Injury Report Sit Start Week 1 2021

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

This makes properly navigating each week's injury report a must, so this season I will be writing a weekly article for Football Diehards that details 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 the 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.

Now that we have the preliminaries out of the way, let's take a look at the Week 1 Friday injury report.
 

Arizona at Tennessee

Arizona injuries

Arizona has no notable injuries.

Tennessee injuries
K Sam Ficken: Questionable
WR Josh Reynolds: Questionable

Ficken should not be started even if he does play this week.

Reynolds hit the injury report on Thursday with a limited practice due to a foot ailment and was also limited on Friday. He is a non-entity in fantasy.

Chicago at Los Angeles Rams

Chicago injuries
WR Darnell Mooney: Questionable
S Tashaun Gipson: Questionable
S Eddie Jackson: Questionable

Mooney posted limited practices on Wednesday and Thursday but put in a full practice on Friday, so he is very likely to be able to start on Sunday.

Gipson and Jackson are the Bears starting safeties. Matthew Stafford is already an upside play even with those two projected to play, but if one or both of Gipson and Jackson miss this contest, the upside prospects for Stafford, Robert Woods, and Cooper Kupp will skyrocket.

Los Angeles injuries
The Rams have no notable injuries.

Cleveland at Kansas City

Cleveland injuries
WR Odell Beckham, Jr.: Questionable
S Ronnie Harrison: Questionable
K Chase McLaughlin: Questionable

Beckham is likely to be a game time decision, which is a problem since this is a 4:25 ET kickoff contest. Beckham doesn't exactly have huge upside given the Browns run-centric offense, but if he misses the game, Jarvis Landry will get a target boost. Donovan Peoples-Jones would also make for a solid longshot candidate in deep leagues or DFS if Beckham is out.

Harrison is the Browns strong safety. Travis Kelce is already arguably the easiest start decision on draft boards, but if Harrison ends up out of this contest, Kelce's upside will be off the charts.

McLaughlin is a low percentage play even when healthy and thus should be avoided given the questionable tag.

Kansas City injuries
DE Frank Clark: Questionable

RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire: Not listed on report

S Tyrann Mathieu - Questionable



CEH was listed with an ankle injury this week, but he had full practices all week and is not on the final report, so consider him all systems go.



The Chiefs D/ST was barely considered a low-tier D/ST1 even before the Clark injury, but if he is out, fantasy managers would do well to look elsewhere for their season opening start.



Mathieu was activated from the COVID-19 list yet is still listed as questionable for this game. His absence would be a plus for the Browns in some situations, but the Chiefs have quality depth at safety in Juan Thornhill so no start value adjustments are necessary here.

Denver at New York Giants

Denver injuries
LB Bradley Chubb: Questionable
TE Noah Fant: Not listed on report
WR Courtland Sutton: Not listed on report

The Giants offensive line has been atrocious this preseason, so the Broncos are a borderline viable starting D/ST even without Chubb, but their prospects move to low-tier D/ST1 status if he is in the lineup.

Fant had a limited practice on Wednesday but has practiced in full since and thus is very likely to start. Sutton was listed as having a knee injury, but he practiced in full on Friday and is not listed on the Friday injury report.

New York injuries
TE Evan Engram: Out
RB Saquon Barkley: Questionable
WR Kadarius Toney: Not on injury report
WR Kenny Golladay: Not on injury report
CB Adoreé Jackson: Questionable

Engram will be replaced by Rudolph, who is a non-entity in all but the deepest of leagues.

Barkley was a limited participant in practice all week and is all but certain to play, but his workload could be split with Devontae Booker, thus making Barkley a somewhat risky starter but one that fantasy managers almost must put into lineups.

Toney and Golladay both battled injuries this preseason but are not on the injury report this week and thus look to be good to go on Sunday.

Jackson is the Giants starting right cornerback. He had limited practices all week. If Jackson misses this game, it will bump Courtland Sutton up to WR3 status.

Green Bay at New Orleans

Green Bay injuries
The Packers have no notable injuries.

New Orleans injuries
CB Ken Crawley: Out
WR Tre'Quan Smith: Out

Lil'Jordan Humphrey will take Smith's place yet can't even be considered a viable prospect in deep leagues.

Crawley's absence may give a boost to Allen Lazard's fantasy value and makes Davante Adams even more of a must start than he already was.

Jacksonville at Houston

Jacksonville injuries
CB Tre Herndon: Out

Herndon is Jacksonville's starting right cornerback. His absence should put Chris Claybrooks on the field for a lot more plays, a situation that gives a slight upgrade to the Houston passing attack.

Houston injuries
Houston has no notable injuries.

Los Angeles Chargers at Washington

Los Angeles injuries

Austin Ekeler: Questionable

Ekeler did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday but did put in a limited practice on Friday and thus is trending toward playing. Justin Jackson and/or Joshua Kelley would get the workload in Ekeler's absence but facing a tough Washington defense on the road would limit Jackson or Kelley to RB3/flex status at best.

