Carnage. Depending on what your lineup looked like this week, that is what we had on Sunday. 

If only we got to live in the past though. As soon as one game ends, it’s time to turn the page and look towards the next week. Let’s not waste any more time, and instead jump right into dissecting the injury situation as we prepare for Week 6. Things are getting even crazier this week though because we now must adjust for bye weeks. 

Quarterback

Based on the way things started on Thursday, we should have known that this would be a crazy week. After rupturing a tendon in his finger, Russell Wilson will be out for at least a month (and likely two) and while we can’t completely downgrade Seattle’s skill position players, it will be difficult to have the same level of confidence in D.J. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett now that Geno Smith will be under center. Unless we are talking about the deepest of leagues in which every quarterback is owned, there is nothing to see here with Smith as he completed 10 passes for 131 yards and one touchdown. 

With the San Francisco 49ers’ signal callers beat up, their bye week comes at the right time. Jimmy Garroppolo missed last week’s game with a calf injury and his replacement, Trey Lance, didn’t do much better in the first start of his career. From a fantasy perspective, things weren’t too bad for the rookie as picked up 89 yards on 16 carries but he only completed 15 of 29 passes for 192 yards while throwing an interception. Lance is now dealing with a knee injury and the good news is that we have an extra week to figure out what to do here. Although, this is likely a situation to avoid from a fantasy perspective. 

Tom Brady injured his thumb late in Sunday’s game and then led to him being listed as a limited participant on Monday’s practice report ahead of Thursday’s game. The quick turnaround means that Tampa Bay will be careful with Brady this week and at this point it doesn’t appear to be anything to worry about regarding his status. 

After injuring his knee in the second quarter, Justin Fields only missed two plays before returning, and the early indications are that there is nothing to worry about with his status. I wouldn’t read into things if he is limited in practice early this week, but he currently shouldn’t be your radar from a fantasy perspective. Fields only rushed three times for four yards and picked up just 111 yards through the air as he is still working through some rookie growing pains. The good news though, is that he is getting to do so on the field. 

If Jacoby Brissett finds his way back to the bench, it will be due to the return of Tua Tagovailoa, not the hamstring injury he picked up in the first quarter. It wasn’t severe enough for him to leave the game, and in a game that Miami was trailing all day, he had a solid 275 passing yards with two touchdowns. 

Any time you hear hospital and throat contusion, things are scary. Joe Burrow was ultimately discharged, and all appears to be in order for him heading into what will be a favorable matchup against Detroit this week. Burrow is coming off his second-best game of the season with 281 passing yards and two touchdowns and he should be able to build on it. 

Just as scary, was seeing Daniel Jones stumble and struggle to catch his balance after suffering a concussion last week. The early indications are that this simply won’t be a one-week absence as Jones works through the protocols, and Mike Glennon under center will certainly be a downgrade for New York. Glennon entered what was ultimately a tied game and then things went sideways pretty quickly for New York although he did finish with 196 passing yards and a touchdown while also being picked off twice. If only Jones was the only injury New York was dealing with though. 

Running Back

Just when things were starting to look good and Saquon Barkley was finding his groove, the pause button was quickly pressed. The good news is that Barkley seemed to have avoided real damage with just a low ankle sprain, but the bad news is that there doesn’t seem to be anyway he takes the field this week and I’m not sure it will just be a one-week thing. 

With a few extra days prior to this week’s game things appear to be moving in the right direction for Chris Carson and his neck injury. It does remain to be seen whether or not Carson will get more than 13 carries next week if he does in fact take the field, but things do look optimistic. 

The good news is that the knee injury Ezekiel Elliot took into last week doesn’t seem to be an issue. At this point in the season though, it’s rare for a running back to emerge unscathed though and he is now dealing with lower back and rib soreness. It didn’t hold him back from gaining 112 yards via 23 touchdowns while also scoring two touchdowns and the early indications are that it shouldn’t hold him back for the upcoming week. 

Joe Mixon did return, albeit in a limited basis, last week so Samaje Perine got a chance to show what he can do with 11 carries for 59 yards along with four catches for another 24 yards and a touchdown. The bad news is that Perine has now tested positive for COVID-19 and it remains to be seen whether or not he will be cleared for this week’s game. Regardless, we should expect to see Mixon take on a larger role after he gained just 33 yards on 10 carries while saving his fantasy day with a touchdown. The good news though is that he appears to have emerged unscathed from a health perspective. 

