Fantasy Football: Injured players panic meter

Fantasy Football Panic Meter: Wide Receivers

Jerry Jeudy, Denver Broncos: The Broncos chose not to place Jeudy on IR, despite the fact that he will miss some time to begin the season due to a hamstring injury he recently suffered.

Panic Meter: 3

It sounds like Jeudy should be fine for all formats and he likely dropped a round or two in your draft because his injury happened right as drafts were taking place. But, you might have to temper expectations as he has never lived up to his first-round draft potential.

Tim Patrick, Denver Broncos: For the second year in a row, Patrick is going to miss the entire season due to injury.

Panic Meter: 9

If you have Patrick in a dynasty league, all you can do is place him on IR and hope that he has something left to offer down the road. But he will be 30 years old in November and has suffered a torn ACL and torn Achilles in consecutive summers. It's possible that his career is going to be over.

Tyquan Thornton, New England Patriots: Thornton was placed on IR following roster cuts so he will miss at least the first four games this year.

Panic Meter: 5

Thornton is still young, but you can already get the feeling that he might not ever live up to the hype. Even when healthy, he fails to stand out at WR on a roster that doesn't have a true No. 1 guy.

Thornton is not worth owning in redraft leagues but if you're one of those guys waiting for him to break out on your dynasty roster, understand that he is likely one more setback away from becoming totally irrelevant.

Jalen Guyton, Los Angeles Chargers: Guyton was placed on the PUP list to begin this season and will miss the first four games as he continues to recover from a torn ACL.

Panic Meter: 6

Like Thornton, you're obviously not rostering Guyton in seasonal formats. In dynasty and keeper leagues, he looked like a potential breakout candidate at one point but the fact that he seems to be recovering slowly from a torn ACL sustained in Week 3 of last season is troubling.

The Chargers have several big names at wide receiver and Guyton could easily get lost in that shuffle. The Chargers may give him one more shot to produce but his best bet might be to catch on with a new team down the road.

Russell Gage, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Gage will miss the entire 2023 season after tearing his patellar tendon in camp. He caught 51 passes last year and likely would have been a trusted target for Baker Mayfield in Tampa this year, but that isn't going to happen.

Panic Meter: 4

You likely don't have a lot of stock in Gage so as a result, there's not much to lose here. He will be 28 years old when the 2024 season starts so he will likely be a guy that has to go out and prove himself again to fantasy owners who then scramble to add him on the waiver wire.

That, or he'll just be that guy that becomes fantasy irrelevant.

Danny Gray, San Francisco 49ers: Drafted in the third round last season, Gray has had a very slow start to his career and that hit another speed bump this year as he will start the season on IR.

Panic Meter: 5

Many dynasty owners grabbed Gray in rookie drafts last year thinking they got one of the sleepers of the selection process. But he could easily fade to oblivion on this team as Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk are in their primes and seventh-round pick Ronnie Bell looks like a tremendous prospect.

Sit Gray on your IR or taxi squad or see if there's an owner in your league that still believes in his potential and try to get rid of him for a draft pick, even if it's a late-round choice.