Fantasy Football Today: Injury News & Week 9 Rankings Updates

Hello and welcome to Sunday of week 9. Let’s get those queues ready.

Adam Aizer and Heath Cummings kept you up to date with the latest news and answered a few kick-off / sit-down questions on this morning’s FFT podcast, and Jamey Eisenberg, Dave Richard and Heath are on CBS Sports HQ starting at 10 a.m.ET for the start of the 1 p.m. matches. to answer your questions and keep you informed of all the news to know about the FFT live.

Make sure to check both, but if you want more straightforward answers to your questions and other news updates, I have two more ways to earn: go to Twitter and use the hashtag “#AskFFT”, where our entire team will answer questions all morning; and head over to the FFT YouTube channel to chat with Adam and I from 11:30 am until kick off. We’ll be there until kick-off to answer as many questions as possible, so be sure to be in the chat early to ask your questions.

Here’s the rest of our preview content to get you ready, and check out my updated position rankings at the bottom of the newsletter to help you solve any early dilemmas you might run into:

Quarterbacks

Murray is the only question mark this week, but it’s a pretty big question mark. He’s going to test his ankle in pre-game warm-ups before the Cardinals decide if he can play, but the problem for us is that the Cardinals don’t start until 4:25 p.m. ET. This means that almost all games on the calendar will be locked by then. If I had to guess I would think Murray will play despite the injury, but that’s just a guess. At the very least, make sure you have another option to slip into your roster if Murray is ruled out – think Ryan Tannehill or Justin Fields if they’re out. If Colt McCoy is to start for the Cardinals, that would be a downgrade for the entire offense.

With Winston out, Trevor Siemian will start as Saints quarterback, not Taysom Hill. It’s a curious move, but Sean Payton likes that Hill is available for those laps near the goal line, so Hill will always have a role to play. He might even be usable in SuperFlex leagues – his chances of scoring a touchdown are pretty high every week, at least.

And, with Tagovailoa on the sidelines with a broken left middle finger, Jacoby Brissett will start for the Dolphins this week against the Texans. Brissett had four touchdowns passing and one on the ground in his three starts. His departure is probably not good news for Jaylen Waddle, who saw his average target depth collapse within 4 yards of Brissett. He’s still in the WR2 class against a big game, but that hurts his value.

Ball carriers

No real surprises here, but keep an eye out for that Chicago backfield – with Williams out, Khalil Herbert could see a huge role, but there’s also a chance David Montgomery will be cleared at the last minute. I would try to avoid Montgomery if I can this week, but it’s good to see that he might be back sooner than expected.

I’m not very confident starting McCaffrey even if he plays, as reports have indicated McCaffrey will have a limited role all week even if he plays. Of course, it would be terribly difficult to see the name “Christian McCaffrey” on your bench if it is active. I would rank him around 20th place as a running back if he’s active.

Mitchell is interesting to watch. He’s expected to play at this point, but I’ll be watching the pre-game warm-ups to see how tested he is. With Jeff Wilson probably back from his knee surgery in the offseason, they have the option of potentially seating Mitchell if he’s not 100%, and I want to see how much Wilson is used up anyway. When Mitchell was active, he saw at least 17 runs in four of the five games. If he’s active, he’s in the top 15 RB for me.

Wide receivers

• Outside: Odell Beckham (shoulder), AJ Green (reserve / COVID-19), DeVante Parker (shoulder / hamstrings; IR), Sterling Shepard (hamstrings), Dante Pettis (shoulder), Calvin Ridley (staff)
• Legitimately questionable: AJ Brown (knee), DeAndre Hopkins (hamstrings), Cole Beasley (ribs), Rashod Bateman (groin), Sammy Watkins (thigh), Darnell Mooney (groin)

Hopkins is probably the biggest question mark, with Sunday morning reports indicating the Cardinals are pessimistic about his chances. He played a very limited role in the team’s previous game and appeared to make his existing injury worse in it. Even if he’s playing, he can be stuck with Colt McCoy as a quarterback, so maybe your best option might be to avoid the headaches. With Green also sidelined, Christian Kirk and Rondale Moore are very intriguing replacement options for Hopkins, especially if Murray has played.

Brown is the other big question mark here, having been added to the injury report late on Friday after missing practice. Brown has played without much training in the past, so there’s a chance he might do the same, but as this game kicks off at 8:20 p.m. Sunday night, your replacement options will be limited. If you’ve got someone for the Bears, Steelers, Titans, or Rams, maybe you can take your chances against Brown, but it’s hard to suggest keeping him in your roster right now otherwise. That’s a big risk anyway, as he’s been one of Fantasy’s best wide receivers for the past three weeks.

If Golladay plays, I would consider him a WR # 3 or somewhere in that range. If he doesn’t, Kadarius Toney becomes a really interesting piece.

You start the Cowboys’ two wide receivers against Denver. I think Cooper would probably be ranked slightly ahead of Lamb just because his injury seems to have limited him more this week, but they’re both in the WR top 20. Samuel should play after recording a couple of limited workouts, and you need to keep him active for as long as he is, given how good he is. But it’ll be interesting to see how the 49ers divide the targets with the return of George Kittle – and with Brandon Aiyuk registering his biggest snap and road shares of the season in Week 8.

Tight ends

As previously mentioned, Kittle is back from the IR and will play this week, although it is possible that he will be limited in his first return match. That’s a concern for a guy like Kittle, who isn’t necessarily very likely to find the end zone. Hopefully the 49ers limit his use in the blocking part of the job and let him run more routes. It is part of the top 12 tight end by default.

