On Saturday, fantasy football managers were given a surprise when Gabriel Davis popped up as a limited participant on the Buffalo Bills injury report. With him listed as questionable heading into the game Monday, is Davis set to play against the Tennessee Titans? Let’s take a look at the latest news and what it all means for fantasy managers.
Update: Gabe Davis is officially inactive for the Bills game against the Titans.
Is Gabriel Davis playing Monday?
We have very little information about Davis’ status on Sunday morning. There was no indication that anything was wrong until the injury report came out on Saturday. That would indicate the injury occurred during the practice itself. Therefore, the Bills would likely not have fully assessed the injury before they had to make their practice report public.
In terms of when we might hear the next update, the Bills could rule Davis out on Sunday, or they could wait and list him among their inactives come Monday, assuming he isn’t able to go. Therefore, we may not have clarity on Davis’ status when the majority of games around the NFL begin at 1 p.m. ET. That leaves fantasy managers in a quandary as to what to do with their lineups this week.
Should fantasy managers start Davis this week?
It is always a headache for fantasy managers when there are question marks over the availability of a player on Monday Night Football. Unless you have other players on your roster who are also playing in that game, then a decision has to be made Sunday.
A prudent move on Sunday morning would be to add Jamison Crowder or Isaiah McKenzie if either is available on the waiver wire. Those two should be the ones to benefit in terms of playing time if Davis were to be ruled out.
However, if they’re not available and there are no other Monday options on your roster, Davis is a player you likely have to sit this week. Injuries that pop up like this during practice are tough to judge. The same thing happened with Michael Pittman Jr. this week on Wednesday, and he was unable to practice the rest of the week before being ruled out Saturday.
Isaiah McKenzie and Jamison Crowder are intriguing for fantasy if Davis is out
As stated above, if Davis is out, then McKenzie or Crowder would become intriguing plays. Last week, Crowder saw four targets on 18 snaps, with McKenzie seeing three targets on 26 snaps. McKenzie and Crowder would both likely see an increase in playing time if Davis were out.
The problem is that you might not get to take advantage of that with them playing Monday. Unless you have other players on Monday, leaving one of them in your lineup could be risky if Davis is active and able to participate fully in the game.
However, fantasy managers could look to add one of them on the waiver wire now, because if they have a big game and this injury for Davis lingers, they will be hot commodities on the waiver wire come Tuesday into Wednesday.
In deeper leagues, Jake Kumerow is an intriguing speculative add ahead of the weekend. Kumerow played 14 snaps last week and could be an outside option to replace Davis if the Bills wanted to keep Crowder and McKenzie working out of the slot in a shared role.