Heading into kickoff time, a few top-tier fantasy players remain to be game-time decisions. They include: Odell Beckham Jr., Dion Lewis, Justin Forsett, and T.J. Yeldon. The following is a Sunday morning accelerated update on all of the fantasy-relevant injury news.
As a reminder, there are five status designations players can have: active, probable, questionable, doubtful and out. The active and out designations are self-explanatory. The probable designation signifies a player has a greater than 50 percent chance of being active for the game. Questionable means the player essentially has a 50-50 chance of playing. Doubtful means the player has less than a 25 percent chance of playing.
Quarterbacks
Andrew Luck has dealt with a sore right shoulder for the past three weeks. He was inactive in Week 5, his second-straight missed game. His initial MRI reportedly showed a shoulder contusion and no significant structural damage. If he only had a shoulder contusion, he would certainly be playing by now. So, his exact diagnosis is still unclear.
Two weeks ago, Chris Hagan of FOX59 in Indianapolis reported Luck suffered a shoulder subluxation. If that were the case, damage would have been done to the glenoid labrum. It’s often difficult to see this type of injury on a MRI if it’s minor in severity.
The Colts medical staff has elected to treat Luck conservatively. Therefore, regardless of Luck’s actual diagnosis, not much has changed in regards to his timetable for return. Once his shoulder regains full active range of motion, and he can throw the ball with minimal pain and adequate power, he will return to play.
This week, Coach Chuck Pagano and Luck both said there’s a good chance he would play against the Patriots on Sunday night. He practiced limitedly all week until Friday, when he logged his first full practice since suffering the injury. He is officially listed as questionable, but appears to be on track to play – unless he had exacerbated symptoms following Friday’s practice.
I’m expecting the velocity of Luck’s throws to be near 100 percent. Overall, this is a fair matchup for him against the Patriots defense (-3.2). If you own Luck, I think you have to start him. As for daily fantasy, there are better values to be found on all three major sites.
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Dave Pratt, DPT, is a licensed physical therapist and a former collegiate football player. He has years of experience analyzing game footage and injuries. Throughout the NFL season, he will breakdown and discuss all fantasy-significant injuries in this weekly column. The first edition of the column will be made available on Monday afternoons, and updates will be made throughout the week. An accelerated update on all of the pressing injury news will be made available on Sunday mornings. Follow him on Twitter @PFF_DavePratt