Week 1: Fantasy Football Injury Report – Delanie Walker OUT for Year!

Bill Enright discusses the impact of Week 1's injuries on the Fantasy Football landscape as we head into Week 2 and the rest of the NFL season!

Tennessee Titans TE Delanie Walker

Quarterbacks

Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers

The Injury: Left Knee

Analysis: Packers fans and Fantasy Football managers couldn’t believe their eyes while watching Aaron Rodgers get carted off the field during the 1st Half of the team’s Week 1 match-up vs. the Bears. But all had a HUGE sigh of relief when Rodgers trotted back onto the field in the 2nd Half and led Green Bay to a big comeback. Rodgers was noticeably limited in moving around and barely left the pocket when he reentered the game. The knee is certainly causing discomfort and limiting his mobility but it looks like Rodgers avoided a major knee injury.


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Marcus Mariota, Tennessee Titans

The Injury: Elbow

Analysis: No details regarding the severity of Mariota’s injury yet, other than it’s his elbow on the his passing arm. Mariota had two interceptions and completed less than 50% of his passes before leaving the game. For what it’s worth-and maybe that’s nothing- Mariota did stay on the sidelines for the remainder of the game and didn’t appear to be in any significant pain. If Mariota misses anytime, Blaine Gabbert will take over under center for the Titans.

Running Back

Leonard Fournette, Jacksonville Jaguars

The Injury: Hamstring

Analysis: The second year workhorse was off to a solid start rushing nine times for 41 yards and catching three passes for 14 yards but his day was cut short in the 1st Half after suffering a hamstring strain. Fournette was seen getting treatment on the sidelines and then walked off to the locker-room before Halftime. He never returned to action. Instead TJ Yeldon caught a touchdown pass and finished the day with 51 rushing yards. After the game, Fournette was optimistic about his injury and expects to be fine. Head Coach Doug Marrone reiterated those sentiments saying Fournette’s strain is in a “good part of the leg.” Assuming that means the particular area of the muscle where the strain occurred isn’t much of a long term concern. Expect Fournette to be limited or out of practice all week and thus Questionable for Week 2 but my money is on him suiting up for Week 2.

Leonard Fournette
Philip G. Pavely-USA TODAY Sports

Wide Receiver

Doug Baldwin, Seattle Seahawks

The Injury: Sprained MCL

Analysis: Baldwin was dealing with a knee injury all summer but his sprained MCL happened on the opposite leg. Not a good injury for a player who admitted he was going to be less than 90% all season before the sprained MCL occurred. Two bum knees for Baldwin is a bad sign. Expect him to miss about a month.

DeSean Jackson, Tampa Bay

The Injury: Concussion

Analysis: A monster day and big factor in the Bucs upset over the Saints, Jackson caught five passes for 146 yards and two scores. But he hit the ground hard and suffered the concussion in the 4th Quarter. Concussions are tricky, some players are back in action the following week while others are out for an extended period of time. We’ll see when Jackson passes the concussion protocol before making any predictions on when he’ll return.

Marquise Goodwin, San Fransisco 49ers

The Injury: Quad

Analysis: A BIG goose egg in Week 1, Goodwin was a hot commodity in the mid-to-late rounds of Fantasy Drafts. He was only targeted once but left the game for nearly a full Quarter due to the quad strain. He did reenter the game which is positive sign for his Week 2 availability. Keep in mind Goodwin’s biggest strength is his speed so I do get a bit concerned whenever a speedster has any type of muscle strain.

Tight End

Delanie Walker, Tennessee Titans

The Injury: Dislocated Ankle and Fracture

Analysis: One of the most consistent TEs the last few seasons may not see the field the rest of 2018. Walker had one of those-make ya wince-injuries and was carted off the field. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport suggest Walker is “almost certainly” out for the remainder of the year. If that’s the case Jonnu Smith will take over as the Titans starting tight end.

Greg Olsen, Carolina Panthers

The Injury: Foot

Analysis: A foot injury in 2017 cost Olsen more than half the season and it appears he reinsured his surgically repaired foot in Week 1 vs. the Cowboys. Olsen left the game and then was later spotted in a walking boot on crutches. Not a good sign by any means. No word yet on the severity as the team is still waiting test results but given the problematic history with this foot, Olsen may miss significant time again as we start 2018. Fourth round rookie out of Indiana, Ian Thomas will replace Olsen in the starting lineup.


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