Sit Start Injury Report Saturday Morning Week 9 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 8 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.
 

Arizona at San Francisco

Arizona injuries

C Max Garcia: Questionable
QB Kyler Murray: Questionable
WR DeAndre Hopkins: Questionable
Murray and Hopkins did not practice all week and are considered game time decisions. If Murray is a no go, the 49ers D/ST moves to start-caliber status. Garcia is the starting center who put in limited practices this week, so he is likely able to play, but if he misses this game in addition to Murray and/or Hopkins, it adds upside to the 49ers D/ST play.

San Francisco injuries

S Jimmie Ward: Out
RB Elijah Mitchell: Questionable
WR Deebo Samuel: Questionable
The 49ers already lost a starting safety in Jaquiski Tartt, so having Ward out means that they will have two backups in their deep secondary. If Murray and Hopkins play, they should be able to reach their upside potential with those coverage limitations. Mitchell is trending as a game time decision. If he is out, JaMycal Hasty will likely get the carries, so savvy fantasy managers with a bench spot open should consider adding Hasty in the event Mitchell is out. Samuel is in a similar situation, with Brandon Aiyuk as a potential upside WR2 play if Samuel is ruled out.

Atlanta at New Orleans

Atlanta injuries

WR Calvin Ridley: Out
Ridley has now been placed on the reserve/non-football injury list and will be out for a minimum of three additional games. His absence adds some value to Russell Gage, Kyle Pitts, and Cordarrelle Patterson for this game and future games.

New Orleans injuries

QB Jameis Winston: Out
S Malcolm Jenkins: Questionable
Trevor Siemien is going to start in place of Winston, with Taysom Hill being rotated in for package plays. It's possible that this is only a one-game setup, as Hill could take back over as a starter down the road, so be sure to roster Hill if you don't have him and keep him if you do. If Jenkins, who had limited practices this week, misses this contest, it adds upside value to Pitts.

Buffalo at Jacksonville

Buffalo injuries

T Spencer Brown: Out
G Jon Feliciano: Out
TE Dawson Knox: Out
WR Cole Beasley: Questionable
S Jordan Poyer: Questionable
Brown and Feliciano are two of the Bills starting offensive linemen, so their absence adds a risk element to the upside potential for Buffalo. Knox will be out again this week, so Tommy Sweeney has some longshot stream start potential. Beasley and Poyer missed practice on Wednesday and Thursday but put in limited practices on Friday and are thus apt to play. If Beasley is out, it will add value to Stefon Diggs and Emmanuel Sanders.

Jacksonville injuries

RB James Robinson: Questionable
Robinson only registered a limited Friday practice this week and thus is truly questionable. That caps his value at the RB2 level at best given the difficult matchup. Carlos Hyde would take over in the event Robinson is ruled out, but Hyde would rate as a middling flex candidate.

Cleveland at Cincinnati

Cleveland injuries

T Jack Conklin: Out
DE Jadeveon Clowney: Questionable
DE Takkarist McKinley: Questionable
WR Donovan Peoples-Jones: Questionable
CB Denzel Ward: Questionable
Peoples-Jones should be first in line to garner the targets left on the table by Odell Beckham's Cleveland departure, but Peoples-Jones hasn't played since Week 6 due to a groin injury that kept him limited in practice all week. Anthony Schwartz would be the next man up in the event Peoples-Jones misses this contest, but the state of this passing game right now probably makes both sit candidates in most leagues. Ward had limited participation in practice all week and thus should be good to go, but if he does happen to hit the inactive list, it gives Ja'Marr Chase even more value, which almost seems unfair given how dominant Chase has been this year.

Cincinnati injuries

The Bengals have no notable injuries.

Denver at Dallas

Denver injuries

T Garrett Bolles: Out
G Graham Glasgow: Questionable
TE Albert Okwuegbunam: Questionable
TE Noah Fant: Likely out due to COVID-19
Fant wasn't listed on the final injury list this week, but the Broncos official site reported that Fant is likely going to be out for this game due to COVID-19, so Okwuegbunam will start in his place and has deeper league stream start potential. Denver has been battling offensive line injuries for much of this season and this week is no different. The Cowboys rush defense is much better than generally thought and these ailments won't help, so there is likely a lower than usual upside cap for Melvin Gordon and Javonte Williams.

Dallas injuries

T Tyron Smith: Out
WR Amari Cooper: Questionable
WR CeeDee Lamb: Questionable
The best injury news for the Cowboys occurred when Dak Prescott was not listed on this week's final injury report. The downside of that report came when starting left tackle Smith was listed as out. Cooper put in limited practices all week and seems to be on course to start, but Lamb suffered an ankle injury in Wednesday's practice, missed Thursday's practice, and returned for a limited practice on Friday. That may indicate Lamb will miss this game, especially since Michael Gallup could return to the lineup this week. Fantasy managers will have to wait until the inactives report comes out for this game before figuring out how best to navigate this.

Green Bay at Kansas City

Green Bay injuries

DE Kingsley Keke: Out
DE Dean Lowry: Questionable
QB Aaron Rodgers: Out
Rodgers' absence lowers the value of every Packers fantasy prospect, but some of that drop-off is ameliorated by the favorable matchup against an inconsistent Chiefs defense. Kansas City will likely want to lean on the ground game in this contest more than usual to get the turnovers under control, so having two starting defensive linemen on the injury list ought to help them in this effort.

Kansas City injuries

T Mike Remmers: Out
Remmers is the Chiefs starting right guard. Capable replacement Lucas Niang is slated to take his place, so no grade adjustments are necessary.

