There is a superstition that things come in threes, suggesting that events (especially negative occurrences) often happen in groups. Is it true? Who knows. During Week 8, injuries didn’t happen in threes. Or fives. They came in droves. And that seems to be the way that fantasy football is this year — we will go through a week relatively unscathed, followed by another with the blue medical tent filled to the gills.
The running back position took some serious punches this week, with a few injuries expected to be multi-week in nature. These situations complicate matters further for managers who were already struggling with bye week issues. The waiver wire will be busy this week at the running back position, that is for sure.
Here is a quick rundown of Week 8’s injury news.
Fantasy Football Injuries to Know
Quarterback
Carson Wentz (QB – MIN)
Before anyone makes comments about how poorly Carson Wentz played on the road against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, can we at least consider how much pain he was playing through? He suffered a left shoulder injury back on October 5th, while Minnesota allowed J.J. McCarthy to rest, and he has been fighting through it each week since.
After being battered and bruised the entire game, reports later surfaced that Wentz would undergo season-ending surgery to repair a “dislocated shoulder that included a torn labrum and fractured socket,” per ESPN’s Kevin Seifert. I can’t even fathom how much moxie that takes to play through.
Fantasy Impact: J.J. McCarthy is expected to retake the reins of the Vikings’ offense after being sidelined since Week 2 with a high right-ankle sprain injury. McCarthy has ramped up his practice snaps each of the past two weeks and is expected to return fully healthy.
Drafted as a top-15 option at the position, the time is now for McCarthy to prove he can live up to the lofty billing. McCarthy is a stream-worthy pivot option in shallower formats, thanks to his strong supporting cast.
Joe Flacco (QB – CIN)
Joe Flacco took a nasty hit late in Sunday’s contest against the New York Jets, landing directly on his right throwing shoulder. Taken to the locker room in obvious pain, he was later diagnosed with a “shoulder” injury, but was thankfully able to return shortly afterward. Head coach Zac Taylor stated Flacco is currently considered day to day. Most reports suggested he is likely dealing with a low-grade AC sprain.
Fantasy Impact: Since Joe Flacco isn’t exactly a spring chicken, I’d expect him to miss practice(s) earlier this week, allowing him additional time to rest. Cincinnati has already seen where the Jake Browning experience leads them, and I’m nigh-certain that Flacco will take the field in Week 9 if he’s physically able at home against Chicago.
Lamar Jackson (QB – BAL)
Baltimore pulled a bait-and-switch on fantasy managers this past weekend, with nearly all reports expecting Jackson to return in Week 8, after consecutive full practices to open the week. Further news released on Saturday stated the reps came against the scout team rather than the starters, and he was ruled out for Sunday’s contest against Chicago.
I won’t say that this is a major surprise, since the Ravens play on Thursday Night Football against Miami, and pushing Jackson through multiple games in a short window might have been asking too much, or pushing him too quickly.
Fantasy Impact: Lamar Jackson was a full participant in Monday’s walkthrough practice, and all news out of Baltimore expects him to play, barring a setback. The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec (who is very plugged in) stated he feels “confident about him playing, and expects him to be out there on Thursday.” With a cake matchup against an inept Dolphins’ defense, this is a nice way to ease Jackson back into action. Start him with confidence.
Running Back
Cam Skattebo (RB – NYG)
Cam Skattebo suffered a gruesome ankle injury during Sunday’s contest at Philadelphia, dislocating it before being placed immediately into an air cast. Rushed to a local hospital, Skattebo underwent surgery that evening, which head coach Brian Daboll said “went well” and is currently described as “on the road to recovery” by the team.
All expectations are that he will miss the remainder of the 2025 season. Medical analysts compared this situation to what Aidan Hutchinson and Dak Prescott went through previously, stating that keeping the site clean of infection was the biggest hurdle to avoid.
Fantasy Impact: Why can’t Giants fans have nice things? Sigh. With Cam Skattebo expected to miss the rest of the season, sophomore Tyrone Tracy will regain the starting role, with veteran Devin Singletary spelling him as needed. Tracy is the biggest waiver wire claim this week to target in shallower formats where he happens to be available.
