For additional Week 11 pickups, check out ASL Founder, Leonard LaPadula's, Streamers For The Desperate - Week 12, or ASL's Colton Peter's Fantasy Football Adds - Week 12.
Quarterback
Injury – Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh Steelers (Q – Wrist)
Opportunity – Mason Rudolph
Aaron Rodgers injured his wrist on his non-throwing hand and was not able to return to action in the second half. There is no news yet on this injury, but even though it’s on his left hand, this can still impact his availability, and pain management is very much a concern here. I wouldn’t count on him playing and, if so, Mason Rudolph gets the start.
Rudolph is an experienced backup in this Steelers offense, so although I do think this hampers the weapons on this offense, he should still provide value for fantasy managers of players like DK Metcalf and Jaylen Warren (assuming he plays).
Rudolph does have a fairly soft schedule coming up, so he is a viable option for deep-league superflex formats.
Injury – Michael Penix, Atlanta Falcons (IR – Knee)
Opportunity – Kirk Cousins
Michael Penix injured his knee in their loss against Carolina and did not return. He has been placed on IR and will miss a minimum of 4 games. This gives Kirk Cousins the green light to audition for a role on a team next season.
Cousins is a fine backup who does not hamper the Falcons offense any more than Penix did. He is a serviceable QB option for deep-league fantasy managers needing to stream the position.
Injury – Dillon Gabriel, Cleveland Browns (D – Concussion)
Opportunity – Shedeur Sanders
Well, it wasn’t the fairytale start for Shedeur Sanders, who came in for the injured Dillon Gabriel, who is likely to miss this week due to a concussion.
Sanders didn’t show much promise, but against a heavy-blitzing scheme and little to no practice time with the first team, not much else could be expected. Sanders is off the radar for fantasy for now, but could be a stash option for dynasty leagues in case he shows real promise. I expect this injury to only force the Browns to run even more, so feel safe with Quinshon Judkins. But downgrade the rest of the passing offense.
Running Back
Injury – Josh Jacobs, Green Bay Packers (Q – Knee)
Opportunity – Emmanuel Wilson
Josh Jacobs injured his knee during their win against the Giants, and although it was feared to be a multi-week injury initially, reports are now saying day-to-day and he even has a chance to play next week against the Vikings. If he plays, I know this sounds crazy, but I would look elsewhere. The Vikings are still a formidable defense and his role would likely be very limited.
However, I do not think he plays this week, which leaves Emmanuel Wilson as the main beneficiary. Wilson is an electric ball carrier who I think has decent upside. Still, with the matchup and what I would expect as a low-scoring game, Wilson is an RB3/flex for me.
Injury – Bhayshul Tuten, Jacksonville (Q – Ankle)
Opportunity – Travis Etienne
Bhayshul Tuten was enjoying his best game of the season until his ankle injury, which caused him to miss the rest of the game. It looked like a lineman caused him to roll his ankle, which could indicate a mid-to-high ankle sprain. While we await news, I would plan for him to miss at least this week, which puts Travis Etienne in line to serve as the sole back.
Etienne has had a good year, but without Tuten to take some valuable work, Etienne is flirting with RB1 upside.
Injury – Emari Demercado, Arizona Cardinals (Q – Foot)
Opportunity – Zonovan “Bam” Knight, Trey Benson
Emari Demercado exited last week’s game with a foot injury, which is an injury that we don’t like to see for running backs, as these can be multi-week injuries. Without much news yet, I do expect him to miss some time, so Zonovan “Bam” Knight slots in as the featured back. I like Knight as a safe flex option; however, Trey Benson could be nearing a return.
If Benson does come back, I wouldn’t play either, as the waters get very muddy and much more unpredictable. This has already been a tough backfield to get value from without James Conner, so we need to monitor this closely.
Wide Receiver
Injury – Drake London, Atlanta Falcons (Q – Knee)
Opportunity – Darnell Mooney, Kyle Pitts, KhaDarel Hodge
Drake London aggravated a previous knee injury very late in the 4th quarter. Reports are that his status is up in the air, but he seems genuinely questionable. I lean toward him missing this week. If he does, Darnell Mooney can be upgraded to a flex play with upside.
Kyle Pitts should see more volume with Kirk Cousins, so without London’s targets, he could be a safer play than he has been most of the year. My deep-league or DFS dart throw would be KhaDarel Hodge, who could be used in both underneath and deep routes, giving him some sense of floor and upside. He’s no more than a dart throw.
Injury – Calvin Ridley, Tennessee Titans (IR – Fibula)
Opportunity – Elic Ayomanor
Calvin Ridley returned from a previous injury last week against the Texans, only to leave early with a broken fibula, which will end his season.
This offense has been putrid, to say the least, so I don’t think there is much benefit to go around, even without the WR1. That said, Elic Ayomanor can be a spot start for deeper-league teams trying to navigate injuries and bye weeks. I view him as a low-end WR3 who, in the right matchup, could be a higher-end flex play.
Tight End
Injury – Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions (IR – Back)
Opportunity – Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Jahmyr Gibbs
Sam LaPorta was a late addition to the injury report last week and was quickly added to IR, suggesting whatever happened to his back is pretty severe. We don’t know much else at the moment.
Who benefits? Well, the star players. I wish it wasn’t this simple, but LaPorta wasn’t necessarily playing the role we were accustomed to his rookie year. And as we saw last week, the ball ends up going right back to the playmakers. Primarily Jahmyr Gibbs.
Gibbs will see much more short-yardage work, where LaPorta used to work out of, and Gibbs is right back into the top-3 fantasy RB conversation (if he wasn’t already).
