Andrew Leduc and Brian Scott, MEd, PA-C, ATC- Ret.
October 22, 2022
Today, we take another trip inside the medical tent for week 7 with Brian Scott. The bye weeks are here and the injuries keep piling up. Not to mention, Christian McCaffery getting traded to the Niners possibly being the biggest trade news we will see for a while. Needless to say, there is a lot going on in the NFL right now. How do we survive? Well in two of my leagues I am 5-1 and cruising with a deep and prepared team. In my home league, however, surviving has been an issue. I am currently 2-4 and with by weeks and injuries, I would need a miracle to win this week.
Having lost Keenan Allen right away week 1, I was getting pretty excited to be getting him back this week. Surprise surprise though, Marquise Brown goes on the IR for me. Couple that with a disappointing Aaron Rodgers and a team smack dab in the middle for points scored this year, and I have some work to do. That is why I am happy to have a connection like Brian Scott to help guide me through some sticky situations. Here is another week we bring you his medical expert advice in hopes of helping you pivot to victory.
Marquise Brown
Andrew Leduc: Originally thought to be potentially a season-ending foot injury, is there still a chance he misses more than 4-6 weeks on IR?
Brian Scott, MEd, PA-C, ATC-ret: He landed on IR this week. Not Good News. I suspect they might even be considering surgery depending on what kind of midfoot sprain he has. Heading to IR means at least a 4 week absence. After that, the team will have 21 days to decide if he is ready to be activated back on the 53-man roster, or go back on IR and potentially miss the season. There are many variations of midfoot sprains, so any guess here on what exactly is wrong would be purely speculative on my part. Suffice to say, a trip to the IR means it is significant and it would not surprise me if he Is seeking multiple opinions to see what his treatment options are at this point. Stay tuned.
Prognosis: If you are a Hollywood Brown owner like myself, this is not good news at all. This certainly feels like a situation where he will be out longer than the IR timetable. With DeAndre Hopkins returning this week, Greg Dortch finding a role, and Rondale Moore growing into his role, the team has little incentive to rush him back. The signing of Robbie Anderson is also a sign to me that the team is preparing for the rest of the season without Brown. I am not dropping him just yet, but you are definitely going to want to sure up your receiver core if you can and hope Brown is able to come back for a playoff run.
Dak Prescott
Andrew Leduc: What have you heard about his ability to grip the ball securely like you mentioned last week?
Brian Scott, MEd, PA-C, ATC-ret: From what I have read, he is back with the starters at practice. Originally I predicted 6 weeks before his return and here we are. I think this is ample time to allow him near full grip strength. One way we will know is how effective he is at throwing the ball with velocity and holding onto it when sacked or scrambling. You can bet that teams will remember that he had surgery and will be looking to create turnovers should they get pressure on him. If he is healed, he should be good to go and make those tough throws into tight windows.
Prognosis: I am going to have to start charging rent to Prescott for how much he has been living in this article. It seems as though the roller coaster journey has ended though. Prescott is poised to make his return and hopefully keep the team on track. Yes, I said to “keep them on track” because this team was doing pretty decent in his absence. I think Prescott does bring a different level though which the team will need to compete. I think Prescott returns to his expected production with a chip on his shoulder. Look for CeeDee Lamb to start to have ceiling games and for Schultz to return to tight-end relevance.
J.K. Dobbins
Andrew Leduc: Is this injury a result of coming back too soon, or is this just some bad luck?
Brian Scott, MEd, PA-C, ATC-ret: Unfortunately I do not think this is from returning too soon from his injury. Rather, I think this is what you could expect going forward from him for at least the remainder of this season. He is coming off major ACL ligament reconstruction and had some other structural injuries to the knee that slowed him down during his rehab. He will likely have periods of time throughout the remaining weeks where he will have knee soreness, stiffness, and swelling that will not only limit his practices but may also limit his availability on game day. This is not unheard of when you are less than two years out from an ACL reconstruction. So being cautious and allowing the knee to recover between games is definitely a safe play here. Hopefully, it is just a minor setback and does not require any more aggressive treatments.
Prognosis: The uncertainty compared to the ultimate ceiling for Dobbins is the main reason I stayed far away from him this off-season. Given the backfield, the Ravens roll out and the return of Gus Edwards, this feels like the last we will probably hear much from Dobbins for the rest of the season. In redraft, he is a borderline cut candidate for me if I am being honest. Then again, I tend to take high risks looking for the knockout punch. Don’t forget about Kenyan Drake finding some success for the Ravens as well last week. Just because Edwards is coming back does not mean he is going to be a running back. I think any and all of the Raven’s runningbacks have weekly flex value and maybe running back two upside.
Michael Thomas
Andrew Leduc: When should we expect Thomas back? It feels like his injury has gone largely unreported on.
Brian Scott, MEd, PA-C, ATC-ret: Reportedly has been dealing with a toe injury that I agree has largely been ignored. The reason for that is likely that he has not been around the training facility or available to the media to explain what is going on. My guess is that this is something that might shut him down for the year and require some surgical treatment. Initially, it sounded like it was a turf toe type of injury, which is very debilitating. If this is what he is dealing with and it comes down to surgery, you can expect a significant amount of time will be missed. Let’s hope it’s not that bad.
Prognosis: Alright, here is my hot take of the week. I think the injury for Thomas is real. I am not trying to doubt he is actually hurt here. What I am saying is that I do not think he is in any rush to return to the Saints either. This is starting to feel like a star receiver seeing his future to be elsewhere and not wanting to risk that future where he is. I think the changes in the coaching staff over the last couple of years along with the build of the team are contributing to a quietly disgruntled Thomas. I agree that I think Thomas is possibly done for the year and I would be trying to trade him now if you can get anything for him.
Carson Wentz
Andrew Leduc: He is having a finger procedure. Is the 4-week recovery time realistic?
Brian Scott, MEd, PA-C, ATC-ret: He had his finger fracture fixed with surgery Monday after having it broken in-game. Depending on how they fixed it, 4 weeks although possible, is a little optimistic in my opinion. It will likely be closer to 6 weeks. It really depends on what technique was used to fixate the fracture, where on the finger it was, and what type of fracture. The most difficult part about finger fractures treated with surgery is that they can become very stiff quickly. They can swell a lot making rehab difficult not only for the athlete but the healthcare team as well. In my experience, most finger injuries and surgeries like this can take anywhere between 8-10 weeks for an average person who is not a pro athlete. In Wentz’s case, I will go with 6-8 weeks.
Prognosis: Personally, I am following Brian’s timeline over the teams here when planning. Over the last several weeks Wentz has been a shell of what we saw in week 1. This is an instance where I am not sure the team is going to need to or want to rush him back. I think by the time Wentz is healthy again the team will be in a position where they will want to be seeing what they have in Sam Howell. For me, Carson Wentz would be dropped from my team.
Flex Fantasy
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