Week 6 Friday Injury Report: Bucky Irving and Antonio Gibson Primed for Starts

Injury hotspots for Week 6 include Carolina's offensive line, Chicago's secondary, the Saints' front seven, the Colts' skill positions, the Chargers' secondary, Denver's offensive line and the Cowboys' front seven. It's also a big week for backfield injuries, all of which will be discussed below.

Below you'll find four different categories, with our lists including key offensive linemen and defensive players whose presences/absences might impact fantasy decisions. The bottom section — truly questionable — is sorted by kickoff times and can be used as a checklist/cheatsheet for Sunday morning and afternoon when inactives come out. First, let's see who's definitely in and who's definitely out...

Good to Go 💯

• QB Will Levis (shoulder)
• QB Justin Herbert (ankle)
• RB Zack Moss (foot)
• RB Trey Sermon (collarbone)
• RB Travis Etienne (shoulder)
• RB Alvin Kamara (hip)
• RB Dameon Pierce (hamstring)
• WRs DeVonta Smith (concussion) & A.J. Brown (hamstring)
• WR Rashid Shaheed (hip)
• WR Darnell Mooney (ankle)
• WR Romeo Doubs (personal)
• WR Rashod Bateman (groin)
• WR Noah Brown (groin)
• TE Tucker Kraft (groin)
• TE Pat Freiermuth (calf)
• TE David Njoku (knee/ankle)

Ruled Out/Doubtful 🚑 

• QB Derek Carr (oblique)
• RB Jonathan Taylor (ankle)
• RB Rachaad White (D - foot)
• RB Rhamondre Stevenson (foot)
• RB Cordarrelle Patterson (ankle)
• RB Nick Chubb (IR - knee) 
• RB Gus Edwards (ankle)
• WR Malik Nabers (concussion)
• WR Davante Adams (hamstring)
• WRs Nico Collins (IR - hamstring) & Robert Woods (foot)
• WR Josh Reynolds (finger)
• WR Trey Palmer (concussion)
• TE Taysom Hill (ribs)
• TE Tommy Tremble (concussion)
• TE Luke Musgrave (IR - ankle)
• TE Michael Mayer (NFI - personal)
• TE MyCole Pruitt (knee)

With Colts RB Jonathan Taylor out again, Trey Sermon (collarbone) is off the injury report and set for another start. Bucs RB Bucky Irving and Patriots RB Antonio Gibson are the other fill-in starters all but locked in as of Friday evening, while a bunch of others -- Austin Ekeler, Tyrone Tracy, Dameon Pierce -- are in limbo with the lead backs ahead of them listed as questionable.

At other position, top candidates for increased snaps/targets due to teammate injuries include Giants WRs Darius Slayton and Jalin Hyatt, Raiders WRs Jakobi Meyers, Tre Tucker and DJ Turner, Broncos WR Lil'Jordan Humphrey, Texans WR Xavier Hutchinson and Panthers TE Ja'Tavion Sanders. There are also a few starters that might take on a bit of extra work due to their backups being injured, including Steelers RB Najee Harris, Chargers RB J.K. Dobbins and Packers TE Tucker Kraft.

Key Defensive Players + Offensive Linemen

• S Jaquan Brisker (concussion) + CB Tyrique Stevenson (D - calf)
• DL Devonte Wyatt (ankle)
• S Jimmie Ward (groin) + CB Kamari Lassiter (shoulder)
• C Graham Barton (hamstring) + DB Christian Izien (elbow)
• G Cesar Ruiz (knee) + LB Pete Werner (hamstring) + S Will Harris (hamstring)
• C Ethan Pocic (knee) + S Grant Delpit (concussion)
• OLBs Alex Highsmith (groin) & Nick Herbig (hamstring)
• LB Eric Kendricks (calf) + DE Micah Parsons (ankle) + DE Demarcus Lawrence (IR - foot)
• CBs Asante Samuel (shoulder) & Ja'Sir Taylor (leg)
• C Luke Wattenberg (ankle) + RT Alex Palczewski (ankle)
• LB Troy Andersen (knee)
• RT Taylor Moton (triceps) + C Andrew Corbett (biceps) + C Andrew Raym (head) 
• ILB Josey Jewell (hamstring) + OLB Jadeveon Clowney (D - shoulder)
• OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (wrist)

