Gus Edwards – Hamstring Strain, Week to Week
The hamstring is extremely important with regard to ACL reconstruction. The hamstrings can assist the ACL in its job, so it’s not outrageous to suggest that this has something to do with his ACL reconstruction. Expect Gus Edwards to maybe miss a week at most, but the extra day of rest may be enough to push Edwards toward suiting up. Watch this going forward, as hamstring strains can be easily aggravated within the first couple of weeks.
Mark Ingram – MCL Sprain, 3-4 Weeks
Ingram suffered a Grade II MCL sprain during his Week 8 contest. The difference between a Grade I and Grade II is that a Grade II sprain is “partially torn.” He shouldn’t need surgery to correct and should be back in about a month. He is a candidate to land on IR.
Rashod Bateman – Foot Sprain, 3-4 Weeks
Bateman injured his foot during the week and missed two games. He seemed to aggravate this during his Week 8 matchup. I’d expect the bye week to help him avoid the IR, meaning only having to miss three games over four weeks. When he returns, I will watch very closely how he performs over the first two games back before feeling confident playing him during the fantasy playoffs.
Ja’Marr Chase – Hip (Torn Labrum + Fracture), 4-6 Weeks
The labrum tear is more concerning to me than the fracture. The labrum has a poor blood supply, making it a tissue that takes a long time to heal if it even does on its own. In 2018 Albert Wilson suffered a similar injury of a small fracture and labrum tear in his right hip. He did not get this surgically repaired and instead opted to rest and rehab instead. Chase had limited participation in camp leading into the 2019 season, which seemed to stem from his hip. He proclaimed himself 100% recovered prior to Week 1, but he never seemed to look the same. Surgery wouldn’t guarantee Chase to be ready either, as that rehab is quite extensive, and labral repairs often don’t work out completely. Labrum injuries in the hip should be treated seriously with regard to long-term outlook, so I would be very cautious with Chase going forward. It’s possible we could look back and see this as the point at which his value peaked.
Cooper Kupp – Sprained Ankle, Week to Week
The play where Cooper Kupp got hurt. Looked like his legs got rolled up underneath his body pic.twitter.com/bnUdNz0Zcn
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) October 30, 2022
Many in the fantasy football world held their breath while watching Kupp walk off the field injured. Luckily, this was just a standard ankle sprain, not a high ankle sprain. He should not see much, if any, long-term limitations resulting from this injury.
DeVante Parker – MCL Sprain, 1-2 Weeks
Unlike Ingram, this is a Grade I sprain, so he should only miss a game or two, max. I expect him to be out through the bye week and suit up in Week 11.
Christian Watson – Concussion, Week-to-Week
Watson suffered a concussion in Week 8 and is now in the concussion protocol. This didn’t seem severe to the level where he would miss multiple games like Tua did earlier this year. Watch how he progresses through the concussion protocol this week.
Irv Smith Jr. – High Ankle Sprain, 8-10 weeks
Irv Smith plants his foot and some friendly fire looks to dive into his ankle forcing it to cave inward (eversion). Hard angle but if his foot was totally planted + adds more dorsiflexion he could be looking at a high ankle sprain
— Edwin Porras, DPT (@FBInjuryDoc) October 31, 2022
MRI today pic.twitter.com/P8Cb5yrYHc
Another year wrote off for Irv Smith due to injuries. This time a severe high ankle sprain effectively ends his season. This certainly doesn’t make him look very attractive heading into 2023. He needs to shake the “injury-prone” designation he’s unfortunately earned over his first four years in the league. Since the Vikings traded for TJ Hockenson and are expected to extend him, his days in Minnesota are likely over.
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