Updated rankings

Here are my last Sunday morning rankings:

Strategist

1. Josh Allen @JAX
2. Lamar Jackson vs. MIN
3. Patrick Mahomes v GB
4. Dak Prescott vs. DEN
5. Matthew Stafford v TEN
6. Justin Herbert @PHI
7. Jalen Hurts vs. BAC
8. Ryan Tannehill @LAR
9. Kyler Murray @SF
10. Derek Carr @NYG
11. Tyrod Taylor @MIA
12. Carson Wentz vs. NYJ
13. Joe Burrow vs. CLE
14. Daniel Jones vs. LV
15. Kirk Cousins ​​@BAL
16. Jordan Love @KC
17. Teddy Bridgewater @DAL
18. Justin Fields @PIT
19. Ben Roethlisberger vs. CHI
20. Trevor Lawrence vs. BUF
21. Jacoby Brissett vs. HOU
22. Mac Jones @CAR
23. Baker Mayfield @CIN
24. Jimmy Garoppolo vs. ARI

To recover

1. Najee Harris vs. CHI
2. Austin Ekeler @PHI
3. Alvin Kamara vs. ATL
4. Ezekiel Elliott v DEN
5. Aaron Jones @KC
6. Jonathan Taylor vs. NYJ
7. Darrell Henderson vs. TEN
8. Dalvin Cook @BAL
9. Cordarrelle Patterson @NO
10. Joe Mixon vs. CLE
11. Nick Chubb @CIN
12. Myles Gaskin v HOU
13. Michael Carter @IND
14. Devontae Booker vs. LV
15. Josh Jacobs @NYG
16. Darrel Williams vs. GB
17. Chase Edmonds @SF
18. Christian McCaffrey vs. NE
19. Damien Harris @CAR
20. Mike Davis @NO
21. Zack Moss @JAX
22. Boston Scott vs. BAC
23. Melvin Gordon @DAL
24. Elijah Mitchell vs. ARI
25. Carlos hyde
26. Devin Singletary @JAX
27. David Montgomery @PIT
28. Jeremy McNichols @LAR
29. Javonte Williams @DAL
30. Adrian Peterson @LAR
31. Kenyan Drake @NYG
32. Khalil Herbert @PIT
33. Tony Pollard vs. DEN
34. Ty Johnson @IND
35. AJ Dillon @KC
36. James Conner @SF
37. Nyheim Hines vs. NYJ
38. By Ernest Johnson @CIN
39. Chuba Hubbard vs. NE
40. Devonta Freeman vs. MIN
41. David Johnson @MIA
42. Alexander Mattison @BAL
43. Jeff Wilson vs. ARI
44. Brandon Bolden @CAR
45. Kenneth Gainwell vs. BAC
46. Salvon Ahmed v HOU
47. Sony Michel v TEN
48. Mark Ingram vs. ATL

Wide receivers

1. Cooper Kupp vs. TEN
2. Davante Adams @KC
3. Tyreek Hill vs. GB
4. Deebo Samuel v ARI
5. Justin Jefferson @BAL
6. Stefon Diggs @JAX
7. Diontae Johnson vs. CHI
8. AJ Brown @LAR
9. Keenan Allen @PHI
10. Mike Williams @PHI
11. CeeDee Lamb vs. DEN
12. Ja’Marr Chase vs. CLE
13. Amari Cooper v DEN
14. DJ Moore vs. NE
15. Brandin Cooks @MIA
16. Marquise Brown vs. MIN
17. Michael Pittman vs. NYJ
18. Courtland Sutton @DAL
19. Tee Higgins vs. CLE
20. Jaylen Waddle vs. HOU
21. Robert Woods vs. TEN
22. Jarvis Landry @CIN
23. Adam Thielen @BAL
24. DeVonta Smith vs. BAC
25. Jakobi Meyers @CAR
26. Emmanuel Sanders @JAX
27. Marvin Jones vs. BUF
28. Cole Beasley @JAX
29. Jamison Crowder @IND
30. Chase Claypool vs. CHI
31. Jerry Jeudy @DAL
32. Renfrow Hunter @NYG
33. Rondale Moore @SF
34. Kenny Golladay vs. LV
35. DeAndre Hopkins @SF
36. Darnell Mooney @PIT
37. Laviska Shenault vs. BUF
38. Julio Jones @LAR
39. Kadarius Toney vs. LV
40. Christian Kirk @SF
41. Bryan Edwards @NYG
42. Mecole Hardman vs. GB
43. Corey Davis @IND
44. Allen Robinson @PIT
45. Tyler Boyd vs. CLE
46. Brandon Aiyuk vs. ARI
47. Tim Patrick @DAL
48. Rashod Bateman vs. MIN

Tight end

1. Travis Kelce vs. GB
2. Darren Waller @NYG
3. Mark Andrews vs. MIN
4. Kyle Pitts @NO
5. Dalton Schultz v DEN
6. Mike Gesicki vs. HOU
7. Dallas Goedert vs. BAC
8. Pat Freiermuth vs. CHI
9. Jared Cook @PHI
10. Dan Arnold vs. BUF
11. Zach Ertz @SF
12. Hunter Henry @CAR
13. Tyler Higbee vs. TEN
14. Evan Engram vs. LV
15. Tyler Conklin @BAL
16. Albert Okwuegbunam @DAL
17. Cole Kmet @PIT
18. David Njoku @CIN
19. Austin Hooper @CIN
20. Anthony Firkser @LAR
21. Mo Alie-Cox vs. NYJ
22. Tommy Sweeney @JAX
23. CJ Uzomah v CLE
24. Hayden Hurst @NO