Injuries are seen in the eyes of the fantasy beholder, and with that being said, things weren’t too bad on an overall basis this week. Of course, that statement doesn’t apply to the San Francisco backfield, more on that later, but for the most part it doesn’t appear that we have too many situations that will truly wreak havoc on fantasy teams. 

That doesn’t mean players won’t miss time and there aren’t situations we need to monitor, but (again we must always knock-on wood, cross our fingers and toes, grab a lucky rabbit’s foot and any other superstition you might practice, it wasn’t an overall carnage situation. 

Quarterbacks

It’s not like Tua Tagovailoa did much to stand out in Week 1, but Miami was victorious so ultimately that is all that matters even though he threw for just 202 yards and a touchdown in New England. This week all he got through was four passing yards before exiting with a rib injury. Jacoby Brissett struggled, and that is an understatement, to move the ball as he replaced Tagovailoa and there is no fantasy value to speak of if he is under center again this week. At this point, Miami is still running tests both on Tagovailoa’s ribs and internally to see if there is any damage, but unless you are in a deep, two quarterback league, you shouldn’t be sweating out his status. 

Tyrod Taylor has been impressive to begin the season for Houston, passing for 416 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 55 yards and a fourth touchdown, but thanks to a hamstring injury we now have to press pause on his season. It is a quick turnaround for the Texans on Thursday, but every indication is that Houston will be without Taylor. Davis Mills is slated to take his place under center after throwing from 102 yards and a touchdown in his debut last week, and there isn’t much to see here unless it is a deep league that allows you to start two quarterbacks. 

I, and everyone else, means no ill will to Andy Dalton. We wish him the best and want him to be healthy, but just to do so as the backup quarterback behind Justin Fields. Dalton exited on Sunday after completing nine of 11 passes for 56 yards and touchdown following a 206-yard performance to begin the season with a knee injury. At this point it is diagnosed as a bone bruise, but his status for next week is still up in the air although Chicago has already declared Dalton to be the starter if healthy. There is still nothing to see here from a fantasy perspective as Fields threw for 60 yards and rushed for another 31 in the second half, but we can’t argue with the potential, running ability, and excitement. 

Carson Wentz was forced out of last week’s game with sprains to both his ankles. We are still waiting on the testing to come back but this is something to keep an eye on, as even if Wentz can start the game next week, there is always the possibility of him reaggravating the injury. At this point though we need to wait and see, although I would make sure another option, not Jacob Eason who is his replacement, at the ready. 

A shoulder injury, now deemed as sore, forced Baker Mayfield off the field on Sunday, but he did return in relatively short order. It is his non-throwing shoulder so that is good, but of greater concern is who Mayfield will be throwing the ball to; more on that later. Ultimately, the fact that Mayfield returned to action and didn’t miss a beat is a positive here. 

With 817 yards and four touchdown passes through the first two games of the season, Carr has gotten off to quite the start as Las Vegas is 2-0. There was enough concern about his ankle though that caused him to get an MRI on Monday, but he didn’t miss anytime last week, and this point there doesn’t appear to be too much drama surrounding his status. 

Running Backs

Alexander Mattison is one of the true handcuffs to roster, and after Dalvin Cook went down twice on Sunday, he became a hot commodity in relatively short order. With 131 rushing yards on 22 carries plus another 17 yards on two catches, you would never know that Cook was dealing with an injury or stayed down at one point. Rolling with Cook is a no doubter decision for this week, but make sure you have Mattison lurking in the background if he is needed. 

San Francisco brought in Lamar Miller and Duke Johnson for looks on Monday so that should tell you all you need to know about their backfield situation. Eli Mitchell grabbed a quick hold of the starting job in Week 1 with 104 yards and touchdown on 19 carries and he retained that workload, although not the same results with 42 yards on 17 carries last week. Mitchell did exit at one point with a shoulder injury but it is a good sign that he subsequently returned. At this point, there is a good chance he plays this week, and he should see a similar workload as the first two weeks; at worst. 

It took Mitchell leaving the field with his shoulder injury for Trey Sermon to get some action, but he only got one measly carry for eight yards under his belt before exiting for the afternoon with a concussion. It was clear that Sermon was third in San Francisco’s backfield when everyone was healthy, but he is too talented to simply discard him for no reason. Regardless, I wouldn’t count on him to be in your lineups this week. 

