Our O-Line expert Brad Wire is here to give you the latest updates on injuries for guys in the trenches for you to consider when setting your fantasy football lineups.
Arizona Cardinals
Josh Jones – Out (Ankle) – Jones (R) was not projected to start, but this surely hurts his development. With the signing of Kelvin Beachum in July, it seemed that he was going to be given the year to learn and grow anyway. Hopefully he is able to get back quick, but for now he’ll be watching and resting.
Carolina Panthers
Dennis Daley – Out (Ankle) – Daley (LG) won the camp battle which moved the newly signed Michael Schofield to the bench, but the veteran will get the nod here against the Raiders. Schofield has familiarity in a few areas here, coming over from the Chargers and playing the Raiders twice a year. He is also reunited with fellow former Charger Russell Okung and O-Line Coach Pat Meyer. I feel this is a lateral move that doesn’t affect much for fantasy purposes, but will stunt the growth of Daley a little coming off a shaky rookie year.
Chicago Bears
Germain Ifedi – Questionable (Triceps) – The removal of the probable tag comes to my mind with this, as I feel he would draw that if available. Ifedi was able to practice in full on Friday, which is the sign to see. Not much news here it seems, but something to watch if he were to aggravate it during the game. Rashaad Coward is in line for playing time if something were to happen to Ifedi.
Cleveland Browns
J.C. Tretter – Questionable (Knee) – J.C. Tretter had surgery in August to get his knee scoped and cleaned up, so this is something to keep an eye on. He is listed as having limited practice and seems like he is going to gut it out for this big matchup against the Ravens. He’s played with injuries in the past, including a high ankle sprain in 2018 and a bit of a knee injury in 2019. If Tretter were to be ruled out Sunday, then rookie 5th round pick Nick Harris would be in line to start. Harris was a four-year starter out of Washington, so he has enough experience to play, but would certainly be a downgrade from Tretter.
Detroit Lions
Halapoulivaati Vaitai – Out (Foot) – After signing Halapoulivaati Vaitai to a pretty massive 5-year, $45 million contract this off-season, the Lions will be without him for the season opener. The good news for the Lions is that on the other side of the ball the Bears have a chance of being without their newest addition Robert Quinn, who’s listed as doubtful with an ankle injury. Superstar Khalil Mack is also questionable with a knee injury. Though Mack seems to be ready to play, the amount of snaps will be something to watch. Big V’s injury will be felt much less if those two aren’t able to play the full game.
Green Bay Packers
Billy Turner – Doubtful (Knee) – Turner started all 16 games for the Packers in 2019 at Right Guard, but was projected to slide out to Right Tackle to start the season. The loss of Bryan Bulaga is already showing, even after the signing of Rick Wagner who presumably will start in Turner’s absence. Lane Taylor has been in Turner’s old spot at Right Guard during camp so far, but he’s also been rumored to be a candidate for the Right Tackle spot. This will be something to watch as the Vikings roll out newly-acquired Yannick Ngakoue.
Indianapolis Colts
Good news and a big exhale came on Friday for the Colts as we saw superstar Quenton Nelson return to practice. It still concerns me a little bit given that it’s a back injury, but it seems all systems are go for Sunday. Anthony Castonzo and Ryan Kelly both missed practice on Friday due to rest it seems, but did not draw any sort of injury designation for Sunday after both also had limited practices earlier in the week. Wheels up for the Colts in week one, who draw a juicy matchup with the Jaguars.
Los Angeles Chargers
Mike Pouncey – Out (Hip); Trai Turner – Questionable (Knee); Bryan Bulaga – Questionable (Hamstring) – Pouncey is once again dealing with a hip injury similar to his days with the Dolphins. He was not able to practice at all this week, which is less than ideal. It remains to be seen how long he will be out, but he has missed significant time in the past due to that hip. Dan Feeney (LG) looks to be the one to move over to Center for the season debut and Forrest Lamp would step up in his spot at Left Guard. Trai Turner and Bryan Bulaga were new additions to the injury report on Friday, and are both listed as questionable for now. Bulaga was able to get a limited practice on Friday, but Turner did not. The good news is the Bengals will also be without Geno Atkins, but if either were to miss Sunday’s game, it does not bode well for this offense. I’m still starting fantasy studs in Austin Ekeler and Keenan Allen, but I wouldn’t feel as comfortable playing Tyrod.
New Orleans Saints
Cesar Ruiz – Out (Ankle) – One of the more disappointing injuries to start the year. Ruiz was the unfortunate recipient of being rolled up on in practice a few weeks ago, and has been ruled out to start the year. Nick Easton will be the starter at Right Guard and should be just fine given his experience at the position. Playing next to Ryan Ramczyk doesn’t hurt either.
New York Jets
Alex Lewis – Questionable (Shoulder) – Another one that feels like it would be better suited by the probable tag if it were still an option. Lewis was able to practice in full on Friday. I don’t think he will miss any time and the Jets O-Line looks to start the season on a high note. This will be an interesting match-up to watch overall between division rivals. It doesn’t look to be too high for fantasy purposes, but a good game nonetheless.
Philadelphia Eagles
Lane Johnson – Questionable (Ankle) – Lane had ankle surgery in August and has been in and out of camp trying to recover for Week 1. He seems to be more of a game time decision (GTD), but everyone wants to push it to be ready for the opener. Washington’s defensive line looks to be one of the most consistently dominant across the board and if the Eagles are without Lane, it could spell trouble for the Eagles on Sunday. Matt Pryor, Nate Herbig, and Jack Driscoll would seemingly share duties at both spots on the right side.
San Francisco 49ers
Ben Garland – Questionable (Ankle) – It seems Garland will be out there on Sunday and would’ve likely drawn the probable tag as well. He was limited in practice on Friday, but didn’t miss any practices this week. I don’t think there’s much to worry about here, and the 49ers depth is some of the best in the league with Tom Compton being the one to replace Garland if something were to happen.
Seattle Seahawks
Cedric Ogbuehi – Out (Shoulder) – Ogbuehi is a depth swing tackle so this injury shouldn’t affect the Seahawks very much, unless something were to happen to Brandon Shell or Duane Brown. This matchup overall is a very intriguing one, given the history of the two teams high-scoring games.
For more from Brad, check out his comprehensive O-Line rankings to start the year. Brad will be making updates to the rankings regularly throughout the season. Don’t forget: You can also follow @TheUndroppables to catch all of the latest content drops to our site!
