2012 Fantasy Football, Week 10 Injury Report: Vick, Cutler, Smith Suffer Concussions
Julio Jones
Julio Jones (WR | Atlanta Falcons 100% in Y!) – Jones suffered a leg injury in the Falcons game this week. He missed a chunk of time, but was able to return to finish the game.
Fantasy Spin: Monitor the practice reports this week to see if Jones misses any time. Jones may have pushed to get back into the close, division matchup with the Saints. If Jones misses time, it will put a big hole in fantasy lineups. There is no clear replacement on the Falcons roster as Harry Douglas has never lived up to any of the hype placed on him.
Percy Harvin (WR | Minnesota Vikings 99% in Y!) – Harvin was declared inactive for Sunday’s win over the Detroit Lions with an ankle injury.
Fantasy Spin: The Vikings are on bye this week and Coach Leslie Frazier stated that Harvin should return in Week 12 against the Bears. The news coming out the game is that Jarius Wright may have some value in dynasty leagues (or should Harvin suffer another injury this season) as the rookie finished with three catches for 65 yards and a TD in his first action of the season.
Ahmad Bradshaw (RB | New York Giants 96% in Y!) – Bradshaw was injured on Sunday and had X-rays are some part of his body between his head and his toes. No information was provided on his injury, its location or Bradshaw’s status.
Fantasy Spin: The Giants have been hurtling toward being inconsequential over the last few weeks. Luckily, for them they play in the NFC East where no one seems to want to win the division. The clear beneficiaries to a Bradshaw injury would be Andre Brown and David Wilson. Brown picked up seven carries for 65 yards and a TD (along with another five receptions) against the Bengals while Wilson had only one carry. Brown is the clear pick up here as Wilson has struggled with turnovers and isn’t fully trusted by the coaching staff.
DeMarco Murray (RB | Chicago Bears 93% inY!) – Murray missed another contest this week against the Eagles though he did participate in individual drills at practice this week.
Fantasy Spin: Murray will be put right back into the lineup as soon as he is healthy as none of the backup RBs for the Cowboys have shone in Murray’s absence. Monitor reports this week to see if Murray ramps up his activity to group and contract drills.
Michael Vick (QB | Philadelphia Eagles 93% in Y!) – Tell me if you’ve heard this one before – Vick suffered a concussion in Sunday’s loss to Dallas and did not return.
Fantasy Spin: The Eagles loss puts them on the precipice of playoff elimination and Andy Reid one step closer to the unemployment line. Vick’s injury history is well known and this is just another mark against him. After the game, Andy Reid said Vick would start when healthy (though I’m not sure how much longer Reid will get to make those decisions). Nick Foles is the backup to Vick and would have a couple of good matchups in the next few games including Week 11 against Washington.
Aaron Hernandez (TE | New England Patriots 93% in Y!) – Hernandez was slated to return to the Patriots lineup this week, but ultimately did not dress and missed the contest.
Fantasy Spin: The Patriots are secretive with injury information so it is unclear if he had a setback or the Pats were being cautious with him. The Patriots did activate Visanthe Shiancoe to the active roster this week, but he is a non-factor in fantasy. Hernandez’s absence only means more targets for Rob Gronkowski and the rest of the Patriots WRs.
Owen Daniels (TE | Houston Texans 92% in Y!) – Daniels was inactive on Sunday night with a hip injury. He had expressed a desire to play on Sunday, but was not cleared to do so.
Fantasy Spin: Sunday night’s game was a difficult one to evaluate most offensive players. However, it looks clear that Garrett Graham is the backup to Daniels (even though many believe it should be James Casey). Neither is an extremely attractive option as the potential for splitting fantasy statistics will always exist. It seems as though Daniels was close to playing, but monitor the injury reports this week to ensure he is participating in practice.
Antonio Brown (WR | Pittsburgh Steelers 90% in Y!) – Brown was declared out for Week 10’s Monday night game with the Kansas City Chiefs. He is reportedly dealing with a high ankle sprain.
Fantasy Spin: High ankle sprains can lead to multi-week absences, so Monday night’s game should be a good test to see if Emmanuel Sanders will be given the chance to win the full time gig opposite Mike Wallace. He is slated to share time with Jerricho Cotchery (who offers little fantasy intrigue).
