Inside The Medical Tent: Regular Season Week 3

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.

Joe Mixon - RB (HOU)

Andrew Leduc - How bad is the injury after the no-call illegal hip tackle that took him down?

Brian Scott - In a controversial NON call this past weekend, Joe Mixon was taken down via hip drop tackle which is supposed to be illegal. No flag was called however on the Bears linebacker who brought him down. Mixon did not return to the game, but was trying to work it out on the sideline. MRI results have been reported as showing no major structural damage, but I am sure that he has some symptoms consistent with a high ankle sprain. If that is the case and he can not suit up this week to practice, his availability this weekend could be on hold as they give him another week to recover.

Andrew Leduc - With Joe Mixon most likely missing time this week and Dameon Pierce also still not practicing, the Texan's backfield is in a pinch to say it lightly. If both backs cannot suit up this week Cam Akers and Dare Ogunbowale would most likely split carries. I would assume Akers would get the main early down snaps with Ogunbowale being the passing down specialist. With that said the most likely scenario would be that whoever is most productive early in the game will get the work until they are not productive.

With a tough matchup on the road in Minnesota I do not see much production happening here from either option. I could see Stroud throwing the ball in this game 40 times and really controlling the game through the air. With that said and my analysis earlier, I would actually lean towards Ogunbowale if both Mixon and Pierce are out. If either one plays then you have to risk that they are healthy enough to play the full game.

Cooper Kupp - WR (LAR)

Andrew Leduc - Once again we are analyzing a Kupp injury. What is the timeline this time?

Brian Scott - He had his ankle roll on him while being tackled in the first quarter of this past weekend’s matchup against the Cardinals. He was limited to 9 games two years ago because of ankle issues. We are not sure if this is the same ankle, but he has had multiple ankle injuries throughout his career. He was seen in a walking boot leaving the stadium and had to be helped off the field. Two weeks in a boot is usually quite standard these days for a moderate to severe ankle sprain. Hopefully it’s not the same ankle he had injure before, because that could lead to chronic instability which may necessitate surgery. Sounds like a stint on IR is very possible here. Either way, I think it could be between 4-6 weeks before we see him back game ready and unhindered, and I am leaning more towards an IR stint and 6 week time frame here.

Andrew Leduc - Same story, different year. The only difference this time is that the Rams have already lost their young hope in Puka Nacua who is now on the IR himself. The Rams offense is now flailing and searching for production. Colby Parkinson has been a bright spot at tight-end and should continue to gain some targets out of necessity going forward. From a wide receiver position the weight will fall on the shoulders of Demarcus Robinson and Tyler Johnson mainly. We will definitely see Tutu Atwell mixed in as well, but he should stay in his normal role as the WR3 that he is used to.

Robinson saw 7 targets in Week 1 with both Nacua and Kupp healthy and 4 targets last week with only Kupp healthy. Tyler Johnson also saw 7 targets in Week 1 and 3 targets this past week. These two receivers are quite even and are honestly a toss up as to who will step up. In my opinion it will be a week-by-week situation where its going to be hard to tell which one will get more production. This is going to be a tough situation to rank each, but the good news is that both should have a decent floor of probably 8 points in PPR leagues just based on the offensive style of this team.

Isaiah Pacheco - RB (KC)

Andrew Leduc - Is the fractured fibula something Pacheco can come back from this year?

Brian Scott - He reportedly fractured his fibula this past weekend late in their game. Reports early on stated he will be placed on IR and will miss minimum of 4 games (not weeks) and in all likelihood if he is having surgery or not, it will be 6-8 weeks with 6 weeks being minimum. The reason why surgery does not affect the timeline is because the fibula bone alone is not a major weight bearing bone in the ankle, and if we assume it is an isolated fibula fracture. Whether he has surgery or not, the time frame usually is very similar to allow for adequate healing. Even if his fracture warrants surgery, again, it does not necessarily change the time frame much for his recovery. So that is why I am leaning heavily towards the 8 weeks time to return to lineup.

