Making the fantasy football playoffs in your league means you’ve successfully punched your ticket to the tournament, giving you a chance to hoist your championship trophy this season.
The job isn’t done yet, though. After all, we all know teams that just make the playoffs don’t have parades thrown for them. It is now a one-week season moving forward, which means you need to know who you can trust in your fantasy lineup.
Injuries to Justin Jefferson, DJ Moore, and Josh Reynolds could be casting some doubt in the minds of fantasy managers who were planning on relying on these receivers in their fantasy lineup.
Here is the latest fantasy injury update we have on some big-name WRs heading into Week 15.
Latest News and Injury Updates Impacting Fantasy
Justin Jefferson, WR, Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings — and football fans in general — got a bit of a scare when the news broke that Jefferson was sent to the hospital after sustaining a chest injury during Sunday’s 3-0 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
Fortunately, Jefferson’s injury turned out not to be anything too severe, and he was subsequently released from the hospital. According to the team’s injury report, Jefferson is listed as officially questionable for Saturday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals after logging two limited practices and a full practice on Thursday.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell commented on Jefferson’s work in practice throughout the week when speaking to the media on Thursday: “He did probably more than I originally expected and responded really well to all of the work,” O’Connell said. “So we feel really good about where Justin is at.”
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Jefferson caught just two passes for 27 yards in his return to the field after missing the previous seven games while dealing with a hamstring injury but was on the field for 18% of the offensive snaps before picking up the chest injury.
Jefferson was a fantasy force through the first four games of the season, averaging an absurd eight receptions for 136 yards per game. It remains to be seen what Jefferson’s production will look like without QB Kirk Cousins under center, but a man with his dynamic talent and a quality offensive-minded coach still puts him in the low-end WR1 conversation if he manages to take the field in Week 15.
DJ Moore, WR, Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears’ leading receiver has been on a tear since starting QB Justin Fields has returned under center. Unfortunately for the Chicago offense, Moore may not be operating at 100% when they face off against the vaunted Cleveland Browns defense.
According to a recent report from Patrick Finley, Moore is questionable for Sunday’s game, but “figures to play” against the Browns. The team’s injury report listed Moore as a non-participant in practice to begin the week, but he progressed on both Thursday and Friday with limited and full participation in practice, respectively.
Over his last three games, Moore has caught a minimum of six passes, produced at least 88 total yards, and scored three touchdowns.
Moore’s tough matchup against the Browns does bump him outside of the top 10 at the WR position in my weekly rankings, but he is still firmly in the WR2 conversation if he plays in Week 15.
Josh Reynolds, WR, Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions offense has been a very productive unit throughout the majority of the 2023 season but had a very rough performance against the Bears on Sunday. QB Jared Goff threw for under 200 yards passing for the first time all season and put the ball in harm’s way with two interceptions and a lost fumble.
However, the one touchdown Goff threw against the Bears went to Reynolds, who caught three of his four targets for 44 yards and the score.
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Reynolds popped up on the team’s injury report on Wednesday with a back injury but was still able to log limited practice sessions on both Thursday and Friday ahead of their upcoming matchup against the Denver Broncos.
Fantasy managers should keep an eye on Reynolds’ status throughout the weekend after being officially listed as questionable for their game on Sunday, but assuming his appearances in practice mean he has a good shot at being active for this contest, Reynolds would still be in the WR4 conversation for Week 15.
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