Fantasy Football Week 1 Injury Report: Justin Herbert Getting Off on Right Foot

We are officially just a few days away from the 2024 regular season starting. Remember to set your lineups with games starting this Thursday and Friday. We already have plenty of injuries to be concerned about moving into week 1 of the season.

Justin Herbert, QB Los Angeles Chargers

Injury: Right Plantar Fascia

Projected Timetable: Week 1

Initial Thoughts:

By all accounts, Herbert is feeling close to 100% from his plantar fascia injury. If true, this is great news in regards to the upside that he holds in Greg Roman’s offense, with projected rushing upside and efficient pocket-passing production. The hope is that this injury does not linger into the season. Production dip for pocket passers is less than 5%, but if he does have a small tear then that tear could worsen throughout the season. For now, do not fade for his week 1 production but monitor his status closely.

Jahmyr Gibbs, RB Detroit Lions

Injury: Hamstring Strain

Projected Timetable: Week 1

Initial Thoughts:

Dan Campbell has stated that all of their players except for one defensive player will be good to go for week one, which is great news for Gibbs coming off of his hamstring strain. Video seen last week showed him moving very well in linear and non-linear movement and he seemed to indicate that he could play if it was the regular season. Typical production dip coming off of hamstring injuries for running backs leads to a ~10% dip, and Detroit has been known to ease players in slowly coming off of injury. He is hard to bench, so I would lean towards starting Gibbs in redraft/starter leagues but avoiding him for DFS purposes.

Christian McCaffrey, RB San Francisco 49ers

Injury: Calf Strain

Projected Timetable: Week 1

Initial Thoughts:

He had stated that if this was the regular season, he would have likely been playing. He has been sprinting full speed and performing drills on the rehab field but has not returned to full practice participation. My guess is that he will be back to full practice on Tuesday and should not be faded for week 1. Calf injuries have a low recurrence rate of 5% for running backs.

Jaylen Warren, RB Pittsburgh Steelers

Injury: Hamstring Strain

Projected Timetable: Week 1

Initial Thoughts:

His timeline has fit what Tomlin and he had originally stated when his injury first occurred, that it was minor and he could return soon if it was the regular season. A recent video shows him moving very well with great acceleration and burst, a very promising sight for his return to play. I am not fading him for week 1.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Kansas City Chiefs

Injury: Illness

Projected Timetable: TBD

Initial Thoughts:

Has been placed on the reserve/non-football illness list and will miss at least four games. The Chiefs enjoy having CEH around but understand that his PTSD has made it difficult for him to be a consistent factor for the team. This is likely why they felt the need to bring in Samaje Perine, who will likely be a key factor in the receiving game and lower Isiah Pacheco’s ceiling. As of right now, it has been reported that Perine will be active for week 1 on Thursday night.

MarShawn Lloyd, RB Green Bay Packers

Injury: Hamstring strain

Projected Timetable: Week 1-3

Initial Thoughts:

Spotted returning to individual drills working on acceleration, impact, and re-acceleration seemed to be a good sign in his return from his hamstring strain. The Packers are notoriously slow and cautious in their players returning from injury, so I lean towards Lloyd being inactive for week 1. However, if he happens to be active, I would exercise caution and avoid for now considering he is returning from a hamstring reinjury that originally occurred in mid-July, and carries close to 20% reinjury risk if he plays. My guess is that Emanuel Wilson will operate as the RB2 behind Josh Jacobs for week 1.

Tyreek Hill, WR Miami Dolphins

Injury: Right Thumb

Projected Timetable: Week 1

Initial Thoughts:

Hill has returned to practice as a “full go” coming off of his thumb injury. The main concern is if this involves ligament damage, then he runs the risk of reinjury and further ligament damage that could eventually require surgical intervention. All of the news so far indicates this as minor, so operate as if he will be able to return at the prior form and hope for no reinjury as he catches passes or blocks.

Jordan Addison, WR Minnesota Vikings

Injury: Left High Ankle Sprain

Projected Timetable: Week 1-2

Initial Thoughts:

Spotted practicing during the portion open to reporters, it sounds like Addison is on track to be active Week 1, though he did not do too much in practice. Exercise caution, as there remains a 15% reinjury rate with a 15-20% production dip upon return to play. The Vikings face off against the Giants secondary, so the production dip may not matter too much, but there is a decent chance the Vikings are playing with a lead for most of the game and turn towards the run game, limiting Addison’s ceiling this week.

Puka Nacua, WR Los Angeles Rams

Injury: Right Knee, Bursa

Projected Timetable: Week 1

Initial Thoughts:

Sean McVay has stated that there are no structural or mechanical issues with his knee, indicating that there was no PCL (ligament) damage to be concerned about. If truly just a bursa irritation, which makes sense given the direct impact of his knee/patella into the turf, Nacua simply needs to get the inflammation down and then he will be good to go. I am not fading for week 1.

