Week 5 NFL injuries that matter for fantasy

Staying on top of injuries throughout the week, and especially on Sunday mornings, is one of the easiest ways to maintain an edge in fantasy football. Outside of, you know, just making sure you don’t have inactive players in your starting lineup, it’s important to understand how one injury can greatly impact the fantasy potential of other skill position players within a game.

Lucky for you, this weekly series is here to help. Rather than just frantically refreshing each team’s injury report, I’ll do the heavy lifting each Saturday night and update injuries and provide analysis once inactives are released and early game-time decisions finalized on Sunday mornings.

Early Inactives

Maxx Williams, TE, Baltimore Ravens (ankle) – Out
Jordan Matthews, WR, Buffalo Bills (thumb) — Out
Tyler Eifert, TE, Cincinnati Bengals (back) – Out
John Ross, WR, Cincinnati Bengals (knee) — Out
Kenny Golladay, WR, Detroit Lions (hamstring) — Out
Dwayne Washington, RB, Detroit Lions – Out
Tyler Ervin, RB, Houston Texans (knee) — Out
Jack Doyle, TE, Indianapolis Colts (concussion) – Out
Andrew Luck, QB, Indianapolis Colts (shoulder) — Out
Brandon Oliver, RB, Los Angeles Chargers (hamstring) – Out
Mike Williams, WR, Los Angeles Chargers (back) – Out
Dalvin Cook, RB, Minnesota Vikings (knee) — Out
Paul Perkins, RB, New York Giants (ribs) – Out
Matt Forte, RB, New York Jets (toe) – Out
Derek Carr, QB, Oakland Raiders (back) – Out
Darren Sproles, RB, Philadelphia Eagles (knee) – Out
Chris Carson, RB, Seattle Seahawks (ankle) – Out
Corey Davis, WR, Tennessee Titans (hamstring) – Out

Questionable

J.J. Nelson, WR, Arizona Cardianls (hamstring) — Likely to play
John Brown, WR, Arizona Cardinals (quadriceps) — Likely to play
Jeremy Maclin, WR, Baltimore Ravens (hand) — Likely to play
Ben Watson, TE, Baltimore Ravens (calf) — Likely to play
Brandon LaFell, WR, Cincinnati Bengals (knee) — Likely to play
C.J. Uzomah, TE, Cincinatti Bengals (knee) — Doubtful
Tyler Kroft, TE, Cincinatti Bengals (neck) — Likely to play
Kenny Britt, WR, Cleveland Browns (knee) — Doubtful
Ty Montgomery, RB, Green Bay Packers (ribs) — Doubtful
Jamaal Williams, RB, Green Bay Packers (knee) – Likely to play
Davante Adams, WR, Green Bay Packers (concussion) — Likely to play
Matt Jones, RB, Indianapolis Colts (knee) — Doubtful
Marqise Lee, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars (ribs) — Doubtful
Tyrell Williams, WR, Los Angeles Chargers (neck) — Likely to play
Jerick McKinnon, RB, Minnesota Vikings (ankle) — Likely to play
Sam Bradford, QB, Minnesota Vikings (knee) — Game time decision
Brandon Marshall, WR, New York Giants (toe) — Likely to play
DeAndre Washington, RB, Oakland Raiders (hamstring) — Likely to play
Wendell Smallwood, RB, Philadelphia Eagles (knee) – Game time decision
Martavis Bryant, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers (illness) – Likely to play
Jesse James, TE, Pittsburgh Steelers (shoulder) — Likely to play
C.J. Prosise, RB, Seattle Seahawks (ankle) — Doubtful
Jimmy Graham, TE, Seattle Seahawks (ankle) — Likely to play
Doug Baldwin, WR, Seattle Seahawks (groin) — Likely to play
Marquise Goodwin, WR, San Francisco 49ers (concussion) – Game time decision
Marcus Mariota, QB, Tennessee Titans (hamstring) — Game time decision

Updates/Analysis

Marcus Mariota, QB, Tennessee Titans – Inactive – All Tennessee pass-catchers take a slight hit, outside of maybe Rishard Matthews, who has accounted for 18 of Matt Cassel’s 61 attempts over the past two seasons. The running backs on both teams, and Miami’s defense, all got a boost up in my rankings.

Wendell Smallwood, RB, Philadelphia Eagles – Inactive – LeGarrette Blount and Corey Clement will see a larger workload this week with Smallwood out. Blount makes for a fine flex-play this week, and especially so in non-PPR leagues.

Marquise Goodwin, WR, San Francisco 49ers – Active – Goodwin is active after suffering a concussion last week. He draws a favorable matchup against an Indianapolis Colts defense that has routinely been burnt deep this season. Also, make sure to get Aldrick Robinson out of your DFS lineups.

Kenny Britt, WR, Cleveland Browns – Inactive – Britt is out for Week 5. Ricardo Louis is the most-likely candidate for more targets this week.

Marqise Lee, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars – Active – Lee returns from a rib injury, pushing Allen Hurns back out of fantasy relevancy.