The NFL injury report is always filled with some of the game’s best stars, leaving fans and fantasy football managers scrambling to find out who will play. Heading into Week 1 of the 2022 NFL season, New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson and star wide receiver Michael Thomas headline the big names.
Bookmark this page for daily injury updates and news on NFL stars from across the league, whether or not they will play in Week 1 and how their injury impacts fantasy football
Here is the latest injury news for some of the NFL’s biggest stars and the impact it will have on Week 1 in Sportsnaut’s NFL injury report.
Related: NFL Week 1 power rankings
Zach Wilson, quarterback
Wilson suffered a torn meniscus in New York’s preseason opener. At least initially, it seemed that he would be out for an extended period of time. Now, we’re not too sure with the Jets sounding somewhat optimistic that he will be able to go Week 1 against the Baltimore Ravens after working out for the first time since said injury this week.
“Everyone heals differently, so we’ll see what happens tomorrow. We’re putting him through some workouts, running, all that stuff. He did do some throwing, but I can’t give you a rep count.”
New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh on status of Zach Wilson
If Wilson can’t go, the Jets will start Joe Flacco under center Week 1 against Baltimore. It would be a less-than-stellar scenario given how Flacco closed out the preseason.
Also Read: Everything you need to know about the NFL Sunday Ticket
Joe Burrow, quarterback
Burrow missed the entire preseason slate after recovering from an emergency appendectomy. It was somewhat troubling that he was not able to suit up. However, there’s no real concern that the NFL MVP candidate will miss Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was more a case of the Bengals being conservative with their franchise guy.
Joe Burrow stats (2021): 70% completion, 4,611 yards, 34 TD, 14 INT, 108.3 QB rating
Whether there’s rust on Burrow’s part remains to be seen. He led Cincinnati to a surprise appearance in the Super Bowl a season ago and is seen as one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL heading into his third year in the league.
Jameson Williams, wide receiver
Selected 12th overall in April’s NFL Draft, Jameson Williams opens the season on the Detroit Lions’ reserve/NFI list. This means that he’ll miss the first four weeks of the season. To say that this is a blow to quarterback Jared Goff and Co. would be an understatement.
Taking on the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1, the expectation is that Amon-Ra St. Brown and DJ Chark will see a ton of targets. Given Philadelphia’s issues in the secondary and the Lions’ lackluster defense, we can expect both to be players in the DFS game.
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Robbie Anderson, wide receiver
Anderson is dealing with a quad injury he suffered during training camp. There has been no real updates from the Carolina Panthers outside of the fact that he’s questionable to go Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns.
Anderson, 29, could be a major target of new Panthers quarterback Baker Mayfield after he struggled catching passes from Sam Darnold last season. Back in 2020, Anderson caught 95 passes for 1,096 yards while hauling in 70% of his targets. Bookmark our NFL injury report for more information on this as the week progresses.
Related: 10 burning questions for NFL Week 1
J.K. Dobbins, running back
Dobbins suffered a torn ACL in the first preseason game last summer and missed the entire 2021 campaign. It’s been a slow recovery for the Baltimore Ravens star. However, there’s a chance he will be able to go Week 1 against the New York Jets. Ravens head coach John Harbaugh added to that belief recently.
“If we see what we need to see, there’s a chance.”
Either way, Dobbins would be a questionable play in fantasy football. Despite taking on a poor Jets defense, we’re looking at more of a running back by committee approach in Baltimore. That was magnified by the signing of veteran Kenyan Drake recently.
Tee Higgins, wide receiver
One of Burrow’s favorite targets, Higgins missed the entire preseason to a shoulder injury. However, he was able to return to practice on Monday and seems to be ready to go Week 1 against Pittsburgh.
Higgins, 23, caught 74 passes for 1,091 yards and six touchdowns while hauling in 67% of his targets as a sophomore a season ago. The former Clemson star is an underrated DFS and fantasy options against Pittsburgh. Just make sure to keep updated on our NFL injury report as his situation is clarified later in the week.
Related: NFL Week 1 fantasy football rankings
Michael Gallup, wide receiver, Dallas Cowboys
Gallup has already been ruled out after suffering a torn ACL late last season. He joins the recently-signed James Washington in being sidelined for Week 1 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
What does this mean? The expectation is that No. 1 wide receiver CeeDee Lamb will has a large target share for Dak Prescott come Sunday night in Big D. The question is whether Prescott will be able to stay up front with left tackle Tyron Smith sidelined until at least December. Rookie first-round pick Tyler Smith will be manning his blindside in this one.
Allen Lazard, Green Bay Packers
Green Bay’s new No. 1 receiver following the departure of Davante Adams, Lazard showed up on the NFL injury report with an undisclosed issue heading into Week 1 against the Minnesota Vikings.
Despite this, NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport noted on Tuesday that it’s looking good for Lazard to suit up on Sunday. The former undrafted free agent from Iowa State caught 40 passes for 513 yards and eight touchdowns a season ago. He’s going to be Aaron Rodgers’ top target in 2022, making the wide receiver an obvious fantasy play.
Related: Ranking NFL defenses heading into Week 1
Michael Thomas, wide receiver, New Orleans Saints
Jameis Winson and Co. have some good news on this most-recent NFL inury report with news that Thomas is likely to suit up Week 1 against the Atlanta Falcons. Thomas missed all of last season to an ankle inury and did not suit up during the preseason.
Thomas, 29, has played in just seven games since his record-breaking 2019 season in which the wide receiver caught 149 passes for 1,725 yards. It remains to be seen what type of relationship he will have with Winston moving forward. For now, he’s not a reliable fantasy play.
Chris Godwin, wide receiver, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
After suffering a torn ACL last season, Godwin was seen practicing in a limited capacity recently. He did so without a knee brace. In no way does this mean Godwin will be able to go Week 1 against the Dallas Cowboys.
“That’s a great question. I don’t think any of us know that yet. In the grand scheme of things, I don’t think it matters that much. I would love to be there for the entire season, but I think what’s more important is being there for the second half of the season. Being there for what I missed last year.”
Chris Godwin on Week 1 availability
If Godwin is unable to go (a likelihood at this point), expect the recently-signed Julio Jones to pick up the slack behind Mike Evans. He looked great during training camp and has already found a connection with Tom Brady. We will obviously have further updates on this as the NFL injury report moves forward throughout the week.
NFL injury report: Inactive players for Week 18
- Sam Darnold, quarterback, Carolina Panthers
- N’Keal Harry, wide receiver, Chicago Bears
- Tajae Sharpe, wide receiver, Chicago Bears
- Bisi Johnson, wide receiver, Minnesota Vikings
- Deshaun Watson, quarterback, Cleveland Browns (suspended)
- James Washington, wide receiver, Dallas Cowboys
- Kylin Hill, running back, Green Bay Packers
- Van Jefferson, wide receiver, Los Angeles Rams
NFL players expected to play in Week 18
- Rondale Moore, wide receiver, Arizona Cardinals
- Elijah Mitchell, running back, San Francisco 49ers
- Darren Waller, tight end, Las Vegas Raiders
- Jakobi Meyers, wide receiver, New England Patriots
- Diontae Johnson, wide receiver, Pittsburgh Steelers
- James Robinson, running back, Jacksonville Jaguars
- Drake London, wide receiver, Atlanta Falcons
- Jaylen Waddle, wide receiver, Miami Dolphins
- Kadarius Toney, wide receiver, New York Giants
- Miles Sanders, running back, Philadelphia Eagles
This article was originally published on Sportsnaut.com and is republished here with permission.
