Inside The Medical Tent Week 15

THE INJURED LIST PODCAST AND FANTASY SPORTS CORPORATION PRESENTS

BY: BRIAN SCOTT AND ANDREW LEDUC

WELCOME TO THE MEDICAL TENT

Welcome back for the second year of “Inside The Medical Tent.” Each week I, Andrew Leduc, will be asking Brian Scott, of “The Injured List Podcast,” injury questions that could have a fantasy impact. Brian will be giving his professional analysis of the injury and potential timelines. I will then turn that around into what you should do with that player and who could be a possible replacement. Check back every Wednesday during the season for all the necessary information before hitting your league’s waiver wire.

Tyreek Hill - WR (MIA)

Brian Scott - He injured his ankle early in the 1st quarter, but was able to return midway through the third on a limited snap count. Maybe even bigger news than this was that their center, Conor Williams was lost for the season with a torn ACL, which will also carry over into next year. With Hill, I do not see him missing any significant time as he is in peak condition and has played through many injuries like this before. He will probably be limited in practice, but with much on the line looming as the teams head closer towards the playoffs, they will need him now more than ever, and an 85% Hill is still better than most at 100%.

Andrew Leduc - Things will definitely be stressful for Hill owners this week leading into playoff matchups. I also believe Hill will play, but all eyes will be on the injury report as the week goes on. Brian is right that a big story here is the injury to Conor Wiliams, as this line has already struggled at times this year, as most lines have. Luckily for the Dolphins, they have the speed and creativity out of the backfield to hopefully overcome this. In the end, I feel like Hill will still be Hill and should be started confidently.

Justin Jefferson - WR (MIN)

Brian Scott -  Looks like Jefferson avoided any serious injury to his chest after a big hit took him out and sent him to the hospital for further testing which turned up negative. He likely has a sternal contusion and possible rib bruising. He has a good chance to suit up this weekend however as these injuries can often be more scary initially than they actually are. We will see what he does in practice, but with so much time missed recently due to his hamstring injury and being this juncture of the season, I think he will make a quick recovery.

Andrew Leduc - I can hear managers who snuck into the playoffs after being without Jefferson for a few weeks breathing again. I agree that he should be good to go quickly from this, but it will likely be another situation where we are watching the injury report all week. He shouldn’t need much practice time in order to be ready to go, so I would say as long as he logs a limited practice by Friday he should be perfectly fine.

Justin Herbert - QB (LAC)

Brian Scott - Well, I was asked what my initial thoughts on this injury were by many people and I said that it would totally depend on the type of fracture, where on the finger it was, and how significant it will be when you factor in that it was his index finger on his throwing hand. Fast forward to earlier Tuesday morning and we learned that he will require season ending surgery. That is a horrible way to end this year for Herbert. I am not sure of what exactly his injury was, but my guess is that the decision to perform surgery this quickly, was not met with much debate, meaning it was probably the best thing to do to ensure a full recovery and no  residual effects leading into next year. So we should see him ready to go in training camp.

Andrew Leduc - Another brutal loss in the league. We will get to a quarterback you can pick up later in the article, but we are digging deep this year with all these quarterback injuries. Herbert has been disappointing this year by the standards that were set for him coming into the year. He is currently the QB10 on the year, but was being drafted as a top 5 guy. To put that in perspective, Brock Purdy, Sam Howell, Jordan Love, and C.J. Stroud are all ahead of him in those rankings with the same amount of games. I think this off season is going to bring a serious look into the value of top tier QBs staying healthy and their weapons staying healthy and whether or not they have proven to be able to overcome those circumstances. It is no surprise that those ahead of him have not missed major time or had weapons miss major time. We must adjust how we find value.

Nico Collins - WR (HOU)

Brian Scott - He left the game this weekend with a calf injury and did not return. This is concerning as there is not much time to get an injury like this healthy enough with the playoffs being so close. He has been a big contributor to this offense, and with this injury he will loose some explosiveness and power when he does return which could be two weeks at minimum. We will have to keep a close eye on his practice status as the week unfolds.

Andrew Leduc - This is tough news considering the value most teams have been riding on who have Collins. Collins is most likely on a lot of playoff teams that are now going to be scrambling to fill his void. Even if he doesn’t miss time, if he is not 100% and C.J. Stroud is in concussion protocol, it sure seems like we have seen the last ceiling performance from Collins this year. There is not much you can do from here than bench him and hope you have a replacement on your team who can get you low end WR2 numbers.

Jake Browning- QB (CIN)

Brian Scott - This is one of the more unusual things to have happen, but apparently it was not a thumb injury that Browning sustained, but rather "cramps" in his throwing hand because he was dehydrated. uh...ok. Maybe he has some carpal tunnel syndrome, or maybe the cold got to him, but it seems unusual because at this point in the season it’s not very likely to happen in your hand of all places. Sounds like whatever it was is not serious and he was able to return to action.

Andrew Leduc - Im glad im not alone in finding the news of hand cramps a little fishy. Either way, it seems the impressive Browning will be able to stick around for some more fun. It is always fun to see a young guy step up to the challenge in an offense that has the potential to be great. Obviously he has not been perfect and will continue to not be perfect. Given the injuries at the position though I can see Browning being a top 10 QB in these playoff matchups down the stretch.

Come back every week for all of the latest injury updates. If you have other questions we didn’t get to in this week’s edition you can follow us on Twitter below and message us directly.

Brian Scott - The Injured List Podcast - (@injuredlistpod)  https://twitter.com/injuredlistpod

Andrew Leduc - (@theRealMrMallard) https://twitter.com/realMrMallard

If you are interested in Andrew’s weekly rankings as well, follow the link below to TSS Fantasy.

Andrew Leduc’s (Mr. Mallard) Rankings - https://tssfantasy.com/andrews-rankings