2012 Week 1 Injury Report

Throughout the season I will be doing at least 2 weekly articles, an Injury Report and Start Em’/Sit Em’ article. Normally I will be submitting the Injury Report on Wednesdays and the Star Em’/Sit Em’ on Thursdays but with the opening game on a Wednesday night this year the week 1 articles move up a day. For the Injury Report articles I will be going through notable injuries each week and giving the latest updates and my recommendations for how to proceed with each player.

Dallas Cowboys @ New York Giants: 9/5, 8:30pm

Cowboys: Dez Bryant (P), Miles Austin (P), Jason Witten (Q) – Bryant and Austin have been upgraded to probable for the match-up. While they have both missed large chunks of the preseason, they should have the green light to go. I would use them without hesitation as it’s not like the Cowboys are very deep at WR to play them sparingly. Witten on the other hand is much more iffy to go. With a spleen injury, it’s not as much about toughing it out as it is about clearance to play. If he does get clearance, Witten will most certainly be a go. He has been a limited participant in practice the past few days, but his CT scan for his spleen is scheduled for today. If you have another solid option, I would wait a week to start him. If not, pay close attention on Wednesday before the game and be ready to switch him in or out.

Giants: Hakeem Nicks (Q) – Nicks missed practice on Monday but insists he will be on the field for Wednesday’s game. I think he will too, as it seems that his absence from practice was purely precautionary.

Indianapolis Colts @ Chicago Bears: 9/9, 1pm

Colts: Austin Collie (Q)  Pat Angerer (O) – Even though Collie practiced fully on Monday, he still has a Questionable tag as he recovers from another concussion.  Collie can be a dynamic playmaker when he’s on the field but I would use him straight away. If he does play in this one, I’d leave him on the bench and see if he can make it through the game healthy. Angerer was a top IDP player last season, but in case you missed it and you drafted him, the Colts have placed him on I.R. ending his season.

Bears: Brian Urlacher (Q) – Urlacher has proclaimed he will play on Sunday, but to what extent will he be himself? He has already acknowledged that his knee may never be the same. As a top IDP option, I’d check his status close to game time and would recommend sitting him to see how he performs with his knee.

Philadelphia Eagles @ Cleveland Browns: 9/9, 1pm

Eagles: No Notable Injuries

Browns: Trent Richardson (Q), D’Qwell Jackson (Q), Joe Haden (Sus.) – Haden has been suspended by the NFL for the first 4 games of the season. He was listed as Questionable as it was, but he will miss the first 4 games. Richardson was able to practice on Monday in a limited capacity but all indications are that he will be a go this week. There has been some question as to how much he will be used in the opener, but indications are that he should get close to his normal amount of touches. I would use him if you need him and just be sure to check last minute to make sure he will be playing. I haven’t heard much as far as Jackson goes, but he is still listed as Questionable. Keep an eye on him, but if he plays I would not hesitate to throw him in my line-up.

St. Louis Rams @ Detroit Lions: 9/9, 1pm

Rams: No Notable Injuries

Lions: Kevin Smith (Q) – Smith was able to return to practice on Monday and should play this week if he doesn’t have any setbacks in practice. Look for the Lions to be cautions with him leading up to their game as they don’t have much behind him while Best and LeShoure are out. Just monitor his progress throughout the week.

Miami Dolphins @ Houston Texans: 9/9, 1pm

Dolphins: No Notable Injuries

Texans: No Notable Injuries

Atlanta Falcons @ Kansas City Chiefs: 9/9, 1pm

Falcons: No Notable Injuries

Chiefs: No Notable Injuries

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Minnesota Vikings: 9/9, 1pm

Jaguars: No Notable Injuries

Vikings: Adrian Peterson (Q) – Peterson has done an amazing job coming back from a major knee injury late last season. He is listed as Questionable this week and the coaches have said they will not make a decision on if he will play until just before game time this week. I wouldn’t play him regardless unless you are desperate as he will be limited even if he does play.

