Week 7 Fantasy Football Injury Report

Aaron Rodgers's season-ending broken collarbone was the most significant injury last week, but he wasn't the only player to go down with an injury that could result in a multi-week absence. Our injury expert looks at all the fantasy-relevant injuries from a week ago.

Another week, another significant injury to a star player. Week 6 claimed Aaron Rodgers, who will likely miss the rest of the season after breaking his collarbone. If you’re keeping score at home, we’ve lost the best quarterback, who doubles as the best player in the league, arguably the best running back (David Johnson) an elite receiver (Odell Beckham), a rookie taking the league by storm (Dalvin Cook) and the best defensive player in the game (J.J. Watt). Injuries are the worst.

Here’s the rest of what’s going on in the SI.com Fantasy Injury Report heading into Week 7.

Aaron Rodgers, QB, Packers

Injury: broken collarbone

Rodgers was driven into the ground directly onto his right shoulder which caused the collarbone fracture. The injury will require surgery, which could have him out for the rest of the season. They will likely put a plate and screws into where the fracture is to help the bone to heal quicker. The plate and screws will also allow the collarbone to heal properly, and the hope is Rodgers can start the rehab process sooner than if he had to wait for the bone to heal on its own. Since it is his throwing shoulder, though, I would still expect Rodgers to miss a minimum of 8 to 10 weeks, depending on how his recovery goes.

Aaron Rodgers Injury: Packers QB Suffers Broken Collarbone Against Vikings

Emmanuel Sanders, WR, Broncos

Injury: lateral ankle sprain

X-rays were negative on Sanders’s ankle after, so that is a silver lining. The way his ankle rolled violently, there was concern for a possible fracture. Sanders has already been ruled out for Week 7, which does indicate a significant sprain. When a player is ruled out because of a sprain so far in advance, it almost certainly means he will miss multiple weeks. I would say he is likely to miss two or three games, depending on how his ankle responds to treatment.

Jameis Winston, QB, Buccaneers

Injury: sprained AC joint (throwing shoulder)

Much like Aaron Rodgers, Winston landed on his throwing shoulder as he was being tackled, but he wasn’t driven into the ground as he landed. The AC joint is at the tip of your shoulder, where your collarbone meets up with your shoulder blade. A sprain to this area can disrupt the multitude of ligaments that help stabilize the joint, which compromises function and can cause significant pain. It’s not necessarily in injury that forces a quarterback to miss time, and Winston has expressed confidence that he will be ready for Sunday’s game against the Bills. He’ll need to demonstrate during practice this week that he can make the majority of the throws with minimal discomfort. I do think that Winston will play, but he’ll need to pass the necessary tests prior to returning back to the field.

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Leonard Fournette, RB, Jaguars

Injury: lateral ankle sprain

Fournette was attempting to jump cut to avoid a defender, when his foot slipped out from under him, causing an ankle sprain. On replay you could see his foot catch the ground and cause more stress on the outer aspect of his ankle. Luckily for Fournette, it seems as if he avoided any serious injury to his ankle, and there was even talk of re-inserting him into last week’s game. Keep an eye on his practice status this week to make sure he’s trending in the right direction, but all signs point to him being ready for Week 7.  

Golden Tate, WR, Lions

Injury: sprained AC joint

Tate injured his shoulder in the second half and did not return to action against the Saints. An MRI revealed a sprained AC joint, and the Lions are already planning for a multi-week absence for their top receiver. They have a bye in Week 7 bye that will help minimize his missed time, but it still sounds likely that he’ll miss at least two games. His sprain is far more serious than Winston’s.

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Patrick Peterson, CB, Cardinals

Injury: strained quadriceps

Peterson was questionable heading into Week 6 with a quadrcieps injury, and he aggravated it in the win over the Buccaneers. This type of injury can cause a lot of trouble because the quadriceps, which is the main muscle in the front of your thigh, takes a lot of stress when having accelerating, and also decelerating to change direction. A cornerback basically spends his entire time on the field accelerating to cover a route, and then decelerating to change direction, so this could be a major problem for one of the games true lockdown corners.. is of importance to a guy like Peterson. The Cardinals visit the Rams this week, and there’s no clear beneficiary in the Rams receiving corps if Peterson is out, though life would certainly be easier for Jared Goff. The Cardinals have a bye Week 8, which could incentivize the team further to give their best defensive back a rest this week.