Sit Start Injury Report Saturday Morning Week 5 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 5 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.
 

Buffalo at Kansas City

Buffalo injuries

Buffalo has no notable injuries.

Kansas City injuries
DE Chris Jones: Questionable
CB Charvarius Ward: Questionable
The Chiefs secondary is struggling even when healthy, so a missed game by Ward, who was downgraded to a limited practice on Friday, would simply add to the potential in-game fireworks. Jones is Kansas City's best defensive lineman when healthy and missed practices all week indicate he is likely out for this contest.

Chicago at Las Vegas

Chicago injuries
RB David Montgomery: Out
DT Akiem Hicks: Doubtful
S Tashaun Gipson: Questionable
LB Khalil Mack: Questionable
Damien Williams was a popular waiver pickup this week due to Montgomery being out for the next month. Hicks is an impact defensive lineman when in the lineup, but he only played one defensive snap last week and will likely not play in this contest. Gipson had full practices all week, so his is only on the report as a precautionary measure. Mack was upgraded to a limited practice on Friday and thus could play, but the Bears D/ST is still a no-go in this very difficult matchup. These injuries should make it easier for the Raiders to get back to their high powered passing offense after last week's subpar showing against the Chargers.

Las Vegas injuries
CB Damon Arnette: Out
CB Trayvon Mullen: Out
RB Peyton Barber: Questionable
Justin Fields will need all the help he can get and having Mullen, one of the Raiders starting cornerbacks, out of this game could assist Fields prospects. It also offers something of an upgrade to Darnell Mooney's fantasy prospects. Barber is now an afterthought in this offense since Josh Jacobs is back.

Cleveland at Los Angeles Chargers

Cleveland injuries
T Christopher Hubbard: Out
CB Greg Newsome: Out
DE Jadeveon Clowney: Questionable
DE Myles Garrett: Questionable
CB Troy Hill: Questionable
DE Takkarist McKinley: Questionable
TE David Njoku: Questionable
LB Malcolm Smith: Questionable
C J.C. Tretter: Questionable
T Jedrick Wills: Questionable
CB Denzel Ward: Questionable
The Browns may be the most injured team in the league headed into Week 5. Wills missed practice all week, so he looks to be the on the wrong side of the questionable tag. Add that to Hubbard, the Browns swing tackle, and Tretter, the starting center who was only able to put in one limited practice this week, and it adds a ton of risk to a Cleveland rushing attack already facing a highly unfavorable matchup. The slew of defensive injuries also goes a long way towards adding value to the Chargers fantasy players, so consider that a potentially strong positive tiebreaker when deciding whether to start Justin Herbert, Mike Williams, or Jared Cook.

Los Angeles injuries
RB Justin Jackson: Doubtful
CB Chris Harris: Questionable

Harris practiced in full on Thursday and Friday and thus is on track to play.

Denver at Pittsburgh

Denver injuries
QB Teddy Bridgewater: Questionable
RB Melvin Gordon: Questionable
CB Patrick Surtain: Questionable
WR Courtland Sutton: Questionable
Bridgewater put in a full practice on Friday and will start in this contest. Gordon has been playing every week despite limited practices and a questionable tag, so this week should be a repeat of that trend. Surtain has been limited this week and may end up being replaced by Ronald Darby, who could see his first action in 2021 following a return from IR. Sutton injured an ankle in Friday's practice, so be sure to check his status before putting him into lineups on Sunday, as the matchup and his injury concern could put him on the losing end of many lineup tiebreaking decisions this week (although see below before making that call).

Pittsburgh injuries
CB Cameron Sutton: Out
WR James Washington: Out
Cameron Sutton was struggling badly in coverage this year, so his absence may not hurt Pittsburgh or help Denver as much as it might otherwise. Sutton looked to be due to face Courtland Sutton in coverage, so if the latter looks clear of his ankle injury, there could be some upside value. Washington is the No. 4 receiver on this offense and thus is not an impact fantasy loss.

Detroit at Minnesota

Detroit injuries
LB Trey Flowers: Questionable
TE T.J. Hockenson: Questionable
T Penei Sewell: Questionable
RB D'Andre Swift: Questionable
RB Jamaal Williams: Questionable
Detroit already lost starting center Frank Ragnow to injury this week, so not having Sewell, who only had one limited practice due to an ankle injury, could significantly hinder the Lions rush game upside. The questionable tags for Swift and Williams add even more concern, as they were both limited in practice this week. Hockenson has been struggling a lot over the past couple of weeks due to coverage attention and will have even more of an issue returning to his early season form due to a knee injury that caused him to put in only two limited practices this week.

