It’s always a challenge to navigate through injuries in fantasy football, and the running back position has several players dealing with issues. The time to set Week 8 lineups is near. What is the latest injury information on Saquon Barkley, Alvin Kamara, and Zack Moss?
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Latest News and Injury Updates Impacting Fantasy
Saquon Barkley, New York Giants
Analysis Last Updated Thursday, October 26 at 3:30 PM ET
Thursday Update: Barkley was once again limited on Thursday. He’s not at risk of missing Sunday’s game.
Just two weeks after returning from his high ankle sprain, Barkley finds himself dealing with yet another ailment. In last week’s game, Barkley fell awkwardly on his elbow and had to leave the field.
Fortunately, Barkley was able to return after missing just a few plays and was able to perform like we know he can. Barkley did not seem hampered by the injury at all.
While Barkley was able to make it through the game, he is still clearly dealing with something in his elbow, as he was limited at Wednesday’s practice.
On Tuesday, the Giants made a bunch of moves at running back. They placed rookie Eric Gray on IR, signed Jashaun Corbin off the Panthers practice squad, and claimed Deon Jackson off waivers.
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All of these moves may seem concerning for Barkley’s status, but fantasy managers should not be panicking. Barkley was able to finish last week’s game and play exceptionally well. The fact that he’s practicing at all on a Wednesday is a great sign.
Even if Barkley isn’t able to get in a full practice all week, I have zero concerns about his availability for this Sunday’s showdown in the Meadowlands. Expect Barkley to play and play well against the Jets this week.
Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints
Analysis Last Updated Thursday, October 26 at 3:30 PM ET
Thursday Update: As expected, Kamara returned to practice on Thursday. He’s fine.
There are pros and cons to living in the information age. Ten years ago, I wasn’t hawking Twitter every day for details on team practice reports. Now, everyone gets that Yahoo or Sleeper notification on their phone that says, “Kamara’s status has changed from healthy to questionable.”
Naturally, seeing that prompts fantasy managers to find out what’s going on. Seeing reports that Kamara did not practice is never a good thing.
Fortunately, Kamara is not actually injured. He is merely dealing with an illness. It is extremely rare that a player misses a game due to an illness. I know we just saw it mostly happen to Bijan Robinson last week, but we’re talking about a sub-1% outcome here.
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It is only Wednesday. Fantasy managers should fully expect Kamara back at practice on Thursday or Friday. He should be fine to continue completely dominating PPR leagues.
Kamara has a whopping 35 receptions in just four games this season. The efficiency hasn’t been there, but it doesn’t matter when Kamara is being targeted at the rate he has. He remains an RB1.
Zack Moss, Indianapolis Colts
Analysis Last Updated Thursday, October 26 at 3:30 PM ET
Thursday Update: Moss returned to a limited practice on Thursday, putting him on track to play Sunday.
Ever since Jonathan Taylor returned, he has been gradually earning more snaps. However, Moss’ improved play has kept him plenty involved, turning this backfield into a pure timeshare.
That may change this week, as Moss missed practice Wednesday with what was listed as both an elbow and heel issue. Given that these two body parts are completely unrelated, this is quite concerning. Moss may have two injuries that would legitimately keep him sidelined occurring at the same time.
If Moss doesn’t return to at least a limited practice on Thursday, his status for Sunday’s game will be in serious doubt.
If Moss can’t go, Taylor would be staring down the barrel of his largest workload of the season. Coming off his best game of the year, Taylor would once again challenge for overall RB1 status if Moss were suddenly out of the picture.
We never root for injuries, but there’s no denying the reality of what Moss being out would mean for Taylor. Fantasy managers probably weren’t starting Moss anyway. As for those with Taylor, it may be wheels up for the rest of the season.