Sit Start Injury Report Saturday Morning Week 14 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 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.

Let's look at the Week 14 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.
 

Atlanta at Carolina

Atlanta injuries

Questionable
The Falcons have no notable injuries.

Carolina injuries

Out
G Michael Jordan
G John Miller
Jordan and Miller are the Panthers starting offensive guards, so their ground game takes a hit, but Carolina did designate offensive tackle Cameron Erving to return this week, so they do get a boost to offset the personnel losses. Add them up and Chuba Hubbard's value isn't really impacted.

Baltimore at Cleveland

Baltimore injuries

Out
T Patrick Mekari

Questionable
CB Anthony Averett
FB Patrick Ricard
S Brandon Stephens
The Ravens will want to get back to the ground game for a variety of reasons that include the favorable rush defense matchup, but the loss of starting right tackle Mekari and potential loss of starting fullback Ricard adds a bit of risk to Devonta Freeman's RB2 case.

Cleveland injuries

Out
CB Greg Newsome
TE Harrison Bryant
TE David Njoku (COVID)

Questionable
DT Malik Jackson
S Ronnie Harrison
With Bryant and Njoku out, Austin Hooper now has a reasonable path to stream start status. The Browns have been subpar at covering tight ends of late, so Mark Andrews should be a great start this week regardless of if Harrison is able to play this week.

Buffalo at Tampa Bay

Buffalo injuries

Out
DT Star Lotulelei
The recent games against the Patriots and Colts notwithstanding, the Bills rush defense has been very stout of late, so the loss of Lotulelei won't do much to make this a more favorable matchup for Leonard Fournette.

Tampa Bay injuries

Out
S Jordan Whitehead

Questionable
CB Jamel Dean
C Ryan Jensen
Just when Tampa Bay's defense started to get healthy, they now must deal with injuries to Whitehead and Dean. The good news is the Buccaneers activated Richard Sherman from injured reserve, so the net result should be that Tampa Bay is still a challenging matchup for Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs. Jensen did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday but did get a limited practice in on Friday, so he has a chance to play this week. If he is out, it does add a bit of risk to the Tampa Bay fantasy prospects, but nowhere near enough to keep them out of any lineups.

Chicago at Green Bay

Chicago injuries

Doubtful
QB Andy Dalton
WR Marquise Goodwin

Questionable
DT Akiem Hicks
Justin Fields will start for Chicago. Goodwin's absence could help send targets to Allen Robinson, who will be in the Bears lineup for the first time since Week 9 but probably should still not be in most fantasy lineups.

Green Bay injuries

Out
T David Bakhtiari
WR Randall Cobb

Questionable
LB De'Vondre Campbell
The Packers offense has been running smoothly with Yosh Nijman in the lineup at left tackle, so Bakhtiari's status doesn't impact Green Bay's fantasy prospects.

Dallas at Washington

Dallas injuries

Questionable
RB Tony Pollard
Pollard is battling a planter fascia injury that caused him to miss practice all week, so he will likely miss this contest. This should move more workload back to Ezekiel Elliott and return him to the RB1 tier.

Washington injuries

Questionable
S Landon Collins
LB Jamin Davis
RB J.D. McKissic
WR Curtis Samuel
McKissic missed last week's game due to the concussion he suffered in the Week 12 Monday night game against Seattle. It looks like he will be able to return this week, so consider McKissic a low-end flex candidate if that happens. If it doesn't, Antonio Gibson's value will move up to near the top of the RB1 ranks.

Detroit at Denver

Detroit injuries

Out
LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin
RB D'Andre Swift
RB Jamaal Williams

Doubtful
TE T.J. Hockenson

Questionable
DE Michael Brockers
LB Austin Bryant
LB Charles Harris
G Jonah Jackson
DT Alim McNeill
K Riley Patterson
T Penei Sewell
G Halapoulivaati Vaitai
DE Nicholas Williams
The Lions lineup has been obliterated with injuries and illnesses. It's tough to suggest playing Godwin Igwebuike or Jermar Jefferson given the slew of other ailments on this club, but they may be viable candidates in very deep leagues, with Igwebuike the better of the two. Fantasy managers will also have to look elsewhere for tight end production, as Brock Wright, Hockenson's on-field replacement, just hasn't done enough to warrant roster status.

Denver injuries

Out
RB Mike Boone

Questionable
LB Bradley Chubb
RB Melvin Gordon
DE Shelby Harris
Gordon was able to put in limited practices all week and thus is trending towards taking his usual platoon workload role in the Denver backfield this week. If Gordon does miss, however, it should be a huge day for Javonte Williams, as Mike Boone is also out this week.

Jacksonville at Tennessee

Jacksonville injuries

Out
C Brandon Linder
The most important part of this week's injury report for Jacksonville is that James Robinson isn't on the injury report. It's up in the air as to whether Urban Meyer will decide to use Robinson on a full-time basis, but that's been an issue all year, so consider Robinson a good flex play with upside if Meyer comes to his senses and uses Robinson in a bell cow setup.

Tennessee injuries

Out
CB Janoris Jenkins
LB David Long
DT Teair Tart
The best injury news for the Titans is that Julio Jones and Jeremy McNichols were both not on this week's report. Jones can be justified as a flex candidate, but McNichols is a sit option given that Tennessee is likely to lean more on D'Onta Foreman and Dontrell Hilliard.

