Despite the many injuries around the league in the past two weeks, today's gameday expectations are straightforward. Most of the major injured players are still early in their rehab. Others, like C.J. Spiller, Percy Harvin and Brandon Jacobs, were essentially been ruled out earlier in the week. Should Spiller or Jacobs be active this morning, I'll update below. In the unlikely event they play, neither running back would get a ringing fantasy endorsement. Jimmy Graham is the primary concern today and I'll continue to update his situation throughout the morning.
NOTE: This column is a living document and will be updated throughout the morning. Major changes to the content will be in red. Check back often for additions as gameday inactives are announced and lineup / depth chart changes are reported. I'll also be retweeting those reports with quick bits of analysis, so make sure you're following @JeneBramel and checking my timeline on Twitter.
jimmy graham | foot | questionable
If you've been reading over the past two weeks, you know that I believe Graham's injury is more significant than has been reported. I don't believe Graham has anything likely to be season-ending, but 2-4 weeks is clearly on the table. Media reports are few and far between and we've yet to hear anything specific about his condition. That could change this morning. The Bills have already been forced to game plan for Graham and we'll often get injury scoops from national media members during the pregame shows on Sundays.
Graham was limited on Friday. Larry Holder pointed out that the Saints do much of their red zone work during Friday practices. If Graham is active today, that's his most likely role.
Fantasy recommendation: Sit Graham today unless you have no other reasonable alternative.
0915 ET Jay Glazer reporting that Graham has a partially torn plantar fascia. As I wrote on Wednesday, I had a number of ATCs reach out on the day after the injury noting that the reinforced tape job looked like something often done for plantar fascia injuries. Unfortunately, there's not a clear outcome for these injuries. Partially torn plantar fascia tissue will take 4-6 weeks to heal and will be at high risk of aggravation throughout the year. That's not to say that Graham won't be able to return to full strength this year. But the longer he rests, the better chance he'll have.
Until he's full strength, Graham will struggle to change directions and jump. Although it seems counterintuitive, an aggravation may actually help Graham recover more quickly. There's often less pain with a full tear and surgery to fully release the fascia is sometimes considered in chronic cases. I'll have much more on this in tomorrow's debriefing.
1130 ET Graham is active. There were no promising signs during pre-game, other than Will Carroll's report that Graham was pushing hard to play. It's unlikely he'll see much time in the base offense. Expect to see him in red zone situations and only while the game is close.
peyton manning | ankle | probable
1030 ET: Chris Mortenson reporting that Manning has a low left ankle sprain and a high right ankle sprain. The right ankle is the bigger concern. That's Manning's plant foot and where the bulk of the weight goes at the top of his drop and rotates through the throw. The high ankle sprain won't be as big of an issue as it might be for a mobile or under-center quarterback and can be managed from a shotgun alignment. The Broncos can also modify routes to limit the leg drive Manning needs to complete throws.
Fantasy recommendation: Manning isn't 100% but he would be in my lineup today. He has too much upside to bench.
adrian peterson | ankle | probable
Peterson fully practiced Thursday and Friday. He blamed his obvious hesitancy last week on mental uncertainty rather than physical limitation. Whether that's true is debatable, but the practice reports are reassuring that his injury isn't serious. I still have a nagging doubt about Peterson's condition after the concerns Paul Charchian shared with Sigmund Bloom on the Audible this week, but I saw enough good things last Monday night to believe that Peterson has a good chance to finish the game today.
Fantasy recommendation: Unfortunately, it's not just the injury that will limit Peterson. Quarterback play and the consistency of his offensive line will make him work for every yard. I wouldn't bench Peterson in any week he's active, but consider him a RB2 due to situation.
danny amendola | concussion / groin | questionable
As expected, Amendola was limited all week and listed questionable. Ordinarily, that would be concerning for a player progressing through the return to play protocol after a head injury. But this is the Patriots and Amendola. His practice participation report this week looks like it always does when he's preparing to play and Albert Breer reported last night that Amendola has been cleared to play.
Fantasy recommendation: Amendola is seemingly an injury risk on every snap, but he's cleared to play and the extra time off will have aided his recovery from multiple groin injuries. Use him as you normally would.
steven jackson | hamstring | probable
Jackson is listed probable today and his three consecutive practices are reassuring that he's getting closer to full strength. However, this is his first week back to football-related activities. His conditioning and the health of his strained hamstring are still serious question marks. He's not yet out of the period where an aggravation or cascade injury is no longer a concern. And Jackson has had issues with both in the past. Though he's listed probable and Jason Snelling is out with an ankle injury, I doubt he'll be ready enough to see more than 10-12 touches.
Fantasy recommendation: Jackson is a flex play at best today.
michael vick | hamstring | probable
Vick fully practiced all week and will start today. Reports that there was still some tightness in the muscle belly and Vick's long history of struggling through soft tissue injuries leave some concern that Vick will be limited today, but the consecutive practices are reassuring.
Fantasy recommendation: Vick may not be as willing to scramble today and he's at risk of an in-game aggravation, so his ceiling is lower than usual. Consider him a mid-low tier QB1.
demarco murray | knee | questionable
Earlier in the week, Murray was back in practice and there was lots of optimism that he'd return to play today. By the end of the week, despite three consecutive limited practices, his status isn't as clear. Murray's MCL sprain is reportedly a mid grade injury. Those often take 3-4 weeks to heal enough that a player feels the knee is stable when changing direction at speed. That's likely why Murray has been able to finish position drills but is not yet assured to return.
Fantasy recommendation: If Murray is active today, it'll likely be in a limited role. It's a good matchup against Detroit, so you might consider using Murray in a flex role but don't expect more production than that.
1120 ET: Multiple reports that Murray will be inactive today.
dwayne bowe | groin | questionable
The current expectation is that Bowe will be active, but there is not much to like about his fantasy prospects today. A midweek groin injury that kept him out of practice Friday, a tough matchup with Joe Haden and his WR3-ish production this season when healthy combine to make him a very risky option today.
Fantasy recommendation: You'll know whether Bowe is active in time to make an early lineup decision, but he'll be an extremely risky WR3 today. Find another option if you can.
Best of luck in your fantasy games this weekend. I'll be back on Monday morning to review all the Week 8 injuries in the Injury Rounds column. Follow me on Twitter @JeneBramel for breaking news and analysis during the games today.
