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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
David Dorey

Tunnel Vision – Injuries, free agents and Sunday stars

SUNDAY SALUTES
Quarterbacks Pass-Rush TD
Jalen Hurts  281-47 2
 Tua Tagovailoa 262-0 3
 Jared Goff 353-3 2
 Desmond Ridder 307-18 2
 Patrick Mahomes 306-31 1
Running Backs Yards TD
Raheem Mostert 17-115
3-17
3
Travis Etienne 18-55
3-28
2
Kyren Williams 20-158 1
Breece Hall 12-39
5-54
1
Derrick Henry  12-97
2-16
1
Wide Receivers Yards TD
Amon-Ra St. Brown 12-124 1
Adam Thielen 11-115 1
Tyreek Hill 6-163 1
Cooper Kupp 7-148 1
Drake London 9-125 0
Tight Ends Yards TD
Travis Kelce 9-124 0
Dalton Schultz 4-61 1
Kyle Pitts 4-43 1
Jonnu Smith 4-36 1
Michael Mayer 5-75 0
Placekickers XP FG
Justin Tucker 0 6
Harrison Butker 1 4
Brandon McManus 4 3
Dustin Hopkins 1 4
Brett Maher 2 4
Defense Sack – TO TD
Vikings 5-3 1
Chiefs 4-3 0
Jaguars 3-4 0
Ravens 5-2 0
Rams 2-2 0

Bumps, Bruises and Bowouts

This is one of the worst weeks in a long time.

QB Ryan Tannehill – Ankle
QB Justin Fields – Hand
QB Jimmy Garoppolo – Back
QB Trevor Lawrence – Knee
QB Baker Mayfield – Hand
RB Christian McCaffrey – Oblique
RB David Montgomery – Ribs
RB Kyren Williams – Ankle
RB Ronnie Rivers – Knee
RB Damien Harris – Neck
WR Chris Moore – Concussion
WR Deebo Samuel – Shoulder
WR Laviska Shenault – Ankle
WR Alec Pierce – Shoulder

Chasing Ambulances

QB Ryan Tannehill – Injured the same right ankle that he hurt last year. He’ll get an MRI when he returns home on Monday. He was on crutches and he could miss time. Malik Willis replaced him and brought some rushing ability to the position. The Titans are on their bye this week so Tannehill has time to heal.
QB Justin Fields – He dislocated the thumb on his throwing hand. X-rays were negative and he is due for an MRI on Monday. Fields wanted to return but could not adequately grip the ball. The rookie Tyson Bagent would replace him if needed.
QB Jimmy Garoppolo – Injured his back and was brought to a nearby hospital but HC Josh McDaniels said he did not have an update. Brian Hoyer played the second half of the win over the Patriots and will take over if the brittle Garoppolo misses time.
QB Trevor Lawrence – He twisted his knee at the end of their win over the Colts, and said that it was bruised. C.J. Beathard replaced him on the final drive. Even if it is just bruised, the Jaguars play on Thursday in New Orleans, so there isn’t much time to heal. We’ll know more soon since the Jags have practices and reporting requirements on Monday through Wednesday.
RB Christian McCaffrey – He injured his oblique/ribs but returned to the game temporarily before leaving for good.  There was no update as of Sunday night, and Jordan Mason was effective replacing him.  Elijah Mitchell has been out with a knee injury but practiced last week before becoming inactive on Sunday. Mitchell will be the primary back if healthy enough to play in the case that McCaffrey misses time.
QB Baker Mayfield – He suffered a contusion to his left hand during the second half of the loss to the Lions. He played through the injury and also had a bloody finger on his right hand. It isn’t expected to be an issue for their meeting with the Falcons this week.
RB David Montgomery – Injured his ribs but initial X-rays were negative. He’ll be examined on Monday to determine the extent of the injury but it is a positive if he has avoided any fractures. Jahmyr Gibbs was already out with a hamstring injury and Craig Reynolds would have to fill in if Montgomery and Gibbs were to be out on Sunday in Baltimore.
RB Kyren Williams – He turned his ankle, though it wasn’t certain when the injury occurred. Since Ronnie Rivers also left with a knee injury, Zach Evans closed out the game and would be the primary back if both Williams and Rivers are out this week against the Steelers. More should be known early in the week.
WR Deebo Samuel – He injured his shoulder but X-rays were negative. He’ll undergo an MRI to determine the severity of what appears to be a sprained shoulder but initial speculation is that he is not seriously hurt.
 

Free Agents, Flops and Other Notables

Depending on what MRIs and such reveal this week, here are potential fantasy free agents that would move up if the injured players cannot return for Week 7.

