Nic Civale is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and former NCAA Division I athlete. This week’s NFL Injury Report focuses on fantasy-relevant players who are likely to miss multiple weeks, and how to handle their absences. A large part of roster strategy is knowing what to expect from your players, so let’s take a deep dive into this week’s most relevant long term injuries.
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Week 9 NFL Injury Report
Jimmy Garoppolo and George Kittle
Ever since February of 2020, San Francisco 49ers fans have done anything but strike gold – general 2020 problems aside. Even after losing the Super Bowl to the Kansas City Chiefs, many experts around the league predicted San Fran to continue in their dominance, having such a young squad and plenty of potential. Currently, the 49ers sit in the basement of the NFC West, sporting an underachieving 4-4 record.
There is no denying they have suffered their share (and a hefty share at that) of injuries to key players. It isn’t the first time I’m writing about Kittle or Jimmy G in this year’s Injury Report. Kyle Shanahan is a fantastic young coach, but you can only go so far with your stars on the bench. On offense, they are currently dealing with injuries to Jimmy Garoppolo, George Kittle, Tevin Coleman, Deebo Samuel, and Richie James. The defensive injuries are not as fantasy-relevant, but include two of the absolute best names in the league; Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles and Jaquisky Tartt.
To add to the aforementioned misfortune, Jimmy G expects to remain out of action for approximately 6 weeks due to a high ankle sprain, and George Kittle is to miss about 8 with a fractured foot.
Garoppolo is said to have experienced an entirely new high ankle sprain compared to the one he sustained earlier this year, on the same foot. For analysis of the importance of the right ankle in regards to mobility, I will refer to what I wrote a little over a month ago about Jimmy G’s initial high ankle sprain;
“As a right-handed quarterback drop steps into the pocket, he must use the ankle to laterally provide force to accelerate and slow down according to what he surveys on the field. Without the mobility to move in the pocket, Garoppolo cannot extend plays with his athleticism and give his talented receivers more time to get open.”
The big difference in this case, is that Garoppolo will be expected to miss six weeks this time, suggesting the severity of the sprain is worse. Unfortunately, it’s time to cut bait on virtually every 49ers offensive player at this point.
George Kittle has sustained a fractured a small fracture in his left foot. Initially, this sounds manageable, but there haven’t been many specific reports about which bone was fractured and the type of fracture that was sustained. Kittle also injured his left ankle nearly a year ago to the day, in Week 8 of 2019. Initial reports were non-specific about the expected missed time, but Kyle Shanahan was able to provide greater specificity, stating it will be more like an 8 weeks recovery. With Kittle out until about Week 16 or 17, it’s really a desperation play to keep him on your roster. Even if he is healthy to return, a non-contending 49ers team may not want to put Kittle back on the field anyway.
Myles Gaskin
Myles Gaskin has been very effective this year for fantasy managers and for the Miami Dolphins. He has rushed for 387 yards in 100 attempts and has added 30 receptions in 35 targets. Gaskin went into the year as an afterthought in many drafts and had rewarded those who aggressively added him.
This trip to the IR was caused by a sprained MCL. The Medial Collateral Ligament protects the knee from entering a knock-kneed position. When sprained, the integrity of the ligament is compromised, and further injury is possible. Gaskin will miss at least 3 weeks per the rules of the IR and may return as early as Week 12 for a nice matchup against the Jets. The best way to analyze his value upon return is how well the rest of the Dolphins RB’s (Breida, Laird, Ahmed, and Howard) are performing. If they are proving to be effective with an RB by committee strategy, Gaskin will likely have an abbreviated fantasy impact from Week 12, on. However, if the Dolphins are struggling to get a run game going, and the young offense is hurting for an effective ground attack, Gaskin may return in the hero role. In the past 3 contests, Gaskin had been the recipient of 64 of 90 of the team’s backfield touches.
Without any guarantee of a return to this type of workload, it may be tricky to find a way to justify keeping Gaskin on your roster. However, he’s just the type of player who may provide value as fantasy playoffs are beginning. He will have fresh legs, won’t have taken hits for 3 weeks, and may be playing for a team fighting for a division title.
If you enjoyed Nics Week 9 NFL Injury Report, make sure to check Peter Chung’s Week 9 FAAB Guide for more help in optimizing your lineups.
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