Saquon Barkley (RB – PHI)
Saquon Barkley exited Sunday’s 38-20 victory over New York in the third quarter, after coming up gimpy on a 28-yard run. Though it initially appeared to be a hamstring injury, it was later diagnosed as a groin pull. Able to rest the remainder of the game since it was out of hand, Barkley will benefit from Philadelphia being on bye during Week 9, allowing him to rest until the Eagles’ next game on Monday, November 10th, at Green Bay.
Fantasy Impact: Saquon Barkley didn’t seem overly concerned with the pull following Philadelphia’s victory, and went as far as stating that he could have returned to action if needed.
With a full week to rest, we don’t anticipate this being a long-term injury that will linger. That said, fantasy managers should monitor practice reports leading into Week 10, as Tank Bigsby would draw the start if Barkley needs more time to heal.
Quinshon Judkins (RB – CLE)
Immediately after securing a catch and turning upfield, Quinshon Judkins was met by a defender and driven into the ground, sustaining a shoulder sprain. Removed in favor of Jerome Ford and Dylan Sampson for the remainder of the contest against New England, Judkins was unable to return to the contest.
After the conclusion of the game, Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski stated Judkins is considered day-to-day. Similar to Barkley above, Judkins lucks into a Week 9 bye that will allow him additional time to rest. The Browns return to action in Week 10 on the road against the New York Jets.
Fantasy Impact: Quinshon Judkins finds himself in a similar position as Saquon Barkley. If their team wasn’t immediately going into a bye week, I’d at least have a slight concern about availability for Week 9. Given the length of time that they have to rest, I’d expect both players to be back healthy for their next game.
Should Judkins experience a setback of any kind, Ford would be in line to handle the early-down and goal-line work, with Sampson operating as Cleveland’s receiving back.
Alvin Kamara (RB – NO)
New Orleans was a total mess on Sunday, with the Saints losing to Tampa Bay 23-3. In that contest, Alvin Kamara recorded his lowest number of touches this season (just eight), totaling 45 yards from scrimmage. Late in the game, a defender slid while attempting to tackle him, causing an eversion movement that many injury analysts are worried will lead to a high-ankle sprain or MCL issue. Kamara was able to walk off under his own power gingerly but appeared uncomfortable.
Fantasy Impact: Should Alvin Kamara be forced to miss any time, rookie Devin Neal would be a must-add candidate from the waiver wire. A jack-of-all-trades option with the University of Kansas, Neal has soft hands and is capable of handling three-down work for New Orleans. He makes for a priority pickup in most leagues, with Kendre Miller already on injured reserve (IR).
Wide Receiver
Luther Burden III (WR – CHI)
Luther Burden was removed during the third quarter of Chicago’s contest against Baltimore and was evaluated for a concussion. After it was determined that he sustained a brain injury, he was immediately ruled out and placed into the NFL’s concussion protocol.
Fantasy Impact: Thankfully, the league’s concussion protocol measures are relatively cut-and-dry, with the vast majority of all players missing the following week, before returning the second.
Barring unique circumstances, we’d expect that to be the case with Luther Burden. As he’s only averaged 2-3 targets per game, this shouldn’t have a significant uptick for anyone else on the Bears’ offense specifically, but DJ Moore and Rome Odunze stand to slightly benefit.
Marvin Mims Jr. (WR – DEN)
Marvin Mims Jr. was a non-factor in Denver’s 44-24 win over Dallas on Sunday, but to add injury to insult, he also sustained a concussion after failing to catch his only target on the afternoon.
Fantasy Impact: Marvin Mims Jr. is in a similar situation to Luther Burden above. I’d expect Mims to miss Week 9 on the road against Houston, but have a solid chance to return to action in Week 10, at home against Las Vegas.
Like Burden, Mims is in a crowded receiver room, and his modest weekly target volume would be split amongst Courtland Sutton, Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant.
Tight End
Harold Fannin Jr. (TE – CLE)
I’ll be brief with this one, since little information is known regarding the injury Harold Fannin Jr. suffered. He was brought into the medical tent during Cleveland’s game against New England, but later returned to action and had a solid afternoon, securing six receptions for 62 yards and a touchdown.
Fantasy Impact: Head coach Kevin Stefanski glossed over Harold Fannin Jr. being injured, so hopefully this is nothing serious. With Cleveland on bye in Week 9, we likely won’t have any sort of status update until early next week, before the Browns travel to New York to face the Jets.
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