Fanspeak Fantasy Football: Injured Player Updates

By Staff Writer Ryan Gerrity – @RyanGerrity on Twitter:

1. EJ Manuel, QB, Buffalo Bills

Courtesy of ICON SMI

Manuel was leading the quarterback battle in Buffalo until he recently got hurt this past week.  He has looked very impressive in the first two preseason games and than he had to get minor knee surgery.  This gives Kevin Kolb, who has been injured to try and take the starting job away from Manuel.  Manuel has started the rehab process already and could play in the final preseason game.  If he wants to be the starting quarterback he needs to rehab quickly to get on the field, so make sure to stay updated and know is you are drafting the starter or back up.  I do expect EJ Manuel to be starting Week 1 if he can rehab quickly.

2. Wes Welker, WR, Denver Broncos

In the last preseason game Welker looked very quick, and caught plenty of passes.  On a touchdown pass from Manning Welker injured his ankle and USA TODAY is calling it a “mild ankle sprain.”  This injury may be nagging because sprains do last a while but it should not hurt Welker’s draft status for fantasy football.  He is still going to be a great PPR player and Welker should be healthy by the start of the regular season.

3. Randall Cobb, WR, Green Bay Packers

Randall Cobb is dealing with a bicep injury and it has been nagging him a bit, but it should be a problem for the regular season.  The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Cobb still has not practiced this week, however he is still present at practice.  Cobb will be a PPR machine this year with Aaron Rodgers as his quarterback, and if he stays consistent with his rehab this lingering injury will not bother him during the regular season.

4.  Arian Foster, RB, Houston Texans

This week Foster came off the Physically Unable to Perform list and he has been at practice.  The Texans are still very hesitant to play Foster during the preseason.  The coaching staff is very optimistic with the progress of Foster, but I am very hesitant to pick Arian Foster in any league because of how injury prone he has been in the past.  Foster deserves to be the #2 overall player for fantasy football but he still needs to prove that he can stay on the field.  If Foster is on your fantasy team, Ben Tate is a definite handcuff pick in later rounds.

5. Le’Veon Bell, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers

Bell is a rookie out of Michigan State and recently suffered a Lisfranc injury.  Reports from espn.com say that Bell does not need to have surgery and that this time will allow him to heal his foot and his knee.  The timetable is around 6 weeks, and Bell could be a very good running back in the Steelers offense with Todd Haley as Offensive Coordinator.  During the preseason games Bell has shown that he can run the ball effectively, but so has Dwyer so as fantasy owners wait on Bell right now.

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