It’s always a challenge to navigate through injuries in fantasy football and the WR position has several players dealing with issues right now. As the time to set Week 15 lineups is near, what are the latest fantasy injury updates on Marquise Brown, DJ Moore, and Chris Olave?
Latest News and Injury Updates Impacting Fantasy
Marquise Brown, WR, Arizona Cardinals
Analysis last updated at 3:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, Dec. 14.
It is now Week 15. Wednesday practices really don’t matter much in the grand scheme of things … except when they do. We have a unique situation here with the Arizona Cardinals coming out of their bye.
Given that the Cardinals did not play last week, there is reason to actually care if a player is not practicing on Wednesday. That is the situation we find ourselves in with Brown.
According to Tyler Drake, “Hollywood” Brown did not practice on Wednesday. Before the bye, Brown missed the team’s final two practices with a heel injury. He was listed as questionable though and ultimately played in Week 13.
There are two schools of thought here. On the one hand, when we last saw the Cardinals play football, Brown was out there. Unless he aggravated the injury during his week off, he should be fine.
On the other hand, it’s been 10 days since Brown last played football. Typically, healthy players practice out of byes. It’s at least a little bit concerning that Brown isn’t back out there by now.
Once we get to Thursday, we will have a pretty good idea of Brown’s status. Fantasy managers should be aware of the situation, but there’s no need to panic. My guess is we see Brown return to a limited practice on Thursday, putting him on track to play.
If I’m wrong, and he doesn’t practice at all, then it’s time to sound the alarm. For now, hang tight, and check back tomorrow, as we will update this article once we get information on Cardinals practice.
Thursday Update: Brown returned to practice on Thursday as expected. He should be fine to play.
DJ Moore, WR, Chicago Bears
Analysis last updated at 3:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, Dec. 14.
I reiterate that it is only Wednesday. As Brad Briggs pointed out, Moore did not practice with an ankle injury. According to Patrick Finley, this stems from “the ankle injury he suffered on the team’s first play of the third quarter.”
At that point, Moore hadn’t caught a single pass in the game. He briefly exited but returned just a few plays later. Moore caught all six targets throughout the remainder of the game, including his 38-yard touchdown, after the injury occurred.
Thursday’s practice report will be telling, but this seems very much like late-season veteran maintenance. Moore is definitely dealing with an ankle issue, but I would be surprised if it kept him out of this week’s game.
As long as Moore is able to get in a limited practice on either Thursday or Friday, he should be good to go on Sunday. It wouldn’t surprise me if he wound up avoiding an injury designation altogether.
Thursday Update: Moore did, in fact, get in a limited practice on Thursday. Fantasy managers can breathe a sigh of relief. Moore is well on track to play.
Chris Olave, WR, New Orleans Saints
Analysis last updated at 3:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, Dec. 14.
Last week, Olave played through the flu. In a game where Derek Carr looked about as bad as can be, Olave managed to come through for fantasy managers by catching a late touchdown.
When Olave wasn’t spotted at Wednesday’s practice, I was hoping it was just him not feeling quite 100% yet. Unfortunately, it is a new injury for Olave.
According to Nick Underhill, head coach Dennis Allen said Olave is dealing with an ankle injury. This, of course, could be anything from a multi-week high ankle sprain to a minor tweak that the team is just being cautious with, but that clarity has not been provided yet.
Hopefully, we get some more information from Allen’s press conference. If not, we will have to see Olave’s practice participation level on Thursday. Given that Olave finished the game last week, I’m cautiously optimistic this isn’t a major deal. But currently, we just don’t know for sure.
If Olave returns to a limited practice on Thursday, fantasy managers can breathe a sigh of relief, and feel confident in Olave’s status for Sunday. If Olave doesn’t practice again, fantasy managers should start preparing to be without him this week.
Thursday Update: Olave was still absent from practice on Thursday. Back-to-back DNPs makes it highly likely he doesn’t play. If Olave can get on the practice field Friday, he will have a chance to go. But at this point, fantasy managers should operate under the assumption that Olave is not going to play. A returning Rashid Shaheed is poised to be the Saints WR1. We should see a whole lot of Taysom Hill, too.
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