Week 5 Fantasy Football Injury Report: Lamar Jackson, Bucky Irving and More

Not gonna sugar coat things, Week 4 was brutal on the injury front. Seeing premier talents like Malik Nabers and Tyreek Hill going out for the season each with torn ACLs was the type of gut punch that NFL fans and fantasy managers don't recover from easily. As Ian likes to say, "Why can't we have nice things?!" Add to it that Lamar Jackson suffered a hamstring injury that could sideline him multiple weeks (though he's yet to be ruled out) and there are more injuries below.

Since this is publishing after Thursday Night Football, we won't have any analysis on 49ers Brock Purdy, Jauan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall, who were all ruled out for that game. What a rough start for San Francisco in that department. Please keep Christian McCaffrey safe and healty.

OK, enough with the prelims. Here are the injuries facing fantasy football managers in Week 5. As always, this will be updated Friday and Saturday as new updates on these situations become available.

Week 5 Fantasy Football Injury Report

Quarterback

Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens)

Jackson is dealing with a hamstring injury and didn’t practice on Thursday. He’s trending toward not playing against the Texans and a report says he could miss next week before the Ravens’ bye week in Week 7. If Jackson is out, Cooper Rush will be the QB in a tough matchup against the Texans, who are the stingiest defense against quarterbacks (11.7 fantasy points per game).

Baker Mayfield (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Mayfield missed the Wednesday practice with a knee issue on top of a biceps injury that he played through last week. He said he feels good, but we’ll still be monitoring this situation as it further unfolds. As of now, do not downgrade Emeka Egbuka and Chris Godwin.

Running Back

Bucky Irving (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Irving has a foot injury and was at practice on Wednesday with crutches and a walking boot. Irving didn’t practice on Thursday and is unlikely to play this week against the Seahawks. Rachaad White will likely get most of the touches with Sean Tucker in the mix, too. White is the consensus RB24 in the early Fantasy Life rankings.

Chuba Hubbard (Carolina Panthers)

Hubbard had a calf injury last week and played a season-low 51% of the snaps. Coach Dave Canales said the calf wasn’t the reason for it. Hubbard didn’t practice on Wednesday and Thursday. If Hubbard is out, Rico Dowdle would be in play against the Dolphins with Trevor Etienne being the backup. Add Dowdle if he’s still available.

Wide Receiver

Nico Collins (Houston Texans)

Collins set off some warning signals when he was limited in practice with an undisclosed injury on Wednesday, but he returned to full practice on Thursday. Unless there’s a setback on Friday, he’s the No. 11 play in the Xfinity Best Projections, with a ceiling of 30 fantasy points.

Terry McLaurin (Washington Commanders)

McLaurin missed last week with a quad injury and has already been ruled out for Sunday. There’s still no details on how long McLaurin could miss, but more on his teammate below.

Deebo Samuel (Washington Commanders)

Samuel missed the first two practices with a heel injury. There is no indication Samuel will be out and is a borderline WR1 with Terry McLaurin out. Since McLaurin was already ruled out, there is still hope that Samuel can play.

Michael Pittman Jr. (Indianapolis Colts)

Pittman was added to the injury report on Thursday with a hamstring injury and being a limited participant in practice. It’s unclear how serious the injury is, but it’s not a good sign to be added to the injury report this late in the week, meaning it could have happened in practice and is one to watch. Have a backup plan in case Pittman can’t go.

Mike Evans (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Evans missed practice on Thursday with a hamstring injury. Evans was out last week and is expected to miss 2-3 weeks since he wasn’t placed on injured reserve. With Evans likely out Sunday, Chris Godwin and Emeka Egbuka will continue to get most of the targets.

Calvin Ridley (Tennessee Titans)

Ridley (knee/elbow) didn’t practice on Thursday for the second straight day and was working on the side. Ridley missed time last week and had a route rate of only 41%, which was fourth among wide receivers. The Friday practice will be important for Ridley.

Tight End

Brock Bowers (Las Vegas Raiders)

Bowers has played through a knee injury he suffered in Week 1, and the only game he finished above double-digit fantasy points was in the opener. It’s tough with starting Bowers in fantasy because he’s so talented, but he’s clearly compromised. The likely play is to start him and hope this is the week he’s 100% healthy.

Juwan Johnson (New Orleans Saints)

After missing practice Wednesday due to an ankle injury, Johnson was limited in practice on Thursday. It’s a good sign that Johnson will be able to play on Sunday against the Giants. Taysom Hill and Foster Moreau were limited in practice and could hurt Johnson when they return.

Ja’Tavion Sanders (Carolina Panthers)

Sanders missed the first two practices of the week, and after missing last week he appears headed toward another sit. Tommy Tremble would step in and start against Miami, which is third in most fantasy points allowed to tight ends at 16.4.