The Infirmary Report: Post Week 13

Fantasy Football

This is the Infirmary Report: Post Week 13! The worst part of our beloved game is the frequency of injuries. It’s an unfortunate byproduct of such a fast-paced, contact-heavy sport. Luckily for the NFL players, they have access to some of the best doctors in the world and can usually return to form at least by the next season. Unfortunately for us, fantasy players, it’s not always easy to know when a player will get hurt. To another degree, sometimes your roster isn’t big enough to plan ahead for an injury. This series, the Infirmary Report, will give you advice on the injuries that have happened every week during the season. Without further ado, here is The Infirmary Report: Post Week 13 of regular season action.

Lamar Jackson, QB | Ravens

Injury: Jackson suffered a knee injury against the Broncos.

Expected Return: No one knows what “days to weeks” means, but I assume it means at least a couple weeks.

Key Takeaway:

This is exactly why the Ravens haven’t shopped Tyler Huntley. He slid in perfectly well and led the Ravens to a last minute win over the Broncos, scoring the only touchdown of the game. Last year in Jackson’s absence, Huntley had a four-TD, 35.9-point game against the Packers.

In his other appearance, he didn’t do super well, and as a whole, he averaged merely 12.4 PPG across seven games. Mark Andrews averaged 23.8 points in PPR during Huntley’s last four starts in 2021, so he may benefit in the same way this year.

Hayden Hurst, TE | Bengals

Injury: Hurst suffered a calf injury against the Chiefs.

Expected Return: He is currently Questionable for Week 14.

Key Takeaway:

Well, unfortunately for Hurst he had no chance to prove the trash-talking Chiefs wrong as he got injured early in the contest. He will likely rest up this week and then play on Sunday. If he doesn’t- look for Tyler Boyd and whichever RB is starting to get some extra volume. But NFL players usually play through calf injuries- Josh Jacobs even had his 300-yard performance two weeks ago while nursing a calf injury.

David Bell, WR | Browns

Injury: Bell injured his hand against the Texans.

Expected Return: The exact timeline and severity are still unknown. Given he’s a WR, and it’s a hand injury, he should probably miss a week or two.

Key Takeaway:

Those hopeful that David Bell would be a fun upside swing for the end of the year, latching onto Deshaun Watson‘s possible ceiling have had their hopes shattered in just one game into the action. For now, the Browns will have to continue to lean on Amari Cooper and Donovan Peoples-Jones while Bell is out. And seriously, if Peoples-Jones is somehow still available, scoop him up he’s scoring on punt returns now too.

Tua Tagovailoa, QB | Dolphins

Injury: Tagovailoa injured his ankle but could’ve returned against the 49ers.

Expected Return: He is expected to start next week.

Key Takeaway:

The game was out of hand, so the Dolphins just kept him out of it. Tua Tagovailoa will be fine and be out there next week.

If there is a setback, or he ends up reinjuring himself, it will be Skylar Thompson again as Teddy Bridgewater is also injured.

Jakobi Meyers, WR | Patriots

Injury: Meyers suffered a concussion/head injury against the Bills.

Expected Return: He is currently Questionable for Week 14.

Key Takeaway:

Meyers was injured on a dirty hit that ended up causing Damar Hamlin to be ejected from the game. Luckily for Meyers and the Patriots, the game was on Thursday night- leaving a few extra days to heal properly. But we have seen concussions hold players out for a couple of weeks now so make sure to monitor the situation. The targets that will be vacated will likely be distributed fairly equally among all possible targets in this offense.

Quez Watkins, WR | Eagles

Injury: Watkins sprained his AC Joint against the Titans.

Expected Return: He is currently Questionable for Week 14 but will likely miss at least one week.

Key Takeaway:

Watkins has scored 10+ in the last three weeks and was on his way to the same this week before getting injured. With this injury and the Dallas Goedert injury from a few weeks ago, the Eagles are now down to Devonta Smith and A.J. Brown only.

Quez Watkins Advanced Stats & Metrics Profile

That’s apparently fine as Jalen Hurts got it done entirely in the air this week against the Titans- throwing for 380 yards and three TDs. Smith and Brown should both be started without a doubt going forward if they weren’t already. Hurts may also have to run a little bit more.

Jimmy Garoppolo, QB | 49ers

Injury: Garoppolo broke his foot against the Dolphins.

Expected Return: He is going to miss the rest of the season.

Key Takeaway:

Jimmy Garoppolo and the 49ers were really clicking over the last few weeks. But now Mr. Irrelevant, Brock Purdy, gets to the start for this playoff-bound team. Purdy threw for 210 yards, two TDs, and an INT against the Dolphins.

These are the kind of numbers we can expect, so it’s not a huge downgrade from Garoppolo. And given this is a Shanahan offense, Purdy may even begin to succeed a bit more. He’s 100-percent a must-add in SuperFlex leagues while attached to this offense with these weapons.

Kenneth Walker (and DeeJay Dallas), RB | Seahawks

Injury: Walker injured his ankle against the Rams.

Expected Return: The exact timeline and severity are still unknown. He will likely miss at least a couple of weeks.

Key Takeaway:

Walker’s injury is without a doubt a massive blow to a ton of fantasy teams and the Seattle Seahawks. DeeJay Dallas also picked up an ankle injury but did return in a limited capacity. Walker will likely miss at least next week, and it’s possible Dallas ends up missing as well. Even if Dallas does play, he won’t be 100-percent because of his ankle injury.

Travis Homer is the sneaky add here as he is also the pass-catching RB on this team. He will be a must-start if both Dallas and Walker are out. D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett will also get a small boost as I imagine the Seahawks would run less without Walker.

Treylon Burks, WR | Titans

Injury: Burks suffered a concussion against the Eagles.

Expected Return: He is currently Questionable for Week 14.

Key Takeaway:

Concussions are not very predictable anymore, but I do think Burks will miss Week 14 given the nature of that hit. Missing a week has become much more commonplace for concussions this season and Burks was hit hard. He was starting to thrive in this offense, scoring a TD or going over 100 yards in three straight games. When he does return, expect him to produce. If he doesn’t return, expect the Titans to lean on Derrick Henry even more.