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Injuries are the bane of a fantasy football owner’s existence. The NFL does such an amazingly poor job at reporting and acknowledging injuries and thus it makes it incredibly difficult to find useful information.
But on Friday’s the NFL has an obligation to report the true status of each player on every roster. It’s the closest we’ll get to knowing who is in or out for this week in the NFL. So the thing to do is to use this information along with the daily practice reports to sort out who is likely to play and sit this week. Only after the status reports come out on Friday does the rest of the week’s activity really make sense.
So, every Friday I will be sending you reports of all at risk players across the NFL. I’ll include the players who are definitely OUT for the week as well as those who are definitely playing. So the focus will be on the questionable players for the week. These reports will tell you whether or not you can relax or wait for the NFL inactive reports on Sunday morning.
Let’s take a look at the Week 7 Practice Reports:
IN
Cordarrelle Patterson, WR, Vikings – Hip
Mark Ingram, RB, Saints – Hand
Reggie Bush, RB, Lions – Ankle
Greg Olsen, TE, Panthers – Ankle
Jonathan Stewart, RB, Panthers – Knee
Zac Stacy, RB, Rams – Ankle
Eddie Royal, WR, Rams – Elbow
Carson Palmer, QB, Cardinals – Shoulder
OUT
Harry Douglas, WR, Falcons – Foot
Kyle Rudolph, TE, Vikings – Abdomen
Marquise Goodwin, WR, Bills – Hamstring
Marcus Easley, WR, Bills – Knee
Eric Ebron, TE, Lions – Hamstring
Theo Riddick, RB, Lions – Hamstring
Fozzy Whittaker, RB, Panthers – Thigh
DeAngelo Williams, RB, Panthers – Ankle
A.J. Green, WR, Bengals – Toe
Toby Gerhart, RB, Jaguars – Foot
Shonn Greene, RB, Titans – Hamstring
Robert Griffin III, QB, Redskins – Ankle
Donnie Avery, WR, Chiefs – Groin
Donald Brown, RB, Chargers – Concussion
Ryan Mathews, RB, Chargers – Knee
Rashad Jennings, RB, Giants – Knee
Vincent Brown, WR, Raiders – Hamstring
Montee Ball, RB, Broncos – Groin
UP IN THE AIR
Jimmy Graham, TE, Saints – Shoulder
It has been real hard to get a read on Jimmy Graham and the exact nature of his shoulder injury. Early in the week we were told that Graham would miss 2-3 weeks with the shoulder injury. Now all of a sudden Graham returns to practice on Thursday and Friday getting in limited sessions both days. The latest on Graham is that he might be active on Sunday but will only be used as a specialty red zone option. If you have any other options at TE you should probably roll with them this week.
Calvin Johnson, WR, Lions – Ankle
The gamesmanship between the Saints and Lions this week is funny. The Saints are playing possum with Jimmy Graham’s availability and the Lions are countering that with this questionable tag on Calvin Johnson. But rest assured Megatron is not going to play on Sunday.
Kelvin Benjamin, WR, Panthers – Concussion
Benjamin was cleared to practice with the team on Friday but has not been cleared by the NFL’s third party concussion committee yet. The fact that his concussion wasn’t diagnosed until early this week is not good for his availability on Sunday. We should know more about Benjamin’s situation on Saturday afternoon but for now I am quite skeptical.
Darrin Reaves, RB, Panthers – Calf
Reaves really doesn’t matter any more now that Jonathan Stewart is back in action. If active Reaves could get some decent snaps behind Stewart but this won’t be useful for fantasy purposes. You can drop Reaves at this point.
Jake Locker, QB, Titans – Hand
We have to start wondering whether Locker is still the Titans starting QB. Ken Whisenhunt has zero interest in getting Locker back any time soon. I would count on hippie QB Charlie Whitehurst getting the start for the Titans this week.
John Carlson, TE, Cardinals – Knee
Carlson got in a limited practice on both Thursday and Friday and appears to be trending in the right direction. Carlson is the starting TE for the Cardinals but doesn’t get enough catches to really move the fantasy needle.