Fred Jackson (RB | Buffalo Bills 90% in Y!) – Jackson suffered a possible concussion late in the Bills’ loss to the New England Patriots. He did not return to the lineup and no official diagnosis has been given.
Fantasy Spin: Concussions were the injury of the day on Sunday and Jackson may have suffered his own. He had two TDs on the day and looked as spry as ever. However, he has a short turnaround for a Thursday night game against the Dolphins and is likely to miss it if a concussion is diagnosed. If the medical team miss any indication of a concussion, and he returns to play, his injury could become a lot worse. Maybe to the point of needing to contact somewhere like https://lawtx.com/ to receive compensation should this lead to further complications. That being said, if he misses the game, C.J. Spiller would carry a full load and would immediately be a matchup-proof RB1.
Jay Cutler (QB | Chicago Bears 65% in Y!) – Cutler suffered a concussion in the first half of Sunday night’s game in Houston and did not play in the second half.
Fantasy Spin: Cutler hasn’t been anything more than serviceable in fantasy circles this year so his loss will have far more real world impact than fantasy. Should Cutler need to miss time, his replacement is Jason Campbell, a former first round pick by Washington who has settled into a backup role. Campbell offers little for fantasy players. If Sunday night was any indication, Brandon Marshall should remain valuable for fantasy purposes. It will be interesting to see if defenses stack the box to take away Matt Forte should Campbell need to take the reins.
Alex Smith (QB | San Francisco 49ers 50% in Y!) – Smith suffered a concussion in the 49ers game against the St. Louis Rams that eventually ended in a tie. Smith played a few plays after suffering the injury, but did not return after the diagnosis.
Fantasy Spin: Smith had looked good up until the injury. He was replaced by Colin Kaepernick and led the team for the rest of the game. Kaepernick is an intriguing talent who can chew up yardage with his legs, but remains a work in progress with his arm. Should Smith need to miss extended time, Kaepernick is an intriguing QB2 who could be a decent matchup play. However, the 49ers play the Chicago Bears in Week 11 and Kaepernick should be avoided in nearly all formats next week.
Brandon Myers (TE | Oakland Raiders 41% in Y!) – Myers was concussed in the Raiders defeat at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens. It is his second concussion this season.
Fantasy Spin: Myers has been a steady contributor for fantasy squads this season. Should he miss time, there isn’t a fantasy-worthy backup on the Raiders roster and fantasy owners would need to look elsewhere to fill the gap.
Domenik Hixon (WR | New York Giants 17% in Y!) – Hixon injured his ankle against the Bengals and did not return to the game.
Fantasy Spin: Hixon is the third WR on the Giants and his role would likely be split between Ramses Barden and Rueben Randle. Neither would likely be a factor in anything, but the deepest of leagues.
Alshon Jeffery (WR | Chicago Bears 11% inY!) – Jeffery missed another game this week, but is due back in Week 11.
Fantasy Spin: Jeffery was a hot sleeper on draft day due to his play in the preseason. However, the Bears offense (and Jeffery’s own inconsistency and injury) conspired to keep him on the waiver wire. With his return imminent, it is time again to consider Jeffery in deeper leagues. His return should relegate Devin Hester to returns only with the occasional pass route.
Blaine Gabbert (QB | Jacksonville Jaguars 5% in Y!) – Gabbert re-injured his non-throwing shoulder on Thursday night and did not return.
Fantasy Spin: Gabbert had looked good in his last couple of games leading up to Thursday night’s debacle. Gabbert’s backup is Chad Henne and he does not look good. The Jaguars face the Texans this week and neither player should be on your radar.
Bilal Powell (RB | New York Jets 1% in Y!) – Powell suffered a concussion in the fourth quarter of the Jets embarrassing loss to Seattle. He did not return.
Fantasy Spin: Powell was seen as the handcuff to the disappointing Shonn Greene heading into the season. However, he hasn’t been able to stay healthy this year and any evaluation of his ability is incomplete so far. He can be dropped in all league formats – the Jets have bigger issues than RB.
Jason Avant (WR | Philadelphia Eagles 1% in Y!) – Avant injured his hamstring in the first half of the game against the Cowboys and did not return.
Fantasy Spin: Avant is on pace for this worst season since 2008. He is only useful in the deepest of leagues as a bye week fill in and his absence should not cause issues for most players. If he is out for an extended period, we could see more of Damaris Johnson and Riley Cooper.
