Fantasy focus: Packers' Jennings to miss at least a month after surgery
Packers receiver Greg Jennings has elected to have surgery on his injured groin. The procedure will keep him out for about a month, but he could return by Week 12.
Jennings flew to Philadelphia to have Dr. William Meyers perform the surgery. Meyers is considered perhaps the top doctor dealing with sports hernias, so Jennings' visit offers some clarity as to what had been hampering him all season. This type of injury is painful and lingering, but is easily fixed with relatively minor surgery. Once the tear is fixed, it usually takes just a couple of weeks of rest and rehab to get back to a normal physical state. It will take a few additional weeks after the physical healing to get back into football shape.
Jennings is something of a hybrid receiver: not a pure speed guy; not a technical route runner; big, but not big enough to be overly physical. He does enough things well that a good rapport with Aaron Rodgers and sure hands have turned him into a solid fantasy WR1. Once the sports hernia is fixed, Jennings should be able to get back to level quickly.
Stashing a player like Jennings is tough in most fantasy leagues, especially if he isn't a lock to return before the fantasy playoffs. All in all, it's not a wise move unless an owner is short on receivers already and needs to go for maximum upside. In the meantime, fellow Packer Randall Cobb appears to be on the rise and is only owned in 77 percent of leagues. Rodgers spreads the ball around, so even Cobb is not a sure thing, but he'll get a boost this week with Jordy Nelson hobbled by a hamstring strain.