QB Malik Willis (TEN) but Titans on bye this week.
QB Tyson Bagent (CHI)
QB Brian Hoyer (LV)
QB C.J. Beathard (JAC)
RB Jordan Mason (SF) depending on Elijah Mitchell
RB Craig Reynolds (DET) if Jahmyr Gibbs remains out
RB Zach Evans (LAR)

QB Desmond Ridder (ATL) – He’s easy to dismiss and there are still questions about much of the Atlanta offense, but Ridder threw for 300 yards in each of the last two games, and just tossed his first two-touchdown game this season. He was the fourth-best fantasy quarterback this week. He faces the Buccaneers this week, but then goes against the Titans in Week 8.

RB Kareem Hunt (CLE) – His first two weeks saw little use, but against the 49ers, Hunt ran for 47 yards and a touchdown on twelve carries, and caught three passes for 24 yards.

RB Saquon Barkley (NYG) – He missed three games with a high-ankle sprain and was a game-time decision in the Sunday night game. Barkley was active and only had 23 yards on 16 rushes at halftime. But he broke several long runs in the second half and ended with 93 yards on 24 rushes. He added four catches but only gained five yards, but looked healthy again.

TE Dalton Schultz (HOU) – His four catches for 61 yards and a score ranked No. 2 among fantasy tight ends for Week 6. He scored last week as well as the sixth-best tight end. The Texans are on their bye this week, but Schultz has to be a consideration for fantasy starts when he gets back.

QB Sam Howell (WAS) – He only threw for 151 yards in the win over the Falcons, but he passed for three touchdowns for the first time. He totaled 388 yards and two scores last week against the Bears and is showing up as one of the more productive passers. But – he’s already been sacked 34 times this year, so he may not last.

 QB Kirk Cousins (MIN) – Break glass and pull lever. The Vikings are without Justin Jefferson for at least three more weeks. They faced the Bears and their No. 32 defense against quarterbacks and Cousins was limited to only 181 yards and one score. This is a very odd week and maybe it was just a throwaway performance, but the starting wideouts only totaled seven catches for 76 yards and one score. Against the Bears.

Houston backfield – Dameon Pierce has disappointed this season and had to share with Devin Singletary. While Singletary had just one play in Week 5, the Texans gave him 12 rushes to gain 58 yards and catch one pass. Pierce ran for 34 yards on 13 rushes and never had a target. Notable too was that at halftime, Singletary had 53 yards on nine runs and the one catch, while Pierce had just eight runs for 28 yards.

TE Mike Mayer (LV) – The third tight end drafted this year, Mayer will figure into future passing plans, if only next season. But he just led the Raiders in receiving against the Patriots when he caught five passes for 75 yards. And he did that against a defense that ranked Top-5 against tight ends.

Arizona backfield – James Conner is on injured reserve with a knee injury, and the natural scramble for his backup wasn’t clear. Emari DeMarcado ran for 45 yards and a score on ten carries in Week 5 and became the more popular grab. But the Cardinals  used three backs in rotation and DeMarcado was the least productive with  just two carries and one catch. Keaontay Ingram led the backfield with ten runs for 40 yards and two catches for 11 yards. And Damien Williams was lifted from the practice squad so he could rush eight times for 36 yards. The Cardinals also face above-average defenses in each of the next four games, so there may not be a reliable fantasy resource in the backfield until Conner returns.

Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Huddle player of the week

WR Adam Thielen (CAR)  –  Raheem Mostert and Amon-Ra St. Brown scored a few more fantasy points, but both have been noted in the recent past. Thielen is a fantasy gem that most teams picked up in the back half of their draft or even as a free agent. He caught 11 passes for 115 yards and one score against the Dolphins and is the very best of what we want in fantasy football – a player that gets an obscene amount of passes for his team and yet opponents are okay with him catching 11 passes – he’s done that in three of the last four weeks.

Salute!

Drama 101 – Somebody has to laugh, somebody has to cry

Comedy Yards TDs Tragedy Yards TDs
QB Desmond Ridder 307-18 2 QB Justin Fields 58-46 0
RB Kareem Hunt 12-41
3-24
1 RB David Montgomery 6-14
1-19
0
RB Chuba Hubbard 19-88
1-2
1 RB Joe Mixon 12-38
3-24
0
WR Kendrick Bourne 10-93 0 WR Deebo Samuel 2-11 0
WR Rashid Shaheen 2-85
2-18
1 WR DeAndre Hopkins 1-20 0
WR Tyler Boyd 7-38 1 WR Devante Adams 2-29 0
TE Jonnu Smith 4-36 1 TE George Kittle 1-1 0
PK Brandon McManus   4 XP   3 FG PK Will Lutz  0
Huddle Fantasy Points = 149 Huddle Fantasy Points = 28

Now get back to work…

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