Sit Start Injury Report Sunday Morning Week 6 2021

By KC Joyner
KC Joyner

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 6 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 Cleveland

 

Arizona injuries

RB Chase Edmonds: Questionable
CB Byron Murphy: Questionable
CB Marco Wilson: Questionable
Edmonds had limited practices all week, but he played last week under these circumstances and will likely do so again. Murphy and Wilson are two of the Cardinals top three cornerbacks who were limited in practice all week. If they end up missing this game, it will be a notable upgrade for the Browns receivers. A non-injury report person of note is head coach Kliff Kingsbury, who will miss this contest due to testing positive for COVID-19.

 

 

Cleveland injuries

RB Nick Chubb: Out
LB Malcolm Smith: Out
DE Jadeveon Clowney: Questionable
T Jack Conklin: Questionable
DE Myles Garrett: Questionable
RB Kareem Hunt: Questionable
DE Takkarist McKinley: Questionable
CB Greg Newsome: Questionable
C J.C. Tretter: Questionable
CB Denzel Ward: Questionable
T Jedrick Wills: Questionable
The Browns once again have a slew of injuries, so let's look at them by sections.

Chubb's absence significantly raises the fantasy value of Hunt, but Hunt did not practice on Wednesday and Thursday and was limited in practice on Friday and thus may be a gametime decision. That's an issue given that this contest is part of the late kickoffs, so fantasy managers looking for some insurance may consider rostering Demetric Felton or D'Ernest Johnson.

The injuries to Smith, Clowney, Garrett, McKinley, Newsome, and Ward all increase the upside values of Kyler Murray, DeAndre Hopkins, Chase Edmonds, and James Conner, and could take away some of the risk of starting Christian Kirk or Rondale Moore in deeper leagues.

The Browns offensive line has been dealing with missing personnel all year and may not have Conklin or Wills for this matchup, as they both did not practice on Friday. Cleveland was able to navigate these offensive line issues last week but expecting a repeat of that against an Arizona defense that might be the most athletic in the league is a low percentage proposition, so be wary of putting Browns players into fantasy lineups.

 

 

 

Cincinnati at Detroit

 

 

Cincinnati injuries

RB Joe Mixon: Questionable
The Bengals official website indicates that Mixon should get his usual work volume this week despite being limited in two practices and missing a third, so rate him as a RB1 against a terrible Lions defense.

 

 

Detroit injuries

LB Trey Flowers: Questionable
TE T.J. Hockenson: Questionable
RB D'Andre Swift: Questionable
RB Jamaal Williams: Questionable
Detroit's injuries continue unabated, as they lost starting center Frank Ragnow for the season this week. Everyone listed above was able to put in a limited practice on Friday and thus is trending towards being active for this matchup.

 

 

 

Dallas at New England

 

 

 

Dallas injuries

CB Trevon Diggs: Questionable
RB Ezekiel Elliott: Questionable
S Damontae Kazee: Questionable
T Tyron Smith: Questionable
S Donovan Wilson: Questionable
Everyone listed above was able to put in a limited practice on Friday and thus is on track to start. If Kazee and Wilson end up missing this game, it will raise the value of the Patriots passing attack, but not by enough to move anyone in that group to strong start status.

 

 

New England injuries

G Shaquille Mason: Out
K Nick Folk: Questionable
RB Damien Harris: Questionable
T Justin Herron: Questionable
CB Jonathan Jones: Questionable
CB Jalen Mills: Questionable
Harris missed practice earlier this week and given Bill Belichick's penchant for not wanting to play injured running backs may end up inactive this week. If that happens, Rhamondre Stevenson would be a viable low-end flex candidate. The Cowboys wide receivers all already fall into the strong start category, but if Jones and/or Mills end up out of this contest, it will notably raise the Dallas wideouts upside grades.

 

 

 

Green Bay at Chicago

 

 

Green Bay injuries


CB Kevin King: Out
G Elgton Jenkins: Questionable
King has been a coverage liability for a while now, so having him out of the lineup may actually be a plus for the Packers. Jenkins is the Packers starting left tackle who has shown up on the injury report many times this year, but limited practices all week would lean towards his being able to play in this contest.

