We are now entering the tenth week of the 2022 NFL season, and daily practice reports are becoming longer and longer as injury updates pour in. We last saw Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen in Week 7, where Allen played sparingly before the team had its Week 8 bye. He came out of the bye worse and missed Week 9.
What is the latest on Allen’s status, and should fantasy football managers expect him back in Week 10 against the 49ers?
Keenan Allen Injury Update
After seeing consecutive seasons shortened by serious injuries early in his career, Allen has been remarkably healthy for the better part of the past five seasons. Unfortunately, that came to end in Week 1, as he strained his hamstring and missed the next five weeks.
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Allen has now missed more games in 2022 than he missed from 2017 to 2021 combined. In what is now a weekly occurrence, we are left wondering when Allen will eventually get back on the field.
In retrospect, I am sure the Chargers regret bringing Allen back at far less than 100% prior to their Week 8 bye. However, Allen did escape from that game no worse for wear. Unfortunately, he somehow aggravated his hamstring injury during the bye.
When the Chargers returned to practice ahead of Week 9, Allen was nowhere to be seen. He ultimately missed last week’s game.
The comments from head coach Brandon Staley leading up to Week 9 painted a rather ominous portrait of Allen’s health. Anyone listening was rightfully concerned at another extended absence for the 30-year-old receiver.
Sure enough, one of the first things Staley said at Wednesday’s press conference was that Allen was not expected to practice. According to ESPN’s Lindsey Thiry, the Chargers are describing Allen as day-to-day.
Will Keenan Allen Play This Sunday?
In last week’s update, I said it felt like both the team and Allen grew frustrated that his hamstring wasn’t recovering quickly enough and just tried to force it in Week 7. While it does appear the Chargers are exercising extreme caution this time around, the fact remains that Allen does not appear likely to play this week.
By midseason, Wednesday practice reports are largely meaningless…in most instances. If you see a previously healthy player not practicing on a Wednesday, there’s really no reason for concern unless he misses practice on Thursday. However, when it comes to players that missed the previous week, Wednesday is actually quite telling.
Typically, players returning from injury will at least get in a limited session on a Wednesday before ramping things up over the remainder of the week. Allen’s DNP combined with what we’re hearing from beat reporters and Staley suggests fantasy managers should make alternate plans once again.
Of course, at this point, I’m sure all of you out there who roster Allen were preparing for that anyway. If Allen registers another DNP on Thursday, just assume he’s not going to play.
Hopefully, those of you with Allen were able to grab Josh Palmer. With Mike Williams out another couple of weeks due to a high ankle sprain, Palmer is the clear WR1. Justin Herbert targeted him a team-high 10 times last week. He caught a season-high eight balls for a season-high 106 yards. Dare I say Palmer is a must-start until one of Allen or Williams returns?
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If you couldn’t get Palmer, the consolation prize would be DeAndre Carter. He’s far less appealing outside of PPR leagues, but 10 PPR fantasy points is nothing to scoff at. Given the abundance of bye weeks and injuries at this point in the season, a floor-based start is not the worst thing.
Carter didn’t really see any shift in his volume last week. He only saw six targets but did catch five for 53 yards. You can certainly do worse.