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Dave Richard breaks down the latest injury news Fantasy players need to know heading into the weekend.
There is some serious concern about Diggs playing on Sunday against the Lions after teammate Aldrick Robinson referred to Diggs as "out" on Friday. This after the Vikings playmaker was only available on a very limited basis on Friday and not participating in work on Wednesday or Thursday.
According to ESPN, Diggs took the shot to the ribs in the second quarter of last week's game but didn't miss much playing time. He quickly re-entered the game and amassed 68 yards on seven catches following the hit. It's worth noting that Diggs has struggled to play through injuries in the past, though that clearly wasn't the case against the Saints.
Diggs will be difficult to bench in Fantasy if he's active. If he's not active then expect Robinson and Laquon Treadwell to see a lot of playing time against a sagging Lions pass defense. Robinson, who scored twice against the Rams in Week 4, could be an interesting DFS choice.
Gordon practiced on a limited basis all week, which isn't bad news considering the Chargers are coming off of a bye. Nonetheless, it's a little concerning that Gordon couldn't get over the hamstring problem during the week off. Coach Anthony Lynn was non-committal about Gordon playing, only saying, "I don't want to speak for Melvin, but if he's feeling well, I know he wants to play."
Obviously it would be a good sign if the Chargers took Gordon with them to Seattle on Saturday. There could still be a snap limit on Gordon since the team doesn't want to lose him for any more time than absolutely necessary. If he's out, Austin Ekeler would see more touches, just as he did in Week 7 when he logged a season-high 12 carries with five receptions. This isn't a cakewalk for the Bolts either way — the Seahawks have given up four rushing touchdowns to backs in their last four games but three went to Todd Gurley. In that same span rushers have averaged 3.0 yards per run (Gurley scraped for a 3.5-yard average).
After being limited on Wednesday and not practicing on Thursday, Gronkowski was back in limited action on Friday, though Bill Belichick predictably gave absolutely no hint as to his availability on Sunday. Gronkowski hasn't been nearly as productive lately as we expect, but the Pats find themselves in a likely high-scoring slugfest on Sunday night against the Packers. It's hard to turn away Gronkowski from Fantasy action.
Michel got in a full week of practice with the Patriots, albeit in a limited capacity. Michel had an ugly-looking injury against the Bears in Week 7 but seems to be on track to playing again soon. He told reporters this week that he felt "pretty good" but said it's up to his coaches to decide whether or not he will play. It seems like there's a better-than-decent shot he plays against the Packers, giving the Patriots a much-needed boost at running back. If you're considering Michel but want some emergency replacements to have on hand in case he's inactive, consider Jamaal Williams (40 percent owned), Derrick Henry (66 percent owned), Kenjon Barner (12 percent owned) or, if you can move Michel to your flex spot, Marquez Valdes-Scantling (18 percent owned). Cordarrelle Patterson would be another emergency replacement except he popped up on the Pats report Friday with a neck injury and is also questionable.
ESPN reported Friday that Cook would play very limited reps, about 8 to 12 plays, provided he goes through warm-ups without incident. The last time we were told Cook would play limited snaps was before Week 6 against the Cardinals and he wound up being declared inactive. Cook actually did play limited snaps back in Week 4 against the Rams, getting 10 carries over 18 plays for 20 yards and no catches. He hasn't played since.
We'd be stunned to see the Vikings lean on Cook for many more than 20 or 25 plays in a game they should be able to win without him. Latavius Murray has been excellent replacing Cook and still figures to be the top Vikings running back. He's at least a flex option.
Thompson was ruled out Friday after missing three days of work with a new rib injury. His absence will put Kapri Bibbs into the Redskins' third-down role, a job coach Jay Gruden said he was the Redskins' "best option for sure." When Bibbs had the role two weeks ago he caught four of five targets for 43 yards and a touchdown. He'll need a game similar to that in order to be useful in DFS — and he could get it considering the Falcons absolutely stink against sure-handed running backs.
Robinson finally practiced on Friday and is considered questionable for the game at Buffalo because of a groin injury. Buffalo's cornerbacks have made things tough on receivers and Robinson has made things tough on Fantasy owners, so this is probably a scenario that will have little impact on your Fantasy roster. Taylor Gabriel and Anthony Miller will be the Bears' primary wide receivers, but expect Jordan Howard, Tarik Cohen and Trey Burton to do plenty offensively.
Freeman's ankle was good enough to get him into a limited practice on Friday after sitting out Wednesday and Thursday. Coach Vance Joseph told the media Friday that "sitting him one more week may help" but that if he's ready to play on Sunday, he will. Phillip Lindsay is still the Broncos' best running back — he's played nearly 60 percent of their snaps over the last two weeks with Freeman either injured or absent. Lindsay is a top-12 running back, even against a tough Texans run defense.
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