Key Injuries to Watch for Fantasy Owners
Photo Credit: ESPN
Christian McCaffrey
The league’s top running back’s status has been up in the air during the first two weeks, and heading into week 2 it was still unclear. Eventually, it was decided that McCaffrey would go on the injured reserve (IR) list for calf/Achillies issues. The loss of McCaffrey was certainly felt for the 49ers as they suffered a 23-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. With McCaffrey now on IR, he will miss at least four weeks, meaning his earliest eligibility to return will be week 6, against their NFC West division rival, Seattle Seahawks. When asked about his return timetable today, San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan said “Nobody knows.”
In his absence, Jordan Mason has been the lead back and will likely continue to do so until McCaffrey returns. For fantasy owners, if Mason is somehow still on the waiver wire, he should be an instant pickup as he has eclipsed the 100-yard mark and scored a touchdown in both of the 49ers games so far.
Justin Jefferson
JUSTIN JEFFERSON 97 YARD TUDDY!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/0PJs9mheCK
— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2024
On the opposite side of that matchup between the 49ers and Vikings, superstar wide receiver Justin Jefferson was putting up his usual numbers, achieving 133 yards on only four catches, alongside a 97-yard TD. Despite this, he did go down and had to be helped off the field with what was later reported as a quad injury, eventually identified as a quad contusion. For both Vikings fans and Jefferson’s fantasy owners, seeing the elite WR go down struck fear into their hearts.
However, it is reported that JJettas is “day-to-day” with Jefferson himself saying, “I’ll be ready to go next Sunday”. While this injury is a scare, it seems like things will be okay sooner rather than later. Still, fantasy owners will want to stay in the loop on Jefferson’s availability in week 3 where they will take on the up-and-coming Houston Texans.
Cooper Kupp
Image courtesy: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Another elite wide receiver in the NFC went down during Sunday’s action as Los Angeles Rams WR Cooper Kupp suffered an ankle injury during the first half of the 41-10 beatdown at the hands of the division rival Arizona Cardinals. Kupp did not return to action and was seen after the game wearing a walking boot on his left foot/lower leg.
With the Rams already losing Puka Nacua in week 1, the team is getting increasingly thin at WR. Currently, Tutu Atwell, Demarcus Robinson, Jordan Whittington and Tyler Johsnon are the other WRs available as QB Matthew Stafford’s targets. Fantasy owners will want to certainly keep an eye on the waiver wire if they have any of the Rams dynamic duo WRs as it could be a long time before they return.