Houston at Miami

Houston injuries

LB Christian Kirksey: Out
LB Hardy Nickerson: Out
Kirksey is the Texans starting middle linebacker and Nickerson is his backup, so the Texans rush defense could have some issues on up the gut rush attempts. It adds a marginal value spike to Myles Gaskin.

Miami injuries

QB Tua Tagovailoa: Questionable
WR DeVante Parker: Placed on injured reserve
Tagovailoa put in limited practices despite dealing with injuries to his ribs and left finger, so he is likely to play this week.

Las Vegas at New York Giants

Las Vegas injuries

The Raiders do not have anyone listed on their Friday injury report.

New York injuries
RB Saquon Barkley: Out
WR Sterling Shepard: Out
WR Kenny Golladay: Questionable
WR John Ross: Questionable
Barkley and Shepard have both been ruled out of this contest. Golladay is finally trending to play, as he put in two limited practices this week. The best news for New York might be that Kadarius Toney was not listed on the final injury report, which could make him an upside WR3/flex play in this matchup.

Los Angeles Chargers at Philadelphia

Los Angeles injuries

CB Michael Davis: Out
RB Justin Jackson: Out
CB Asante Samuel: Out
S Alohi Gilman: Doubtful
Davis and Samuel are two of the Chargers top three cornerbacks and Gilman is a primary backup at safety, so Los Angeles will have coverage challenges in the secondary. It could lead to some upside for the Eagles wideouts and Jalen Hurts, but the Chargers terrible rush defense may motivate Philadelphia to go run-heavy as they did last week in the 44-6 destruction of Detroit, so these injuries may not have as much fantasy impact as they might otherwise.

Philadelphia injuries

The Eagles have no notable injuries.

Minnesota at Baltimore

Minnesota injuries

DT Michael Pierce: Out
LB Anthony Barr: Questionable
CB Cameron Dantzler: Questionable
Pierce is the Vikings starting nose tackle and Barr is Minnesota's strongside linebacker, so Baltimore's rush attack has a good chance of hitting its upside potential. Dantzler was slated to spend a good amount of time facing Marquise Brown in coverage, so Brown has a better than usual chance of catching an impact vertical pass.

Baltimore injuries

G Patrick Mekari: Doubtful
RB Latavius Murray: Doubtful
WR Rashod Bateman: Questionable
WR Sammy Watkins: Questionable
DT Brandon Williams: Questionable
Watkins is trending towards playing after limited practices on Thursday and Friday. Bateman is a bit more problematic, as a groin injury kept him out of practice on Friday. Murray's doubtful status opens the door for Devonta Freeman, Le'Veon Bell, and Ty'Son Williams to tally additional fantasy points, with Freeman the most likely to lead that trio in scoring.

New England at Carolina

New England injuries

K Nick Folk: Questionable
WR N'Keal Harry: Questionable
LB Don't'a Hightower: Questionable
G Shaquille Mason: Questionable
TE Jonnu Smith: Questionable
LB Kyle Van Noy: Questionable
The Mason injury doesn't help the Patriots offensive line and the linebacker injuries are a hindrance to the New England D/ST, but overall these ailments don't look to be very impactful fantasy-wise.

Carolina injuries

QB Sam Darnold: Questionable
Darnold's woes over the past four weeks have dropped him from stream start consideration for most fantasy managers, so his questionable status won't impact most clubs.

Tennessee at Los Angeles Rams

Tennessee injuries
G Nate Davis: Out
CB Greg Mabin: Out
WR A.J. Brown: Questionable
T Kendall Lamm: Questionable
T Taylor Lewan: Questionable
The Derrick Henry injury isn't the only thing hampering the Titans rush attack, as Lewan is a starting tackle, Davis is a starting guard, and Lamm is a backup tackle. These should put a damper on the fantasy scoring expectations for Adrian Peterson and Jeremy McNichols. Brown was added to the injury report on Friday with a knee ailment and thus could end up missing this game. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine will have longshot start value if Brown is out.

Los Angeles injuries

DT Sebastian Joseph: Out
LB Von Miller: Questionable
CB Jalen Ramsey: Questionable
WR Robert Woods: Questionable
There are multiple reports indicating that Woods is on track to play this week, but fantasy managers should still have a backup plan in place given that this is the Sunday night matchup. Ramsey's injury designation indicated he missed practice on Friday due to the team resting him due to the knee injury, so he's apt to play. Miller was given Friday off and could play, but the Rams D/ST has to the look of a strong start candidate regardless of if Miller is able to go.

Chicago at Pittsburgh

Chicago injuries

S Eddie Jackson: Did not practice
LB Khalil Mack: Did not practice
LB Alec Ogletree: Did not practice
RB Damien Williams: Did not practice
WR Darnell Mooney: Limited practice
The Bears defense has been struggling to stop the run of late, so if they end up losing any players to injury in this matchup, Pittsburgh's ground game could have an incredibly high ceiling. Williams may not be getting much playing time given the state of Chicago's running back corps, so it may not matter if he gets in a practice on Saturday. Mooney was limited on Friday after practicing fully on Thursday, so keep an eye on his Saturday injury status.

Pittsburgh injuries

QB Ben Roethlisberger: Limited practice
Roethlisberger was listed as having pectoral, hip, and shoulder injuries on the Friday practice status, which was a downgrade given that he didn't have a shoulder injury listed on the Thursday status. He's a middling QB2 in any event, but the additional ailment adds risk to that status.