Mike Williams, WR New York Jets

Injury: ACLR

Projected Timetable: Week 1

Initial Thoughts:

Williams is set to be active Week 1 against the 49ers, but Saleh has stated since early in camp that the plan will be a low snap count in the first quarter of the season, similar to Breece Hall’s ACL recovery and return. I would avoid Williams in the majority of league settings early on until closer to Week 5, with the primary targets being Garrett Wilson, Breece Hall, and Tyler Conklin.

Tyler Lockett, WR Seattle Seahawks

Injury: Left Knee

Projected Timetable: Week 1

Initial Thoughts:

He was spotted wearing a patellar tendon brace over his left knee, which is commonly used for tendonitis. He had missed close to 3 weeks of practice and has not been spotted doing much in practices lately aside from catching from the JUGS machine, but his status this week will be more indicative of his availability. This should boost Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s workload early on in the season.

Hollywood Brown, WR Kansas City Chiefs

Injury: Left SC Posterior Sprain

Projected Timetable: Week 2-4

Initial Thoughts:

Brown is already ruled out for Thursday night football, leaving plenty of work available for Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy. Brown runs the risk of missing another few weeks, but once he does return his reinjury risk should be fairly low. The Chiefs will not bring him back out into football action if there is any risk of further posterior SC injury if he takes a big hit to the chest, considering these injuries are life-threatening. Once he is active, he becomes an intriguing boom/bust option.

Josh Downs, WR Indianapolis Colts

Injury: High Ankle Sprain

Projected Timetable: Week 1-3

Initial Thoughts:

Downs may wind up being one of the better weapons for the Colts this season after impressing nearly all of camp, but I would recommend avoiding him in these early weeks as he returns from a high ankle sprain. Reinjury risk remains at 15-20% with an expected production dip. I anticipate AD Mitchell being utilized in the slot in week 1.

Mark Andrews, TE Baltimore Ravens

Injury: MVA

Projected Timetable: Week 1

Initial Thoughts:

While CoachSpeakIndex has John Harbaugh as being reliable when it comes to injury information, it is important to keep in mind that Harbaugh stated both JK Dobbins and Keaton Mitchell blew out their knees despite it being reported as “clean ACL tears”. After scouring through reports, it does seem that whatever injury Mark Andrews is dealing with is minor and that he has missed practice time due to court and legal issues from the motor vehicle accident (none his fault). I am operating as if he is active and full go for Week 1 but monitor his status.

Dallas Goedert, TE Philadelphia Eagles

Injury: Oblique Strain

Projected Timetable: Week 1-2

Initial Thoughts:

Keeping an eye on this one considering he has missed close to two weeks of practice due to an oblique strain, though some reports have indicated the team expects him to suit up. There is not enough data on oblique strains for tight ends or receivers to determine production dip or reinjury risk, but any twisting, high pointing for targets, or any big hits to his sides could lead to a reinjury. He may be fairly boom/bust Week 1.

Injury Tracker 2024

Player	Position	Team	Injury	Week of Injury	Projected Return
A.J. Dillon	RB	GB	Neck, Stinger	IR	Season-Ending
Elijah Mitchell	RB	SF	Hamstring Surgery	IR	Season Ending
J.J. McCarthy	QB	MIN	Right Meniscus Repair	IR	Season Ending
Nick Chubb	RB	CLE	ACLR	PUP	Week 5-7
T.J. Hockenson	TE	MIN	ACLR	PUP	Week 7
Jonathon Brooks	RB	CAR	ACLR	PUP	Week 5-8
Keaton Mitchell	RB	BAL	ACLR	PUP	Week 8-12
Odell Beckham	WR	MIA	Soft Tissue Related	PUP	Week 5-8
Kendrick Bourne	WR	NE	ACLR	PUP	Week 5-8
Kendre Miller	RB	NO	Hamstring	PUP	Week 5-8
Christian McCaffrey	RB	SF	Calf	Preseason	Week 1
Jaylen Warren	RB	PIT	Hamstring	Preseason	Week 1
Hollywood Brown	WR	KC	Left SC Posterior Sprain	Preseason	Week 2-5
Ian Thomas	TE	CAR	Calf	Preseason	Week 2-4
Dallas Goedert	TE	PHI	Oblique Strain	Preseason	Week 1
Mark Andrews	TE	BAL	MVA, Unknown	Preseason	Week 1
DeAndre Hopkins	WR	TEN	Left Knee Sprain	Preseason	Week 1-2
Jordan Addison	WR	MIN	Left High Ankle Sprain	Preseason	Week 1-2
MarShawn Lloyd	RB	GB	Hamstring Strain	Preseason	Week 1-2
Jahmyr Gibbs	RB	DET	Hamstring Strain	Preseason	Week 1
Josh Downs	WR	IND	High Ankle Sprain	Preseason	Week 1-3
Puka Nacua	WR	LAR	Right Knee, Bursa	Preseason	Week 1
Jaylen Waddle	WR	MIA	Left Calf	Preseason	Week 1
Tyreek Hill	WR	MIA	Right Thumb	Preseason	Week 1