Listed as Questionable - Should Play 👍

• QB Aaron Rodgers (ankle) + TE Tyler Conklin (hip) - MNF
• WRs Curtis Samuel (toe) + Mack Hollins (shoulder) - MNF
• WR Josh Downs (foot) - 1 p.m. ET
• WR Diontae Johnson (ankle) - 4:25 p.m. ET
• WR Jalen McMillan (hamstring) - 1 p.m. ET

I put Rodgers and Conklin here because I'm writing this Friday afternoon/evening and the final injury reports for MNF won't come out for another 24 hours or so. I'm guessing both avoid game designations, or at worst they'll be listed as questionable and have better than 50/50 odds to play.

It's a similar story for Samuel and Hollins on the other side of MNF, although the former perhaps has a bit more risk because it's a lingering toe injury that was mentioned back during training camp. It might also explain why Samuel has gotten so little playing time this year even while Buffalo's other wide receivers have struggled (besides Khalil Shakir, who still isn't practicing due to an ankle injury).

Downs and McMillan are in good shape to play after logging full practices Friday, while Johnson remained a limited participant throughout the week but doesn't seem to be the subject of any concern.

Truly Questionable / Game-Time Decisions 🤔

London

• WR Gabe Davis (knee)
• TE Evan Engram (hamstring)

Doug Pederson was optimistic about Engram at the beginning of the week, but the tight end never progressed beyond limited practice participation and may end up a game-time decision ahead of the extra-early kickoff. Davis was also a limited practice participant all week, but he's not returning from an absence and thus has a higher probability to play.

Early Games

• QB Anthony Richardson (oblique)
• RB Joe Mixon (ankle)
• RB Brian Robinson (knee)
• RB Kendre Miller (IR - hamstring)
• WR Michael Pittman (back)
• WR K.J. Osborn (shoulder)
• TE Ian Thomas (IR - calf)

The Colts are our mystery team this week, with Richardson downgrading from full practice Thursday to limited Friday (and then being listed as questionable). Pittman also is listed as questionable, having returned to a full practice Friday after Thursday reports suggested he was in danger of landing on injured reserve. It sounds like player and team are still deciding if Pittman's back injury is something he should play through or try to rest for a few weeks. Josh Downs is technically listed as questionable as well, but in his case full practice participation Friday inspires more confidence, as there's been no mention of a serious problem or possible long-term absence.

Mixon and Robinson both seem no better than 50/50, potentially setting up Dameon Pierce and Austin Ekeler for large workloads. Pierce is back from a hamstring injury, closing out the week as a full practice participant and avoiding an injury designation (whereas Mixon remained limited through Friday and was listed as questionable). The Commanders say Robinson is a game-time decision, but it doesn't look great after he missed the second half of last week's game and then didn't practice at all this week.

Late-Afternoon Games

• RB Jaylen Warren (knee)
• RB Zamir White (groin)
• WR Jakobi Meyers (ankle)

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin referred to Warren as "doubtful" at the beginning of the week, but by Friday the running back had returned to full practice participation. Players that close out the week as full participants end up playing more than three-fourths of the time even when they're listed as questionable, but this might be closer to a borderline case than usual... or maybe Tomlin just didn't know what he was talking about / didn't expect Warren to progress as quickly as he did. Warren's poor start to the season means we're not putting him in fantasy lineups anyway, but his presence (or lack thereof) could be the difference between starting Najee Harris or another running back. Harris took on extra snaps last week but still finished with mediocre stats, landing in the range of 9-14 PPR points for a fifth time in five weeks.

