Entering Week 13’s slate of games, fantasy football managers are surely scouring the latest injury reports to see if their stars are listed. The latest playmaker to suffer a setback and land on the injury report is Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. He suffered a foot injury in the second quarter of last week’s win against Baltimore.
We have the latest injury update on Etienne and a breakdown of whether you should put him into your lineup if he’s active in Week 13.
Travis Etienne Jr. Injury Update
Prior to suffering a foot injury that came after only two carries for three yards against Baltimore, Etienne was in the midst of a season-defining stretch that has established him as a blossoming star.
He had five straight games with 100 or more total yards from Week 5 through Week 9 and 73 yards on 14 touches against Kansas City in Week 10. With 930 yards from scrimmage on the season, Etienne has proven to be a focal point of this unit for the next few years.
MORE: Week 13 Fantasy Football Rest-of-Season Rankings
But the foot injury was certainly concerning. Though Etienne was able to walk to the locker room on his own and returned to the sideline in pads later in the game, he didn’t go back into the game. Head coach Doug Pederson said that was his call in order to protect Etienne.
This cautious approach hurt fantasy managers last week but could pay off with a bigger reward in Week 13. The Jaguars face the lowly Detroit Lions, which presents a better matchup for Etienne to produce. However, we don’t know if Etienne will see a full workload if he’s given the green light to play.
If he’s not able to handle his usual role, then backup JaMycal Hasty could steal valuable receiving opportunities. Hasty only ran for 28 yards on 12 carries last week but produced 67 receiving yards and one touchdown on five receptions. We could see a platoon this week.
Ranking him as the RB54 and No. 194 overall player in our PPR Fantasy Football Rankings, our team is playing it safe with Etienne. His upside is much higher, though. From Week 5 to Week 9, Etienne was RB7 in fantasy scoring, averaging 19.6 points per game.
That ranking makes him a must-start when active and healthy, but those two factors are unknown as the week nears its end.
Should You Start Travis Etienne Jr. in Week 13?
If Etienne is healthy, you have to start him. The Lions are 30th in rushing yards allowed, 31st in yards per carry, and dead last with 18 rushing touchdowns allowed. They’ve allowed 216 or more rushing yards more times (three) than they’ve kept opponents under 106 (twice).
Most of the damage they allow comes on the ground and not from pass-catching backs. Though they’ve been shredded on rushing attempts, they only allow 23.4 receiving yards per game to backs and have yet to allow a touchdown. That trend continuing would put a bit of a cap on Etienne’s upside.
MORE: Fantasy Injury IR Updates Week 13
Still, unless you have two superstar backs and a great receiver available to Flex, Etienne has to be in your lineup in Week 13, barring a setback in practice.
How does Etienne’s foot injury impact his higher/lower projection this week on Underdog Fantasy? Join Underdog Fantasy today to see, and get a $100 deposit bonus upon your first deposit.