Inside The Medical Tent: Regular Season Week 4

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.

Sam Darnold - QB (MIN)

Andrew Leduc - Is Darnold's injury as minor as it seems?

Brian Scott - He apparently injured his knee this past weekend and immediately had an MRI first thing Monday which revealed no structural damage. There was some soft tissue bruising, but nothing structural. He is not expected to miss any time. He was sore Monday morning but is expected to be available for preparation this weekend. We will keep an eye on his participation on Friday which should give us a good idea of whether or not this will affect his performance. As he solidifies himself as a legitimate starter this year in the NFL with the Vikings, I find it hard to believe a little bruise on his knee will keep him out of action.

Andrew Leduc - This is great news for managers who took a chance on Darnold. Darnold is currently QB5 on the season and has shocked everyone. An impressive 8 TDs and 2 INTs has led the way to an average of 18 points per week so far. The weapons of Justin Jefferson and Aaron Jones has proved to be able to carry this team and Darnold to a 3-0 start that no one expected. I have to believe at some point Sam Darnold comes back down to earth to be the guy we have plenty of tape of him being, but I am rooting for the guy to have a Geno Smith type of come-back season. My advice is to just enjoy it while it lasts and don't be looking to trade high. So far this season consistency has been absent at all positions, so ride it out.

Tank Dell - WR (HOU)

Andrew Leduc - Will Dell's injuries be mainly about pain management?

Brian Scott - Tank Dell had to live up to his name as he was bruised and battered this past weekend along with his team against the Vikings in a lopsided loss. He exited the game in the 4th quarter when Davis Mills was subbed in during garbage time. He apparently injured his hand, which did not seem to be too serious, but afterward, the team’s head coach DeMeco Ryans said that Dell also bruised up some ribs, but should be fine. While he may avoid any contact this week, I expect that he won’t miss any meaningful time in practice and should be available to suit up this weekend without any major performance setbacks. Sounds like Tank got a few dents in his armor and nothing more.

Andrew Leduc - Dell has been stuck in a situation this season of "too many mouths to feed" unfortunately. After a promising start to his rookie campaign last year before injuries took control, we all had high hopes for him this season. The addition of Stefon Diggs and the emergence of Nico Collins however has created a pretty even spread of production for Stroud, which unfortunately has capped some ceilings. He has been able to average roughly 5 targets per game which is promising, but the catches have not matched. Both Collins and Diggs are just more explosive options for fantasy at this point and Dell will stay firmly in the "stash" category for me with maybe some weeks sneaking into the FLEX spot for certain matchups.

Christian McCaffery - RB (SF)

Andrew Leduc - What's Germany have that we don't?

Brian Scott - There are a few reasons why this should worry 49er fans and Fantasy Football owners alike. When a guy leaves the US to head to Europe to seek a “second opinion”, that is code for seeking alternative treatments that are not readily available or allowed here in the states. Think Kobe Bryant back in the 90s when he went to get some injection therapies in his knee. In CMC’s case, I fear that his condition is much worse than we all realize. He is either going there because it is so bad that he is reaching for any type of treatment he can get his hands on so he can avoid season ending surgery, or he is throwing everything including the kitchen sink at this achilles so he can be as good as new upon his return.

Based on my experience, I tend to lean more towards the former scenario. In Europe, sports medicine physicians have some more flexibility with the types of injection therapies they offer because they are not as restricted by legal, ethical, or bureaucratic hurdles. While that may mean more flexibility it can certainly sacrifice safety and efficacy unfortunately so buyer beware. There is no guarantee that much of what is done over there is going to help. While some of the European countries have demonstrated some promising results with state of the art treatments, some of their testing and research methods remain to carry as much weight as they do here in the states due in part to the regulations in place.

One other reason that a player would go outside the US to seek treatment or second opinion is more of behind the scenes, on the down low reason. Often, when players are in offseason training, or between contracts, they will often seek medical attention outside the country for innovative treatments such as what CMC might be seeking in Germany. This allows them to get treatment, while at the same time keeping their treatment “off the books” here in the USA. That provides a certain level of security and privacy for the athlete who might be dealing with an injury that could factor into their contract negotiations and possibly cost them lots of money or opportunities. There is much more yet to be written here concerning McCaffrey. We will be keeping a close eye on this, but it does not look good on the surface.

