With the playoffs right around the corner, each passing week becomes more and more vital. Let’s take a look at some significant injury updates around the league and how they could impact fantasy rosters ahead of Week 14.
Taysom Hill
Taysom Hill (knee) will miss the remainder of the 2024 NFL season with a knee injury he suffered on Sunday.
Fantasy Impact: Hill was on his way to yet another solid PPR performance before suffering the injury. Teams relying on Hill at their flex position will need to look elsewhere. This should potentially open up work for Juwan Johnson, as well as Kendre Miller when he returns from IR.
Trevor Lawrence
Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said Trevor Lawrence remains in the NFL’s concussion protocol after a scary collision with linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair against the Texans. Expect him to miss some time, especially considering the recent signing of veteran QB C.J. Beathard
Fantasy Impact: Look for Mac Jones to take over at quarterback with Beathard as the backup while Lawrence recovers. Jones completed 20 of his 32 pass attempts for 235 yards and two touchdowns after Lawrence’s exit.
Kendre Miller
Saints interim coach Darren Rizzi said Kendre Miller will be designated to return from injured reserve. The complicated relationship between, former coach, Dennis Allen and Miller led to reports that he was placed on injured reserve for a minor hamstring injury that would have only taken a week or two to work through.
Fantasy Impact: Miller has been on IR since November 2. The Saints will be without Taysom Hill for the rest of the season, and Miller should be the secondary rushing option over Jamaal Williams.
Christian McCaffrey
49ers runningback Christian McCaffrey checked out of Sunday night’s loss to the Bills with a PCL injury. McCaffrey (knee) has been placed on injured reserve by the San Francisco 49ers.
Fantasy Impact: According to head coach Kyle Shanahan, McCaffrey will miss at least the next six weeks, ending the running back’s regular season. With backup Jordan Mason (ankle) also headed to injured reserve, Isaac Guerendo will likely be thrust into a starting role, making the third-string running back worthy of a waiver pickup ahead of Week 14.
Jordan Mason
Jordan Mason (ankle) has been placed on injured reserve by the San Francisco 49ers according to Adam Schefter.
Mason suffered an apparent high-ankle sprain late in San Francisco’s 35-10 blowout loss to the Bills Sunday night. The No. 2 running back joins Christian McCaffrey (knee) on injured reserve.
Fantasy Impact: Isaac Guerendo will become the No. 1 running back for San Francisco ahead of Week 14 considering the circumstances.
Calvin Austin III
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Calvin Austin III was placed in the NFL’s concussion protocol. Austin caught two passes for 29 yards and a touchdown in Sunday’s win over the Bengals. He’ll have to be cleared by an independent neurologist before exiting concussion protocol.
Fantasy Impact: Expect more snaps for Mike Williams and Ben Skrownek if Austin can’t suit up. His status is currently day-to-day.
Ladd McConkey
Ladd McConkey caught 9-of-12 targets for 117 yards in the Chargers win over the Falcons before exiting the game with a knee injury.
McConkey was the only Chargers offensive weapon to post a big performance in the low-scoring win. He caught eight passes for 105 yards in the first half alone.
Fantasy Impact: Dissly, Dobbins, Palmers, and Johnston all hold at least 10% target share a piece with Dobbins and Dissly having higher completion percentages than McConkey.
Rashod Bateman
Baltimore wide receiver Rashod Bateman was ruled out with a knee injury during Sunday’s loss to the Eagles. Head coach John Harbaugh said on Monday that he thinks Bateman is on track to return after the team’s bye week.
Fantasy Impact: Bateman will have the Raven’s bye week to get fully healthy. Bateman didn’t have any catches against Philadelphia, but has 35 catches for 574 yards and five touchdowns this season.
Cedric Tillman
Cedric Tillman was ruled out for Monday’s game loss to the Broncos. In Week 12, Tillman took a significant hit resulting in some difficulty walking. He was placed on concussion protocol with some optimism for a Week 14 return.
Keep a close look on day-to-day news for Tillman as the Browns get closer to their matchup with the Steelers.
Fantasy Impact: Tillman remains in concussion protocol. Jerry Jeudy, Elijah Moore and David Njoku should all take on larger roles in the passing game if he misses another game.
Noah Brown
Washington Commanders wide receiver Noah Brown exited during the third quarter of Sunday’s Week 13 contest against the Tennessee Titans with a rib injury.
At the time of his departure, he had caught three of four targets for 27 yards through the air.
Fantasy Impact: In Brown’s absence look for Olamide Zaccheaus, Dyami Brown and Luke McCaffrey to get a boost alongside top receiver Terry McLaurin.
Romeo Doubs
Packers coach Matt LaFleur said while Romeo Doubs is still in the concussion protocol, he has progressed to the point where he could possibly play against Detroit on Thursday.
Fantasy Impact: Doubs will have to clear the protocols by Wednesday to have a chance of playing on Thursday. Dontavion Wicks and Tucker Kraft hold similar-sized target shares at 15% with Kraft being the top red zone target for the Packers.
Bub Means
Saints interim coach Darren Rizzi says Bub Means will be designated to return from injured reserve this week. The rookie receiver was dealing with an ankle injury.
Before being placed on IR, Means played in seven games catching nice targets for 118 yards and one touchdown.
Fantasy Impact: There is some value to Means in deeper leagues especially if we don’t see Chris Olave anymore this season.
Dallas Goedert
Eagles TE Dallas Goedert suffered a knee injury in Sunday’s win over the Ravens. It is likely to keep him out week-to-week, per a league source. It does not appear to be season-ending.
Fantasy Impact: Goedert left Sunday’s game early due to this injury but avoided anything serious. There is still a chance that the seven-year pro ends up on IR, but he should return as the playoffs get closer.
Theo Johnson
The Giants placed Theo Johnson on season-ending injured reserve. The rookie tight end injured his knee on Thanksgiving day in a matchup against the Cowboys.
Fantasy Impact: Johnson caught 29 passes for 331 yards and a touchdown this season. He appeared promising at times, but it seems unlikely that he will be on the fantasy radar next season.
Jalen Coker
Panthers coach Dave Canales said “the hope” is that Jalen Coker will be back in Week 14. Coker tweaked his quad in between Week 11 and Week 12 stagnating his impressive rookie year.
Before the injury, Coker racked up 17 receptions for 263 yards this year.
Fantasy Impact: Coker missed all of practice last week. Canales added that he has “a couple of big days” in practice this week. His status will be worth monitoring the next few days.
Ja’Tavion Sanders
Panthers coach Dave Canales said “the hope” is that Ja’Tavion Sanders will be back in Week 14. The Panthers’ tight end landed awkwardly on his head and suffered a neck injury against the Kansas City Chiefs back in Week 12.
Fantasy Impact: Look for snaps to be taken away from Tremble should Sanders return this week.