Washington Redskins @ New Orleans Saints: 9/9, 1pm

Redskins: No Notable Injuries

Saints: Darren Sproles (Q), Curtis Lofton (Q) – Sproles remains questionable but is expected to play. Just be sure to double-check on Sunday to make sure he’s not a surprise inactive. The Saints have been mum on Lofton early this week so be sure you have a plan B option in case he can’t go this week.

Buffalo Bills @ New York Jets: 9/9, 1pm

Bills: No Notable Injuries

Jets: Dustin Keller (P) – Hopefully you are not relying on Keller as your starting TE. If you are, it looks like he’ll play this week.

New England Patriots @ Tennessee Titans: 9/9, 1pm

Patriots: Patrick Chung (Q) – Chung has been a valuable Safety for fantasy purposes the past 2 seasons but he may not be able to give it a go this week. He has been sporting a red no-contact jersey in practice so make sure to check in on his status later in the week.

Titans: No Notable Injuries

Seattle Seahawks @ Arizona Cardinals: 9/9, 4:25pm

Seahawks: Marshawn Lynch (Q) – There is not much out there on Lynch’s Questionable tag this week so just keep an eye on his status as the week progresses.

Cardinals: Daryl Washington (O) – Washington is another top IDP option recently placed on IR in case you drafted him and haven’t checked in recently.

San Francisco 49ers @ Green Bay Packers: 9/9, 4:25pm

49ers: Navarro Bowman (Q) – Keep an eye on this situation. If he is still listed as questionable later in the week I would make plans for a backup in case he can’t go this week.

Packers: No Notable Injuries

Carolina Panthers @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 9/9, 4:25pm

Panthers: Steve Smith (Q), Jonathan Stewart (Q) – Smith has been dealing with a foot infection for a while now but returned to full practice on Sunday and should be good to go this week despite the questionable tag. Stewart on the other hand is much more questionable for this week. His ankle injury looked bad when it happened, but he has started running on a treadmill. This will most likely go right up to game time so keep an eye out and have a plan b ready to go.

Buccaneers: No Notable Injuries

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Denver Broncos: 9/9, 8:20pm

Steelers: James Harrison (Q), Rashard Mendenhall (D), Ryan Clark (O) – Little information seems to be a theme for defensive players, so you need to keep an eye on Harrison’s status as the week goes on. Mendenhall is not expected to play for the first 4-6 weeks so it is surprising that he is only listed as doubtful. Clark will be sitting in Denver with his Sickle-Cell issue as the Steelers once again won’t risk his life for one game (and rightfully so).

Broncos: No Notable Injuries

Cincinnati Bengals @ Baltimore Ravens: 9/10, 7pm

Bengals: Andy Dalton (P), Jermaine Gresham (Q) – Dalton suffered an ankle injury in the final preseason game but should be good to go this week if you need him. Gresham on the other hand will need more monitoring throughout the week.

Ravens: No Notable Injuries

San Diego Chargers @ Oakland Raiders: 9/10, 10:15pm

Chargers: Ryan Mathews (D) – Mathews has maintained that he will play this week and he returned to practice on Monday on a limited basis. Most don’t think that he will play this week, but even if he does I have a hard time believing that he will be heavily involved. I wouldn’t recommend using him this week.

Raiders: Denarius Moore (Q), Jacoby Ford (Q), Sebastian Janikowski (Q) – Moore has made some progress and may be able to play this week but will need monitoring throughout the week. Ford on the other hand hasn’t even been cleared to run which makes it seem like he wouldn’t be able to get onto the field in time to play this week. I haven’t seen much on Janikowski and all of these guys carry the risk of playing on Monday night. While that gives them an extra day of rest to prepare, it also increases the risk of not having other options. Some league don’t allow any roster moves after the first games start on Sunday so if you hold out hoping they play and they don’t then you’re stuck.