Las Vegas at Kansas City

Las Vegas injuries

Out
DE Carl Nassib
TE Darren Waller
RB Jalen Richard (COVID)

Doubtful
LB Denzel Perryman
Foster Moreau is a potential start candidate as a fill-in for Waller, but keep in mind that Moreau caught only one pass last week in that role. Richard may end up being active for this contest depending on his COVID test results, but he won't be a viable fantasy option even if he is able to play.

Kansas City injuries

Questionable
CB Rashad Fenton
T Lucas Niang
Fenton is slated to face Hunter Renfrow, which could be a problem for Renfrow since Fenton has been one of the Chiefs top coverage players of late. Renfrow is a borderline WR1 even if Fenton plays, but if Fenton is absent, it should vault Renfrow into solid WR1 status this week.

New Orleans at New York Jets

New Orleans injuries

Out
LB Kaden Elliss
T Ryan Ramczyk
RB Ty Montgomery (COVID)
RB Mark Ingram (COVID)

Questionable
WR Lil'Jordan Humphrey
It's never a good thing to lose two running backs to COVID tests, but the Saints do get good news in that Alvin Kamara is back this week. Kamara will be a RB1 regardless of the status of Montgomery and Ingram, either of whom could potentially be active this week depending on their future COVID tests, but his ceiling would go up if they are both out.

New York injuries

Out
CB Michael Carter
RB Tevin Coleman

Questionable
G Laurent Duvernay-Tardif
DE John Franklin-Myers
TE Ryan Griffin
WR Elijah Moore
LB C.J. Mosley
DT Sheldon Rankins
Ty Johnson and Austin Walter move to viable flex status in deep leagues due to Coleman being out. Moore did not practice all week and yet still may be able to play despite a quad injury, but the reality in this type of situation is that fantasy managers may do well to look for a safer option in the final regular season fantasy matchup for most leagues.

New York Giants at Los Angeles

New York injuries

Out
CB Adoreé Jackson
QB Daniel Jones
WR Kadarius Toney

Questionable
WR Kenny Golladay
DT Danny Shelton
WR Sterling Shepard
The Giants just can't seem to get healthy, as they will now be without Jones, Toney, and Jackson in this matchup and will have Golladay and Shepard at potentially less than 100 percent. Mike Glennon has been cleared to play in place of Jones, but that doesn't offer fantasy managers much hope in playing any Giants pass catcher in this contest.

Los Angeles injuries

Out
LB Kyler Fackrell
CB Asante Samuel
WR Keenan Allen (COVID)
CB Chris Harris (COVID)

Questionable
DT Justin Jones
Earlier this week it was expected that Allen might be in the lineup and Mike Williams would be out for this game, but the actual result was the opposite, as Williams looks to be on track to clear the COVID protocol and Allen has been ruled out. Williams is his usual boom or bust self who should only be started on teams where fantasy managers feel comfortable that they will be able to overcome a very low floor. The loss of Samuel and potential loss of Harris (depending on his COVID tests) might normally cause the other side to have upside plays, but the quarterback situation and wide receiver injuries for New York still makes any pass catcher on that club a very risky play.

San Francisco at Cincinnati

San Francisco injuries

Out
RB Trenton Cannon
LB Dre Greenlaw
DT Maurice Hurst
RB Elijah Mitchell
CB Emmanuel Moseley

Questionable
CB Dontae Johnson
WR Deebo Samuel
With Mitchell out, the projection here is that JaMycal Hasty will be utilized as the lead back between the 20s and Jeff Wilson will be the red zone/goal line back. That role makes Wilson the higher upside play, but they both should be considered somewhat risky flex candidates. Samuel's questionable status is actually a big plus, as it was thought that he would be declared out for this game. If he is able to go, Samuel will rate as a risky flex candidate as well given the potential for a limited snap volume.

Cincinnati injuries

Out
LB Logan Wilson

Questionable
CB Chidobe Awuzie
WR Tee Higgins
RB Joe Mixon
Mixon did not practice all week due to a non-COVID illness, so there is a chance he will miss this game. If Mixon does play, he should be considered at least an RB2. Higgins put in two limited practices this week and thus is on track to start and post WR2-caliber numbers. The return of Trae Waynes means that the Bengals should be able to overcome the potential absence of Awuzie.

Seattle at Houston

Seattle injuries

Out
S Jamal Adams
RB Travis Homer
T Brandon Shell

Questionable
S Quandre Diggs
The Seahawks will likely go with a running back combination of Alex Collins and Rashaad Penny in this matchup, both of whom should be considered low ceiling flex candidates considering the circumstances. Houston's pass offense is so abysmal that even losing Adams and Diggs likely won't be enough to add any value to Texans pass catchers other than Brandin Cooks (more on which below).

Houston injuries

Questionable
WR Brandin Cooks
DE Jonathan Greenard
TE Brevin Jordan
Cooks was added to the Friday injury report with a back ailment that held him to a limited practice. It may be that this was simply a way to reduce wear and tear on Cooks but given that he has only caught eight passes over the past three weeks combined, Cooks is a risky WR3/flex even with the Seahawks coverage issues.

Los Angeles Rams at Arizona

Los Angeles injuries

Did not practice
C Brian Allen
CB Robert Rochell

Limited practice
RB Darrell Henderson
Henderson's game status should be better clarified based on the Saturday night injury report.

Arizona injuries

Limited practice
TE Zach Ertz
CB Byron Murphy
G Justin Pugh
Two straight limited practices add some risk to Ertz's already low ceiling, low-end TE1 candidacy.