Brian Scott
Dec 22, 20238 min
PRESENTED BY THE INJURED LIST PODCAST AND FANTASY SPORTS CORPORATION
BY: BRIAN SCOTT AND ANDREW LEDUC
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.
Brian Scott - He was not at practice Wednesday as he continues to deal with an ankle injury that saw him miss this past weekend's matchup. I do not think he needs much time back on the field to prepare, but it is somewhat concerning here given the proximity to the postseason and possible effects on the playoff matchups. That being said, If another week is what he needs to get back to 100% Cheetah mode, then it might be worth it for the Dolphins as they have one of their best chances at a SuperBowl run in a long time.
Andrew Leduc - Unfortunately it doesn’t seem like we will know much more until Friday. With three big time matchups down the stretch here against Dallas, Baltimore, and Buffalo, I feel like Hill will be taking the field before the season is over to try and put Miami in the best position possible. Honestly, it doesn’t feel like the Dolphins really need Hill against a collapsing Cowboys team who have been awful on the road this year. The matchups with Baltimore and Buffalo feel like much more important games for Hill to be as close to top health for. I feel Hill sits again this week and then is a full-go next week.
Brian Scott - He returned to practice this week and has been given the green light for a return Thursday against the Rams. HC Dennis Allen stated "Olave is good to go". How much this will affect his performance is yet to be determined, but with last week off, he should have had plenty of time to make a near-full recovery despite this shortened week. He will probably have it braced/taped up to some degree, but it should not affect his ability to get open and make plays. With almost two weeks under his belt of rest, He should be good to go despite very little practice time over that span. At this stage of the season, it is not as necessary to get back on the field to keep up your conditioning, and with him testing it out last weekend before being ruled out, he probably realized it would be best to target this week's Thursday night matchup.
Andrew Leduc - It looks as if managers who are still alive in their leagues will have their start receiver available this week in a fairly decent matchup on the road in LA. I expect him to return his usual numbers and I feel as though managers should definitely be starting him. I do not believe he will be held back or on any type of snap count. Expect the full-go to be true for Olave.
Brian Scott - He had a very nasty looking knee hyperextension-type injury while evading tacklers this past weekend. Unfortunately, it was as bad as it looked as his MRI confirmed what most experts suspected, an ACL rupture, thus ending his season. What rubs salt in the wound here is the timing, which puts almost all of next season in jeopardy. With an estimated recovery timeline of 9-12 months, we might not see him until much later in the year, if at all.
Andrew Leduc - As we have seen with this Ravens backfield in the past, when one guy goes down, someone else steps up. That is great news for those needing a waiver wire add for their playoffs, as Justice Hill is most likely available and maybe even Gus Edwards. The bad news here though is that the fantasy future of Mitchell for dynasty leagues is in true jeopardy and he will be nearly impossible to move in a trade at this point. It is most likely time to just cut bait with him from your teams.
Brian Scott - Reports last week were already stating that this heel injury was "tricky". Not sure exactly what he is dealing with, but my best guess is that it is some kind of acute or chronic issue that he likely has been dealing with for a while, but has now reached its peak. With these types of situations, it can be tough to get things under control and can lead to a lot of pain and thus limitation. If I had to make a guess, I would say that it is some raging case of plantar fasciitis, as there is not much else in the heel aside from your Achilles tendon that most people deal with in sports. Regardless, he missed last week and has already missed two days of practice this week, with new reports saying it's likely he will miss this week as well. He will probably try some form of injections at some point if not already, and he will need to test it out prior to the weekend, so keep an eye on reports before any updates.
Andrew Leduc - This is a situation where Allen is most likely useless to me in redraft. If I win this week I am in the championship and wouldn’t be trusting a hobbled receiver anyways. If I lose, he most likely isn’t playing for me this week anyways. What I am trying to say is, I am dropping Allen and trying to tempt one of the other managers still alive in the playoffs against me to pick him up and drop someone from their team that could be valuable to me. Play chess, not checkers, and go win yourself a ship.
Brian Scott - He is very close to returning from this fractured thumb as he participated in practice on Wednesday. It's been a tough season for him after a prolonged contract dispute and coming off an ankle injury which saw him miss the first 4 games of the season. He was just getting warmed up in weeks 6-11 when he suddenly injured his thumb and had surgery. He has missed the last 3 weeks, but with this injury, we have been predicting that he should be able toplay by the 4th week of his recovery with protective bracing/padding and it seems as though he is trending in the direction. Buyer's beware however, as he will have a target on that thumb by defenders and ball security could be an issue. As long as he is in practice this week I anticipate he will be available, and even more so since Zach Moss is dealing with his own shoulder injury.
Andrew Leduc - Taylor returning would be a huge bump for those managers who took a chance and stuck with him. Unfortunately, I am not sure how many of those managers are still alive in their playoffs. Taylor is returning to a fairly decent schedule and could find success, especially with Zach Moss hobbled behind him. When he does return it will be to a full workload, so I am starting him if you do have him.
Brian Scott - He was absent again at practice today (Wednesday) as he struggles to bounce back from an ankle injury. Some reports are saying that he might be done for the season, and at this stage of the game with the Patriots season going as it has, that is not unreasonable to assume. HC Bill Belichick was quoted saying that he is "day to day", but with ankle injuries, that is not a very common response, unless he is struggling with his recovery. It is a big red flag to me, so be careful of any realistic expectations for Stevenson the rest of the way here.
Andrew Leduc - This feels like the end of the season for Stevenson. There is really no point in him returning, especially with how Elliot has been playing. He should rest up for next season and get ready to reset with a new system more than likely. This is another fantasy player who is now useless to use and could be dropped in redraft to fill immediate holes for your championship runs.
Brian Scott - He is dealing with an ankle sprain from week 14 and has not been able to get back on the field in any meaningful capacity. While the Vikings have not ruled him out officially for this weekend, they were clear in stating that Ty Chandler would play another big role this weekend. With Mattison's absence at practice Wednesday, it looks as though Chandler will be THE featured back. Even if Mattison can get back on the field, it does not give him much time to prepare and be ready to handle RB1 duties, so at best, he will have limited role.
Andrew Leduc - Say it with me everyone, “useless.” Mattison has been a massive disappointment this year anyways, which was predicted by me in the off-season. Ty Chandler has emerged as a real explosive option for the Vikings and it just makes sense that they continue to get him reps and see what he has. Even if Mattison plays again this season, there are other options I would be playing with everything on the line.
Brian Scott - It was nice to see him finally publicly admit that he was NOT following the protocol and instead had been basically ramping up the timeline based on how HE felt, and not what the medical team was necessarily recommending. As such, he admitted that he would have had a difficult time convincing team management and medical staff to clear him for December 24th date that he had projected many weeks ago. So from expert injury people like myself, it is no surprise. I do not see his situation at all changing Achilles rehab timelines much in the near future. Vindication is a little sweeter than I remember it. He said he wants to play at least two more years, and I think that will happen barring any other major injuries..
Andrew Leduc - What an absolute scam this all was. We can finally stop hearing about Rodgers this season. The team however has fully committed to him next season after informing Zach Wilson that he will most likely be traded at the seasons end. Look forward to next year with Rodgers where we can hear more about his little magical ankle that “could have been.”
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