Welcome to Week 17 of the NFL season! We have almost made it through the full regular season and have just one more week of NFL until we get heavy into the Playoffs. There are some important names to keep an eye on this week if playing season-long still, or just playing daily fantasy on Sunday. Let’s take a look.
- DeAndre Hopkins WR, AZ (Abdomen)
Hopkins seemingly fell on a defender’s arm or elbow near halftime in the Cardinals Week 16 clash against the Niners and although he played through the injury, he is listed as “questionable” to play in Week 17 against the Rams. There has yet to be any new reports surface yet for this week, so we will continue to keep an eye on his status as we move closer to the weekend.
- Keenan Allen WR, LAC (Hamstring)
Allen was held out of the Chargers’ Week 16 game against the Broncos due to a lingering hamstring issue and is still listed as “questionable” to play in the Week 17 showdown with the Chiefs. Allen approached Week 16 as a game-time decision and ultimately was held out, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him sit this week if the hamstring does not improve over the course of the week of prep. We will continue to keep an eye on Chargers practice reports and monitor his status for this weekend.
- Julio Jones WR, ATL (Hamstring)
Jones has now missed three straight weeks with a hamstring injury, but Head Coach Raheem Mostert told reports on Monday that Jones “could suit up against the Buccaneers” on Sunday. The coaching staff seems to be approaching Jones’ status as “if he is good to play, then he will play.” This does show a bit of positivity into Jones’ status has he could potentially re-take the playing field in Week 17.
- Cole Beasley WR, BUF (Leg)
It seems that Beasley suffered a leg injury in Buffalo’s huge Monday Night Football win over the Patriots in Week 16 and Head Coach Sean McDermott is now classifying Beasley as week-to-week with the injury. This does seem to hint that Beasley could potentially be in danger of not only missing Week 17 against the Dolphins, but it could result in a multi-week absence in some cases. We will keep an eye on his status this week to see if there are any improvements.
- Tyler Boyd WR, CIN (Concussion)
Boyd missed the Bengals triumphant win over the Texans this past Sunday with a concussion, and in the event that he is still not cleared from the league’s protocol, he could be in danger of missing their Week 17 game at home against the Ravens. This likely clears up a bit more as the week progresses, and hopefully so does Boyd’s status here for Week 17. We will watch for, and monitor the reports from Cincinnati’s practice sessions this week and report back.
- Kyler Murray QB, AZ (Leg)
Murray suffered a lower-leg injury in the Cardinals Week 16 tilt against the Niners and does have some cause for concern on whether he will play in Week 17 against the Rams. Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury said on Monday that he is “hopeful” that Murray will “be in a position to play” against the Rams this week. This is an afternoon start time for this game, so it could result in the fact that we have to wait until kick-off to get a firm status update on Murray here, but hopefully that will not be the case.
- Matthew Stafford QB, DET (Ankle)
Stafford was forced out of the Lions Week 16 game against the Buccaneers early in the first quarter and was not able to return to this one afterwards. Not to add more injuries to the plethora that Stafford is already dealing with including his rib cartilage tear, or right thumb injury, but the Lions coaching and medical are staff claiming that they are hopeful Stafford can take the field for the Detroit’s Week 17 game against the Vikings. We will continue to monitor his status this week.