Written by Chris Garosi for FantasyFix.com. You can follow Chris on Twitter @chrisgarosi. You can find more of his work at District Sports Page.
Fantasy Spin: Monitor the practice reports this week to see if Jones misses any time. Jones may have pushed to get back into the close, division matchup with the Saints. If Jones misses time, it will put a big hole in fantasy lineups. There is no clear replacement on the Falcons roster as Harry Douglas has never lived up to any of the hype placed on him.
Percy Harvin (WR | Minnesota Vikings 99% in Y!) – Harvin was declared inactive for Sunday’s win over the Detroit Lions with an ankle injury.
Fantasy Spin: The Vikings are on bye this week and Coach Leslie Frazier stated that Harvin should return in Week 12 against the Bears. The news coming out the game is that Jarius Wright may have some value in dynasty leagues (or should Harvin suffer another injury this season) as the rookie finished with three catches for 65 yards and a TD in his first action of the season.
Ahmad Bradshaw (RB | New York Giants 96% in Y!) – Bradshaw was injured on Sunday and had X-rays are some part of his body between his head and his toes. No information was provided on his injury, its location or Bradshaw’s status.
Fantasy Spin: The Giants have been hurtling toward being inconsequential over the last few weeks. Luckily, for them they play in the NFC East where no one seems to want to win the division. The clear beneficiaries to a Bradshaw injury would be Andre Brown and David Wilson. Brown picked up seven carries for 65 yards and a TD (along with another five receptions) against the Bengals while Wilson had only one carry. Brown is the clear pick up here as Wilson has struggled with turnovers and isn’t fully trusted by the coaching staff.
DeMarco Murray (RB | Chicago Bears 93% inY!) – Murray missed another contest this week against the Eagles though he did participate in individual drills at practice this week.
Fantasy Spin: Murray will be put right back into the lineup as soon as he is healthy as none of the backup RBs for the Cowboys have shone in Murray’s absence. Monitor reports this week to see if Murray ramps up his activity to group and contract drills.
Michael Vick (QB | Philadelphia Eagles 93% in Y!) – Tell me if you’ve heard this one before – Vick suffered a concussion in Sunday’s loss to Dallas and did not return.
Fantasy Spin: The Eagles loss puts them on the precipice of playoff elimination and Andy Reid one step closer to the unemployment line. Vick’s injury history is well known and this is just another mark against him. After the game, Andy Reid said Vick would start when healthy (though I’m not sure how much longer Reid will get to make those decisions). Nick Foles is the backup to Vick and would have a couple of good matchups in the next few games including Week 11 against Washington.
Aaron Hernandez (TE | New England Patriots 93% in Y!) – Hernandez was slated to return to the Patriots lineup this week, but ultimately did not dress and missed the contest.
Fantasy Spin: The Patriots are secretive with injury information so it is unclear if he had a setback or the Pats were being cautious with him. The Patriots did activate Visanthe Shiancoe to the active roster this week, but he is a non-factor in fantasy. Hernandez’s absence only means more targets for Rob Gronkowski and the rest of the Patriots WRs.
Owen Daniels (TE | Houston Texans 92% in Y!) – Daniels was inactive on Sunday night with a hip injury. He had expressed a desire to play on Sunday, but was not cleared to do so.
Fantasy Spin: Sunday night’s game was a difficult one to evaluate most offensive players. However, it looks clear that Garrett Graham is the backup to Daniels (even though many believe it should be James Casey). Neither is an extremely attractive option as the potential for splitting fantasy statistics will always exist. It seems as though Daniels was close to playing, but monitor the injury reports this week to ensure he is participating in practice.
Antonio Brown (WR | Pittsburgh Steelers 90% in Y!) – Brown was declared out for Week 10’s Monday night game with the Kansas City Chiefs. He is reportedly dealing with a high ankle sprain.
Fantasy Spin: High ankle sprains can lead to multi-week absences, so Monday night’s game should be a good test to see if Emmanuel Sanders will be given the chance to win the full time gig opposite Mike Wallace. He is slated to share time with Jerricho Cotchery (who offers little fantasy intrigue).
Fred Jackson (RB | Buffalo Bills 90% in Y!) – Jackson suffered a possible concussion late in the Bills’ loss to the New England Patriots. He did not return to the lineup and no official diagnosis has been given.
