It’s all relative. Injuries are only bad if they happen to you, and your evaluation of the week from that perspective depends solely upon the impact they had to your seasonal teams and DFS entries. 

If that sounds selfish, it is because it is and aside from having fun, we really are here to win; both bragging rights and cold hard cash. In a perfect world, there would be no injuries, and while I was burned by a few of the situations I’ll highlight below, you should be able to figure out which ones hit home for yours truly, it was a relatively mild week overall. 

Now excuse me while I go knock on wood before taking a trip around the league. 

Quarterbacks

Entering the week, the only quarterback situation we were monitoring was that of Carson Wentz in Indianapolis and the result aside, things do appear to have gone as well as can be expected. Considering he didn’t have a preseason and is playing for a new team with a new offense, Wentz did as much as could be expected throwing for 251 yards and two touchdowns. If you were anything other than a Zack Pascal owner, things weren’t ideal, but the most important thing is that Wentz came out of the game healthy and moved around with ease as the best is yet to come. 

Ryan Fitzpatrick, we hardly knew you. Fitzpatrick was able to complete three passes for 13 yards before injuring his hip, and we likely won’t see him for another two months. Unless you have multiple Injured Reserve spots, you can cut Fitzpatrick without thinking twice about it and his replacement, Taylor Heinicke is likely left for the waiver wire unless you are in a deep league or one that requires you to start multiple quarterbacks. Heinicke was 11 for 15 passing with 122 yards and a touchdown last week and we shouldn’t have to knock down the value of Antonio Gibson, Logan Thomas, and Terry McLaurin with Gibson and Thomas potentially seeing an increase in value as Washington simplifies their offense. 

Running Backs

Let’s just get this out of the way. Raheem Mostert checked all of the boxes Sunday. He was healthy, atop the depth chart, and in one of the more favorable matchups of the week against Detroit. I know he has proven to be injury prone throughout his career, but it’s Week 1, and all we can do is take things one week at a time. And then the news broke Sunday morning that Trey Sermon was inactive, so why shouldn’t Mostert find his way into your DFS lineups? If it seemed too good to be true it was as Mostert only made it through two carries (for 20 yards) before exiting with a knee injury. Mostert will now be out for at least half the season, droppable in most formats, and the previously highly regarded Sermon will back on our radars as we know the 49ers rely on multiple backs. After last week though, I would expect Elijah Mitchell to continue playing a large role as he rushed for 104 yards on 19 carries while scoring a touchdown. Just don’t overreact too much to what happened on Sunday on all fronts. 

One of the biggest questions and stressors entering the week was the status of Austin Ekeler. After scaring fantasy owners by missing practice on Wednesday and Thursday, he took the field without issue on Sunday and showed no ill effects of the injury. It appears that Los Angeles will simply be cautious all season with Ekeler, and there are no problems with that philosophy here as someone with exposure to him in multiple leagues. Ekeler carried the ball 15 times for 57 yards and a touchdown and the fact that he wasn’t even targeted once in the passing game seems to be more indicative of the offense than the running back himself. I do want to note for future weeks though that Larry Rountree appears to be the handcuff as had 28 snaps (eight carries for 27 yards) compared to 11 for Justin Jackson while also sharing a backfield with Ekeler at times. 

Coming back from an ACL tear isn’t as easy as Adrian Peterson made it look and it’s even harder when you go a year without contact. The confidence was lacking for Saquon Barkley as just didn’t look completely comfortable out there in game situations on the knee. From a health perspective, he did come out of the game fine and practiced on a limited basis on Monday. Barkley carried the ball 10 times for 26 yards while catching one pass for one yard as his workload was right in line with our expectations. It is a good sign that he did take part in some practice on Monday as the Giants have a quick turnaround facing a tough Washington defense on Thursday. If you have another option, I would feel free to use it as Barkley is still looking to get his groove back. 

That didn’t last long for Rashaad Penny as the potential backup to Chris Carson as he exited after just two carries with a calf injury. With Penny slated to likely be sidelined this week, we can safely move past him but with Carson both healthy and serving as a workhorse, I would look elsewhere. 

Between a toe injury and an illness Josh Jacobs was limited all week and in the beginning of Monday night’s game he certainly looked that way against a tough Baltimore defense. Ultimately, Jacobs made it through the night an unscathed despite rushing for just 34 yards on 10 carries as he scored two touchdowns. Kenyan Drake didn’t fare much better on the ground with 11 yards on six carries but he appears to be the back to own from a passing perspective with 59 receiving yards. From a health perspective though, we can move forward with Jacobs without issue. 

Wide Receivers

Despite losing to Tampa Bay to kick off the season, the Dallas passing offense appears to be a force to reckoned with. For the next few weeks, they will have to do it without Michael Gallup after he suffered a calf injury. The Cowboys won’t be hurting with Amari Cooper (13 receptions on 16 targets for 139 yards and two touchdowns) and CeeDee Lamb (15 targets for seven catches and 104 yards along with a touchdown) and if possible, both receivers should see a slight upgrade. Another name to keep an eye on is Cedrick Wilson as he will likely replace Gallup in the lineup. 

Jerry Jeudy was on his way to a nice season opener, in what should have been a successful season for him with Teddy Bridgewater under center, but pause has been pressed on that idea. Before exiting with an ankle injury, Jeudy caught six of his seven targets for 72 yards and those who drafted him in seasonal leagues (my hands are raised) were feeling pretty confident. Instead, Jeudy suffered a high ankle sprain and likely will be without him for six to eight weeks. After catching all four of his targets for 39 yards and a touchdown, Tim Patrick should see a bump to his value and the same can be said for K.J. Hamler who caught three of his four targets for 41 yards. 

The assumption was that Odell Beckham was going to take field on Sunday but instead he was a surprise inactive. Beckham did practice on a limited basis last week so Cleveland was just being cautious with him and while we will monitor his status for next week, I wouldn’t be too concerned. 

Call me bitter, but I wish San Francisco took a page out of Cleveland’s book and handled Brandon Aiyuk the same way. I mean if you aren’t going target him, just make him inactive. We knew that the hamstring was an issue all summer, but Aiyuk was a full participant in practice on Friday. Despite that fact, San Francisco kept the bubble wrap on him this week, I wouldn’t be too concerned about his status moving forward, but it is something to be monitored. 

Dionte Johnson briefly gave fantasy owners a scare as he left in the first half with a lower body injury but he quickly returned to action and caught a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. With five receptions for 36 yards and a touchdown it wasn’t the most prolific of performances, but at least there is nothing to worry about from a health perspective. 

To say that Detroit is thin at the wide receiver position would be an understatement, so it was a big loss when Tyrell Williams exited with a concussion after catching just two passes for 14 yards. As we monitor his status for the upcoming week, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Quintez Cephus, and Kalif Raymond have some value as cheap options but that is best left for GPP lineups.

Despite separating his shoulder in the pre-season, Anthony Miller wasn’t listed on the injury report heading into this week. Ultimately, Houston opted to be safe with him as he was inactive this week. At this point, Miller should be back this week, but his value is limited. It is worth noting though, as at least for one week, the Houston offense under TyRod Taylor looked pretty good. 

Tight End

With two receptions for 34 yards, things were shaping up to good for Zach Ertz before he was forced to the sideline with a hamstring injury. At this point, there doesn’t appear to be any obstacles for him to take the field this week but we will have to keep an eye on how practice goes for him leading up to that.