Week 16 Injury Wrap: Waiting for Julio Jones; Edelman and Blount scratched
If you're still reading this, congratulations – you made it to championship week. Let's take a good look around the injury report, starting with the wide receivers.
• It comes down to a game-time decision for Julio Jones (hip), so we'll have to sweat it out into Sunday. At least the Falcons have a 1 pm ET start at New Orleans. Jones didn't work in practice all week.
• T.Y. Hilton (hamstring) was a non-participant all week and it sounds like he probably won't go at Dallas. The Colts already have their division won, but it would take a miracle to get an AFC bye, as they already trail the Broncos and Patriots and have head-to-head losses against both clubs. Thus, it's easy to imagine the Colts resting their star wideout.
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• Keenan Allen (collarbone) won't play Saturday at San Francisco, and Week 17 seems like a stretch, too. Eddie Royal and Seyi Ajirotutu are the candidates to step up in his absence.
• Andre Johnson (post concussion) is expected to go, but it looks doubtful for DeAndre Hopkins (ankle). The Texans have little depth behind those two, so Johnson might see a bunch of targets against the Ravens. Unfortunately, they'll be thrown by Case Keenum.
• Dwayne Bowe (illness) missed the full practice week. He's dealing with a flu bug. You'd expect him to play at Pittsburgh, but his production this year pushes him off the fantasy radar.
Patriots
• The Patriots are listing two of their skill guys as questionable: Brandon LaFell (ankle), and Shane Vereen (ankle). But we already know the status on Julian Edelman (thigh/concussion) and LeGarrette Blount (shoulder): they didn't travel with the team to New York, so count them out. Jonas Gray and Shane Vereen become more interesting with the Blount news.
Running Backs
• DeMarco Murray (hand) had a week of limited practice and is listed as questionable. Murray owners need to have a late-game caddy in place, as the Cowboys are a second-wave kickoff. Joseph Randle would likely take the heavy share of the load if Murray were to sit out, or leave the game in progress.
• With Ryan Mathews (ankle) out for Saturday, the Chargers have Branden Oliver and Donald Brown set to carry the ball at San Francisco.
• DeAngelo Williams (hand) is listed as questionable, though he seems closer to doubtful based on the context clues. Look for Jonathan Stewart to get most of the work against a Browns front seven that is struggling (Jeremy Hill absolutely trampled it last week).
[Week 16 rankings: Quarterback | Running Back | Receiver | Tight End | Kicker | DST]
• Frank Gore (post concussion) is expected to play against the Chargers, but until he's officially announced as active, I wouldn't count on anything. Carlos Hyde (ankle) will not play.
• Rashad Jennings (ankle) won't go in Week 16, so Andre Williams gets the tough assignment at St. Louis.
• The Bills list C.J. Spiller (collarbone) as active for the game at Oakland, if you need a Hail Mary. I'd be shocked if Spiller received a lot of touches, but it's your team.
Quarterbacks
• Cam Newton (back) returned to the final two days of practice and looks ready to go against Cleveland.
• As you've surely heard by now, the Bears have benched Jay Cutler in favor of Jimmy Clausen. I nudged the Chicago skill players down an eyelash, but nothing significant. No matter who plays QB for the Bears, they'll get a stern challenge from the Lions defense. Detroit is first in lowest YPC allowed (3.1, best NFL mark in four years) and fifth in lowest QB rating allowed.
