Injuries have been an issue at the wide receiver position all season long in the NFL, and that is the case in Week 12. The Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals are two teams that are having to deal with a ton of injuries, especially at the wide receiver position.
Let’s take a look at Tee Higgins, Cooper Kupp, and Puka Nacua, what their status is for their respective games on Sunday, and what the fantasy football implications are.
Latest News and Injury Updates Impacting Fantasy
Tee Higgins, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
Editor’s Note: Tee Higgins was absent from practice again for the Bengals on Thursday.
The past few weeks have been very difficult for the Bengals, as the team lost Joe Burrow for the year. Not only is Burrow out, but one of his top receivers, Higgins, has also been dealing with injuries.
Three weeks ago, Higgins had eight catches for 110 yards. However, he has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury. While he missed Wednesday’s practice, his coach did imply that there are a couple of Bengals players who might be coming back soon.
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“We’ll see how the week goes for some of those guys,” head coach Zac Taylor said during his pre-practice news conference. “A couple of those guys that missed last week, I think it’s all moving in a really good direction with them.”
It is still too early to know or even expect Higgins to be able to play in Week 12 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, there seems to be signs that Higgins is at least closer to being back.
Editor’s note: Higgins has not practiced at all this week and is OUT for Week 12.
Puka Nacua, WR, Los Angeles Rams
Editor’s Note: Puka Nacua was upgraded to a full participant on Thursday.
Nacua burst onto the scene with one of the best starts ever for a rookie wide receiver, and he has continued to have a very good season. Last week against the Seattle Seahawks, Nacua had seven catches for 70 yards and one touchdown.
It wasn’t all good news though in the Rams’ win against the Seahawks, as Nacua suffered a shoulder injury in the process. He was limited in practice and is currently questionable for the game on Sunday.
While he has been extremely impressive all season, he has had to deal with many injuries throughout his rookie year. Besides the current shoulder injury, he has also had injuries to his knee and his ankle.
The fact he was only limited in practice is a good thing, as his teammate, Kupp, is also battling injuries. Unlike Nacua, he wasn’t able to participate at all in Wednesday’s practice.
Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Rams
Editor’s Note: Cooper Kupp was a limited participant in practice Thursday.
When Kupp is healthy, he is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. Too many times throughout the past few seasons, though, Kupp has had to deal with numerous injuries.
Kupp had one catch for 11 yards in the win against the Seahawks but was injured in the game with an ankle issue. He missed the first four games of the season with a hamstring injury, but he has still shown the ability to be elite.
While he didn’t practice on Wednesday, coach Sean McVay did tell reporters that Kupp was feeling good and this was a team decision to keep him out.
“He’s feeling good,” McVay said. “We’re going to hold him out today. See what [Thursday] looks like.”
There at least sounds to be some optimism for the Rams that Kupp is going to play. At 4-6, the Rams are at a point where they need to go on a run if they are going to make the playoffs. With Kupp, they are obviously going to be cautious playing him due to his injury history.
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