Sit Start Injury Report Saturday Morning Week 18 2021

Every fantasy manager knows that injuries can have a huge impact on a fantasy team's performance.

That makes properly navigating each week's injury report a must. To assist in this effort, this weekly article series will analyze the fantasy football impact of the Friday and Saturday injury reports.

The injured players are noted by player position and then their injury status. Out means fseathe player has been ruled out of this week's contest. Doubtful means the player is very unlikely to start. Questionable indicates the player might start. Start likelihood is increased if a player has participated in practices that week, so practice participation levels are frequently noted in these posts.

Let's look at the Week 18 injury report. The initial edition of this article is generated following the league's Friday injury report. It is then updated on Saturday night with any injury changes that have been posted since the Friday update.

Kansas City at Denver

Kansas City injuries

Out RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire T Lucas Niang

Darrel Williams will take over for Edwards-Helaire and has borderline RB1/RB2 value.

Denver injuries Out CB Ronald Darby CB Patrick Surtain CB Nate Hairston

Questionable DE Shelby Harris

The loss of three cornerbacks should Tyreek Hill break out of a two-game slump in which has posted only 14.1 points. The Broncos also put starting safety Kareem Jackson on injured reserve this week, a move that should also help Travis Kelce bounce back after a less than stellar 13.4 points against Cincinnati last week.

Dallas at Philadelphia

Dallas injuries

Out CB Trevon Diggs S Jayron Kearse RB Tony Pollard

Questionable S Donovan Wilson

COVID T Tyron Smith CB Anthony Brown LB Micah Parsons

Ezekiel Elliott has said that he has healed up and is running at full speed now, which could be a huge boon given that Pollard is out. The slew of defensive injuries does make the Dallas D/ST a somewhat risky prospect, but that risk is offset by the likelihood that the Eagles are apt to rest many of their players due to not having much to play for and because of the club's COVID breakout.

Philadelphia injuries

Out RB Miles Sanders

Questionable G Landon Dickerson T Lane Johnson

COVID TE Dallas Goedert DT Fletcher Cox S Marcus Epps G Nate Herbig RB Jordan Howard CB Avonte Maddox S Rodney McLeod RB Boston Scott LB Alex Singleton C Jason Kelce

This doesn't look to be a good week to start many Philadelphia players, as the COVID breakout and the Eagles having very little to play for could keep many of their players either out of the lineup or dealing with limited on-field time this week.

Carolina at Tampa Bay

Carolina injuries

Questionable WR Robby Anderson

COVID CB Stephon Gilmore

If fantasy managers needed another reason to bench Robby Anderson, this questionable gives them one.

Tampa Bay injuries Out LB Shaquil Barrett RB Ronald Jones LB Jason Pierre-Paul

Doubtful CB Richard Sherman

Questionable C Ryan Jensen

The Panthers offense is abysmal right now that the Buccaneers D/ST is still a strong start candidate even with these injuries. Ke'Shawn Vaughn and Le'Veon Bell are likely to be a platoon this week in the absence of Ronald Jones, so consider each of them flex candidates.

Chicago at Minnesota

Chicago injuries

Out DT Akiem Hicks

Questionable DT Eddie Goldman LB Robert Quinn CB Duke Shelley

COVID QB Justin Fields Andy Dalton will get the start in place of Fields this week, but only has potential start value in deeper 2QB leagues. The defensive line injuries add even more upside to Dalvin Cook's RB1 profile.

Minnesota injuries

Doubtful DT Michael Pierce

Questionable CB Mackensie Alexander CB Kris Boyd

COVID G Ezra Cleveland T Christian Darrisaw LB Eric Kendricks

The potential for missing offensive linemen is a negative, but the Bears are missing some defensive linemen and therefore Cook is at his usual impact start status.

Cincinnati at Cleveland

Cincinnati injuries

Questionable QB Joe Burrow DE Sam Hubbard K Evan McPherson TE C.J. Uzomah

COVID DT Larry Ogunjobi RB Joe Mixon S Vonn Bell DE Trey Hendrickson C Trey Hopkins G Quinton Spain

The Bengals have already indicated that Burrow is not likely to play this week and the only reason Cincinnati may consider putting Ja'Marr Chase out there is to get the 12 yards he needs to set a new Bengals single season record for receiving yards. This is a week no fantasy manager should want a Cincinnati player anywhere near their starting lineup.

Cleveland injuries

Questionable S Ronnie Harrison CB Troy Hill RB Kareem Hunt S John Johnson TE David Njoku CB Denzel Ward CB Greedy Williams

COVID DT Malik Jackson RB D'Ernest Johnson

With Baker Mayfield being placed on injured reserve, the slew of injuries, and the Browns obviously wanting to just get this season over with, fantasy managers should not want any Cleveland players in their starting lineups this week.

Green Bay at Detroit

Green Bay injuries

Out CB Jaire Alexander DE Kingsley Keke

Questionable T David Bakhtiari LB De'Vondre Campbell RB Aaron Jones

COVID T Billy Turner

The Packers may send Aaron Rodgers and the rest of the starting offense out there for a drive or two just to try to keep the momentum going before headed into a bye week, but that minimal amount of playing time simply isn't enough to justify putting Packers players into lineups in most leagues.

Detroit injuries

Questionable DE Michael Brockers QB Jared Goff G Jonah Jackson LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin WR Josh Reynolds TE Brock Wright

COVID LB Austin Bryant T Taylor Decker T Penei Sewell

The offensive line issues and D'Andre Swift's subpar numbers last week probably make him best suited for flex duty this week.

