Where did the time go? It’s hard to believe that we are already a quarter of the way through the fantasy football season, and we should use the time to reflect on the current state off affairs with our teams. But prior to that, let’s take a look back at the Week 4 action and what new injuries have now appeared on our radars to monitor for the upcoming week. 

Quarterback

We know that San Francisco is itching, at least on some level, to expand Trey Lance’s role, but I’m not sure the rookie is ready for that to happen. The problem though, is that for this week they might not have a choice as Jimmy Garoppolo is dealing with a calf contusion. He exited after halftime this week and will be re-evaluated on Wednesday and in his absence, Lance completed nine of 18 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns; both to Deebo Samuel. Lance also picked up 41 yards on the ground, and while there is upside, I wouldn’t invest too heavily here although the rushing production could be a nice supplement to his fantasy value. 

It was not a good development for the Denver offense to see Teddy Bridgewater exit with a concussion in the first half and this is a situation to watch as he is still in the protocol. If Bridgewater remains sidelined for this week, currently a solid possibility, there has to be a downgrade to the rest of Denver’s offense. Drew Lock failed to impress in relief against Baltimore as he finished the day going 12 of 21 passing for 113 yards and an interception. 

Running Back

It’s also a good thing to hear an ankle injury referred to as low-grade, and at this point, it is up for debate whether Joe Mixon’s ankle injury will be something to watch on either a daily or weekly basis. Having a few extra days off either Thursday’s game is a plus here, but Zac Taylor’s comments on Monday about Mixon’s ankle did take on an optimistic flavor. Should Mixon be sidelined this week, Samaje Perine would be the back to own after carrying the ball three times for seven yards and catching one pass for 15 yards after entering the game. 

The good news is that a torn ACL appears to have been ruled out for David Montgomery, but it remains to be seen what his status will be for the upcoming week as we aren’t slated to get an updated until Wednesday. Montgomery was having the expected success against Detroit prior to his injury with his second 100-plus yard game of the season, and now we have to keep an eye on his replacement as well. Damien Williams replaced Montgomery and promptly picked up 55 yards on eight carries while finding the end zone, and things looked nice and clear cut if it was going to be a multi-week injury. But now we have a thigh injury for Williams to monitor although all signs point to it not being an issue. If it turns out to be, then Khalil Herbert is the next man up. 

It wasn’t a health issue, but Chris Carson only touched the ball 14 times on Sunday and was less than impressive; 13 carries for 30 yards and one catch for one yard. That is the good news, but we have to at least monitor the fact that Carson has carried the ball just 13 times in each of the last three weeks despite him appearing to be healthy. If this trend continues though, there could be a cause for concern. 

After the release of Latavius Murray prior to the season, Tony Jones picked up some buzz as the next man up. To this point that hasn’t panned out with a combined 87 yards on 23 touches prior to exiting with an ankle injury on Sunday. At this point, that shouldn’t be news worthy from a fantasy perspective and neither should his replacement, Dwayne Washington who had just two touches. 

Dalvin Cook made it back after one game absence due to an ankle injury but Minnesota didn’t look to tax their superstar all that much. Cook carried the ball just nine times, for 34 yards, and only caught two of his six targets (for 10 yards) in what was a less than inspiring performance. I would look for Cook to be closer to full strength this coming week, and with a favorable matchup against Detroit, he better be. 

After showing up on the injury report with a groin injury, D’Andre Swift took the field without issue although game flow didn’t work in his favor. Swift carried the ball just eight times and only gained 16 yards but he did catch four of his six targets for 33 yards. Jamaal Williams carried the ball 14 times, so this is a situation to keep an eye on at multiple levels, but Swift’s groin does appear to be in order. 

With Josh Jacobs back in action, Peyton Barber’s fantasy value vanishes, but we should note that he did leave Monday’s game with a foot injury. 

Wide Receiver

Despite taking the field in each of the first four games of the season, it is clear that DeAndre Hopkins is still working through his rib injury. There are a lot of weapons in Arizona’s offense so the Cardinals can afford to be conservative with Hopkins as he caught four of his seven targets for 67 yards last week. It doesn’t appear that he will be missing anytime and if Hopkins is active, he is too good not to be in your lineup, but just keep an eye on this moving forward. 

DK Metcalf had an 82% snap share on Sunday so it doesn’t appear that his foot injury is anything serious, but given the short week with the next game on Thursday, it is something to monitor. Seattle is likely being cautious with Metcalf, who caught four of his eight targets for 65 yards and a touchdown, as he was limited in the estimated practice report on Monday leading up to Thursday’s game. 

It’s never a good thing when you get an injury early in the game, and that was the case for DJ Chark who is now going to be sidelined for the rest of the year with a fractured ankle. Laviska Shenault, along side Marvin Jones, stands to benefit as he stepped up catching six passes for 99 yards. This a trend that we can look to see continue moving forward. 

Well, that didn’t take long. Will Fuller couldn’t even make it through two full games, four catches for 26 yards on the season, and he is already sidelined for next week with a broken finger. Albert Wilson is next in line on the depth chart but he has just five receptions for 31 yards on the season and it’s not like there is much production from Fuller to replace either. Miami’s offense isn’t in the best of situations and it likely means there will be more of a target share for DeVante Parker and Jaylen Waddle. 

At this point, Amari Cooper is still in position to take the field on Sunday despite exiting early this past week as he is dealing with both rib and hamstring injuries. After catching 13 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns in Week 1 things have gone downhill for Cooper but he did pick up 69 yards and a touchdown on three receptions while he was on the field this past week. With Michael Gallup still sidelined, CeeDee Lamb could stand to take on an even bigger role with Cedrick Wilson also on the radar, but Cooper’s status shouldn’t be an issue. 

Washington got Curtis Samuel (four catches for 19 yards) back this week, but then lost Cam Sims to a hamstring injury. Sims only had two catches for 32 yards on the season so there isn’t much to see there. The same can be said for Dyami Brown (five receptions for 51 yards) who is dealing with a knee injury but it appears that three receivers are all that this offense can support. 

Tight End

From a workload perspective, there doesn’t appear to be anything to see with George Kittle’s calf injury as he was on the field for 92% of San Francisco’s snaps on Sunday. That didn’t translate into results, four catches for 40 yards, but Kittle was targeted 11 times so while this week hurt, I wouldn’t be concerned about his long term outlook. Although, San Francisco’s quarterback situation does need to be monitored. 

Tyler Higbee has a short week ahead of Thursday’s game as he deals with an ankle injury, but despite being listed as an estimated limited practice participant, his status for this week doesn’t appear to be in doubt. The tight end caught four of his six targets this week for 36 yards while maintaining a high workload so we should be able to move forward without issue.

It has been a slow start to the season for Logan Thomas, despite catching two touchdown passes in the first three weeks, and he failed to register any fantasy production prior to leaving this week’s game with a hamstring injury. The fact that it is being referred to as a week-to-week injury isn’t a good sign as Ricky Seals-Jones stands to take his place after being on the field for 93% of the snaps last week catching two passes for 19 yards.