Inside The Medical Tent: Regular Season Week 2

Presented by The Injured List Podcast and That Sports Podcast Network

Written by Brian Scott and Andrew Leduc

Welcome to The Medical Tent

Welcome back for the third 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.

Jordan Love - QB (GB)

Andrew Leduc - Is there a sign of hope for Packer's fans?

Brian Scott - Luckily he escaped serious ligament injury to his knee and his ankle last weekend while in Brazil for their week 1 game. He got rolled up on as he was being sacked. He limped off the field with minimal help and could be seen on the sideline flexing his knee. Many speculations about his injuries went out all over social media, but as I had stated, it was best to wait until the team returned home stateside and completed the full workup. They subsequently announced that he has an MCL sprain. I am predicting at least 4 weeks out of action but the team has not placed him on IR, which is promising, and Malik Willis will get the start week 2.

Andrew Leduc - Getting Love back in less than 4 weeks is the exact kind of hope I think Packer's fans are clinging to. Given their upcoming schedule against the Colts, Titans, Vikings, and Rams over the next 4 weeks I believe there is a chance they can still get 2 wins. Going 1-3 through this stretch is not unrealistic with Willis at the helm and that would put them at 1-4 to start the season. Looking ahead for the rest of the season if Love returns after missing 4 weeks, this feels like a 7-10 team now.

Malik Willis just is not it. I think stylistically the signing was smart for Green Bay to be Love's back-up, but I believe Willis will bail on plays too early. The ceiling of these young explosive receivers are now severely capped over the next few weeks. Josh Jacobs should see a heavy workload and it looks like he is ready to take it on after Week 1. I like Jacobs as a top 12 back over the next 4 weeks. That is just it though. We now have to look at all the pieces of this offense in 2 stages, without Love and with Love. If the news is looking good for Love as he nears the end of his recovery I would be looking to trade for someone like Jayden Reed hopefully on the cheap come that time.

Joe Burrow - QB (CIN)

Andrew Leduc - Is there any substance to the videos of Joe Burrow's wrist?

Brian Scott - There were several clips showing Burrow favoring his right wrist and one in particular of him appearing to struggle lifting up a water bottle on the bench. Many people began posting it online and expressing concern about his recovery from season ending surgery last year. When reports first came out about the injury, there were various reports stating it could be his TFCC or scapholunate joint (much worse), but I do not think anyone can say with 100% accuracy outside of his team. I will say this, I saw the videos, he is definitely having some discomfort and perhaps pain in that wrist. It is difficult to say if that is from a new injury or that he has not made a full recovery. This is definitely something to keep an eye on, because if it gets worse, then this will surely affect his performance. He was quoted saying that his wrist feels “great” and that “...this is all part of the recovery process…”, but he has been listed on the team's injury report even though he has been practicing in full. 

Andrew Leduc - This was supposed to be the "healthy" year for Burrow and company to start the season. It has been nothing close to that now. After another depressing showing by the Bengals' offense against another 1st-week opponent who isn't supposed to be anything, there are many reasons to be concerned. I think we can all agree that when in a rhythm this offense and Burrow himself can be the best in the league. We saw that a few years ago during their Super Bowl run. Unfortunately, the Slim Shady haircut does not automatically mean greatness for Burrow this year. A lot of issues continue to plague this team and organization year in and out.

Burrow was pressured quite a bit this past Sunday and that was with the Patriots blitzing very minimally. If Tee Higgins continues to miss time and there is not a bonified stud runningback like they used to have in Joe Mixon, this offense is going to be very easy to predict for defenses. There is some hope in some younger guys, mainly Andrei Iosivas, but he is just not ready to carry the load needed to give Chase the space in which he can operate best in. If Burrow now has a wrist that is not 100% and only going to get worse with play, then all of these weapons are about to fall very flat for their owners. I am willing to see how things look this week and next before I fully start panicking, but it is at least time to be watching these games with a sweaty grip.

Christian McCaffery - RB (SF)

Andrew Leduc - Are we really here again with CMC?

Brian Scott - This one caught me and many other people by surprise. All along the 49ers have been saying it is a calf injury that they have been managing in CMC since the first preseason game. He had been listed as questionable heading into week 1, but he was very confident throughout the preseason that he would be ready to play. Then just several hours before game time he was made inactive. Where things get weird is that his replacement, Mason, was quoted after the game saying that he knew by Friday that he was going to be playing. So there definitely arouses some suspicion that the 49ers may have been slightly deceptive in their injury reporting. The league has not started any formal investigations. Now fast forward, we are hearing it is more of an achilles tendinitis issue. In my honest opinion, regardless of whether it is his calf or achilles, I think they are just looking long term here. I do not think it is serious. I honestly feel that they were not willing to have him play through the injury because their first opponent was the Jets and they felt confident that they could win without CMC. HC Shanahan said he could have played if it was a playoff game, and it is that mentality that they are taking with each week. So let’s see what he does in practice. He will be questionable again this week. It will literally be 50/50 for now. 