Minnesota injuries
RB Dalvin Cook: Questionable
Cook is decidedly on the wrong side of the questionable tag, as he missed practice on Wednesday and Thursday and only had a limited practice on Friday. There is a very good chance that he will sit in this contest and if that happens, Alexander Mattison is a high end RB2 against what might be the worst defense in the NFL.

Green Bay at Cincinnati

Green Bay injuries
CB Jaire Alexander: Out
T Elgton Jenkins: Questionable
Alexander is by far the best cornerback on the Packers roster and his being out of the lineup vaults Ja'Marr Chase to mid-tier WR2 status. Jenkins is the Packers starting left tackle who has missed the past two games due to injury, so getting him back in the lineup is a huge plus for Green Bay's pass blocking and Aaron Rodgers' fantasy scoring upside.

Cincinnati injuries
G Xavier Su'a-Filo: Out
C Trey Hopkins: Questionable
RB Joe Mixon: Questionable
DT Larry Ogunjobi: Questionable
CB Trae Waynes: Questionable
Mixon did not practice all week and has only an outside chance of being able to play on Sunday. If he is out, Samaje Perine and Chris Evans will likely split the workload and thus barely qualify as flex candidates. Their value could be hindered even more by the loss of Su'a-Filo and Hopkins, who are both starters on the Bengals offensive line. Waynes has posted subpar coverage numbers in 2021 and is due to face Davante Adams, so look for a monster game from Adams.

Miami at Tampa Bay

Miami injuries
WR DeVante Parker: Questionable
Parker might normally be considered a solid longshot upside candidate due to the Buccaneers secondary injuries, but limited practices all week add notable risk to that case.

Tampa Bay injuries
TE Rob Gronkowski: Out
S Antoine Winfield: Out
RB Giovani Bernard: Questionable
CB Jamel Dean: Questionable
LB Jason Pierre-Paul: Questionable
Gronkowski is the biggest name on this list, but the biggest impact here could be the loss of Winfield, as Tampa Bay will now at the very least be down three of their top secondary players. Dean did put in a full practice on Friday, so the Buccaneers will have a couple of strong players in the back four, but these injury issues could make this a high scoring game and give longshot upside to Miami's fantasy players.

New England at Houston

New England injuries
T Trenton Brown: Out
G Shaquille Mason: Out
K Nick Folk: Questionable
CB Jonathan Jones: Questionable
CB Jalen Mills: Questionable
LB Kyle Van Noy: Questionable
Brown and Mason may not be the only offensive line starters who will be out for this game for the Patriots, as Isaiah Wynn and Mike Onwenu are on the COVID-19 list and may not clear that list in time to play. That makes any Patriots skill position player quite risky for fantasy purposes. The injuries to Jones and Mills are likely to have minimal impact, as Houston's offense is nearly non-existent with Davis Mills under center.

Houston injuries
RB Rex Burkhead: Out
WR Danny Amendola: Questionable
Neither of these players would be viable in fantasy even if healthy, given the abysmal state of the Texans offense right now.

New Orleans at Washington

New Orleans injuries
T Terron Armstead: Out
C Eric McCoy: Out
New Orleans leans on its ground game more than maybe any other team in the league, so having two starting offensive linemen out against a Washington front seven that has been solid against the run may place a low-end RB1 ceiling on Alvin Kamara's grades.

Washington injuries
WR Dyami Brown: Out
G Brandon Scherff: Out
RB Antonio Gibson: Questionable
LB Cole Holcomb: Questionable
WR Curtis Samuel: Questionable
Gibson put in two limited practices this week and Samuel participated in one. That makes both of them somewhat risky fantasy starters, but Gibson is probably the safer of the two given his better practice record. If Gibson is out, J.D. McKissic would end up as the starter and would have solid flex-caliber value.

New York Giants at Dallas

New York injuries
WR Sterling Shepard: Out
WR Darius Slayton: Out
G Ben Bredeson: Out
S Jabrill Peppers: Out
T Andrew Thomas: Questionable
Kadarius Toney and John Ross posted double-digit PPR point totals last week in Shepard and Slayton's absence and have a solid chance of repeating that feat in Week 5. Bredeson and Thomas were both limited in practice this week and look to be on track to play, but if they both ended up out it would be a notable hindrance for Saquon Barkley's value against a surprisingly solid Dallas rush defense and would drop Barkley to the border of RB1/RB2 status.

