Fantasy Football Injured Reserve (IR) Report: Week 2 Injury Updates for George Kittle, Tyjae Spears, Cade Stover, Taysom Hill, Jacob Cowing

Our fantasy football IR report and tracker for injured NFL players on injured reserve in Week 2 of 2025. Fantasy football injury updates reports for George Kittle, Tyjae Spears, Taysom Hill, more.

Heading into Week 2 of the 2025 NFL season, there have already been a few significant injuries to fantasy-relevant players. On a more positive note, players who began the year sidelined due to injury may now be one week closer to returning to the field.

Players who are placed on Injured Reserve after Week 1 must miss a minimum of four games, making Week 6 the earliest possible return date. However, those who were given long-term injury designations before the season could return as soon as Week 5.

Below is analysis and advice for five players who are currently on either the injured reserve (IR), Physically Unable to Perform (PUP), or Non-Football Injury (NFI) lists but are still likely to impact fantasy decisions in one way or another. Let's dive in.

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George Kittle Injury Update

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (hamstring) was forced to leave early from his team's Week 1 victory over the Seattle Seahawks due to a hamstring injury. The injury is reportedly serious enough for San Francisco to place Kittle on Injured Reserve, which means he will be sidelined until at least Week 6.

When healthy, Kittle is one of the NFL's best tight ends and a clear must-start player at the position in fantasy. The 32-year-old recorded 78 catches for 1,106 yards and eight touchdowns across 15 games in 2024.

George Kittle is movin'

📺: #CHIvsSF on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/bbC7vTn5Dz

— NFL (@NFL) December 8, 2024

Kittle's injury is not expected to keep him out much past the four-week minimum stay required by his IR placement. As a result, fantasy managers should not be looking to move on from Kittle, even in leagues that don't allow IR spots.

Unfortunately, Kittle may now be missing his best window for production in 2025. His potential return in Week 6 is likely around the time that star wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (knee) will also rejoin the 49ers' lineup.

Aiyuk is not the only potential target competition for Kittle upon his return. Star running back Christian McCaffrey is a major factor in the passing game, and wide receivers Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings are both worthy of touches as well.

Still, Kittle profiles as a significant enough difference maker that he will surely be added and stashed anywhere he is dropped. It may make for some tricky roster management, but Kittle managers must wait out this injury and hope for a Week 6 comeback.

Tyjae Spears Injury Update

Tennessee Titans running back Tyjae Spears (ankle) sprained his right ankle in the team's first preseason game back in early August. Spears was placed on Injured Reserve prior to the start of the regular season and is therefore eligible to return in Week 5.

Spears ended the 2024 season on a tear. Across his final three games, Spears logged 261 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns on 46 total touches.

Before Spears got injured, Titans head coach Brian Callahan made it clear that he wanted to get his third-year back the ball more often in 2025.

Titans HC Brian Callahan on Tony Pollard’s ideal workload in 2025 pic.twitter.com/WgP5lixcaU

— AtoZ Sports Nashville (@AtoZSports) May 20, 2025

Despite Callahan's comments, Tennessee gave lead back Tony Pollard 90% of its running back carries in Week 1. That indicates a clear role awaits Spears upon his return to the lineup.

Given the nature of Spears' ankle injury, it's realistic to think he could be ready to play as soon as he is eligible to come off of Injured Reserve in Week 5.

Fantasy managers with an open IR spot have a chance to be proactive by stashing Spears now, before news of his return timeline becomes common knowledge. He should have value as a low-end RB3/flex option when sharing the field with Pollard, and would profile as an RB2 if Pollard were to get hurt.

Taysom Hill Injury Update

New Orleans Saints tight end Taysom Hill (knee) tore his right ACL last December, ending his 2024 season in Week 13. Heading into 2025, Hill was placed on the physically unable to perform list as he continues to work his way back from the injury.

Hill is one of the more difficult players to value in fantasy football because of his unique style of play. Although he's nominally a tight end, Hill provides most of his value as a rusher.

In 2024, Hill rushed for 278 yards and six touchdowns in eight games while catching 23 passes for 187 yards. His 12.9 PPR points per game ranked sixth at the tight end position, ahead of players like Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews, and Sam LaPorta.

While touchdown regression is unquestionably coming for Hill when he returns to the field in 2025, he has a proven role as a goal-line weapon in New Orleans. Given the touchdown-dependent nature of the tight end position in fantasy, Hill is a worthy streamer and/or bye-week replacement when healthy.

With DT Khalen Saunders lead blocking, Taysom Hill walks into the end zone 🙌#JAXvsNO on Prime Video
Also available on #NFLPlus https://t.co/89nUeCngbn pic.twitter.com/dsN6wkMGKb

— NFL (@NFL) October 20, 2023

The start of October, when Hill will be eligible to return from the PUP list, will mark almost exactly 10 months from the date of his surgery. It's realistic to think Hill should be able to suit up sometime in the Week 5-7 range.

Projecting forward, fantasy managers in deep leagues could get a head start on their leaguemates by stashing Hill a few weeks before his activation. The Saints open October with games against the New York Giants and New England Patriots - not exactly a murderer's row of run defenses.

Cade Stover Injury Update

Houston Texans tight end Cade Stover (foot) led his team with four receptions in Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams. Unfortunately, Stover also suffered a broken foot during the game and was placed on injured reserve earlier this week as a result.

A fourth-round pick in 2024, Stover recorded just 15 catches across 15 games as a rookie last season. Accordingly, he was not on fantasy radars heading into 2025.

Although he was fairly heavily involved in the passing game in Week 1, Stover's uncertain return timeline guarantees that he will remain unrostered in the vast majority of fantasy leagues. The reason his injury is relevant for fantasy managers is because of how it potentially changes the outlook for Texans tight end Dalton Schultz.

In addition to Stover, Houston lost tight end Brevin Jordan (knee) to a serious knee injury before the season even started. Even if simply by default, Schultz is now in line for a significant workload for the foreseeable future.

Schultz may not have a ton of upside, but he's recorded at least 57 catches, 577 yards, and five touchdowns in three out of the last four seasons.

When streaming at the tight end position, fantasy managers should be looking for target opportunity and touchdown potential, both of which Schultz possesses more of now than he did before Stover's injury.

Jacob Cowing Injury Update

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jacob Cowing (hamstring) injured his hamstring early in training camp, then suffered a setback before the team's final preseason game. He was placed on the IR prior to Week 1 and is not eligible to return until Week 5 at the earliest.

San Francisco selected Cowing in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL draft. He played in 15 games as a rookie, but was targeted just six times and recorded four receptions. Despite the uninspiring early-career production, there's reason for fantasy managers to be aware of Cowing. That reason is the current state of the 49ers' pass-catchers.

Kittle (hamstring) and Aiyuk (knee) are both battling significant injuries. In addition, Jennings dealt with a calf injury throughout training camp and was then forced out of Week 1 early with a shoulder injury.

All three of those players may be perfectly fine by the time Cowing returns to the field, in which case Cowing would not be fantasy-relevant. However, San Francisco skill position players haven't exactly been the bastion of health over the past couple of seasons.

49ers head coach and play-caller Kyle Shanahan has a long track record of getting production out of unheralded players. As long as San Francisco's wide receiver room remains unsettled due to injury, all of their wideouts are worth at least monitoring for fantasy managers.

Josh Dobbs threads the needle to the rookie Jacob Cowing for the @49ers TD!

📺: #SFvsLV on @NFLNetwork
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/B9X9AItM9W

— NFL (@NFL) August 24, 2024

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