The most clarity is around JaMycal Hasty who is expected to be out for a few weeks with a high ankle sprain after picking up 41 rushing yards so far this season on six carries while catching five passes for 36 yards. Until we get more clarity, Trenton Cannon has to be on your radar as the only healthy option in San Francisco’s backfield, but this nothing to chase at the moment. 

You are forgiven for any concern when Christian McCaffrey exited the game briefly in the first half, but it was simply an IV for cramps so we can carry on without incident as he had another successful game with 137 combined yards and a touchdown while catching five passes. 

With a rib cartilage injury, there is a real question mark surrounding Darrell Henderson’s status for the upcoming week. The Rams will take it slow with him giving him a few days off before seeing if he can take the field for practice, but it’s hard to be too optimistic here. If Henderson is sidelined, the good news is that there will be a clear beneficiary as Sony Michel will take on a bigger role after gaining 46 yards on 10 carries last week on the heels of a non-existent season debut (one carry for two yards). 

Wide Receivers

A theme here today is rib injuries, and they aren’t the easiest to evaluate either. Amari Cooper suffered his injury late in the game Sunday after failing to make much of an impact prior, three receptions for 24 yards, and his status is in doubt for next week. It does work in Cooper’s favor that Dallas doesn’t play until Monday so he has an extra day to recover before the Cowboys begin to test him and see how he recovers. With Michael Gallup already out, CeeDee Lamb will really be in for a busy night if Cooper is sidelined as well. 

If Odell Beckham isn’t back in action this week, Cleveland is going to have some real problems in their receiving corps as Jarvis Landry is going to be sidelined for the next few games. At this point, Landry hasn’t been officially ruled out for next week, but fantasy owners should be making alternate plans as we can expect him to miss two or three games at a minimum with an MCL sprain as he is considered week-to-week. From a beneficiary standpoint, Donovan Peoples-Jones and Rashard Higgins have the most to gain. 

From a production standpoint, Laviska Shenault isn’t off to best of starts this season with nine receptions for just 47 yards, but there is still a lot of football left to be played. A shoulder injury sent Shenault to the sideline but prior to that point he had done nothing with his seven targets; two catches for negative three yards. At this point, the injury doesn’t appear to be serious and there is optimism surrounding his status for this week; at least from a health perspective. 

Talk about a cringe worthy moment when Dionte Johnson went down on a meaningless, late game reception. It did get Johnson over the century mark for yardage, nine receptions for 105 yards, but if Johnson is forced to miss next week’s game, fantasy owners won’t be as pleased. This is a situation to monitor once practice reports start to come in. 

After coming up empty on both of his targets to begin the season, Gage was a little busier this week as he caught five of the seven passes directed his way. That sounds good on the surface until we dig in and see that Gage gained just 28 yards as he was still in and out of the lineup with ankle injury. It’s unclear how much that actually impacted him, but it is something to keep an eye leading up to Sunday as it also makes him expendable at the back end of your roster. 

Jamison Crowder was all set to return to action this week until his groin injury had other ideas. New York clearly has some offensive issues to work through, but the upside is there and New England isn’t exactly a hospitable opponent either. This is a situation that bares watching leading up to Sunday if you are going to rely on him.  

It is a quick turnaround for Houston as they take the field Thursday against Carolina, so that means Danny Amendola has less time to get ready. Dealing with a thigh injury, the veteran receiver was a DNP for Monday but it’s still too early to get a clear look at his status. After a solid season debut (five catches for 34 yards and a touchdown), Amendola had a tougher go of it this week with just one catch for nine yards, so there is minimal seasonal value here other than in deep leagues. With Nico Collins sidelined, Chris Conley could hold some deep league and DFS dart throw value. 

Seeing your stud receiver referred to as “sore” during the game is never a good thing but perhaps that helps to explain DK Metcalf catching six of his 11 targets for just 53 yards in what was an underwhelming performance. Regardless, the workload was still there, and while there doesn’t appear to be any reason to take action, I would at least monitor it.