Greg Scholz of Inside Injuries runs through some of the most pressing injury concerns for Week 1 of fantasy football 2024.
Before we dive in, here’s a quick glossary of terms commonly used by Inside Injuries:
For McCaffrey, the redefining of the calf strain to include his Achilles does raise some questions, though it isn’t entirely surprising. Anytime we look at a calf injury in an athlete, we always factor in the proximity to the Achilles and assume the tendon may be compromised, no matter how minor the injury. McCaffrey suffered a calf strain in Week 17 of last season, sitting out the following week, but he wasn’t too impacted from a performance standpoint in the postseason. The big question is if the 49ers are simply being more specific about the injury to appease the NFL, or if more testing revealed additional damage to the Achilles. For now, his Injury Risk remains on the edge of High and Elevated, while his Health Performance Factor is Above Average.
Allen was a full participant in Friday’s practice, but his status for Sunday remains questionable due to a heel injury. While his metrics are in an alright spot – Elevated Injury Risk and Peak Health Performance Factor – heel injuries can linger. It’s not quite to the extent of something like a hamstring injury, but the reason they linger is similar in the sense that it can be difficult to adequately rest the heel. It’s a toss up if he plays or not, but given his practice status, we imagine he will suit up on Sunday.
Speaking of hamstring injuries, Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins is dealing with a Grade 1 hamstring strain and we predict he will not play in Week 1. His Injury Risk is High and his Health Performance Factor is Below Average. This is the sort of thing that will stick around for the majority of the season if the Bengals don’t give it time to heal (we have his Optimal Recovery time around Week 4).
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Addison was forced out of practice back on August 14 due to a left high-ankle sprain. He returned to practice this week in a limited capacity, but managed to be a full participant in Friday’s practice. He is expected to play Sunday against Tampa Bay. This is a faster turnaround than we usually see with minor high-ankle sprains, but only by about 10 days. As a result, his Injury Risk will remain High but his Health Performance Factor will be Above Average. Expect limited snaps and a limited route selection, but he should be capable of putting up some decent numbers.
Things could be going better in Pittsburgh, as projected starter Russell Wilson is still dealing with the calf strain/soreness that he’s been battling for much of the preseason. He’s questionable to start on Sunday, and is trending towards being a game-time decision. That said, we expect he will play. His metrics aren’t great — Elevated Injury Risk and Below Average Health Performance Factor — but the Steelers named him QB1 and will likely trot him out. The biggest impact will be to his mobility, but there could be some accuracy struggles as well. Pittsburgh should tread carefully here, or this could end up being a similar situation to what Cincinnati dealt with last season with Joe Burrow.
Rookie tight end Brock Bowers should make his NFL debut in Week 1 after a foot injury raised some concerns during training camp. There were no specific structures reported throughout the time he was dealing with the injury, which can sometimes be a bad thing (teams hiding the injury specifics), but is more often a good sign that the injury is minor. His metrics are headed in the right direction as well, with his Injury Risk Elevated and his Health Performance Factor Peak.
It’s looking like a 50-50 shot if Hopkins plays in Week 1. We’re taking a more cautious approach and don’t expect he will. Hopkins has been dealing with a knee strain for the last five-ish weeks and, while Tennessee originally said they expect he’ll be ready for Week 1, he hasn’t made enough progress to guarantee his availability. His metrics aren’t ideal, with a High Injury Risk and a Below Average Health Performance Factor, and returning before Week 1 was optimistic regardless of how you swung it. His Optimal Recovery Time is still 10 days out, so a Week 2 debut makes more sense right now.
(Top photo of Christian McCaffrey: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)
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