Presented by
THE INJURED LIST PODCAST AND FANTASY SPORTS CORPORATION
PRESEASON 3
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 Tuesday during the season for all the necessary information before hitting your league’s waiver wire.
Let’s jump in and tackle the injuries so far from the offseason and preseason as we prepare for our drafts.
Terry McLaurin - WR (WAS)
Andrew Leduc - What is turf toe? If this injury is that, how long do you think he will be out?
Brian Scott - Turf toe is a hyperextension injury to the area of the great toe where it forms a joint with the metatarsal. It’s called turf toe because it became much more common with the advent of astro turf back in the early 80s. It is much more common in high contact sports, especially football and has been associated with very detrimental outcomes in football players. Deon Sanders would be the most notable player that has dealt with this injury. Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, Julio Jones, Davante Adams have all lost time due to turf toe at one point in their careers. The problem with turf toe, is that it prevents you from being able to push off your foot with any power due to pain from the injury. If significant enough, it can cause tearing of the ligaments, or even fracturing of the bone that can render the joint unstable and thus require surgery. Even a mild-moderate turf toe injury can be very painful and take several weeks to heal and return to normal. This injury must be managed carefully in the early stages, as trying to play through it can lead to long term issues and setbacks. I think McLaurin will at the very least miss the remainder of preseason and could possibly miss week 1. If he is not able to return to practice prior to week one, the warning flags should fly.
Andrew Leduc - This definitely lets the wind out of the sails on a player that has been a fantastic value in drafts to this point. It seems as though Terry McLaurin is on track to get off to a slow start at best. This does open the door for Jahan Dotson, who was already climbing draft boards. Dotson is a playmaker who can go after the ball and has the speed to use the open field to his advantage. I was already expecting Jahan Dotson to have a big year, but this injury should now catapult him into a WR3 conversation on your teams. It is also worth mentioning Antonio Gibson. The Commanders have been inclined to use him in a lot of passing packages as a receiver. GIbson is still a great value as a RB in your drafts. I expect Gibson to finish this year off as a FLEX level player.
De’Vone Achane - RB (MIA)
Andrew Leduc - With his shoulder injury, will his availability just be determined on his pain tolerance?
Brian Scott - Head Coach Mike McDaniel today said that he avoided major injury after he had an MRI yesterday to evaluate his shoulder injury. After watching some replays of the injury, it looked like a lineman landed on him as he was going to the ground and his shoulder got compressed. It is a very common mechanism for an AC joint injury to the shoulder, similar to what Christian McCaffrey had a few years ago. That being said, it can be quite painful and take a few weeks to settle down enough to where one can play with it comfortably with some additional protective padding in the area. We can tolerate a lot of deformity to this joint, and knowing he will not need surgery tells me that it is not severe and he should return to action soon. I think he has time to be ready for week 1, but it will be close.
Andrew Leduc - De’Vone Achane is just another cog in the mess of Miami running-backs. He is a guy that I have let people reach for in drafts at a time where I can be grabbing higher upside receivers or tight-ends. The fact that the Dolphins were seriously pursuing Dalvin Cook and are now rumored to be in on Jonathan Taylor does not bode well for the rookie with seasoned role players such as Raheem Moster and Jeff Wilson in front of him on the depth chart. Achane is someone I am not touching at all in drafts. Look elsewhere.
Jordan Addison - WR (MIN)
Andrew Leduc - With Addison in concussion protocol, this seems like a good chance to ask if the protocol has changed at all since last year?
Brian Scott - It was confirmed that he is in concussion protocol after he hit his head on the ground during drills while making a reception. The protocol has not had any major changes that I am aware of this year, but given the debacle with Tua last year, look for concussion management to be under a microscope this year and teams be extra conservative heading into the season. As some of the residual fallout from Tua's management disappears into the past, things should get back to normal. With concussions, you can never be too certain because of the subjectivity of the symptoms and individual nature of recovery. It sounds like this was not severe and they are just playing it cautious heading into regular season territory. I think we will see him cleared and ready to go week 1. Not sure if he was wearing his Guardian Cap, but if so, this just goes to show that even with a protective covering, you can still get concussed.
