Week 3 NFL injuries that matter for fantasy

Staying on top of injuries throughout the week, and especially on Sunday mornings, is one of the easiest ways to maintain an edge in fantasy football. Outside of, you know, just making sure you don’t have inactive players in your starting lineup, it’s important to understand how one injury can greatly impact the fantasy potential of other skill position players within a game.

Lucky for you, this weekly series is here to help. Rather than just frantically refreshing each team’s injury report, I’ll do the heavy lifting each Saturday night and update injuries and provide analysis once inactives are released and early game-time decisions finalized on Sunday mornings.

Early Inactives

John Brown, WR, Arizona Cardinals (quad) — Out
Terron Ward, RB, Atlanta Falcons (neck) — Out
Maxx Williams, TE, Baltimore Ravens (foot) — Out
Greg Olsen, TE, Carolina Panthers (foot) — Out
John Ross, WR, Cincinnati Bengals (knee) — Out
Tyler Eifert, TE, Cincinnati Bengals (knee) — Out
Corey Coleman, WR, Cleveland Browns (hand) — Out
Will Fuller, WR, Houston Texans (shoulder) — Out
Chester Rodgers, WR, Indianapolis Colts (hamstring) — Out
Marlon Mack, RB, Indianapolis Colts (shoulder) — Out
Jaelen Strong, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars (hamstring) — Out
Mike Williams, WR, Los Angeles Chargers (back) — Out
Sam Bradford, QB, Minnesota Vikings (knee) — Out
Rex Burkhead, RB, New England Patriots (ribs) — Out
Eric Tomlinson, TE, New York Jets (ankle) – Out
Corey Davis, WR, Tennessee Titans (hamstring) – Out

Questionable

Jermaine Gresham, TE, Arizona Cardinals (ribs) – Likely to Play
J.J. Nelson, WR, Arizona Cardinals (hamstring) – Likely to Play
Michael Campanaro, WR, Baltimore Ravens (ankle) — Questionable
Terrance West, RB, Baltimore Ravens (calf) – Likely to Play
Sammie Coates, WR, Cleveland Browns (hamstring) — Doubtful
Brice Butler, WR, Dallas Cowboys (ankle) – Likely to Play
Terrance Williams, WR, Dallas Cowboys (ankle) – Game-time Decision
Devontae Booker, RB, Denver Broncos (wrist) — Questionable
Jordy Nelson, WR, Green Bay Packers (quad) – Likely to Play
Randall Cobb, WR, Green Bay Packers (chest) — Doubtful
Alfred Blue, RB, Houston Texans (ankle) – Likely to Play
Kamar Aiken, WR, Indianapolis Colts (hip) — Questionable
Melvin Gordon, RB, Los Angeles Chargers (knee) – Likely to Play
Jay Ajayi, RB, Miami Dolphins (knee) – Likely to Play
DeVante Parker, WR, Miami Dolphins (ankle) – Likely to Play
Jarvis Landry, WR, Miami Dolphins (knee) – Likely to Play
Phillip Dorsett, WR, New England Patriots (knee) — Likely to Play
Chris Hogan, WR, New England Patriots (knee) — Likely to Play
Danny Amendola, WR, New England Patriots (concussion) — Likely to Play
Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots (groin) — Likely to Play
Jordan Leggett, TE, New York Jets (knee) — Doubtful
Will Tye, TE, New York Jets (illness) – Likely to Play
Torrey Smith, WR, Philadelphia Eagles (illness) – Likely to Play
Jimmy Graham, TE, Seattle Seahawks (ankle) – Likely to Play
DeMarco Murray, RB, Tennessee Titans (hamstring) – Likely to Play
Rob Kelley, RB, Washington Redskins (ribs) — Doubtful
Jordan Reed, TE, Washington Redskins (ribs/sternum) – Game-time Decision

Updates/Analysis

Sam Bradford, QB, Minnesota Vikings [1:00 PM] – Inactive — In Case Keenum‘s last four games, he’s averaged just 230.0 yards, 0.5 touchdowns, and 1.25 interceptions per game. Last week, no receiver saw more than six targets, on an offense that typically tends to spread the ball around. Each of Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen, and Kyle Rudolph dropped a tier or more down in my rankings. Dalvin Cook remained untouched for me, because while scoring opportunities are going to be harder to come by, he should see an uptick in usage.

Jordan Howard, RB, Chicago Bears [1:00 PM] — Active – Howard will play Sunday, but might not be at his most effective. It’s being reported that Jordan has been playing through a sprained AC joint. Pittsburgh allowed the eighth-most rushing fantasy points per game and the fifth-most receiving fantasy points per game to opposing running backs last year. With Chicago likely playing from behind for most of the game, Cohen feels like a good bet to outscore Howard again this week.

Rex Burkhead, RB, New England Patriots [1:00 PM] – Inactive – Burkhead is inactive for Week 3. You were likely never going to be starting him anyway, but this could mean more targets for James White and Danny Amendola.

Danny Amendola, WR, New England Patriots [1:00 PM] – Active — Amendola is active for Week 3. He was targeted seven times on Brady’s first 27 targets (26 percent) before exiting Week 1 with a concussion. Among all cornerbacks to see at least 100 targets over the past three seasons, Houston’s slot cornerback Kareem Jackson ranks among the: 20-worst in opposing passer rating, 10-highest in target-per-snap percentage, and five-worst in fantasy points per snap. In a decent matchup, Amendola is a fine desperation flex-play in PPR leagues.

Will Fuller, WR, Houston Texans [1:00 PM] – Inactive – Fuller is out again for the Texans. This means DeAndre Hopkins still remains the focal point of this offense, and will continue to pace the league in targets. If we include plays called back due to penalty, Hopkins has seen 37 targets — or 12 more than the next-closest receiver.

Austin Seferian-Jenkins, WR, New York Jets [1:00 PM] – Active – Early reports indicated ASJ was not a lock to play in the game, reportedly showing up out of shape. The Jets, low on tight end depth and talent, had little choice here but to declare Jenkins active. Will Tye, who was dealing with an unspecified illness early in the week, is active, but the team will be without fellow tight ends Eric Tomlinson and Jordan Leggett. I’m not starting Jenkins this week, but I do have high hopes for him this year. His usage today will be something to monitor.