There are some tough matchups in Week 17 of the NFL season, with playoff implications hanging in the balance of almost every game. With that being said, will some of the big fantasy football names tough it out and get on the field? Or will the team hold them out, saving their skills for the big push in the playoffs? What are the latest injury updates on Raheem Mostert, Alvin Kamara, and Cole Kmet?
Latest News and Injury Updates Impacting Fantasy
Raheem Mostert, RB, Miami Dolphins
One of the elder statesmen in Miami, Mostert, has had a season for the books in 2023. If you had him on your fantasy team, you were delighted. Mostert has played every game this season and has been outside RB22 only twice, both in extremely tough matchups where the Dolphins lost. Mostert currently has 21 TDs on the year and has made it clear that age is nothing but a number.
“Obviously, my age isn’t stopping anything,” Mostert said. “I’m just trying to set the standard for a group of guys who want to come in and feel like if you want to be a 31-, 32-year-old running back, it’s OK. You can go out here and still produce at a high level because, obviously, I’m doing that at an exceptional rate. It’s just a lot of fun, and I’m having fun doing it.”
However, Mostert is dealing with an ankle and knee issue that threatens to jeopardize his status for the massive matchup against Baltimore this weekend. The winner will be in the driver’s seat for the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Mostert did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday, but he is expected to be available on Sunday, even with a questionable tag.
He is the RB10 in PFN’s Consensus Rankings this week, and if he sits, it will be the De’Von Achane and Jeff Wilson Jr. show against a brutal Baltimore run defense.
Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints
After missing the season’s first three weeks, New Orleans Saints RB Kamara seemed to slide right back into the offense. He was extremely reliable for fantasy football — for 11 weeks, Kamara was never worse than RB22 and had three weeks where he was the RB4 or better.
Week 16 against the Los Angeles Rams proved to be a down week, but if you managed to make it through your playoff matchup with that smudge on his record, you are hoping he can bounce back against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week.
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Unfortunately, Kamara might not be on the field. A large majority of the NFL is battling illnesses lately, and Kamara is the latest who has been hit by a bug. He popped up on the injury report late in the week after missing practice on Friday and now is officially questionable heading into the weekend.
This is a must-win game for New Orleans if they hope to have any shot at making the playoffs, and I expect Kamara to push through it and play unless he has a massive setback. If he cannot play this weekend, Jamaal Williams will have a chance to be a late-season hero. Fantasy managers could also see some Kendre Miller sprinkled in, with a touch of Taysom Hill on top.
Kamara is the RB4 in PFN’s Consensus Rankings.
Cole Kmet, TE, Chicago Bears
Finding an every-week TE is always tricky in fantasy football, but it has been even worse in 2023. With the losses of Mark Andrews and Darren Waller, and with Travis Kelce coming down to Earth, managers who happened to snag Cole Kmet off the waiver wire at some point have been pleasantly surprised lately. Kmet has been the TE9 for the past four weeks, playing about 75% of the snaps.
The Chicago Bears now play Atlanta, which is a decent matchup for TEs, but will Kmet be available to play? Kmet suffered a knee injury in last week’s game against Arizona and could not return. This issue carried into this week when he could not practice on Wednesday or Thursday. He returned to practice on Friday in a limited fashion and has a questionable tag heading into the weekend.
Head coach Matt Eberflus seemed optimistic that Kmet would be able to make it on the field.
“Everything looks pretty good there,” Eberflus said. Kmet comes in at TE16 in PFN’s Consensus Rankings, and with WR Darnell Mooney already ruled out, if Kmet cannot make it on the field, fantasy managers could see veteran Robert Tonyan become the go-to TE for Chicago this week.
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