Andrew Leduc - This has turned into a nightmare for owners who took CMC first overall. This definitely feels like a situation where McCaffery aggravated his injury in the week of practice leading up to Week 1 and now him and the team are scrambling to handle the new situation. Luckily for the Niners Jordan Mason has stepped right in as a legit RB1 for fantasy. I expect that to continue with the upcoming matchups until when or if we see CMC return. If you are a Mason owner though it may be worth a stash to pick up Isaac Guerendo who is the backup for Mason. If there is anything we have learned from this offensive system it is that when one running back gets hurt there is another one who can step right in and produce at least RB2 levels. We saw it last week with Jennings stepping up for Deebo being out. This offense is one of the few that have pieces stashed from anywhere on this depth chart that could pay dividends for at least 1 week down the road.

Sam LaPorta - TE (DET)

Andrew Leduc - How much time can we expect LaPorta to miss?

Brian Scott - In a scary scene this past weekend Laporta was carted off the field after getting his leg rolled up on just before halftime on a beautiful hook and ladder play that resulted in a Jammer Gibbs touchdown. He then reappeared on the sideline and played in a handful of snaps in the 3rd quarter before finally limping off the field under his own power and back into the locker room. He gave it a go, but could not quite do it, but it was a relief to see for sure. Dan Campbell later reported that Laporta is dealing with an ankle sprain. Judging by the video replay it appears as though it is a low ankle sprain, which is definitely the lesser of evils. Depending on the amount of swelling and pain he has, he will certainly be limited in practice to start the week. Whether or not he will be available this weekend is certainly going to be questionable. If I was a betting man, which I am not…most of the time, then I would venture to say that he will likely miss the next 1-2 weeks as they nurse him back to health. They have a stacked offense and can afford to give him time to recover. The fact that they have a MNF game this week does help, but that also means they have a short week after so it is a double edged sword.

Andrew Leduc - The tight-end woes of this season continue across the league. Between injuries and poor production the majority of owners are getting burnt. The good news though is that it is literally happening to everyone, so you are not alone. The key now is finding the right guys would will get you that one or two extra points to put you over the edge in your matchups. When it comes to replacements on the Lions, I do not think Brock Wright is the answer. There are enough weapons in this offense that Goff does not need to force it to just any tight-end on the field.

If I am looking for a replacement for LaPorta, I would be looking at guys like Elijah Higgins in Arizona if Trey McBride does not play, Mike Gesicki or Tucker Kraft. I think all of these options are in positions where the tight-end may be more utilized than in the Lions offense. We got a touchdown out of Brenton Strange last week who was my main replacement tight-end of the week. I think we can get one out of at least one of these replacement guys this week.

Justin Herbert - QB (LAC)

Andrew Leduc - How big of a set back is Herbert's injury?

Brian Scott - Well this should come as no surprise given that he was playing with a high ankle sprain he sustained in week 2. If you remember from my past blogs and some of my posts and commentary on social media, I do not believe there are such things as “mild high ankle sprains”, which is how the Chargers initially reported Herbert’s injury. Fast forward to this week and now he is in a walking boot after leaving the Pittsburgh game early. Luckily x-rays were negative. If done properly, he should be out at least the next 3-4 weeks, but it seems as though both Herbert and the Chargers are not willing to let that happen. If not, then this will linger for way longer than it should. In allowing him to play this past weekend, they may have set him back even further in his recovery.

Andrew Leduc - This was a massive mismanagement from the team. The Chargers are now going to be in a very tough position moving forward which is going to immediately effect the ceilings and floors of all of their skill players for fantasy purposes. The slight silver lining here is that the backup is Taylor Heinicke who has made his way around multiple teams and been able to step in and be productive in injury scenarios. Given the state of the rest of the team though, I can see a downward spiral for the Chargers on the horizon. J.K. Dobbins may see some more catches out of the backfield, but Quentin Johnston and Ladd McConkey are definitely going to stay in the FLEX realm of start/sit arenas each week at best. With a tough division matchup against the Chiefs this weekend, I am staying clear away from all of these weapons, except maybe Dobbins.

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