Detroit Lions wide receiver Kenny Golladay suffered an injury during the team’s game against the Indianapolis Colts. Fantasy football managers had hoped to see him return last week against the Vikings, but the team felt he wasn’t ready yet. With little information available, managers are left wonder, is Kenny Golladay playing this week? Let’s take a look at the circumstances surrounding Golladay’s injury and what we can do if the star wide receiver needs to miss Week 10.
Update November 13th, 2020: According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Lions’ WR Kenny Golladay has been officially ruled out of Sunday’s game vs. Washington.
Kenny Golladay missed Week 9 due to a hip injury that occurred vs. Indianapolis
The Lions didn’t just come up short in their game against the Indianapolis Colts; they also lost one of their best players on offense. Wide receiver Kenny Golladay left the game with a hip injury and did not end up returning in the second half. Golladay saw four targets in the first half but failed to record a catch. Sunday marked the first time he was unable to make a catch in a game that he was active in his career.
Early last week, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Kenny Golladay’s injury would cause him to miss Week 9, and the team had labeled the star 27-year old WR as “week-to-week.” There was also talk of Golladay landing on the short term IR, which would take him out of the game for a minimum of three weeks. The team has been very quiet on the status of Golladay going forward.
Golladay missed the first two weeks of the season with a hamstring injury and has 20 catches on 32 targets for 338 yards and two touchdowns in five games.
Is Kenny Golladay playing this week?
Update November 13th, 2020: According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Lions’ WR Kenny Golladay has been officially ruled out of Sunday’s game vs. Washington.
As of the time of writing this, unfortunately, we don’t have a clear answer yet. When looking at the team’s recent moves, I am slightly concerned about Kenny Golladay’s availability this week.
That’s because the Detroit Lions announced on November 6th that they had signed free agent WR Mohamed Sanu to the practice squad. Sanu most recently played for the San Francisco 49ers, playing in three games and making one catch for nine yards with the team this season.
Originally selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the third round (83rd overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft out of Rutgers, Sanu has appeared in 121 career games (92 starts) with the Bengals, Atlanta Falcons, New England Patriots, and 49ers. He has career totals of 404 receptions for 4,516 yards (11.2 avg.) and 26 touchdowns.
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You don’t go out and add an additional wide receiver mid-season if things are going perfectly. And to make things worse, this might be the last season in Detroit for the fourth-year player as Golladay is in the final year of his rookie contract and would be a free agent after the 2020 season.
Once we start to see the Lions’ practice and injury reports, we will have a better idea of Kenny Golladay’s status and injury recovery. Hopefully, we will also have a timeline for Golladay’s return.
For those of us in fantasy, what do you do if you have Golladay, and are there any players on the Lions who could be worthwhile additions to help bridge the gap until be is back on in your starting lineup?
Danny Amendola moves up the waiver wire priority list for Week 10
While Marvin Jones becomes the de facto WR1 for the team, he is rostered in 91.2% of leagues, so the realistic possibility of him being available is slim. WR Danny Amendola, however, rostered in just 10.3% of fantasy leagues, is far more appealing for this week.
Amendola took advantage of Kenny Golladay’s absence due to injury and reached double-digit targets for the first time since Week 15 of the 2019 season. While the majority of his receptions were quick shots across the middle, Amendola did see catches of 28 and 13 yards that aided in his 77 receiving yard total. Assuming Golladay is unable to return in Week 10 against Washington, Amendola should be expected to soak up plenty of targets once again.
In a PPR league, volume is a big factor in a player’s floor, and 10 targets is hard to ignore. After his seven-catch performance in Week 9 and the uncertainty around whether or not Kenny Golladay will be playing this week, Amendola would be in Flex territory for Week 10.
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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.