Andrew Leduc - Jordan Addison is a guy who I have been high on. I think the offense has enough fire power in its scheme that Kirk Cousins can maintain Jefferson, Hockenson, and still have Addison be relevant. Addison has meant the end to the K.J. Osborn hype in my eyes since the offseason. I do not see that changing with this injury, unless for some reason his concussion symptoms don’t subside. I expect Addison to be a big part of this offense as the offense continues to turn more towards the passing game in general.
Tee Higgins - WR (CIN)
Andrew Leduc - Higgins tweaked his leg and is wearing a compression sleeve. What does the sleeve do and do they work?
Brian Scott - Compression sleeves are worn as a way to provide some additional support to muscles and joints. While they do not necessarily provide any mechanical support, they have been thought to increase blood flow to muscle tissue, maintain warmth of muscle tissue, and create an enhanced neuromuscular bio sensory feedback loop (proprioception) to muscle tissue and joints. However, there is a caveat to this. Much of the research supporting these theories is limited and there has not been much conclusive evidence to suggest that these changes are in fact happening on a physiologic level. Much of the benefits are thought to be perceived or placebo. There has been some encouraging data to suggest that they can help in muscle recovery however by their compressive properties which can help move blood out of muscle tissue and thus lactic acid which is a byproduct of muscle exertion and leads to soreness after activities. So, in other words, I would not look too much into this when you see a player wearing a compression sleeve. In all likelihood, they may just be looking to provide some additional comfort or help in recovery, but it will in no way protect against injury.
Andrew Leduc - It seems as though this is a minor injury for the highly hyped Tee Higgins. The star of the emerging Wide Receiver Two theory in a high powered offense, Higgins should still have a solid year as a wide receiver two in your fantasy lineups. Personally, Higgins is going a little too high in drafts for my liking and I currently have very little shares of him. This injury does not change my ranking of him though as a mid WR2. I expect this offense to be able to spread the ball around enough.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba - WR (SEA)
Andrew Leduc - Jaxon Smith-Njigba surprisingly had surgery on his wrist today. What is he dealing with and can he be ready for week 1?
Brian Scott - It was reported that he sustained some broken bone in his wrist Sunday after a 48 yard TD reception from Drew Lock in their preseason game against the Cowboys. He was examined on the sideline after the injury. Today reports surfaced saying he had surgery in Philadelphia for the injury. This is very concerning. It smells to me like he may have had a scaphoid injury. These are often very innocent initially and then found on subsequent follow up examination and x-ray imaging. Problem is they can take a while to heal even with surgery and have high rates of non union. I think that they elected to do the surgery right away in this case to avoid or at least reduce the risk of non union of the fractured bone. In doing so, we can expect him to miss anywhere between 6-8 weeks. If it is another type of less significant break, it could be as early as 4-6, but my gut is not feeling confident on that.
Andrew Leduc - This is very big news in my eyes. Jaxon Smith-Njigba has been a highly touted rookie who has been thought to be a steal in drafts currently. As the WR3 on his team, he was never going to be more than a depth player for you, at least to start the season. DK Metcalf still has enough going for him and so does Tyler Lockett. What this does more for me though, is lower Geno Smith’s ceiling. Smith is someone I have been more down on than most this offseason. The argument that has been thrown at me over-and-over in his favor though, is how could he be bad when he has all of those weapons. Well, we may see him with one less for a chunk of time. This Seattle team was not going to be doing anything much this season, and if there is a chance we don’t see their young rookie until week 5, then who knows what the state of their team will be then. I am definitely moving JSN down my rankings this week as well as Geno Smith.
THE DISCHARGE
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
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