The question of Josh Allen playing in Week 10 has dogged this matchup all week, with major fantasy football implications associated with his status. As the Buffalo Bills QB continues to deal with his elbow injury, should we expect to see him on the field this week?
Let’s examine the latest update on Allen’s status and the decisions faced by fantasy managers in Week 10.
Update: Josh Allen is active for the Buffalo Bills in Week 10.
Is Josh Allen Playing Today?
There was some good news regarding Allen’s status on Saturday afternoon. The Bills chose not to elevate their third-string QB, Matt Barkley, from the practice squad for their Week 10 game against the Minnesota Vikings. That would indicate that not only is Allen likely to be active, but the Bills are not even concerned enough to want two backup QB options on the bench.
According to a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Allen was able to grip a football and do some throwing in practice Friday. That has seemingly given the Bills enough of an indication that Allen will be fine, that they are planning to proceed with him as the starter and Case Keenum as his only backup.
MORE: Week 10 Start/Sit Advice
However, we have no idea what Allen will look like if he actually takes the field. If the elbow issues make Allen nervous about taking hits, we may see him hesitant to run the ball too much. Therefore, if you are playing in Underdog Fantasy DFS contests this week or drafting for Week 10 Best Ball competitions, Allen might be a player you pass on unless the value is right.
If Allen is hesitant to take off and run, especially around the goal line, it could be impactful to his ceiling this week. At the price he will cost in those formats, taking a player who may have a compromised ceiling is extremely risky.
Should Fantasy Managers Trust Allen, Stefon Diggs, Gabe Davis, Devin Singletary, and Others?
If Allen is active, it will be close to impossible to bench him. It seems unlikely the Bills would have Allen play and risk further injury to his UCL if he was going to be heavily limited. Therefore, from a throwing perspective, we should expect Allen to look largely the same as he has done all season.
Something that could be interesting to watch is whether the Vikings may look to test Allen’s arm strength early. If they sit on short routes, then it may open up opportunities for big plays over the top of the defense early in the game. The biggest benefactor of that could be Gabe Davis.
We have seen numerous times this season how impactful Davis can be in terms of making big plays. He is seemingly always a risky player to start, simply because there is a big element of boom-bust when it comes to his fantasy output. The Bills WR has scored double-digit fantasy points on three occasions but has scored fewer than 5.5 fantasy points in his other four games this week.
MORE: Week 10 PPR Rankings
That uncertainty is the reason why Davis sits as the WR33 in Tommy Garrett’s Week 10 WR fantasy rankings. In comparison, despite the uncertainty over Allen, Stefon Diggs remains a top-three option at the position in those same rankings.
The potential hesitation of Allen to run could open up fantasy value for both Devin Singletary and James Cook. Allen’s presence heavily limits the ceiling for the Bills RBs, but if there is some nervousness to have him turn it loose, they may utilize their backs more, whether running the ball or on short passes.
Singletary sits as the RB24 in Garrett’s Week 10 RB fantasy rankings, emphasizing how he is an intriguing starting option this week but not quite a slam dunk. Meanwhile, Cook is more a chase for upside in deeper leagues, sitting as the RB58 for Week 10.
At tight end, Dawson Knox has had a little bit of a renaissance in terms of his fantasy value in the past few weeks. However, he remains a touchdown-dependent option, as he has averaged under four targets per game this season.
If Allen is not as keen to run around the goal line, then Knox could see more red-zone opportunities. However, starting him in any given week is always an extremely speculative situation.