Andrew Leduc - 8 weeks is rough for managers to be without a guy they most likely planned to wait on taking as their first running back around the 3rd round. As someone who enacted this plan in at least one league I know the pain. The good news here is that the Chiefs have a stable and high productivity offense. The bad news is now figuring out which "next man up" option will be the one to own. Carson Steele was the waiver wire darling this week, and I get it. He was an undrafted rookie this offseason who surprised the league in making the team and then having limited playing time in the first 2 weeks. He has totaled 9 touches so far with 7 of them coming this past week.

For me though, Samaje Perine is the one you want to own instead. Perine has the veteran tag and experience working in his favor as well as his ability to be productive in the passing game. We have seen the likes of Jerrick McKinnon and Kareem Hunt have sustained success in this offense in recent years with that exact same versatility. I have prioritized Perine over Steele moving forward.

Speaking of Kareem Hunt, Hunt was signed to the Chiefs' practice squad. It would not shock me if he was elevated prior to the game this week, but for this week's purposes, I am still choosing Perine to be the most productive option.

Deebo Samuel - WR (SF)

Andrew Leduc - Are we viewing a calf injury similar to how we approach hamstring injuries?

Brian Scott - Something in the San Francisco water I guess. First CMC with a “calf” issue that morphed into an achilles, now Deebo with his own calf strain. Shanahan said he will miss a “few” weeks. In my experience, these can take longer to heal than just a “few” weeks. In fact, I usually put the time table here between 4-6, especially at the skill position. Rushing back to soon with this injury can spell major setbacks, and if it is a mild injury now, best thing to do is take it easy and error on the side of caution. IR stint here is not unreasonable if they need to make roster moves to fill his void.

Andrew Leduc - In the same way that I don't think San Francisco will rush McCaffery back, I think they take their time with Samuel as well. I believe that they believe they can position themselves for a playoff run without both guys being available for the next 4-6 weeks. Now, who replaces the production? Brandon Aiyuk is the easy answer as he was already outperforming Samuel as a true wide receiver as it was. Samuel not being around to take some backfield touches will definitely boost Jordan Mason some, but I have my eyes set on someone else.

Jauan Jennings is the guy I actually picked up everywhere I could last week. That has paid off for me coming in to this week. Jennings already had a role in this offense and has been able to amass 9 touches through the first 2 weeks. With Ricky Pearsall still unavailable after being shot, there is not a wealth of options here for Purdy. Jennings should be able to cash in his trusted experience in this offense to some WR2 or FLEX production for fantasy managers.

Also, do not sleep on George Kittle jumping to the top of the rankings in this time period as well. He was valuable before anyways, but he should be able to take steps toward exceeding expectations now.

Evan Engram - TE (JAX)

Andrew Leduc - Does the fact this injury happened in pre-game warm-ups tell you anything about the projected return time?

Brian Scott - As a Giants fan, with Engram as our former tight end, I am not unfamiliar with his injury history. If his hamstring injury DURING WARMUPs was enough to keep him out of the game last week, then it will almost certainly prevent him from playing this week in their MNF matchup against the Bills. Even the extra day to prepare and get treatment does not sway my opinion on this one. Even if he can suit up in practice this week, it would have to be a major recovery in a short period of time and then I have to question how bad it was in the first place to sit him out last week. Hamstrings just do not get injured like that. It’s usually all or nothing with hamstring injuries. I put my money on all this week, meaning he will not suit up. 

Andrew Leduc - This was such a strange situation given the timing of the injury left fantasy managers no options, in most cases, to replace Engram in their lineups. Brenton Strange saw 6 targets in Engrams absence and was able to haul in 3 of them for 65 yards. I do not see much competition for him to be the top tight end option in Engrams absence moving forward. The matchup against Buffalo is a plus matchup for Strange and he could be a true streaming option this week, especially in DFS where his price should be minimal and his ownership basically zero.

I will use this as another opportunity to push Brian Thomas Jr. on anyone reading this. He is a must have on your team for the rest of the season. He has been the most productive option in this offense with Christian Kirk looking like a shell of himself. If this offense is going to find its footing it is going to be through the run game and Brian Thomas. Engrams absence should only lead to more opportunities and trust for Thomas which should vault him securely into the top 15 wide receiver range for the rest of the season.

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