Dallas injuries
S Donovan Wilson: Out
DE Dorance Armstrong: Out
WR Amari Cooper: Questionable
RB Ezekiel Elliott: Questionable
DE Randy Gregory: Questionable
T Ty Nsekhe: Questionable
DE Carlos Watkins: Questionable
Nothing in this week's reports from Cowboys practices would indicate that Cooper or Elliott is on pace to miss this contest, so consider them both as fantasy starters this week.

New York Jets vs Atlanta (London)

New York injuries
S Adrian Colbert: Out
TE Tyler Kroft: Out
S Marcus Maye: Out
CB Brandin Echols: Questionable
Colbert and Maye are the Jets starting safeties, so Atlanta will have some deep coverage weaknesses to target if they can throw together any semblance of a receiving corps (more on which in a moment). Echols is a starting cornerback who was able to practice in full on Friday, so New York should not be even more shorthanded in the secondary.

Atlanta injuries
WR Russell Gage: Out
WR Calvin Ridley: Out
S Erik Harris: Doubtful
Losing Ridley and Gage means that the Falcons receiving corps will consist of Olamide Zaccheaus, Tajae Sharpe, and Christian Blake. Even with the Jets missing both of their starting safeties, there is no one in that trio worth starting. Having said this, Kyle Pitts should be the focal point of this passing game and could have a breakout performance that finally rewards fantasy managers who took him early in drafts. Cordarrelle Patterson has been putting up fantasy game winning numbers this year and could keep that trend going with a larger workload and favorable matchup.

Philadelphia at Carolina

Philadelphia injuries
T Lane Johnson: Out
Johnson's injury might hurt the Eagles run game if they bothered using it. It certainly adds some risk to Philadelphia's passing game, as the Panthers creative blitzes out of their 3-3-5 defensive front have led Carolina to the highest pass pressure rate in the league. It makes Jalen Hurts a very risk QB1 prospect in a week where there are a lot of QB1-caliber prospects.

Carolina injuries
T Cameron Erving: Out
RB Christian McCaffrey: Doubtful
There was hope that McCaffrey would be able to play this week, but the doubtful designation all but removes that hope.

San Francisco at Arizona

San Francisco injuries
QB Jimmy Garoppolo: Out
CB K'Waun Williams: Out
TE George Kittle: Doubtful
Trey Lance will get his first NFL start with Garoppolo out. Kittle has posted disappointing numbers this year due to injury and having him out of the lineup may actually help fantasy managers in some cases, as they will have no choice but to find alternate options. Williams is a superb nickel cornerback when healthy, so his absence does provide a higher ceiling for Christian Kirk.

Arizona injuries
CB Byron Murphy: Out
RB Chase Edmonds: Questionable
TE Maxx Williams: Questionable
CB Marco Wilson: Questionable
Edmonds had only one limited practice this week and thus could be a gametime decision. James Conner is already a solid RB2 candidate given his current workload and goal line carries but could vault to the border of RB1 status if Edmonds is out. Williams has been a solid longshot candidate this year, but limited practices all week may make him too risky even as a longshot. Wilson and Murphy are two of the top three Cardinals cornerbacks, but their loss doesn't look to provide much of an upgrade to the 49ers, as outside of the must-start Deebo Samuel there isn't a wide receiver on that club to put into lineups.

Tennessee at Jacksonville

Tennessee injuries
WR Julio Jones: Out
LB Bud Dupree: Questionable
T Taylor Lewan: Questionable
T Ty Sambrailo: Questionable
WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine: Questionable
Jones is going to miss his second straight game with a hamstring injury. Westbrook-Ikhine practiced in full on Friday so he may have longshot upside value in Jones' place. Lewan practiced in full on Friday so he should be good to go, but if he and Sambrailo were to miss this contest, the Titans would end up with a third string left tackle in this matchup.

Jacksonville injuries
CB Tyson Campbell: Questionable
Campbell has been the primary coverage target of Jaguars opposing offenses of late, but Jacksonville's secondary is full of coverage weaknesses and thus his potential absence really doesn't provide a fantasy upgrade.

Indianapolis at Baltimore

Indianapolis injuries
C Ryan Kelly: Did not practice
RB Nyheim Hines: Limited practice
LB Darius Leonard: Limited practice
S Khari Willis: Limited practice
CB Rock Ya-Sin: Limited practice
Kelly could end up as the most notable name on this list, as the Colts will not want to face the Ravens defense on the road while using a backup center.

Baltimore injuries
T Ronnie Stanley: Did not practice
T Alejandro Villanueva: Did not practice
S DeShon Elliott: Limited practice
The Ravens have been able to post solid rushing metrics even with their offensive line injuries, as Joe D'Alessandris is one of the best offensive line coaches in the league, but their rush game will be a lot better with Stanley and Villanueva in the lineup.