Each and every week, players across the NFL suffer injuries. This weekly article will explore the injuries that affect your dynasty squads. We will briefly discuss the injured players themselves and those who stand to benefit or suffer as a result. To make them easier to follow, we will break down the injuries by division. Without further ado, let us examine the Regular Season Week 4 injuries and the next men up.
AFC East:
The AFC East made it through Week 4 without any fantasy-relevant injuries.
AFC South:
The AFC South emerged from Week 4 without any major fantasy ailments.
Most obvious angles of Kenny Pickett's injury pic.twitter.com/CyXcyb35yu
— Meme Sorta (@memesorta) October 1, 2023
AFC North:
Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett suffered a knee injury in his team’s Week 4 loss. Testing revealed that the former 1st round pick had sustained a bone bruise. Depending on the severity of the injury, Pickett could potentially miss a week or two. The Steelers will call upon Mitchell Trubisky for any game action Pickett misses. The former second overall pick has had his struggles but likely won’t be much of a downgrade for the struggling Steelers offense.
Cincinnati receiver Tee Higgins suffered fractured ribs in his team’s Week 4 loss. This will be a pain tolerance issue. If Higgins does miss games, Tyler Boyd will pick up some additional looks as the WR2 alongside Ja’Marr Chase. Trenton Irwin and Andrei Iosivas would fill out the receiver depth chart.
Pittsburgh tight end Pat Freiermuth suffered a hamstring injury in his Week 4 matchup. The talented tight end has dealt with several ailments already this season. Local reports are calling for a two to three-week absence for the former second-round pick. With a Week 6 bye week on tap, it’s possible that Frierermuth only miss one game. The Steelers will turn to talented rookie Darnell Washington until Freiermuth can return. He will be an interesting touchdown-dependent play for desperate managers.
Javonte Williams –
— Jeff Mueller, PT, DPT (@jmthrivept) October 1, 2023
Ruled OUT with hip injury.
Whether it’s labrum or soft tissue involved, given how quickly he was ruled out I’m expecting him to miss a chunk of time.
Which means Jaleel McLaughlin will likely wind up being a top waiver claim this week. pic.twitter.com/vbPtMfKfcE
AFC West:
Denver running back Javonte Williams exited his team’s Week 4 victory with a hip injury. Due to his previous injury history, there was some significant trepidation on the part of fantasy managers about this injury. However, it does seem that Javonte avoided disaster and simply suffered a hip flexor injury. According to ESPN.com, the talented running back is not expected to miss significant time. If he does miss game action, the Broncos would likely split reps between Samaje Perine and diminutive but talented undrafted rookie Jaleel McLaughlin.
Las Vegas receiver Davante Adams suffered a minor shoulder injury in his team’s Week 4 contest. The All-Pro receiver jammed his shoulder but returned to the game. Details on the injury were sparse. But Adams indicated he was in pain and had to gut it out. Adams will almost certainly attempt to play through the pain. However, if he does miss action, the Raiders would rely heavily on teammates Jakobi Meyers and Hunter Renfrow. Speedy rookie Tre Tucker would be the next man into the lineup. It is also possible that Vegas could rely more heavily on 12-personnel and feature Austin Hooper and talented rookie Michael Mayer in a run-heavy scheme built around Josh Jacobs.
Los Angeles quarterback Justin Herbert suffered a fractured finger on his non-throwing hand in his team’s Week 4 contest. The Chargers have a Week 5 bye on tap, and Herbert is not expected to miss any game action. It is, nonetheless, something to monitor moving forward.
NFC East:
The NFC East escaped Week 4 unscathed from a fantasy perspective.
After attempting to return to the field, Mike Evans went back to the locker room.@jenhale has the latest pic.twitter.com/nCJdd6sFf1
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 1, 2023
NFC South:
Tampa Bay receiver Mike Evans suffered a hamstring injury in his Week 4 contest. The star receiver has dealt with several soft tissue injuries over the last several seasons. He has always managed to stay on the field long enough to put up his perennial 1,000-yard campaign. He underwent an MRI early this week, but with a bye week at hand, it is possible that he won’t miss any game action. If he does miss time, Tampa will lean heavily on his running mate, Chris Godwin, and rookie standout Trey Palmer. Rakim Jarrett would be the next man into the lineup, but it wouldn’t be much of a fantasy play.
New Orleans tight end Juwan Johnson suffered a calf injury in his team’s Week 4 loss. A trendy breakout pick by many heading into the 2023 campaign, Johnson has gotten off to a slow start. New Orleans uses several tight ends across multiple formations, limiting his upside. Little is known about the exact nature of this particular injury or how much time it could cost the talented playmaker. If he misses game action, the Saints will turn to a combination of Swiss Army Knife Taysom Hill and team legend Jimmy Graham.
WWE Football 🤡🤡 … Vegas 💰 said Packers TE Luke Musgrave sustained a concussion on this play so they can steal the hard working man's money… Fanboyyyys think sports is real 🤡 #NFLRigged pic.twitter.com/DEJZVSWrxB
— ALL SPORTS ARE RIGGED 2023 (@FormerNFLFan789) September 29, 2023
NFC North:
Green Bay tight end Luke Musgrave suffered a concussion in his team’s Week 4 loss to the division-rival Lions. Musgrave has enjoyed a very nice start to his NFL career. He has taken hold of the starting job and flashed some big play potential. He was already back on the practice field early in the week but must progress through the league’s concussion protocol before next Monday Night. If he doesn’t gain clearance, the Packers would turn to former third-round pick Josiah Deguara. He could be an option against a susceptible Raiders defense for desperate managers.
#Seahawks QB Geno Smith told @saltersl that the Isaiah Simmons tackle was a "dirty play" and there's "no place in this sport for that."
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 3, 2023
"I don't respect that type of stuff. You don't need to take shots at guys running out of bounds on the sidelines."pic.twitter.com/rhgMHTpT9a
NFC West:
Seattle quarterback Geno Smith briefly exited his team’s Monday Night victory over the Giants with a knee injury. Geno was clearly in some discomfort following a tackle out of bounds by a Giants defender, Isaiah Simmons. In fact, he was so miffed that he was flagged for a personal foul for saying something to Simmons in the second half. He finished the game and appears to have avoided any serious injury. If he did miss time, the Seahawks would turn to former Broncos draft pick Drew Lock.
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