Trying to figure out the New England running back situation is never an easy endeavor, but it is good at least that Damien Harris appears to be fine despite dealing with chest and rib injuries. After two down games, a combined 10 rushing yards on 10 carries, Harris did bounce back with 14 carries for 58 yards and a touchdown and I would still consider him to be the main option here.

Seeing a running back get carried off the field is never a good thing, and in the case of Clyde Edwards-Helaire it likely means a few missed weeks with a sprained MCL. The second year running back also appears to be leaving us wanting more, but now the workload out of Kansas City’s backfield with now go to Darrel Williams (early downs) and Jerick McKinnon (passing situations). If there, is one running back to pick, it would be Williams as he appears to in line for the majority of the touches after carrying the ball five times for 27 yards and catching three passes for another 18 yards. McKinnon caught two passes for 13 yards and just picked up one carry so I wouldn’t look to invest too heavily, if at all, there. 

Chase Edmonds was able to play despite his hamstring injury, but I’m sure fantasy owners wish that he didn’t. He clearly was missing something as he gained just 15 yards on six carries while dealing with a tough San Francisco defense. John Conner will continue to have value in Arizona’s backfield, but I would expect Edmonds to be better this week against Cleveland.

In the best game of his young career, Najee Harris was forced to exit in the fourth quarter with cramps. Prior to that Harris rushed for 122 yards on 23 carries while scoring a touchdown and there shouldn’t be any doubts about his status for this week and that isn’t something that will linger. 

Wide Receiver

Well, that shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Sammy Watkins exited early on Monday with a hamstring injury after catching two passes for 35 yards. Baltimore does have depth in their receiving corps, and this is something we now have to monitor with the injury prone receiver. 

We know that Kenny Golladay hyperextended his knee on Sunday and that he will be out at least one week. Beyond that, things are still unclear, but it doesn’t appear to be a season ending thing. With that being said, and bye weeks on the horizon, there is the potential for some roster management decisions coming. The good news for the Giants is that Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton both might be back this week. 

That doesn’t mean we are without drama though we now have to wait for further guidance on breakout star Kadarius Toney’s ankle. The rookie burst onto the scene with 10 catches for 189 yards before being ejected for throwing a punch. Before that, Toney played through an ankle injury that seemed to temporarily sideline him, but he showed no signs of it limiting him upon his return. I would expect the Giants to try to continue involving him at a high level, but we should keep an eye on the practice reports as well. 

It’s a quick turnaround for Tampa Bay ahead of Thursday’s game, so while it’s understandable that they would want to tread carefully Chris Godwin in practice, there were no indications on Sunday of any health or injury issues with the receiver. Godwin caught seven of his 11 targets for 70 yards and there shouldn’t be anything holding him back for this week. 

Quintez Cephus had been taking advantage of the available targets in Detroit’s offense, but a broken collarbone will now sideline him for the remainder of the season. The good news for the Lions is that Tyrell Williams is slated to return after missing the last three weeks with a concussion. Of course, concussions are tricky, so we have to tread carefully while monitoring Williams’ status. 

Seven receptions for 63 yards, on 13 targets, is truly a down game for Tyreek Hill and the fact that he is dealing with a knee injury is now slightly concerning. At this point we don’t have much more in the way of details, but all signs do point to Hill playing this week. It is something to keep an eye on, but you aren’t going to find a better alternative on your roster. 

A season ending injury is never a good thing, but at least it does provide clarity. JuJu Smith-Schuster is slated to miss the season with shoulder surgery and the clear beneficiaries will be Chase Claypool and Dionte Johnson who will take on an increased role. James Washington should also see a little bump as he moves into the third receiver job. 

It hasn’t been easy for Curtis Samuel this season with his groin injury and it was back in action on Sunday giving him issues. Samuel aggravated the injury before he could catch a pass, although he did pick up eight yards on a carry, and at this point it’s hard to trust him until he proves to be back at full health. This is regardless of what transpires this coming week. 

If you played Deonte Harris this week, and it likely was only as a DFS dart or in a very deep league, it’s hard to argue with the result of his one catch (72 yards for a touchdown) before he exited with a hamstring injury. New Orleans is on bye this week, so there is another week before we have to evaluate Harris. 

Tight End

Maxx Williams has been a pleasant surprise over the past four weeks catching 16 passes for 193 yards and a touchdown, but unfortunately that might be coming to an end. Williams exited last week’s game with a knee injury, and the current prognosis for the rest of the season is not a good one. With Williams sidelined, I’m not sure there is much to see from Arizona’s other tight ends.