainers during the Falcons’ Monday session of practice. It has been reported by interim Head Coach Raheem Morris that Ridley is expected to get some further individual work on Wednesday, and this should give him a better picture into how Ridley is progressing with the foot injury. We will continue to monitor the reports heading into Friday’s report for Ridley’s availability when the Falcons travel to the Big Easy to take on New Orleans on Sunday. 

Tyler Lockett WR, SEA (Knee) 

On Monday Head Coach Pete Carroll told reporters that Lockett is dealing with a “bit of a knee sprain” after the Seahawks Week 10 matchup against the Rams. At the current moment Lockett is being labeled as “day-to-day” heading into Week eleven, and this is somewhat concerning as well due to the fact that Carroll also mentioned there was swelling and discomfort in the knee. This does not exactly bode well for an early report for Lockett seeing as how the Seahawks will play a quick turn-around on Thursday night against the Cardinals in Seattle. However, Carroll has also said it is “not a serious injury,” so all we can do is play this one by ear until Thursday likely.

Joe Mixon RB, CIN (Foot)  

There has yet to be any new reports on the foot injury that has kept Mixon off of the playing field since Week six heading into Week 11. Mixon was unable to take the practice field yet again all of last week, so it doesn’t exactly seem like he is making just a tremendous amount of progress in his recovery. Maybe this was the plan all along and he will be back at practice in some capacity this week heading into the Bengals Week eleven tilt against the Washington Football Team. All we can do is monitor his status and hope to have a report on him come Friday’s article.

Chris Carson RB, SEA (Foot) 

Lots of foot injuries in the report so far and it seems to be a common injury at the moment. Carson is also continuing to deal with his own foot injury, and it also kept him out of Monday’s practice session yet again for the beginning of this week. This was just an “estimated” injury report out of Seahawks practice, but it still doesn’t shine much light into a return for Carson as of yet and seeing as how the Seahawks play the Thursday night game, this could potentially mean another week off for Carson. 

Kenny Golladay WR, DET (Hip)  

Golladay still has yet to practice for the Lions since he sustained a hip injury in their Week 8 showdown with the Colts. There is nothing new yet to be reported out of Lions practice for this week, and it likely could be a later report in the week that we get for Golladay here for his availability in the Lions upcoming Week 11 match against the Panthers. The good news is the Lions play in the early start of games on Sunday, so we should have his status update before kick on Sunday, if not by Friday’s article.

Kenyan Drake RB, ARZ (Ankle) 

Drake has been reported to be dealing with the same ankle injury that held him out for two weeks prior to his return to the playing field last week against the Bills. It was stated that Drake played through the ankle injury against the Bills, and was still a bit hampered by the injury, thus making him just a limited participant in the Cardinals first practice session of the week on Monday. As we know, it could literally just be a precautionary action for the Cardinals to slowly work Drake into the practices heading into their Week 11 clash with the Seahawks and seeing as how they didn’t elect to fully hold him out of practice does show some positive signs for his availability this week. We will keep an eye on the reports.

Carlos Hyde RB, SEA (Hamstring)  

While Chris Carson was not a practice participant in the Seahawks Monday practice session, there was a familiar face that returned, even if it was just in limited capacity. Hyde was listed as a limited participant in the “estimated” practice session that was held, or not held per say, for the Seahawks on Monday. This does seem like a better report pertaining to his readiness to return than we got for Chris Carson , and again this is the Thursday night game, so we could actually feel a bit more confident that Hyde could return for this one. 

Teddy Bridgewater QB, CAR (Knee)  

Teddy sustained a knee ailment that knocked him out of the Panthers Week 10 tilt against the Buccaneers late in the fourth quarter. Bridgewater underwent an MRI on the knee on Monday and the results came back with a MCL sprain. Head Coach Matt Rhule is “hopeful” that Teddy will be able to take the practice field for the Panthers during their Wednesday practice session this week in order to be available for their Week eleven match against the Lions on Sunday. Bridgewater is being labeled as “day-to-day” and we will continue to monitor his status over the duration of the week and hope to report on him Friday. 

Matthew Stafford QB, DET (Thumb)  

Stafford took a hit to the hand in the Lions Week 10 match against the Washington Football Team and although the coaching and medical staff do not seem to think the thumb injury is severe due to nothing coming back on the X-rays taken on Monday, the team plans on conducting a few more tests to make sure this is the case this week. Stafford is listed as “questionable” heading into the Lions Week eleven tilt against the Panthers, but it seems the thumb injury will not likely cost him any time. We will see if his status downgrades any before the Friday report.

Drew Lock QB, DEN (Ribs) 

Head Coach Vic Fangion said on Monday that Lock is dealing with a muscle strain around his rib cage. He also did not sound as optimistic about Lock being able to return to the practice field come Wednesday when he was due to take the practice field either. There is definitely some doubt lingering around Broncos reports about Lock’s availability for their game against the Dolphins on Sunday afternoon. We will continue to monitor his status throughout the week.