Washington injuries
Curtis Samuel: Out

Samuel was placed on injured reserve on Friday. Dyami Brown is likely to see more targets in Samuel's place, and it could also lead to more targets for Adam Humphries, but neither of those two should be considered start options.

Miami at New England

Miami injuries
Miami has no notable injuries.

New England injuries
WR Nelson Agholor: Questionable

Agholor missed practice on Thursday but was able to put in a limited practice on Friday. If he is out for this contest, it will move the value of Jakobi Meyers up a bit, but it is generally not a good idea to start a Patriots wide receiver against the Dolphins secondary.

Minnesota at Cincinnati

Minnesota injuries
T Christian Darrisaw: Out

Darrisaw is a first-round draft pick who was slated to get his first NFL start, but that won't happen now that he is listed as out with a groin injury. The Bengals rush defense gives Minnesota one of the most favorable matchups in Week 1, and Darrisaw's absence won't change that, but it may make Kirk Cousins more of a risky pick in 2QB leagues.

Cincinnati injuries
CB Trae Waynes: Out

Waynes was likely to face Adam Thielen in coverage, but that task should now fall to Eli Apple, who is a coverage liability. This moves Thielen from borderline WR3 status to mid- to upper-tier WR2 status.

New York Jets at Carolina

New York injuries
WR Keelan Cole: Questionable
RB La'Mical Perine: Questionable

Cole did not practice on Friday and thus is likely to be out for this contest. With Jamison Crowder already slated to miss this game due to being on the COVID-19 list, the Jets will have to funnel as many passes as possible to Corey Davis and rookie Elijah Moore. Davis and Moore end up with borderline flex value because of it.

Carolina injuries
The Panthers have no notable injuries.

Philadelphia at Atlanta

Philadelphia injuries
Rodney McLeod: Out

McLeod is Philadelphia's strong safety, so his absence should be an upgrade for Kyle Pitts in his NFL debut.

Atlanta injuries
The Falcons have no notable injuries.

Pittsburgh at Buffalo

Pittsburgh injuries
LB Alex Highsmith: Questionable

Highsmith is slated to take the place of Bud Dupree as the pass rusher opposite T.J. Watt. Highsmith missed Thursday's practice but had a full practice on Friday, so all should be as well as it can be for the Steelers in a brutal D/ST matchup at Buffalo.

Buffalo injuries
WR Emmanuel Sanders: Questionable

The Steelers made some personnel moves in their secondary this offseason, so Sanders has some upside potential if healthy. Limited practices on Thursday and Friday may cap that upside, however, and if Sanders is out, Gabriel Davis could be a viable play in deeper or DFS leagues.

San Francisco at Detroit

San Francisco injuries
WR Jalen Hurd: Out
DT Javon Kinlaw: Doubtful
CB Emmanuel Moseley: Doubtful

Hurd wasn't trending towards fantasy relevance before this injury. Kinlaw and Moseley's likely absence may help the Lions offense to some extent, but this still has the looks of a mismatch for San Francisco, so be cautious about putting Detroit players into a fantasy lineup.

Detroit injuries
T Taylor Decker: Out

Decker's absence means that rookie first-round pick Penei Sewell will get his first NFL start this week. Sewell will get a massive test in the form of Nick Bosa, who is returning from a season-ending injury early last year. Jared Goff was already a sit candidate in nearly every environment, and this only bolsters that status.

Seattle at Indianapolis

Seattle injuries
Seattle has no notable injuries.

Indianapolis injuries
T Eric Fisher: Out
CB Xavier Rhodes: Out
G Quenton Nelson: Questionable

As the Colts offensive line goes, so go their players. Having Fisher out is a hindrance, but Nelson did practice on Friday and thus is trending towards starting this week. Carson Wentz barely had low-end QB2 status before these injuries and losing Fisher makes it wise for fantasy managers to find another QB2 candidate if possible. Rhodes was slated to line up against D.K. Metcalf for a lot of this contest and his absence should move Metcalf well into the WR1 tier.

Baltimore at Las Vegas

Baltimore injuries
CB Jimmy Smith: Questionable

Smith was added to the injury report on Friday and was limited in Baltimore’s Friday and Saturday practices. If he ends up out of this contest, the Ravens will be without two of their top cornerbacks, as Marcus Peters suffered a torn ACL in Thursday’s practice. Baltimore would be able to absorb Peters’ injury without any notable upgrades to the Raiders wide receivers, as Smith can be dominant when healthy and Baltimore has quality depth in Tavon Young, but if Smith ends up listed as out of this contest, it will make Derek Carr a viable low-end QB2 and add upside to the Raiders wide receivers. The problem for fantasy managers is this is a Monday night contest and thus Smith’s injury status won’t be known until then, so it may be best to assume he will play and make roster decisions accordingly.

Las Vegas injuries

G Richie Incognito: Out

Incognito’s absence isn’t helpful, but it doesn’t do much to hinder the fantasy start status of any of the Raiders players.