Fantasy Spin: Concussions were the injury of the day on Sunday and Jackson may have suffered his own. He had two TDs on the day and looked as spry as ever. However, he has a short turnaround for a Thursday night game against the Dolphins and is likely to miss it if a concussion is diagnosed. If the medical team miss any indication of a concussion, and he returns to play, his injury could become a lot worse. Maybe to the point of needing to contact somewhere like https://lawtx.com/ to receive compensation should this lead to further complications. That being said, if he misses the game, C.J. Spiller would carry a full load and would immediately be a matchup-proof RB1.
Jay Cutler (QB | Chicago Bears 65% in Y!) – Cutler suffered a concussion in the first half of Sunday night’s game in Houston and did not play in the second half.
Fantasy Spin: Cutler hasn’t been anything more than serviceable in fantasy circles this year so his loss will have far more real world impact than fantasy. Should Cutler need to miss time, his replacement is Jason Campbell, a former first round pick by Washington who has settled into a backup role. Campbell offers little for fantasy players. If Sunday night was any indication, Brandon Marshall should remain valuable for fantasy purposes. It will be interesting to see if defenses stack the box to take away Matt Forte should Campbell need to take the reins.
Alex Smith (QB | San Francisco 49ers 50% in Y!) – Smith suffered a concussion in the 49ers game against the St. Louis Rams that eventually ended in a tie. Smith played a few plays after suffering the injury, but did not return after the diagnosis.
Fantasy Spin: Smith had looked good up until the injury. He was replaced by Colin Kaepernick and led the team for the rest of the game. Kaepernick is an intriguing talent who can chew up yardage with his legs, but remains a work in progress with his arm. Should Smith need to miss extended time, Kaepernick is an intriguing QB2 who could be a decent matchup play. However, the 49ers play the Chicago Bears in Week 11 and Kaepernick should be avoided in nearly all formats next week.
Brandon Myers (TE | Oakland Raiders 41% in Y!) – Myers was concussed in the Raiders defeat at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens. It is his second concussion this season.
Fantasy Spin: Myers has been a steady contributor for fantasy squads this season. Should he miss time, there isn’t a fantasy-worthy backup on the Raiders roster and fantasy owners would need to look elsewhere to fill the gap.
Domenik Hixon (WR | New York Giants 17% in Y!) – Hixon injured his ankle against the Bengals and did not return to the game.
Fantasy Spin: Hixon is the third WR on the Giants and his role would likely be split between Ramses Barden and Rueben Randle. Neither would likely be a factor in anything, but the deepest of leagues.
Alshon Jeffery (WR | Chicago Bears 11% inY!) – Jeffery missed another game this week, but is due back in Week 11.
Fantasy Spin: Jeffery was a hot sleeper on draft day due to his play in the preseason. However, the Bears offense (and Jeffery’s own inconsistency and injury) conspired to keep him on the waiver wire. With his return imminent, it is time again to consider Jeffery in deeper leagues. His return should relegate Devin Hester to returns only with the occasional pass route.
Blaine Gabbert (QB | Jacksonville Jaguars 5% in Y!) – Gabbert re-injured his non-throwing shoulder on Thursday night and did not return.
Fantasy Spin: Gabbert had looked good in his last couple of games leading up to Thursday night’s debacle. Gabbert’s backup is Chad Henne and he does not look good. The Jaguars face the Texans this week and neither player should be on your radar.
Bilal Powell (RB | New York Jets 1% in Y!) – Powell suffered a concussion in the fourth quarter of the Jets embarrassing loss to Seattle. He did not return.
Fantasy Spin: Powell was seen as the handcuff to the disappointing Shonn Greene heading into the season. However, he hasn’t been able to stay healthy this year and any evaluation of his ability is incomplete so far. He can be dropped in all league formats – the Jets have bigger issues than RB.
Jason Avant (WR | Philadelphia Eagles 1% in Y!) – Avant injured his hamstring in the first half of the game against the Cowboys and did not return.
Fantasy Spin: Avant is on pace for this worst season since 2008. He is only useful in the deepest of leagues as a bye week fill in and his absence should not cause issues for most players. If he is out for an extended period, we could see more of Damaris Johnson and Riley Cooper.
Written by Chris Garosi for FantasyFix.com. You can follow Chris on Twitter @chrisgarosi. You can find more of his work at District Sports Page.
The Author