 

 

Chicago injuries

DT Akiem Hicks: Questionable
S Eddie Jackson: Questionable
LB Khalil Mack: Questionable
RB Ryan Nall: Questionable
WR Allen Robinson: Questionable
CB Duke Shelley: Questionable
Hicks was able to put in a limited practice on Friday so he may be trending towards playing. Mack did not practice on Friday and thus is on track to not play this week. Jackson and Shelley practiced in full on Friday, so they should be active for this game. Nall would not normally be listed here, but with Chicago missing its top two running backs for this contest, he's now slated to be the primary backup running back for the Bears. Nall did put in a full practice on Friday, so he could be worth rostering in deeper leagues and possibly starting in very deep leagues.

 

 

 

Houston at Indianapolis

 

 

 

Houston injuries

T Laremy Tunsil: Out
WR Danny Amendola: Questionable
C Justin Britt: Questionable
CB Desmond King: Questionable
The Texans has mostly been stuck in neutral with Davis Mills under center and having offensive line injury issues will make it that much more difficult to solve those problems.

Saturday update: Britt is now out of this contest.

 

 

Indianapolis injuries

K Rodrigo Blankenship: Out
S Andrew Sendejo: Out
T Braden Smith: Out
CB Xavier Rhodes: Questionable
Fantasy managers were probably already considering benching Blankenship after his injury-wracked performance against Baltimore on Monday night, but the out status makes that decision for them. Smith is the Colts starting right tackle, so having him out does add some risk profile to any Indianapolis fantasy starter. Rhodes has been awful in coverage this year, so his absence doesn't help Brandin Cooks or Nico Collins much.

 

 

 

Kansas City at Washington

 

 

 

Kansas City injuries

DE Chris Jones: Out
CB Charvarius Ward: Out
WR Tyreek Hill: Questionable
Hill did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday but did have a limited practice on Friday and thus is trending towards playing. If Hill is out, it will make Mecole Hardman a solid WR3/flex candidate with WR2 upside. The Chiefs defense has been unable to slow any offenses this year and not having Jones or Ward in the lineup will make a turnaround prospect that much more difficult.

 

 

Washington injuries

T Samuel Cosmi: Out
WR Curtis Samuel: Out
G Brandon Scherff: Out
RB Antonio Gibson: Questionable
WR Terry McLaurin: Questionable
WR Dyami Brown: Questionable
Washington's high scoring prospects against an awful Chiefs defense take something of a hit with Cosmi and Scherff, two starting offensive linemen, out for this game. Gibson did not practice on Wednesday and had limited practices on Thursday and Friday, so he is trending towards playing but will still be someone to look out for on the inactives list. If Gibson is out, J.D. McKissic will move to RB2 status. McLaurin missed Friday's practice after having practiced early in the week, so there is a concern that he will not be available for this matchup. Dyami Brown will move up to flex status if McLaurin is out this week, but that will be predicated on whether or not Brown is active, as he is also listed as questionable.

 

 

 

Las Vegas at Denver

 

 

 

Las Vegas injuries

DT Johnathan Hankins: Doubtful
DT Quinton Jefferson: Questionable
The Raiders rush defense has been terrible of late and having injury issues to two of their starting defensive linemen should give Melvin Gordon and Javonte Williams' improved start value.

 

 

Denver injuries

RB Melvin Gordon: Questionable
S Kareem Jackson: Questionable
Gordon has been fighting his way through injuries this year, so he should be able to play despite missing Wednesday's practice and being limited in the Thursday and Friday practices. If Gordon can't go this week, Javonte Williams will be a RB2 with upside against the struggling Raiders defense.

