Week 3 Injury Wrap: It's a Murray Christmas with Dalvin Cook out
We’re only in Week 3, but the injury report has plenty of intrigue and spice. To the clipboard:
• Latavius Murray gets the prime spot this week, stepping into a home start against the woeful Bills. Dalvin Cook (hamstring) has been ruled out. Minnesota is a 17-point favorite, just the ninth time we’ve seen a number that high in the 2010s.
Unless you have slam-dunk options in your backfield, Murray needs to be in your lineup (he’s currently RB10 on the Yahoo staff consensus ranks). Murray is also a giveaway in DFS contests, which is what we’re constantly looking for — pricing gaps for players coming into a role upgrade.
• Jay Ajayi (back) and Darren Sproles (hamstring) are ruled out, which makes Corey Clement an interesting play against Indianapolis. Clement has his own quad injury to deal with, but he had a partial workout and the team is confident he’ll play. Wendell Smallwood and Josh Adams will also see work.
• Alshon Jeffery (shoulder) has an outside chance to return, but I wouldn’t bet on it. Carson Wentz (knee) is set to make his season debut.
[Week 3 rankings: QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | FLEX | DST | Kickers]
• Leonard Fournette (hamstring) had three limited days, but appears on track to play against Tennessee. T.J. Yeldon (ankle) is also questionable, which means Corey Grant might be liberally used again.
• Joe Mixon (knee) is out indefinitely, which puts Giovani Bernard in the captain’s chair at Carolina. Rookie Mark Walton is the backup, and has Andy Behrens’s attention.
• Aaron Rodgers (knee) missed the full practice week, same as Week 2. He’s still expected to start at Washington.
• Jack Doyle (hip) won’t go at Philadelphia, which sets up Eric Ebron as the tight-end target hog. Marlon Mack (foot/hamstring) won’t play, which raises the floor for Nyheim Hines and Jordan Wilkins. LT Anthony Castonzo (hamstring) is also out. T.Y. Hilton (quad) missed two days of practice before returning Friday. Double-check on game day, but he should be fine.
• The Lions added Marvin Jones (ankle) to the injury report Friday; he had a limited session after two full days. Make sure you double check on him prior to the Sunday night game.
• The Niners expect top receiver Marquise Goodwin (quad) to play at Kansas City. Fire up your pinball machines.
• Larry Fitzgerald (hamstring) had a limited week of practice but should play against Chicago. Unfortunately for Fitzgerald and the rest of the Cardinals we care about, QB Sam Bradford remains the starter. I’ve added some Josh Rosen shares in deeper superflex formats, on the chance a change comes about. The Bears defense is a nasty matchup for anyone, obviously.
• Julio Jones (calf) missed two days of work but the Falcons didn’t have him on their final injury report. Devonta Freeman (knee) remains week-to-week; Tevin Coleman will start against New Orleans.
• Although DeAndre Hopkins is dealing with ankle, hamstring, and thumb maladies, he was taken off the injury report and is good to go against Tennessee. Will Fuller (hamstring) is also off the report, and is coming off a a terrific debut (8-113-1, on nine targets). While Hopkins is obviously the main guy here, Fuller might be the difference between an ordinary passing game and a dynamic one.
• Marcus Mariota (elbow) is still iffy for the match at Jacksonville. A hurt Mariota or a healthy Blaine Gabbert — good luck against the league’s best defense.
• LeSean McCoy (chest) had a limited practice week but is expected to play at Minnesota. Obviously a nasty spot.
• The Dolphins expect DeVante Parker (finger) to play against Oakland. I’ll be the last to board a Parker bandwagon; I need at least one show-me game.
• The Patriots limited Josh Gordon (hamstring) in practice, and if he plays Sunday at Detroit, it will probably be in a partial role. I would not play him on spec.
• No one is trotting out Travis Benjamin (foot) or Antonio Gates (illness), but the Chargers expect to have them against the crosstown Rams.
• Cole Beasley (ankle) had two limited days and is questionable for a late game at Seattle.
• Doug Baldwin (knee) remains week-to-week. If you want a piece of this passing game, maybe TE Will Dissly is worth consideration. Although Dissly is known for his blocking chops, he was running routes — and scored a late touchdown — when the Seahawks were in Week 2 catchup mode at Chicago.
• Greg Zuerlein (groin) is out indefinitely and as much as I loved his setup, I can’t hold any kicker on a multiple-week injury. Sam Ficken is the replacement. He missed two of his eight kicks last year, one an extra point and one a try inside the 40.
