This Wednesday, there are more players listed as DNP or limited than in any previous week this season. Some of these players should be considered game-time decisions at best. I'll cover the majority of those situations below.
However, we're entering a period of the regular season where teams will manage the snaps of their key veterans more conservatively than before. There isn't much to be gained from risking contact for players who have minor injuries. Installation of plays and conditioning for contact aren't priorities any longer. It's much more important for players to get treatment and be present for walkthroughs.
That's likely the case for Peyton Manning, Wes Welker, Calvin Johnson, Dez Bryant, Frank Gore, Justin Blackmon and Cecil Shorts, all of whom did very little in practice on Wednesday. While there's always a chance that a player on that list could be downgraded to a game-time decision by Friday, all indications are that each of them are on track to play their usual heavy roles this weekend.
INSIDE THE INJURY REPORT
Doug Martin | torn labrum shoulder | DNP
Both Martin and the Buccaneers are hopeful that he'll be able to return to play this season. There's been no team -- or media -- speculation on how likely such a return will be or how long it may take Martin to get back to play. But, after talking with an orthopedic surgeon with knowledge of these types of injuries, I can provide an educated guess.
Here are the Cliff Notes from our exchange:
While there are multiple types of labral tears in the shoulder, the mechanism of Martin's injury -- a fall onto the elbow driving the shoulder up into the socket -- is most consistent with a SLAP tear. Those tears can be a much bigger deal for an overhead thrower, but aren't often associated with severe instability and a potential risk of a shoulder dislocation on any given play. Generally, those injuries can be rehabbed, sometimes with steroid injections to speed the process. Surgery is inevitable, but can be delayed until after the season if there's no evidence of looseness in the joint.
If we're on the right track with our speculation on the mechanism and diagnosis, there is a chance that Martin can return to play this year once the bleeding and swelling in the joint resolve and his strength and range of motion are enough to protect his joint from additional injury. Every injury is different, but I'm told 4-6 weeks is a reasonable estimate if rehab is to be successful.
For now, however, it's too soon to handicap the chances his rehab will be successful. Martin could decide to have surgery at any point in the coming weeks. Rehab from most labral repairs takes 4-6 months, which should leave Martin time to ready himself for the 2014 season even if he is able to delay surgery until January.
Jimmy Graham | foot | DNP
The silence continues to be deafening with Graham. There's still been no media or team comment on Graham's potential diagnosis or MRI result. That's a good thing in one respect. If Graham's injury was severe enough to potentially cost him the season or send him around the country seeking second opinions, it's very likely one of the national media would have picked up on the story. But that doesn't mean Graham's injury isn't going to need multiple weeks to rehab.
This situation is eerily similar to last season, when I was adamant that an ankle injury Graham suffered leading into the Saints' bye week was being underreported. Sure enough, Graham came out of the bye week not practicing, would later be called a game-time decision and wasn't himself for 3-4 weeks after the injury. I'm getting the same sense with this situation.
Shortly after I tweeted that Graham's injury looked more like a foot issue than an ankle condition, I had multiple athletic trainers tell me that it looked as if the Saints had reinforced Graham's tape job as if they were worried about a plantar fascia condition. I've got absolutely no confirmation of that, but that's the type of injury that may not be severe enough to leak (metatarsal fracture, Lisfranc, etc.) but severe enough to cost him 2-4 weeks of recovery time.
This may well all blow over by Sunday. Graham could increase his practice participation and be ready to see his usual targets this week. But my advice is the same as last week: Have a hedge in place for this week and be prepared for a multi-week absence just in case.
Percy Harvin | hip surgery | limited
Harvin hasn't yet been activated off the PUP list, but the Seahawks are giving him a long look in practice this week. If he passes the eye test for them, he could be activated in time to play this week. If not, Week 9 looks to be a lock for Harvin's debut. Should the Seahawks activate Harvin, he may not be an every-down player right away. But there's a good chance that he'll be heavily targeted on the snaps he's used. He'll be a high variance fantasy play initially, but he may do as Rob Gronkowski did last week and have an immediate impact regardless of his snap count in his first week back.
Adrian Peterson | hamstring strain | DNP
I'm not certain what to think about Peterson. There were times on Monday night where he looked powerful in short spaces, broke arm tackles and dragged defenders for extra yards. There were also times where he clearly struggled to get to top speed or make a lateral move in the open field. Peterson says his hamstring tightened up during the game. There's clearly something wrong. However, Peterson played very effectively despite an obvious hitch in his gait last season. That would normally breed optimism.
However, I'm bothered my something Paul Charchian told Sigmund Bloom on the Audible's On The Couch podcast this week. Charchian, who's plugged into the fantasy community as well as a sports radio host in Minnesota, shared that his contacts believe that Peterson has a more severe injury than has been suggested. Given that concern, the possible implosion in the passing game and the poor offensive line play, Charchian has major worries about Peterson's ability to play effectively during the second half of the season. It's too soon to panic here, but I'll be continuing to watch Peterson's snaps for signs of an injury more severe than a low grade hamstring strain.
Jermichael Finley | spinal cord contusion | DNP
There's been lots of speculation that Finley was likely to be placed on injured reserve soon. Finley, who has yet to be released from the hospital, tweeted that such speculation is premature. However, this is a serious injury with multiple factors that must be considered before Finley can be cleared to play.