 

 

 

Los Angeles Chargers at Baltimore

 

 

 

Los Angeles injuries

LB Drue Tranquill: Out
S Nasir Adderley: Questionable
WR Mike Williams: Questionable
Williams has been a dominant fantasy starter in four out of five games this year, but he may be hard pressed to keep that pace going after not practicing all week. Williams is a near must start if he does play considering his scoring pace, but if he is out, it does increase the value of Keenan Allen, albeit by not that much since Allen has received 8+ targets in every game this year.

 

 

Baltimore injuries

T Ronnie Stanley: Out
WR Sammy Watkins: Out
S DeShon Elliott: Questionable
T Alejandro Villanueva: Questionable
The Ravens offensive line has been dealing with ailments all season long and a matchup against a shaky Chargers rush defense should allow Baltimore to run the ball well even if Villanueva misses this game after putting in two limited practices this week. Watkins being out really doesn't assist any Ravens wide receiver, as Hollywood Brown is going to get targets either way and Rashod Batemen needs to prove he's back to full speed before even considering him for fantasy start status.

 

 

 

Los Angeles Rams at New York Giants

 

 

Los Angeles injuries


Los Angeles has no one listed on this week's injury report.

 

 

New York injuries

RB Saquon Barkley: Out
WR Kenny Golladay: Out
G Ben Bredeson: Questionable
WR Darius Slayton: Questionable
T Andrew Thomas: Questionable
WR Kadarius Toney: Questionable
Toney was limited in practice all week but if does play (as it is widely expected he will) he is a WR2 with WR1 upside since Daniel Jones is on track to return from his concussion. Slayton hasn't done enough to warrant start consideration in many leagues even if he is healthy enough to return. Barkley's absence moves Devontae Booker into the RB2 tier, but the potential to not have two starting offensive linemen adds some risk to the Booker start status.

 

 

 

Miami vs Jacksonville (London)

 

 

 

Miami injuries

CB Xavien Howard: Out
WR DeVante Parker: Out
QB Jacoby Brissett: Questionable
CB Byron Jones: Questionable
Howard has not played as well this year as he has in past seasons, so his absence adds some value to Marvin Jones' fantasy prospects, but probably not enough to make him more than a risky WR3 in most leagues. Parker's absence should send more targets to Jaylen Waddle and help vault Waddle into the WR3/flex tier. Brissett's fantasy status all but disappeared already since Tua Tagovailoa is set to return to the Dolphins starting lineup this week.

 

 

Jacksonville injuries

LB Myles Jack: Out
DT Roy Robertson-Harris: Questionable
The Jaguars defense has already been horrible this year and having injuries to two starters will only make it worse. It takes a bit of the risk out of starting Myles Gaskin.

 

 

 

 

Minnesota at Carolina

 

 

 

Minnesota injurieS

DT Michael Pierce: Out
The Vikings defense has been much improved and playing like a true Mike Zimmer-coached platoon of late, so they should be able to absorb the absence of Pierce without a hitch.

 

 

Carolina injuries

RB Christian McCaffrey: Out
Chuba Hubbard displayed terrific burst and read on the run ability against Philadelphia last week, so he rates as a borderline RB1 even with a difficult matchup against a Minnesota defense that is no longer the sieve that it was earlier this year.

 

 

 

Seattle at Pittsburgh

 

 

 

Seattle injuries

RB Chris Carson: Out
With Carson ruled out, Alex Collins once again has mid-tier RB2 value against a solid Steelers rush defense. As everyone is aware, the other major injury news for the Seahawks is that Russell Wilson was placed on IR and will be out for at least three more weeks.

 

 

Pittsburgh injuries

The only notable injury here is JuJu Smith-Schuster, who was ruled out for the season with a shoulder injury earlier this week.

 

 

 

Buffalo at Tennessee

 

 

 

Buffalo injuries

Buffalo has no notable injuries.

 

 

Tennessee injuries

CB Kristian Fulton: Out
WR Chester Rogers: Questionable
Saturday update: As if the Bills powerhouse offense needed more help, Fulton, a starting cornerback, has now been ruled out for this game. Rogers is the Titans No. 3 wide receiver, so he will have negligible impact even if he ends up missing this game.