Dr. Beth Sullivan | December 8th, 2019
Hard to believe its week 14 of the NFL season already. Where has the time gone? Only four weeks left before the season will be over and the playoff push will begin for the select teams who are lucky enough to punch their golden ticket this season. For fantasy players, playoffs in most leagues get underway this week and injuries will play an even bigger role in assembling the ideal team. Without further adieu let’s take a look at some of the injuries that may play a part in real life and fantasy football outcomes.
This week’s report like so many this season starts with quarterback news.
Tom Brady QB New England Patriots
Brady was removed from the injury report on Friday and is expected to be a full go for the Patriots game against the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday. He had been on the injury report for over a week with an elbow injury sustained during the Patriots Cowboys game a few weeks ago. The fact he is no longer on the report can be assumed to be a good sign, however we need to look no further than the Detroit Lions to see what happens when the injury report does not accurately reflect a player’s true status. That being said, Brady will play Sunday and whether he is truly recovered will be determined by the outcome of the game between the old master and the young gunslinger.
Daniel Jones QB New York Giants
Jones has been ruled out of the Giants Week 14 game against the Philadelphia Eagles due to a moderate high ankle sprain suffered in the Giants Week 13 game against Green Bay. Normally sprains and strains are rated as a grade one thru three based on the severity of the injury. What exactly is meant by a moderate sprain is difficult to say. If you want a review of the grading of sprains and strains you can check out my earlier article on the subject here. Assuming a moderate high ankle sprain is somewhere between a grade one and a grade two, it is possible that Jones could miss not only this week but one or two more weeks. It is a good sign though that he has gotten out of the walking boot and we will see how he does with practice heading into week 15.
Le’Veon Bell RB New York Jets
Bell has been ruled out of the Jets Week 14 game against the Miami Dolphins with an illness. What the illness is is not specifically known, however it is flu season and several teams have already been hit by the flu bug the possibility that this is the reason can be inferred. We shall have to see how he feels as the season moves toward its conclusion.
Evan Engram TE New York Giants
Earlier in the week things were looking like Engram was progressing toward playing on Monday when the Giants play the Eagles. However, he is still recovering from the foot injury that has kept him on the sideline for the last four weeks and could potentially keep him there for the rest of the season as he is still being hobbled by a midfoot sprain. Another name for midfoot sprain is turf toe and over the years many athletes have been hobbled by this type of injury. Recovery can take anywhere from two to four weeks to two to three months depending on the severity of the injury. Since Engram has already missed four weeks and is still limited, it can be assumed that his injury was of the more severe variety. If it is the more severe type of injury then shutting him down would make sense and if the Giants are eliminated from playoff contention before he returns, that is a real possibility.
Adam Thielen WR Minnesota Vikings
Thielen suffered a significant hamstring injury on October 20th and has been out of the lineup since then. He has been ruled out for the Week 14 game as he continues to recover. Given the length of time he has been out he is most likely is dealing with at least a grade two strain which has a four to six week recovery time. Since the Vikings are trying to punch their ticket to the playoffs and getting him healthy will be important giving him a little longer to heal makes sense.
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