The injury fallout from Week 2 has left a number of quarterback situations up in the air, and fantasy football managers are going to need to be on high alert the entire weekend, leading up to roster lock on Sunday.
Some of the injuries we are currently monitoring likely won’t have an effect on your starting quarterback, as none of those in the top 15 will be out. However, the ripple effects from some of these injuries will have a direct impact on your running backs and wide receivers — which means, if you don’t trust some of these backups, you better look for help elsewhere.
The Colts’ quarterback situation likely warrants the most attention. Carson Wentz is dealing with two sprained ankles and didn’t practice until Friday. Even if he is trending the right direction, he is no sure thing to play. If he sits, we’re looking at the tandem of Jacob Eason and Brett Hundley. To put it nicely, that would spell disaster for both the team and your surrounding fantasy players.
Running back Jonathan Taylor has already had a difficult start to the season, but with Eason or Hundley under center, you can expect the Titans to stack eight men in the box and force Indianapolis to pass the ball downfield. Though that may increase the targets for receivers such as Michael Pittman Jr. and Zach Pascal, neither backup QB has ever been lauded for his accuracy. The Titans defense is not strong, which meant this was likely a game you wanted as many shares of the Colts as possible, without Wentz, they could all be in trouble.
Pittsburgh is another situation that bears monitoring. If Ben Roethlisberger is out, you may as well scratch all your Steelers. The offensive line won’t hold against a stacked box, which hurts the value of Najee Harris, and Mason Rudolph’s shortcomings as a passer will lower the value of all their receiving targets. You can’t sit Harris, but your expectations should be seriously lowered. As for the pass-catchers, you should be able to find alternate receivers to use, but this would have been a very favorable matchup.
Nothing is etched in stone just yet, so don’t panic. If Wentz and Big Ben play, you can at least breathe a sigh of relief. So long as they make it through the full game, that is.
Howard Bender is the VP of operations and head of content at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on Twitter @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award-winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 6-8 p.m. Go to FantasyAlarm.com for all your fantasy football advice.