There have been a ton of early-season injuries around the National Football League. And while these injuries have had a rather large impact on the teams, our focus here is going to be on this grand game of fake football that causes us both joy and agony...Week 2 mostly more on the pure agony side.
Carson Palmer, Quarterback, Arizona Cardinals
Palmer missed Arizona's Week 2 victory over the New York Giants with nerve damage in his throwing shoulder. If that sounds bad, that's probably because it might very well be. The Cardinals have not exactly been forthcoming about the injury as of late, which could signal some longer-term issues.
The Cardinals are officially calling Palmer day-to-day, but the indication here is that he will unlikely be ready to go Week 3 against the San Francisco 49ers. If Palmer's diagnoses impacts his long-term ability to play this season, you will have to make the decision to replace him on your fantasy roster.
Of course, your decision is based on your specific situation. If you buy into the late-round quarterback model, there is a good chance that you relying on Palmer to be your QB1 and have a QB2 that isn't necessarily below him in terms of a fantasy impact. If Palmer is your QB2, it might make sense to go hard after the waiver wire this week in order to find a short-term replacement with the idea that it could be a long-term solution. Again, this all depends on where Palmer is later in the week and the news that comes from Arizona from here on out.
Robert Griffin III, Quarterback, Washington Redskins
We covered this injury in detail immediately after it happened on Sunday. The expectation here WAS that RGIII could miss the entire season. But the Redskins are showing some optimism that he could be out just four-to-five weeks. RGII has since indicated that he does not need surgery on the ankle, which is a good sign for the second half of the season.
Kirk Cousins finished as the No. 8 fantasy quarterback in relief on Sunday. He threw for 250 yards and two scores. If RGIII is out for an extended period of time (which is the expectation), Cousins could very well be a solid waiver-wire add as a replacement for RGIII until the latter returns.
Jamaal Charles, Running Back, Kansas City Chiefs
So much for Charles helping you get off to a strong start this season. Fresh off a disastrous fantasy performance Week 1 that saw the running back put up 19 yards on seven attempts, Charles suffered a high-ankle sprain against the Denver Broncos on Sunday. He has now attempted nine runs in two games. Just let that sink in for a second.
It remains to be seen how long Charles will be out. That will be dependent on how his ankle responds to treatment in the coming days. The issue here is that while Andy Reid refuses to use Charles as a work horse, he has been giving Knile Davis the rock a ton in recent games. That has to be a tad worrisome to fantasy owners considering that Charles was selected either first or second in a vast majority of fantasy leagues this summer.
He's not going to end up ranked that high when all is said and done. This doesn't mean you should waive him, as that would be a ridiculously dumb move. I will say look for potential trade offers and maybe sell low on him, depending what others are offering. If not, look to pick Davis up on the waiver wire and stream the two.
The larger issue here is Charles' ability to make an impact short term. While we want to see where he is at later in the week, normally injuries like this take a full month to recover from. That's a sign that you need to pick up someone off the waiver wire and promote your RB2 to the top spot.
Knowshon Moreno, Running Back, Miami Dolphins
This is a huge blow to fantasy owners who were expecting big things from Moreno after a stellar Week 1 performance saw him put up the eighth-best fantasy week among running backs. Moreno suffered a dislocated elbow that will see him miss about a month.
Unfortunately for those of you looking to stream Dolphins running backs (as if that looked like an attractive option), Lamar Miller also left Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills with an ankle injury. Miami indicated after the game that he was healthy enough to come back in, but we have no idea how the ankle will respond during the week. Miami signed Daniel Thomas on Monday, so there is that.
A.J. Green, Wide Receiver, Cincinnati Bengals
Green suffered a strained toe ligament against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday and likely won't return until after the team's Week 4 bye. Losing out on your WR1 one for two weeks might not be the end of the world, but it surely doesn't help in the grand scheme of things. With Marvin Jones also sidelined, this means that Mohamed Sanu becomes an awesome waiver-wire addition and daily fantasy play as Andy Dalton's primary target in the passing game. Couple that with the injury to Tyler Eifert and the Bengals are going to be relying on Sanu a lot moving forward.
Focusing on Green for a second here, there should be some cocern over this injury, which is better known as turf toe. It's known to impact players over the course of an entire season, which could prove to be troublesome moving forward. That's something to keep an eye on down the road. Green may expect to play next week, but the Bengals would be better off sitting him out until he's recovered in order to enrure long-term health this season.
Ryan Mathews, Running Back, San Diego Chargers
In what is seemingly a yearly occurance in Mathews career, the talented running back is expected to miss some time with an injury. He suffered a MCL sprain in San Diego's Week 2 victory over the Seattle Seahawks and is expected to be out four-to-five weeks. Internally, the Chargers have a solid replacement candidate in Danny Woodhead, who was actually the more valuable running back of the two last year. If you're relying on Mathews as a RB1 option, your season is already done and was before Week 1 even kicked off. This means that the vast majority of those reading this piece have a decision to make on nothing more than a decent RB2 or FLEX option. Without getting too much into detail, this also means you're not necessarily in a bad position.
Vernon Davis, Tight End, San Francisco 49ers
Davis suffered an ankle injury in San Francisco's late-game meltdown against the Chicago Bears Sunday night and is undergoing an MRI on Monday. He was seen in the locker room wearing crutches after the game. As a top-five fantasy tight end, this has to be alarming to fantasy owners the world over. We have to wait and see exactly what's going on here. eDraft will update this piece as more information becomes available.