Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marquise Brown has appeared on the injury list a lot so far in this 2023 NFL season. He appears to be a game-time decision every week at the moment as he struggles with a heel injury.
His official status for today’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers is questionable. However, while he has managed to be on the right side of the game-time decisions in recent weeks, will he be on the right side of it this week?
Will Brown play this week against the Steelers, what is the latest news regarding his heel injury, and, if Brown can play today, what is his fantasy football outlook for today? Let’s answer all of these questions in more detail.
Is Marquise Brown Going To Play Week 13?
Brown is once again on the injury report with the same heel injury that has been bothering him for several weeks. However, despite managing to play through it in recent weeks, there is more concern that he might not be able to do so this week against the Steelers.
Brown has not managed to practice in any capacity this week. He was unable to practice on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. In previous weeks, he has always managed to practice in some capacity. However, Brown did not manage to practice on Thursday or Friday last week, yet logged an incredible 12 targets, catching six of them for 88 yards in the Week 12 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
And Adam Schefter of ESPN Network posted an update this morning on X. He said “Cardinals’ WR Marquise Brown, listed as questionable for Sunday due to a heel injury, is expected to play vs. the Steelers, per source.”
So with Brown likely to play, what is Brown’s potential fantasy outlook for today?
What Is Brown’s Potential Fantasy Outlook for Today?
Brown comes into Week 13 as the WR33 in fantasy. However, he is coming off his second-best performance of the season from a yardage perspective, achieving 88 receiving yards in Week 12. He also saw the most targets (12) he has seen all season last week.
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This week, Brown is up against the Steelers, who come into Week 13 allowing 30 fantasy points per game to wide receivers, the 11th-most in the league. This should represent a decent matchup for Brown and one that could allow him to exceed his current ranking.
Brown is currently ranked as the WR27 in Week 13, according to our PFN Consensus Rankings. He can certainly get over the top of the zone defense of the Steelers and cornerbacks Joey Porter and Patrick Peterson.
Therefore, if Brown is able to play today, fantasy managers can consider playing Brown as a Flex option due to his uptick in targets last week and having a plus matchup against the Steelers. Brown carries a WR3 ranking in Week 13 but carries WR2 upside if he can break off a long play and find the end zone.
However, in PPR, he will struggle to carry the high volume to get into WR2 territory unless he scores a touchdown.
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