NFL

Fantasy Football: Week 13 Injury Report

DeSean Jackson was ruled out for Week 13 for the Buccaneers. Is it time for a Chris Godwin break out game?

Injuries are an unfortunate part of football. It's one thing we hate having occur to not only the players we roster but within the game itself. With that said, this does create opportunities for teammates, opening up potential pickups in season-long leagues while also producing value plays in daily fantasy football.

Using the practice report, we can glean a lot of information based on who's available and what coaches are saying from press conferences. This knowledge can allow us to make emergency plans to pivot or change our lineups come Sunday morning when inactives are announced.

Based on this week's practice reports, here are a few quick-hitters to give you a leg up on lineup decisions as crunch time approaches for Sunday lineup lock.

Who's In

Eric Ebron (back) missed Wednesday practice but was a full participant on Thursday, good sign that he will be playing on Sunday. The Indianapolis Colts have taken a hit to their tight end group after placing Jack Doyle on season ending injury reserve on Monday and having key reserves injured as well. Ebron was easily a top-twelve tight end when Doyle missed a stretch of games earlier this season. During the six game stretch as the team's lone tight end, Ebron averaged 9 targets for 4.8 catches with 51 receiving yards and 0.83 touch downs.

Rex Burkhead (neck) was activated off injury reserve on Tuesday and has practiced in full this week and will be playing against the Minnesota Vikings. It's been a while since we've heard the name since he's been out of the picture since Week 4. The New England Patriots backfield is healthiest it's been all year, so it will be an interesting to monitor what his snaps and usage will look while being mixed in with Sony Michel and James White. Burkhead is 12% owned in ESPN leagues so if fantasy owners are looking to pad their bench for the playoffs Burkhead makes for an intriguing stash candidate.

Who's Probable

Gus Edwards (ankle) missed Wednesday practice but returned on a limited basis on Thursday. Baltimore Ravens reporters believe that Edwards should not be limited by the injury and is expected to play against the Atlanta Falcons. Edwards has dominated running back touches since Week 11, averaging 20 rushes per game with 5.8 yards per carry. Edwards' two starts this season have been the best from any Baltimore running back from a Rushing Net Expected Points perspective, as they rank first and third in the Ravens' backfield.

Marlon Mack (concussion) suffered a concussion in his last game but his full participation on Thursday gives positive indication that he will play on Sunday. Mack has not officially gone through the league's concussion protocol but still has enough time to do that. He is currently projected to be a low end RB2, with 13.8 touches for 75.5 total yards against the Jacksonville Jaguars. If Mack can't play, expect rookies Nyheim Hines and Jordan Wilkins to handle the running back duties.

Chris Thompson (ribs) has been practicing this week and has shown improvement, and appears that he is trending towards playing. Thompson hasn't played since Week 8 and no fantasy owner should expect big returns from him if he is active - especially since the Washington Redskins play on Monday night. Thompson is owned in 53% of ESPN leagues -- surprising given that he's had little fantasy value this season -- but is worth checking waivers for given that Washington has deployed a two back system for most of the season. Kapri Bibbs, who has filled for in for Thompson as the pass catching running back, should see his snaps decreased moving forward.

Devin Funchess (back) returned to practice on Thursday and was deemed officially questionable on Friday but Head Coach Ron Rivera indicated that he is more likely to play than what the injury designation dictates. Funchess missed last week which opened the door for Curtis Samuel to play 92% of the team's offensive snaps against the Seattle Seahawks but only had two targets to show for. If Funchess returns, it can be expected that Samuel will return to his normal 30% snaps. This is a juicy matchup for wide receivers against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Funchess is still seeing volume despite rookie D.J. Moore starting to heat up.

Who's Questionable

Stefon Diggs (knee) has been unavailable for the Minnesota Vikings' first two practices but says he will play. This wouldn't be the first time Diggs has missed practice only to say that he would play in the game but ultimately get ruled out. In Week 10 Diggs missed an entire week of practice and didn't play against the Lions, but the team was going into the bye and figured to rest Diggs for two weeks. The Vikings could be playing against the New England Patriots with Aldrick Robinson and Laquon Treadwell seeing a majority of snaps along with Adam Thielen. In Week 10, Dalvin Cook was second in team targets and could easily see an increased role in the passing game if Diggs sits along with the Vikings being 5-point underdogs -- per FanDuel sportsbook.

Who's Out

Kerryon Johnson (knee) continues to miss practice this week and is expected to miss another week. The Detroit Lions will lean on LeGarrette Blount once again, as they did on Thanksgiving. Blount handled 19 out of 23 running back carries for Detroit, with Theo Riddick handling passing down duties and was targeted seven times. The split should be the same for the backfield for Week 13 against the Los Angeles Rams. Fortunately for Blount, the Rams are a bottom-four run defense per our team rankings.

Evan Engram (hamstring) was a non participant this week and was ruled out. It was a bit of a confusion last week with Engram injuring himself in pregame warmups but wasn't reported until after kickoff. With no Engram this should free up some additional targets for Sterling Shepard, who's averaged 7.5 targets per game and 12.9 fantasy points points in games that Engram has not played this year. This will be a tough matchup for Shepard, who's rather touch down dependent and playing numberFire's fourth rated defense in the Chicago Bears.

DeSean Jackson (hand) is limited in practice this week and has been practicing with a cast on his hand, and was ruled out on Friday. With Jackson inactive this will be a big bump to Chris Godwin's productivity. Godwin has largely splitting snaps with Jackson all season -- which results in not topping out more than 72% of snaps -- but has still been productive with limited targets he's seen in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense. He is at a reasonable price at $5,400 on FanDuel and can be considered in cash games.

Danny Amendola suffered a knee injury last week and hasn't practiced this week, Head Coach Adam Gase was non-committal towards his availability for Sunday. The Miami Dolphins have been decimated at wide receiver with Albert Wilson and Jakeem Grant on injured reserve this season and could be looking at Leonte Carroo to step in for three wide receiver sets. Carroo played 42% of the snaps last week and saw two targets and was able to haul in a 74-yard touch down.

Final Reminder

As it is with all injuries, each individual situation is fluid. Make sure to keep tabs throughout the weekend and keep up with our numberFire player news feed for up-to-date reports prior to kickoff. Good luck this week!


Gabriel Garrido is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Gabriel Garrido also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username guhreedoe28. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.