It’s no surprise that fantasy football managers are asking, “is Gus Edwards playing in Week 11?” After hurting his hamstring a couple of weeks ago, Edwards missed one game and then had the bye week to recover. However, hamstring issues are tricky, and there was also a “knee” designation added to his injury report at the end of the week.
Let’s take a look at the latest updates for Edwards’ status and the fantasy implications for Kenyan Drake and Justice Hill.
Update: Gus Edwards is inactive for the Ravens’ Week 11 game.
Is Gus Edwards Playing Today?
Edwards practiced in a limited fashion all week for the Baltimore Ravens and finished the week listed as questionable on the final injury report. When asked about Edwards’ status after practice, head coach John Harbaugh said, “I think we will wait for Sunday to be sure… Gus was out there limited. I was planning on those guys being back, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself.”
The hamstring issue may not be the only thing at play here, as Edwards had a knee injury added to his final designation. Therefore, this might be a legitimate game-time decision for Edwards this week, which will potentially leave fantasy managers guessing right up to the release of the Ravens’ inactives report.
On Sunday morning, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweeted that Edwards is not likely to play. However, he did add that the situation could change after Edwards works out ahead of the game.
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The good news for fantasy managers is that this is a 1 p.m. ET game, and there are no International Series games on Sunday. Therefore, fantasy managers will, for the most part, not need to make a decision without knowing if Edwards is active or not for Week 11.
The Ravens have plenty of cover at the position on their roster. With Drake, Hill, and Mike Davis all on the 53-man roster, Baltimore should be set at RB regardless of Edwards’ status. However, the fantasy value of those names looks different depending on whether Edwards is active.
Fantasy Impact of Edwards’ Status on Kenyan Drake, Justice Hill, and Mike Davis
Let’s start with the overall fantasy outlook for the Ravens’ RB this week against the Carolina Panthers. The Carolina defense has allowed an average of 23.7 fantasy points to opposing RBs this season, the fifth-most in the league. However, things are not as simple as they first appear.
Twice in the last four weeks, the Panthers have held opposing RBs to 10 fantasy points or fewer in half-PPR leagues. However, in one of the other two weeks, they allowed 58 fantasy points to Joe Mixon and the Bengals. That contrast in performances epitomizes the Panthers’ defense against RBs this year.
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Three times this season, they have given up more than 35 fantasy points to opposing RBs. However, in six of the other seven games, they have held opposing backs under 17.5 fantasy points. This has been a boom-bust defense to face, which is concerning with the way the Ravens use their backs.
If Edwards is active, we could see this backfield break down in a frustrating way. It would be a surprise if Edwards returned to take 50% of the workload, but 25% or more is certainly possible. That is in part due to the way that Drake has been performing in recent weeks. Drake’s success makes it tough to start Edwards because he very well may need to find the end zone to return starting value if his volume is restricted.
Edwards might be best suited to Underdog Fantasy Best Ball leagues only this week. Projecting his touches is tough to do, but there is a real chance he ends up in the end zone. In 14-team or deeper season-long leagues, fantasy managers may not have a choice but to start him. In anything shallower, it will be tough to make that call this week.
If Edwards is inactive, Drake has a huge ceiling. He carried the ball a season-high 24 times against the New Orleans Saints in Week 9. While he only averaged 3.88 rushing yards per attempt, he found the end zone twice and delivered for the Ravens. If they do not have Edwards, they very well may ride Drake once again this week.
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The tough decisions only come if Edwards is active. While Drake could easily see a 50-60% split of the work, he could also lose goal-line opportunities to Edwards. The presence of Edwards will significantly cap Drake’s ceiling. Based on the fact he was limited in practice all week, Edwards’ role should be the lesser of the two, so Drake is still a viable starting option this week.
We saw in Week 9 how the Ravens view the duo of Hill and Davis. They combined for just six touches, while Drake saw 26. Regardless of whether Edwards is healthy and active, it is hard to trust either Hill or Davis in lineups.