Arizona Cardinals running back Beanie Wells faces a dif...

Aug 07, 2011

Arizona Cardinals running back Beanie Wells faces a different dynamic this season. In his first two years, he played behind Tim Hightower, a favorite of coaches because of his intelligence and toughness. But Hightower is gone, traded to Washington a week ago, and Wells, for a change, faces competition from someone younger, not older.

The Cardinals drafted Virginia Tech's Ryan Williams in the second round, and though Wells is the starter, it's tenuous.

Like most other NFL coaches, Arizona head coach Ken Whisenhunt isn't keen on revealing detailed information about injuries during the season. So last year when Wells struggled with knee pain, no one outside the organization knew the seriousness of it.

But one day reporters noticed incision marks on Wells' knee. He had undergone arthroscopic surgery for a torn meniscus.

Wells feels far more explosive than he did a year ago.

Fantasy Impact:

Beanie hasn't given fantasy owners much reason to trust him. However, Arizona's offense has improved with the acquisitions of Kevin Kolb and Todd Heap and Wells could be a decent value on draft day if you get him somewhere between the sixth and eighth rounds.

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Chargers set to open window for RB J.K. Dobbins (knee)

Daniel Popper on X

0 minutes ago

Chargers will be opening J.K. Dobbins' 21-day window today, Jim Harbaugh tells reporters.

Related players: Gus Edwards

Fantasy Impact:

Dobbins has been on IR for the past four games with a knee injury. He's not a lock to play this week and he's not a lock for a safe workload even if he does play. The Chargers travel to New England in Week 17, so the matchup isn't a bad one. It's an early window game on Sunday, so owners should have plenty of notice. We'll also keep an eye on the practice reports this week.

Dolphins unsure of WR Jaylen Waddle's (knee) status for Week 17

Barry Jackson on X

5 minutes ago

McDaniel non-committal on whether Jaylen Waddle (knee) will practice this week: "I'm expecting to get everything from Waddle that he can do... I've [talked to] the trainer to make sure we protect him from himself. We will see how the week progresses. I don't know exactly what it will look like."

Fantasy Impact:

Waddle owners should probably not count on Waddle for Week 17, or at the very least have a backup plan. Waddle and the Dolphins play the Browns in the later window on Sunday so it could further complicate things for owners who were hoping to play him.

Texans WR Tank Dell tore ACL, dislocated knee

DJ Bien-Aime on X

9 minutes ago

DeMeco Ryans says WR Tank Dell tore his ACL along with dislocating his knee.

Fantasy Impact:

No surprises here as it was a terrible injury to watch during the game. While he's obviously out for the season, the bigger question is what will his status be for 2025. It's a huge question mark at this point given the seriousness of the injury. Even if Dell is able to play next season, he may take a while to get back to 100%.