Heading into Monday Night Football, very few fantasy football options remain that can be plugged into your lineups. One player that managers might have taken a risk on was New York Jets WR Jamison Crowder hoping that he is playing on Monday Night Football tonight in his return from a groin injury. Having missed the last several weeks and only managing to get in minimum work in practice, can fantasy managers rely on Jamison Crowder to be back to full strength from his injury, or should they find a pivot play to make? Also, who is going to be throwing him the ball?
Update: Jamison Crowder is active for tonight’s game against the Patriots. Read more below for what you can expect.
Is Sam Darnold playing tonight for the Jets on Monday Night Football?
According to Ethan Greenberg, a New York Jets team reporter, Joe Flacco – and not Sam Darnold – is expected to start at quarterback for the Jets on Monday Night Football when they host the Patriots at MetLife Stadium.
There was initial optimism that Darnold could make it for his seventh start of the season, but after reaggravating his shoulder injury against the Cheifs and missing practice, Darnold’s likelihood of playing is very slim. Darnold will officially be listed as doubtful.
In Flacco’s two starts for the Jets this season, he completed 51.9% of his passes and has thrown for 397 yards along with one touchdown and one interception.
With Joe Flacco, the presumptive starter against the divisional rival Patriots, will he have the Jets’ most productive WR of the season at his disposal?
Is Jamison Crowder playing tonight, or will he miss a third-straight week due to injury?
All signs point to optimism when it comes to Jamison Crowder being active for Monday night. The Jets listed Jamison Crowder as questionable on their final injury report for Week 9, but they expect to have him back for their game tonight. Crowder was listed as DNP on Thursday but was upgraded to limited for Friday and Saturday.
“I feel comfortable, feel good about going out there Monday night,” Crowder said in a Zoom presser after Saturday’s practice. “Everything feels good, so I want to make some plays and help try to put us in position [to win].”
Related | Christian McCaffrey Injury Update: Is he playing this week?
Jamison Crowder hasn’t played since Week 6 due to a nagging groin injury. He said he was close to returning last week against the Chiefs but had a flare-up in practice, which put him back on the shelf.
The Jets need their top player back in their lineup even if they are playing for nothing this year but the chance to draft Trevor Lawrence. Crowder leads the Jets in receiving yards (383), catches (29), and targets (46) despite playing in only four games so far this season. He’s eclipsed 100 yards in three of those four games and has caught a pair of touchdown passes.
It is worth noting that active does not always mean “active.” There is a shot that Crowder is nothing more than a decoy and will be on a limited snap count due to his injury. The team has a bye in Week 10, so it would make sense to give him the extra rest. For fantasy, that’s is a maddening problem to decipher.
Does Jamison Crowder’s injury make him unstartable in Week 9?
If you have waited on official word regarding whether Jamison Crowder will be playing tonight and left a roster spot open, you likely don’t have any choice but to play him this week. Being the last game of the slate, there aren’t many other options left on the table. Breshad Perriman and Denzel Mims are set to play as well, which reduces the chance of finding a useable player on waivers like a Braxton Berrios.
If Crowder is going to be on the field, he needs to be started. He has yet to see less than 10 targets in any game this year and is the only consistent offense on this team. I don’t love having Flacco at QB, but given how Darnold has played, I don’t know how much of a drop off it honestly is right now. Crowder will remain in the high-WR3 range for me in this game and is the only Jets player I feel comfortable starting, especially with Stephon Gilmore out, making his matchup even better.
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Tommy Garrett is a writer for PFN covering Fantasy Football. You can read more of his work here and follow him at @TommygarrettPFN on Twitter.