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Fantasy football injury report and NFL injured players updates from Week 13. Read about the major NFL injuries and fantasy football injuries advice.
The injuries suffered in Week 13 were mostly kind to running backs but that's likely because every big-time RB is already hurt. A couple of notable players saw their seasons come to a premature end and the Vikings could be without another integral piece of their offense on Thursday night.
Each week, we'll be here to bring you instant reaction to the latest injury news from Sunday's NFL action with fantasy takeaways.
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Adam Thielen, Minnesota Vikings
Thielen left the game in the first quarter and never returned. After the game, coach Mike Zimmer announced that Thielen suffered a sprained ankle. The injury isn't a serious one, thankfully, but it still may result in missed time so fantasy managers may need to prepare for life without Thielen for a game or two.
Advice: The Thursday night game for Minnesota is bad timing, as it won't give Thielen time to heal. The team is desperate for a win to keep their playoff hopes alive and Mike Zimmer might be fighting for his job after losing to Detroit. Still, they won't risk Thielen's health if he isn't ready to play and K.J. Osborn filled in admirably for him in Week 13. Osborn is a top waiver wire add this week and can be streamed in place of Thielen. Tyler Conklin also gets a bump, as he did this past week with a career-high nine targets, and should be viewed as a low-end TE1.
UPDATE: It appears to be a high-ankle sprain and Thielen will almost certainly miss Week 14, with the potential for more games missed. Stash him for now but make Osborn a priority pickup if he's still available.
Logan Thomas, Washington Football Team
Just two games into his return to the lineup from a hamstring issue that kept him out several weeks, Thomas' season may be over. He exited with a right knee injury and is believed to have torn his ACL and MCL.
Advice: Last year's waiver wire darling and TE breakout has had a season filled with bad luck and now it may be done. Even if test results don't reveal the worst, he should be dropped everywhere because he won't be playing any time soon. Ricky Seals-Jones didn't play in Week 13 due to a hip injury but did get in limited practice and should return for Week 14. He had some moments of fantasy value between Weeks 5-7 when he averaged five receptions and 50 yards per game as the primary tight end. Watch out for rookie John Bates, though. He caught three passes for 42 yards against the Raiders and could split time with RSJ. Bates is a good dynasty pickup but Seals-Jones should still get the nod in redraft for now if he's 100% for Week 14.
UPDATE: MRI results showed he did not suffer an ACL tear but his knee injury was serious enough to put him on season-ending IR anyway.
Kenyan Drake, Las Vegas Raiders
We know Drake's season is over as well, but there is some drama behind it. He took to social media to complain about the way he was tackled which resulted in a broken ankle.
Graphic Video Warning: The #NFL needs to look at this specific style of tackling. They are throwing flags for taunting and protecting qbs from getting touched but this is my 2nd straight season being injured by a guy pulling me back and using his body weight to roll up my legs. pic.twitter.com/zgJt4rM9yG
— Kenyan Drake™ (@KDx32) December 6, 2021
Advice: Drake hadn't been fantasy-relevant for a few weeks and didn't really do much in silver and black all season, so he won't leave a sizeable hole on any rosters. His absence just cements Josh Jacobs' role as workhorse even further. Peyton Barber might get back into the mix, although he was mainly a Gruden favorite. He has only taken two carries while battling injuries of his own since his monster (and random) Week 3 outburst. Barber can be added in deeper leagues but isn't a priority.
Miles Sanders, Philadelphia Eagles
After piling up 142 total yards on the Jets, Sanders got rolled up on the same ankle that bothered him heading into Week 13. He left the game but it was late in the fourth quarter and the game was well in hand.
Advice: Sanders has already publicly announced "I'm fine" in regards to the injury. The Eagles have a bye so he has two full weeks to rest. He shouldn't miss any time but the big question is what his role will be in Week 15 because it's possible that Jordan Howard will also be ready to come back from his knee injury. Add rookie Kenneth Gainwell, who scored, ran for 54 yards, and caught five balls in Week 13, as well as Boston Scott to the mix and you have a hot mess of a RBBC.
Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
Those watching the Bengals-Chargers contest witnessed Burrow's pinky bending in a way it shouldn't, followed by sideline shots of him wincing in pain as he threw the ball.
Joe Burrow is fighting through a pinky injury 😬
pic.twitter.com/SUvm1SOmvH— PFF (@PFF) December 5, 2021
Minutes later, he went back in and looked sharp on his passes with no sign of injury. Burrow
Advice: Burrow himself stated that he would simply deal with it as he did in Week 13. "I'm not going to miss any games because of it. That's not something that's going to happen." Proceed as usual if you were starting Burrow already because the injury is nothing to worry about. His 3-5 TD-INT rate over the past four games might be...
Corey Davis, New York Jets
Davis has repeatedly experienced minor injuries that have held him out through his career and this season is no exception. The latest is a groin injury that limited him throughout the week in practice and was re-aggravated in Week 13. He is currently listed as day-to-day, so practice reports this week will be telling.
Advice: If there's one Jets receiver you want on your roster, it's Elijah Moore. There's probably not two. Davis' two best games of the year came in Week 1 and 4 with Zach Wilson under center and the rookie QB has started to turn things around but it's still a tough sell. Davis could re-enter the Flex conversation if he proves he can stay on the field but a groin injury can linger and reduce effectiveness. Drop him if you need the bench space or find a player you need on waivers.
UPDATE: Davis is undergoing core muscle surgery and will miss the remainder of the season. Elijah Moore is a must-start the rest of this season and Jamison Crowder becomes flex-worthy in PPR leagues as well.
Kenny Golladay, New York Giants
After catching three passes early in the game, Golladay left with an injury to the ribs area. He did come back in the second half but wasn't out there for the end of the fourth quarter. An X-ray showed no sign of cracked ribs and he has deemed himself day-to-day.
Advice: Golladay's woeful first season in the Big Apple continues as it started. He was sidelined for most of training camp with a hamstring injury and has already missed three games this year. He could be in the lineup for Week 14 against the Chargers but does it matter? He's averaging 2.9 receptions and 45.4 yards per game and we don't know who the QB is for the Giants. He shouldn't be on fantasy rosters by this point.
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