Indianapolis at Jacksonville

Indianapolis injuries

Out CB Xavier Rhodes

Questionable DT DeForest Buckner

COVID S Andrew Sendejo

It really doesn't matter if the Colts end up missing all the defensive players listed above, as there isn't a Jacksonville fantasy prospect worth putting into starting lineups this week.

Jacksonville injuries

Out TE James O'Shaughnessy

COVID S Andrew Wingard T Cam Robinson S Rudy Ford C Brandon Linder

The potential for missing two starting offensive linemen adds even more justification for fantasy managers to avoid all Jaguars players.

Los Angeles Chargers at Las Vegas

Los Angeles injuries

Questionable LB Drue Tranquill

The Chargers have no notable injuries.

Las Vegas injuries

Questionable DT Johnathan Hankins CB Casey Hayward RB Josh Jacobs TE Darren Waller

Jacobs did have limited practices all week, so he does look on track to play. Waller is much more of a question mark due to having dealt with injury and COVID issues of late, so fantasy managers would do well to strongly consider other prospects before committing Waller to a lineup in a Sunday night matchup.

New England at Miami

New England injuries

Out S Kyle Duggar

Questionable C David Andrews K Nick Folk RB Damien Harris LB Dont'a Hightower WR Jakobi Meyers S Adrian Phillips T Isaiah Wynn

COVID CB Myles Bryant T Yodny Cajuste

Harris and Meyers both had limited practices all week and therefore look to be primed to play in a game that the Patriots will go all out to win.

Miami injuries

COVID CB Noah Igbinoghene

The Dolphins have no notable injuries.

New Orleans at Atlanta

New Orleans injuries

Out T Terron Armstead CB Bradley Roby CB P.J. Williams

Questionable DE Marcus Davenport RB Mark Ingram T Ryan Ramczyk

It won't help Alvin Kamara's prospects to not have Armstead in the lineup (Ramczyk is likely to play), but the Falcons rush defense has been so bad of late that Kamara rates as a strong RB1 regardless.

Atlanta injuries

Questionable

TE Kyle Pitts Pitts will likely play, as he is not that far from setting the record for receiving yards for a tight end. If that happens, Pitts will rate as a solid TE1.

New York Jets at Buffalo

New York injuries

Doubtful WR Braxton Berrios

It's a shame that fantasy managers won't be able to put Berrios into lineups in Week 18, as he posted 40.7 points over the past two weeks, but the doubtful status pretty much confirms Berrios won't be playing this week.

Buffalo injuries

Doubtful WR Emmanuel Sanders

Gabriel Davis will take Sanders' place in the Bills starting lineup and is a risky WR3 with a solid ceiling versus a bad Jets secondary.

Pittsburgh at Baltimore

Pittsburgh injuries

Out DE Isaiah Buggs

COVID C Kendrick Green CB Joe Haden

The Steelers D/ST has posted 15+ points in two of the past four weeks, but also tallied negative points in the other two weeks. Losing Haden, who will be out for this game, won't help matters, so rate that platoon as a risky start prospect at best.

Baltimore injuries

Out CB Anthony Averett QB Lamar Jackson

Doubtful LB Odafe Oweh

Questionable G Ben Cleveland WR Devin Duvernay G Ben Powers

Tyler Huntley will start for Jackson. Huntley has posted one strong game, one solid game, and one weak game while filling in for Jackson, so rate him as a solid prospect with a high ceiling if all goes well against an inconsistent Steelers defense. The absence of Averett does improve Chase Claypool's chances of posting a good fantasy point total.

San Francisco at Los Angeles Rams

San Francisco injuries

Questionable LB Azeez Al-Shaair QB Jimmy Garoppolo LB Dre Greenlaw DT Maurice Hurst S Jaquiski Tartt T Trent Williams

COVID CB Deommodore Lenoir CB Dontae Johnson S Jimmie Ward CB K'Waun Williams

Garoppolo is going to get the start this week. The slew of defensive injuries, especially in the secondary, gives the Rams passing game a very high percentage chance of reaching a vaulted production ceiling in this one.

Los Angeles injuries

The Rams have no notable injuries.

Seattle at Arizona

Seattle injuries

Out T Brandon Shell LB Bobby Wagner

Questionable TE Will Dissly LB Carlos Dunlap G Gabe Jackson

COVID S Ryan Neal

The offensive line injuries are a bit of a concern for fantasy managers wishing to start Seahawks players, but it isn't enough on its own to move those players out of starting lineups.

Arizona injuries

Out RB Chase Edmonds WR Rondale Moore DE Jordan Phillips CB Marco Wilson

Questionable DE Zach Allen RB James Conner

COVID DT Zach Kerr LB Tanner Vallejo

Edmonds' absence makes Conner a solid RB1 candidate as long as the questionable status doesn't make Conner inactive. If Conner is out, Eno Benjamin is the next man up but would be considered a viable RB2 at best. Wilson's absence improves the odds for DK Metcalf to post another strong point total.

Tennessee at Houston

Tennessee injuries

Out DT Teair Tart

The Titans have no notable injuries.

Houston injuries

Questionable TE Jordan Akins WR Chris Conley

COVID S Justin Reid

The Texans have no notable injuries.

Washington at New York Giants

Washington injuries

Out WR Curtis Samuel TE Ricky Seals-Jones DE Montez Sweat

COVID CB William Jackson III

The most important part of Washington's injury report is that Antonio Gibson did not show up on it.

New York injuries

Out QB Mike Glennon WR John Ross WR Kadarius Toney

Questionable FB Cullen Gillaspia G Will Hernandez

The Giants offense has been so abysmal that none of their players should be afforded any start consideration outside of Saquon Barkley, who is best viewed as a RB2/flex. The state of this platoon does make the Washington D/ST a viable start candidate.