Fantasy Football Week 4 Injury Report

Amazingly, C.J. Spiller (28) is expected to play this weekend against New England just one week after this injury in Cleveland. Should he be in your fantasy football lineup? Rick Osentoski-US PRESSWIRE

The goal to is to have some confidence and analysis for who we can count on to be a healthy start. You will find the label of each fantasy player as either “Positive” , “Negative” or “Neutral” fantasy status. This means as we here word of improvement and a feel it to be a projected good fantasy matchup you can look for a positive mark, if there is downside or any health concerns as it relates to the situation a negative mark will be used. Neutral is for risky players that will need some more information leading right up to gametime in order to insert them into your lineup. With that system in play lets look at the Week 4 Injury report:

CAR@ATL

Julio Jones (Hand) – He is a good play each week and ranks top 5 WR this week. Matt Ryan has proved to be one of the elite QBs in the league. Roddy has seemed to find a good chemistry with Ryan as well, actually there isn’t anyone in the passing game that isn’t capable of a TD in any particular game. He was injured last week in the Chargers game but returned and seemed to have no lingering issues.

Health Status: Probable, continue to play him unless you hear of anything dramatic before kickoff.
Fantasy Status: Top 5 WR, enough said.

NE@BUF

Rob Gronkowski: He was limited in practice on Friday and is going to be a game time decision. He was expected to be featured with Hernandez still out as well as Julian Edelman. They do not have much depth at TE so you would think he will go if he is at all capable of playing through the game with limited pain.

Health Status: Questionable, This would just help the Welker and Lloyd owners out there if he were not to play.
Fantasy Status: They have no one else until Aaron Hernandez returns which is clearly affecting his numbers.

CJ Spiller/Fred Jackson: Both guys are expected to participate, both come with a risk. The best thing to do would be to wait until the games end in order to get a good feel for how healthy they can be going forward. Yes, this could be a case in which coming off injury they explode and questioning them was a mistake but with a potential time share if both healthy. It may be worth it to put them on your bench for this week. If only one or the other plays I would go with Jackson over Spiller.

Health Status: Questionable, both come with sever risk.
Fantasy Status: NEUTRAL-Spillers role could be impacted by the return of Jackson but Spiller does have a better skill set for the Bills offense.

MIN@DET

Sep 23, 2012; Nashville, TN, USA; Detroit Lions running back Mikel Leshoure (25) runs with the ball against the Tennessee Titans during the first half at LP Field. Mandatory credit: Don McPeak-US PRESSWIRE

Mikel Leshoure: He was limited in practice most of the week because of a groin injury. He is coming off an Achilles which is not attributing to the groin injury. This gives us the indication that he may not be all the way back physically. He could split time with Kevin Smith in order for him to gain his mobility and endurance back. He took a heavy load of work last week against the Titans running for 100yds on 26 carries.

Health Status: Questionable, He will be given the starting role but this is just a reminder of the injury concerns he has endured.
Fantasy Status: POSITIVE- He is the guy in the backfield and can be a great late season addition and has considerable upside.

SD@KC

Dwayne Bowe: He was limited in Thursday and Fridays practice and to be honest he has been limited most of this year. The Chiefs do not have a great passing game and are just now starting to run the ball better. He is banged up a bit along with Steve Breaston and Dexter Mccluster all who may miss the game which would allow any of them to have a big game if active.

Injury Status: Questionable, Not worth the spot in on your roster this week.
Fantasy Status: NEGATIVE- He needs to have a big week in order to get some value and trade him

SEA@STL

Steven Jackson: He was not practicing all week and owners of Jackson know what that means. He will probably suit up and play come Sunday. The biggest problem is that they play an early game and inserting him into the lineup will almost result in mediocre performance against a tough defense.

Injury Status: Questionable, he did this last week and played for whatever that is worth
Fantasy Status: Positive- Pickup Darryl Richardson as a cuff but Jackson will be back to being a workhorse soon enough.

SF@NYJ

No injuries to report.

Tenn@Hou

Kenny Britt: Unfortanently for anyone who had Britt pinned as a fantasy sleeper this year has experienced as much pain and Britts knees have had to undergo. He is not a good option this week and going forward may be only considered a low end WR2 but does have unlimited potential.

Injury Status: Questionable, Not looking good for with all these injuries popping up.
Fantasy Status: NEGATIVE- He needs to remain healthy just two weeks in a row to trust.

Cin@Jac

No injuries to report.

Mia@Ari

Reggie Bush: The prognosis is that Bush will start against the Cardinals. That is a problem in itself, they have been good against opposing running backs. The Cardinals held Lesean Mccoy a back similar to Bush to only 78 total yards last week. The Dolphins would not be smart in doing anything to risk the star RB’s health. This will mean limited opportunities for carries and the agility may not be there yet to make the big plays through the air that Bush is capable of.

Injury Status: Questionable, all reports say state he could start.
Fantasy Status: POSITIVE- He will be back to those sure fire runs and catches which means a TD may be rewarded but he will not get the normal workload.

Oak@Den

Darren McFadden(Probable)
Willis Mcgahee(Probable)

NO@GB

No injuries to report.

Wash@TB

Pierre Garcon: Coach Mike Shannahan reported that Garcons foot is still sore and that can be telling. The Redskins generally do not reveal too much in the on the injury front, so this comes as a concern. There may actually be an underlying injury here, possibly a fracture that could create more pain and complications that they want to avoid.

Injury Status: Doubtful, doesn’t sound like the risk is worth the reward.
Fantasy Status: NEGATIVE- same as above

Sep 16, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Hakeem Nicks (88) runs past Tampa Bay Buccaneers free safety Ahmad Black (43) during the game at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Perlman/THE STAR-LEDGER via US PRESSWIRE

NYG@PHIL

Hakeem Nicks: He got some much needed recovery time after the Giants last game and as much as he wanted to play against Carolina he sat out. It appears as though he is still out this week and the foot may be getting worse. Similar to why the Redskins are taking a conservative approach to Garcons playing time, this is why the Giants will continue to rest their star WR.

Injury Status: OUT
Fantasy Status: NEGATIVE- The more they run him out the more load and stress that can be placed on his foot.
Jeremy Maclin(Probable)