Andrew Leduc - Once he is on the field CMC is going to be everything we expect him to be without hesitation. Luckily for the 49ers they had Jordan Mason prepared to go. Unfortunately for fantasy owners, the 49ers have shown us that we can't trust their injury reports. If you are a CMC owner it is time to overpay for Jordan Mason. Pay whatever it takes because it will be worth having the peace of mind that you are covered. This situation has definitely proven that there is no rush to get Christian back on the field if they feel like they don't need him to win. This is not me saying that they would be willing to lose a game if they don't play him. I just think Brian is right in that they had all the confidence in the world this past week that they were in control no matter what the Jets did.

De'Von Achane and Raheem Mostert - RBs (MIA)

Andrew Leduc - What does the 4-headed monster in Miami look like now?

Brian Scott - De'Von is dealing with a mystery ankle injury from this past weekend. He was limited in practice yesterday after sitting out earlier this week. They are listing him as questionable and he will be a true game time decision after he tries to test out the ankle prior to the game. With Mostert definitively ruled out and Jeff Wilson and rookie Jaylen Wright the only remaining backs, I think Achane will go, but he may share some time. 

Mostert is already listed as out tonight with a chest injury. He was able to complete the game last weekend, but the team did use Jeff Wilson in the 4th quarter, likely due to Achane and Mostert being injured. This is not surprising considering Mostert has appeared in my blog numerous times over the last 4+ years and I do not see this changing anytime soon. He is often injured and sometimes with very minor injuries. He will likely be back soon, but the question with him is and always will be what injury will sideline him next. 

Andrew Leduc - And then there were two, potentially. Thursday night games have historically been RB heavy games for me. I am usually all about ranking a RB on Thursday night higher than most weeks given the short turnaround for the teams. I think even if we see Achane suit up he could be limited and more utilized in the passing game as we saw in Week 1. This leaves Jeff Wilson and rookie Jaylen Wright to handle the majority of work from the position. Wilson is a known commodity at this point and is a nice safe play.

Jaylen Wright on the other hand is a guy who has been highly hyped up but was unfortunately inactive Week 1. This may be bold and is definitely risky, but I believe coming off the short week and now mix in the short staff, Wright has himself a breakout game tonight against the Bills defense who saw James Conner and Trey Benson put up a combined 21 points this past week. Given the high usage of RBs on Thursday nights and the explosive nature of both Wilson and Wright, I can see Miami using both heavily with Wright flashing more. In this offense this is exactly the type of risk I would be willing to take this early in the season to gain an edge on my opponent if I was in a pinch. Wright will also be a huge value in DFS contests tonight. I am playing him.

Kenneth Walker - RB (SEA)

Andrew Leduc - Should Walker suit up this week?

Brian Scott - He is dealing with an oblique strain and is listed as day to day. That being said he has already missed two days of practice this week and his status for Sunday is likely going to be listed as questionable. He could be a game time decision and if he does try to play through this it might not take much for him to reaggravate it. So keep an eye on his availability, if he does play, his usage and production could take a dip. 

Andrew Leduc - The matchup with the Patriots this week is one that you would want Walker to be playing in. The Patriots defense week point is definitely their interior line. There should be room up the middle as most of the pressure comes from the outside for the Patriots. However, my confidence level is pretty low for Walker to give owners a full go on Sunday. Even if he suits up it feels like he will be watched tightly. The benefit of having Zach Charbonnet behind Walker is key here. Charbonnet is a hard running back who is pretty talented catching the ball as well. I think in either situation, Charbonnet out-performs Walker this week in a favorable matchup. Keep watching the news on Walker, but I think at best this week you will get FLEX value returned with Charbonnet caring RB1 upside.

Puka Naucua - WR (LAR)

Andrew Leduc - How long will Stafford be without his top weapon?

Brian Scott - Puka has gone on IR with a “grade 2” PCL sprain. He will miss the next 4 games, but that does not guarantee he returns once eligible to return to the active roster. The team will have 21 days to deem him active, otherwise he will be done. This is the same injury he had in the preseason which caused him to miss 3 weeks. It is slightly worse than that this time around as evident by their diagnosis and subsequent IR designation. While this particular injury does not require reconstructive surgery, you definitely have to protect the knee from developing instability, so he will be shut down for several weeks before he can really start to get back on the field in any capacity. I think this will go beyond the 4 games on IR and it might not until the very end of his 21 day period that we see him off IR and activated again assuming his rehab goes well. 

Andrew Leduc - Brian is 100% right here. This is where teams use all the information and availability to them to manipulate their rosters. I also believe we see Puka back towards the end of the 21 say window after the initial 4 weeks missed. To say this is devastating is to drastically underestimate the value of this receiver in this offense. Behind Nacua is Copper Kupp and then the tight end Colby Parkinson is most likely the next best option in the passing game. Kupp looked great Week 1 and provided a lot of hope for owners who felt like they got him at a value in the draft this year. All I can say is, it's nice to see now, but I need to see it more consistently until I fully buy in to it. We cannot forget Kupp has an injury-plagued career as well. That is not to say I am going to make predictions based on the chance of injury, but it is more of a question on whether his past lower body injuries can withstand being the top option for the duration of Puka's absence. I know that sounds harsh, but this is now an offense that I believe lacks explosiveness and that is a real problem for a quarterback such as Matthew Stafford.

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