First, the bruising around the spinal cord and any associated ligament sprains and muscle strains around the neck must fully heal. Those caring for Finley will be extremely cautious and will need to see a full return of strength in both upper extremities and free range of motion with good strength in his neck before clearing him for contact. Every nerve injury is different, but most take weeks rather than days to heal.
Second, and this is likely why Finley is getting multiple specialist opinions during his hospital stay, is determining whether there are any anatomic factors that increased the likelihood of a cord contusion after this hit and what needs to be done to prevent a future, more catastrophic injury. This article from yesterday's Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel does a tremendous job of laying out the possible scenarios here and the potential that Finley may need spinal surgery.
Finally, there's a chance that Finley had some concussion-like symptoms in addition to the spinal injury. If that's the case, it'd be multiple concussions within a four week period. That's a less likely scenario, but warrants consideration.
While only Finley and those involved in his care know the specific details of his condition, this is unquestionably a multiple week recovery process and lots of consideration will be given to shutting him down for the season.
Michael Vick | hamstring strain | full
The Eagles have tried to be coy on Vick's status but there's little doubt that he'll return to the lineup this week unless he has a late week setback. He's had full practices in each of the past three weeks. In the last two weeks, he'd been doing positional drills but not taking team reps. This week, he's taken nearly every team rep with the first string. There's always a risk of a setback with Vick given his style of play, but the extra week of rest last week should be helpful to his health. I'll have a more specific recommendation on Sunday, but it's safe to plan to use Vick this week.
Roddy White | hamstring strain / high ankle sprain | DNP
Mike Smith told reporters today that the Falcons won't know White's playing status until late in the week. There was no reason to expect otherwise. But we may be on the verge of getting more regular information from the Atlanta beat. With ESPN now assigning a beat writer to every team, Vaughn McClure (who formerly covered the Bears) has been providing more updates than any local writer in the past few seasons. He noted today that White was moving better in the locker room today. That's also expected. Taking a week off to recover rather than pushing through a game at less than full speed goes a long way to speeding the rehab process.
The hamstring is the more concerning injury at this point and earlier reports put that injury as a solid Grade 1 strain or worse. We'll see if his improvement translates to a return to practice this week. Barring a surprise, Week 9 is likely still White's most optimistic return to play estimate.
Arian Foster | hamstring | bye
Ben Tate | multiple rib fractures | bye
Foster and Tate have an extra week to recover from last week's injuries. And they'll need it. Foster's muscle strains have never been brief injuries and this latest hamstring strain is an aggravation of an injury he'd been dealing with for at least a week. That raises concern for a mid grade injury and a 3-4+ week absence. Tate has four rib fractures. We've seen skill position players use kevlar and painkillers to get through single rib injuries, but multiple rib fractures are a less stable injury and more difficult to play through. Depending on the severity of each rib fracture, it could be 4-6 weeks at least before Tate can move and take hits without discomfort. Neither Texans' running back is safe bet to return in Week 9.
AROUND THE TRAINING TABLE
The first reports on DeMarco Murray graded his MCL sprain as a low grade injury. More recently, it's been called a Grade 2 injury. If accurate, it's not surprising that he's missed time as mid grade MCL injuries often take 2-4 weeks to recover from. Murray was in pads, though limited, on Wednesday, so there's a chance he could be back in a committee role this week.
Steven Jackson surprisingly was cleared for a limited practice after reports last weekend that he'd suffered a setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury. He's likely still a week away but this is a strong sign that we'll see him before Week 10.
Danny Amendola has progressed far enough in his return to play protocol to do limited practice work. Amendola has been limited in practice for months, however, so it's possible that he's been fully cleared for contact and is on schedule to play this weekend. We may not know Amendola's status until inactives are released this weekend, but midweek indications are clearly promising.
Realistically, James Jones never had a legitimate shot to play through his PCL sprain last week. Mike McCarthy himself told reporters that Jones actually had a 2-3 week timetable given to him immediately after the injury. Jones didn't practice Wednesday and isn't likely to practice this week. Consider him a game-time decision for Week 9 for now.
Both Fred Jackson, who aggravated his MCL sprain, and C.J. Spiller, who continues to be limited by an ankle sprain, missed practice today. Both could use a week away from practice and game, but both appear committed to playing through their injuries until Buffalo's Week 12 bye. Wait to see what the rest of the week's injury reports bring, but I expect both players to struggle again this week if they're in uniform on Sunday.
Brandon Jacobs was trying to remain optimistic about a possible Week 8 return from his hamstring injury. The Giants Week 9 bye is looming, however, and if the team sees Jacobs as a vital hedge during the second half of the season, they may not risk a borderline return to play.
Jonathan Stewart will be activated off the PUP list soon. He's back practicing and the Panthers have three weeks to make the final decision on his status. The new PUP rules give teams an extra two weeks to start the practice clock on players this year, so it's a positive sign that the Panthers allowed Stewart to practice now. I'm still worried enough about his prolonged recovery to be skeptical that he'll be able to effectively take more than 8-10 touches a week over the long term.
Follow on Twitter @JeneBramel for breaking injury news, updates and analysis. Check back Sunday morning for my expectations on Jimmy Graham, Adrian Peterson, Percy Harvin and this week's other game-time injury decisions.
