Week 1 Fantasy Football Injury Recap

As The Fantasy Footballers’ lead injury analyst and sports physical therapist, I’ll be recapping the previous week’s injuries and giving a projected timeline for recovery all season long. Let’s look at the biggest injuries from Week 1 and take a look at what fantasy managers can expect heading into Week 2 and beyond.

If you’re looking for more detailed injury analysis, check out JoinTheFoot.com for additional premium resources, including access to the Injury Blitz Podcast hosted by yours truly. This bonus podcast, available to all #FootClan Premier members, is a short, yet informative injury podcast that drops late in the week in order to provide all the injury updates you need to set your lineup each week.

QB Jordan Love

Left Sprained MCL: Out 3-4 weeks
The Packers’ franchise QB is set to miss a few weeks with a Grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee. The injury happened late in the game against the Eagles when the Pack were playing in Brazil last Friday night. Relatively speaking, this is good news in terms of the severity – Love will not require surgery, and he should be able to return in a few weeks with a brace on his left knee. Upon his return, Love will likely be limited to the pocket for the first couple of games, so we shouldn’t we expect much scrambling initially. It’s been reported that Malik Willis will start in Week 2 against the Colts, but the fact that the Packers are not placing Love on IR indicates they feel strongly that there’s a chance he could return before Week 5.

Players impacted: Malik Willis, Jayden Reed, Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Dontayvion Wicks

QB Josh Allen

Left Hand Contusion: Day-to-day
AAllen was seen getting his left hand taped on the sidelines in the fourth quarter on Sunday against the Cardinals. This was a direct impact injury, so it’s very unlikely that there’s any structural injury at play. For now, consider this a contusion, or a bruise. Functionally, this shouldn’t impact Allen too much considering it’s his non-throwing hand. We could see some ball security issues or difficulty with hand offs using that left hand, but otherwise, Allen will be able to play without limitation. The Bills are on a short week against the Dolphins on Thursday night, so Allen might pop up on the injury report this week.

Players impacted: James Cook, Ray Davis

RB Kenneth Walker

Undisclosed Abdominal Injury: Day-to-day
Walker briefly left Week 1 against the Broncos after a massive rushing performance with an undisclosed abdominal injury. Immediately following the game, Walker told reporters “I’m good.” I would not expect Walker to miss game action, but I wanted to include him on the list this week given his injury history. Walker missed time last year with an oblique injury, and he’s got a history of multiple groin injuries. For now, this is something to monitor ahead of Week 2, but I fully expect him to play even if he’s limited in practice.

Players impacted: Zach Charbonnet

WR Puka Nacua

Right Knee PCL Sprain: Out 4+ weeks
Puka missed the majority of camp with a right knee injury that was described by Sean McVay as “an injury to the bursa sac.” At the time of the injury, I was concerned about a potential PCL sprain for Nacua, but that got dismissed somewhat quickly. Now a few weeks later, Nacua aggravated that same knee during Sunday Night Football against the Lions, and we finally have clarity – Puka did indeed suffer a sprained PCL. Sean McVay told reporters on Monday that his star WR will be placed on IR, which indicates that he’ll miss at least four weeks. These PCL sprains can be very difficult to manage in season, and as we’ve already seen, they can linger for weeks. Depending on the severity of the sprain, this could linger into November.

Players impacted: Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, Demarcus Robinson, Colby Parkinson

WR Keenan Allen

Undisclosed Injury: Situation to monitor
Keenan Allen left Week 1 early with an undisclosed leg injury. It’s definitely possible this is related to a heel injury he suffered late in camp. Worth noting, Allen entered Week 1 questionable with that heel injury, and he missed the final month of the 2023 season with a heel injury as well. His teammate, D.J. Moore, said on a radio spot Monday morning, that Allen is “fine” and that “He’s just an old man…He’s good.” It’s obviously not the best source of info on an injury, but this doesn’t appear to be anything concerning. That said, the fact that this injury could be related to the ongoing heel issue is not ideal for his short term performance. For now, this is a situation to monitor ahead of Week 2.

Players impacted: D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze, Caleb Williams

WR Rome Odunze

Right Knee MCL Sprain: Likely Out Week 2
It wasn’t just Keenan who piked up an injury in Week 1 – the ninth overall pick, Rome Odunze sprained the MCL in his right knee. He was blocking along the sideline and tacklers fell into his right leg, causing the injury. Odunze had an MRI on Monday, which confirmed the sprain, but Adam Schefter is reporting that Odunze is considered “week to week” moving forward. This suggests the sprain is likely mild in nature, but even a mild MCL sprain is going to require 1-3 weeks to heal. It’d be surprising if Odunze played in Week 2 given the demands on the knee as a WR, which requires a lot of cutting and change of direction. For now, consider him doubtful for Week 2 and questionable for Week 3.

Players impacted: D.J. Moore, Keenan Allen, Caleb Williams

WR Jordan Addison

Right High Ankle Sprain
Addison suffered a left high ankle sprain in camp on August 14 then missed a couple of weeks of practice before returning ahead of Week 1. Unfortunately, he picked up another high ankle sprain on Sunday against the Giants with this one being on his opposite side. Probably still not 100% from his previous high ankle sprain, this second injury makes it unlikely that Addison is back to full strength before the end of September at the earliest.

Players impacted: Justin Jefferson, Sam Darnold, Jalen Nailor

WR Darius Slayton

Concussion Protocol: Week-to-week
Slayton was placed in the concussion protocol on Monday after their loss to the Vikings. No two concussions are the same, so this is an injury to monitor throughout the week. While Slayton isn’t really on the radar for fantasy right now, his absence would open up a handful of available targets for his teammates.

Players impacted: Malik Nabers, Wan’Dale Robinson, Jalin Hyatt

TE Jake Ferguson

Bone Bruise and Sprained MCL: Likely Out Week 2, Week-to-week
Ferguson left Week 1 against Cleveland with a knee injury and did not return. Despite some concern for a potential ACL injury, an MRI confirmed his ACL is intact. However, he suffered a bone bruise and a sprained MCL, so his Week 2 availability is very much up in the air. Bone bruises can linger for weeks while a mild MCL sprain requires 2+ weeks of healing to be back to 100%. Even though Ferguson could technically play in Week 2, I’d be surprised if he’s anywhere close to 100%. It’s more likely that Fergy return in Week 3 or Week 4.

Players impacted: Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Brandin Cooks

TE David Njoku

Right High Ankle Sprain: Likely out Week 2 at a minimum
Njoku picked up a right high ankle sprain on Sunday against the Cowboys when his ankle got caught under a defender while being tackled. Head coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters on Monday that Njoku is “week-to-week.” It’s not all that helpful from a recovery timeline, but even a mild high ankle sprain would require 2+ weeks to recover. Expect Njoku to sit in Week 2 and potentially Weeks 3 and 4.

Players impacted: Deshaun Watson, Amari Cooper, Jerry Jeudy

Additional Injury Notes

• Tee Higgins, Hamstring Strain – Likely to miss Week 2 or play at less than 100%
• Russell Wilson, Calf Strain – Aggravated training camp calf injury in practice last week. Could be Justin Fields again in Week 2.
• Josh Downs, High Ankle Sprain from training camp – Still not practicing as of last week. Could be another week or two.
• Marquise Brown, SC Joint Sprain – Sat Week 1 with SC Joint Sprain suffered during preseason Week 1. Likely to play in Week 2 or 3.
• Christian McCaffrey, Calf Strain – Ruled out in Week 1 despite the expectation he would play. Calf strains can linger, so expect 49ers to reduce stress on CMC when he does eventually suit up.