On the other side of Raiders-Steelers, things look slightly better for Meyers than White, both of whom returned to practice Friday as limited participants. Meyers has a new injury, to his ankle, while White is still nursing the groin injury that held him out Week 5. If White does end up playing, it isn't clear whether he or Alexander Mattison would be the lead runner. An absence for Meyers, meanwhile, could really open the door to a big volume day for Tre Tucker, who has already been pretty busy with Davante Adams sidelined by a hamstring injury. DJ Turner has been filling in as a seldom-targeted No. 3 receiver, and behind him the Raiders have either return man Tyreik McAllister or practice-squad wideout Jeff Foreman.

Primetime Games

• RB Devin Singletary (groin) - SNF
• RB Chase Brown (quad) - SNF
• RB James Cook (foot) - MNF
• WR Khalil Shakir (ankle) - MNF

Singletary may be treated as a game-time decision, but I think he's less than 50/50 to play, with coach Brian Daboll sounding unsure Friday after the RB failed to progress past limited practice participation. Tyrone Tracy figures to take the lead if Singletary is inactive, after Eric Gray seemingly fumbled away his timeshare opportunity last week. That's not to say Gray won't be involved at all, but the combination of a lost fumble at the goal line and Tracy playing well thereafter suggests it'll be Tracy leading the way again.

In an interesting twist, it's Brown rather than Zack Moss who heads into the weekend listed on the injury report. Moss missed the end of last Sunday's loss to Baltimore with a foot injury after his leg got rolled up on, but he recovered quickly and even managed full practice participation Friday, ultimately avoiding a game designation. Instead of missing time, Moss could get his largest snap share of the year. Cincinnati's No. 3 RB is Trayveon Williams, who has been in the league since 2019 but has played only 294 snaps on offense (696 on special teams). Chris Evans may be called up from the practice squad to work as the No. 2 RB if Brown isn't expected to play.

We've also got RB drama for the Monday game, and I'm not just talking about Breece Hall's fantasy managers screaming at the television every time Braelon Allen touches the ball (probably in the red zone). Cook missed practice Wednesday through Friday, with Saturday representing his final chance to log some form of participation this week. It doesn't look great, which means Ty Johnson and Ray Davis both are in play as Week 6 fantasy options. Johnson has gotten far more playing time than Davis outside of garbage-time situations this season, but Johnson's NFL track record is largely as a passing-down back, while Davis may be better suited to double-digit carries. I lean toward Johnson, especially in PPR leagues, but neither is a sure thing to approach Cook's usual workload.

The Bills also have issues at wide receiver, as Shakir hasn't returned to practice and Hollins and Samuel are both a bit banged up. Hollins sitting out might be addition by subtraction, but it looks like he'll be able to play, which means the Bills likely will give a lot of snaps to a receiver who can't get open and isn't fully healthy... fun.

Key Defensive Players + O-Linemen

• G Teven Jenkins (ankle)
• CB Marlon Humphrey (ankle) + LT Ronnie Stanley (toe)
• CB Garrett Williams (groin) + RT Kelvin Beachum (hammy) + K Matt Prater (knee)
• CB Jaire Alexander (groin) + LT Rasheed Walker (knee)
• S Kyle Dugger (ankle)
• S Antoine Winfield (foot)
• C/G Lucas Patrick (chest)
• CB Denzel Ward (hamstring) + LB Jordan Hicks (elbow)
• CB Kenny Moore (hip)
• OLB Joey Bosa (hip) + CB Deane Leonard (hamstring) + LT Rashawn Slater (pectoral)
• RT Thayer Munford (knee) + RG Dylan Parham (Achilles) + LB Tommy Eichenberg (hamstring)
• CB Mike Hilton (knee)
• CB Taron Johnson (arm) + DT Ed Oliver (hamstring)
• RT Morgan Moses (knee) + LB C.J. Mosley (toe) + CB Michael Carter (hamstring)