• Significant Byes: With superstars like Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, and A.J. Brown on bye this week, fantasy managers’ depth will be tested.
• Major losses from Week 9: Daniel Jones, Joshua Palmer, and Cam Akers have been placed on injured reserve while a fractured arm may lead to IR for Dallas Goedert.
• Dominate your fantasy league in 2023: For up-to-date fantasy draft rankings and projections, check out PFF’s fantasy rankings tool!
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Officially over halfway through the 2023 season, we are just a few weeks from the fantasy playoffs kicking off, making it crunch time for those managers on the bubble to make the most of their remaining opportunities. We finally get Kyler Murray back this week while his backfield running mate James Conner could return as well. The bye weeks could not have come at a better time for some of these teams, with Kyren Williams, De’Von Achane, Jaylen Waddle, Jalen Hurts and Matthew Stafford all dealing with injuries to some degree and are allowed some reprieve to rest up. The injury roundup is a bit on the shorter side this week with not many players’ statuses up in the air, but there are several notable players to discuss. Without further ado, let’s dive in.
Week 10 byes
WRs Ja’Marr Chase (back) & Tee Higgins (hamstring), Cincinnati Bengals
Both Bengals receivers are dealing with minor injuries and were held out of practice Thursday after varied participation Wednesday. Higgins has been a bit banged up this season, so his status will likely be very fluid heading into the weekend while Chase’s situation is a bit more precarious because back injuries can linger if not treated properly. Both will require close monitoring come Sunday morning, but if both are out, look for Tyler Boyd to receive additional usage.
QB Daniel Jones (knee), New York Giants (IR)
The Giants' quarterback woes escalated Sunday when Jones returned from his neck injury only to unfortunately tear his ACL, costing him the rest of the 2023 season. With Tyrod Taylor also on injured reserve, a QB room consisting of Tommy DeVito and Matt Barkley does not inspire much confidence for any of the Giants skill position players outside of Saquon Barkley.
TE Dallas Goedert (arm), Philadelphia Eagles
Goedert went down with a fractured forearm on a questionable tackle from Markquese Bell in the Eagles' Week 9 win over the Dallas Cowboys. While not officially ruled out moving forward, it’s hard to imagine him contributing immediately after the Eagles' Week 10 bye without serious limitations. Look elsewhere for TE help in the meantime.
RBs Emari Demercado (toe) and James Conner (knee), Arizona Cardinals
After missing the Cardinals' Week 9 loss, Demercado missed practice again Wednesday, casting doubt around his availability for Week 10, while James Conner has been designated for return from his knee injury suffered in Week 5. It’s not clear how Arizona feels about Conner returning this week, but with Kyler Murray slated to start his first game of the season, it would not be a shock. Meanwhile, Demercado would take a back seat upon Conner’s return, but he has shown enough to keep a role in the offense over Keaontay Ingram, Damien Williams or Tony Jones Jr. He should be kept in the “stash” category in the case that Conner suffers a setback or significant injury. In the case both were to miss this weekend, it would likely be Ingram and Jones leading the backfield against a solid Atlanta run defense.
WRs Jaxon Smith-Njigba (hip) and Tyler Lockett (hamstring), Seattle Seahawks
JSN has been coming on a bit in recent weeks with two WR2 finishes in the last three weeks but was sidelined Wednesday due to a hip injury while Tyler Lockett has been managing a hamstring issue for the past few weeks. Lockett has always been a bit of a boom/bust play, and JSN is likely only relevant in deeper leagues at this point, but an appealing matchup with the Washington Commanders defense, which is among the league's worst in passing yards per attempt allowed (7.34) and explosive pass plays allowed (54), is on the docket this weekend. If Lockett is still good to go, it feels like a good week to fire him up while a sneaky Jaxon Smith-Njigba play could be in the cards for managers dealing with byes.
RB Kenneth Walker III (chest), Seattle Seahawks
Held out of practice Wednesday, Walker has seen a bit of a diminished role the past two weeks between negative gamescripts, injury concerns and Zach Charbonnet’s ascent. Ahead of a matchup with the Commanders, a chest matchup may not be enough to fully sideline him, but recent trends should give managers pause if the Seahawks plan to limit his workload again.
RB Cam Akers (Achilles), Minnesota Vikings (IR)
You have to feel for Akers, who has suffered his second torn Achilles in his short career. Coming over from the Los Angeles Rams, Akers was not particularly efficient, as the highlight of his season thus far has been his one rushing TD against the Green Bay Packers (to lead all Vikings RBs), but he appeared to be in a situation and role that fit better than his past few seasons. The Vikings will now turn to Ty Chandler to supplement Alexander Mattison to finish the season out, but the Minnesota run game has not been productive enough for fantasy purposes to support two backs.
WR Joshua Palmer (knee), Los Angeles Chargers (IR)
The Chargers' receivers room took another hit this past week when the team placed Joshua Palmer on injured reserve due to a knee injury, sidelining him for another few weeks at a minimum. In the meantime, Keenan Allen will continue to draw a heavy target share while TE Gerald Everett, rookie WR Quentin Johnston and the recently activated Jalen Guyton will be expected to step up.
WR Nico Collins (calf), Houston Texans
Collins is dealing with a calf injury that sidelined him in practice Thursday after being limited Wednesday, likely trending his status towards being out this week. While there's a chance exists he plays on Sunday, the Bengals do play a fair amount of man/match coverages, making Tank Dell the more appealing play regardless.
Others to monitor
TE T.J. Hockenson (ribs), Minnesota Vikings
Hock played through his rib issue this past Sunday and did not appear to be hamstrung by it, catching 7 passes for 70 yards from Jaren Hall and Joshua Dobbs. Limited in practice this week, Hockenson has stated that he plans to play this Sunday against the Saints, making this situation of minimal concern for managers planning to continue to roll out the current TE2 barring any drastic setbacks.
TE David Njoku (knee), Cleveland Browns
After being held out Wednesday, Njoku returned to practice Thursday, boding well for his availability Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens. Njoku has been trending upward in recent weeks, posting top 13 positional finishes coming in each of the last three contests. While a matchup with Baltimore is not the most appealing on paper, Njoku is firmly in the streaming conversation this weekend if he plays.
RB David Montgomery (ribs), Detroit Lions
After missing the Lions' previous two contests, Montgomery returned to practice in full this week and appears to be on track to return this weekend. Keep an eye out for any setbacks, but an appealing matchup should offer confidence to Montgomery managers.
WR Deebo Samuel (shoulder), San Francisco 49ers
Hampered by a shoulder injury for the past few weeks, Samuel missed the 49ers' last two losses. Coming off the bye week, however, Deebo was a full participant Wednesday, boding well for his status come Sunday.
WR Drake London (groin), Atlanta Falcons
Limited Wednesday and Thursday after missing the Falcons' Week 9 loss, Atlanta is hopeful that London will return for its Week 10 matchup. Despite an appealing matchup, London has just one WR1 finish on the season and has finished in the top 24 just three times. If forced to rely on London, his status will need to be closely watched heading into the weekend, but a pivot to a less TD-dependent WR is worthy of considering regardless.
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