The question of is Davante Adams playing in Week 8 sprung up on Wednesday when fantasy football managers got a fright as he was absent from practice. While it was just an illness, Adams entered the weekend questionable and was not cleared to play Saturday, leaving fantasy managers in limbo entering Sunday morning.
Let’s examine the latest update in regard to Adams’ status and what it all means for fantasy managers.
Update: Davante Adams is active for the Raiders in Week 8.
Is Davante Adams Playing Today?
On Saturday night, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Adams is expected to be active in Week 8 against the New Orleans Saints. This was largely expected, with Adams able to return to the practice field in a limited fashion on Friday. However, the illness has been described as the flu or “flu-like,” which is always something that is difficult to predict.
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MORE: Sunday’s WR Injury Report Week 8
There appeared to be a hug going around the Las Vegas Raiders this week. Four players were listed as having an illness on their Week 8 injury report. Three of those, including Adams, were listed as questionable, with only Clelin Ferrell able to be fully cleared after starting the week as a non-participant with an illness.
The tricky element with an illness is projecting the impact on game day. Depending on the severity of the illness, we can see anything from a player being extremely limited or even inactive right through to normal playing time. While we know that Adams should be active, we don’t know what impact the illness might have on his abilities this week.
Should Fantasy Managers Trust Adams in Week 8?
With a player of Adams’ caliber, you are largely looking to find a reason not to start him as opposed to looking for reasons to play him. On that front, there’s more good news than bad for Adams’ fantasy managers.
While the questions remain about how active he is, the matchup for the Raiders’ wide receivers is enticing. The Saints allow an average of 32 points per game to opposing WRs, the fifth-highest number of any team. Additionally, they have not allowed fewer than 20 fantasy points to the position in a single game this year. Meanwhile, wide receivers have scored more than 40 fantasy points against the Saints in three of the last four games.
Therefore, unless we receive definitive news that Adams will be limited in some way, it’s hard not to start him this week. That is reflected in his sitting as the WR7 in Tommy Garrett’s Week 8 PPR fantasy rankings.