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.
This week feels like a tipping point. There have been a boatload of injuries over the past two weeks. That's not unusual, but the timing and nature of them has been. Injuries like Andre Ellington's peroneus tendon strain, Cam Newton's rib fracture and Antonio Gates' hamstring injury have progressed in a different way than comparable players in recent seasons. New coaches like Mike Pettine and Marc Trestman are unknowns with regard to how they provide injury information and have been tough to read at times. The major media members -- Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport, in particular -- haven't been as prolific or specific as usual with their injury information.
That's not a complaint. But if it feels like you have more question marks on your roster than ever in Week 1 and 2 and you aren't getting the same level of information about your players' injuries, you aren't alone.
I have the sense the tide may be turning a bit, though. Adam Schefter had a run of insider tweets this morning. If they prove accurate, they'll serve to calibrate and reinstall some confidence in my meter for player and coach speak for the week. If not, well, a tipping point sometimes leads you in a different direction anyway.
Either way, we move on with more information than we had this week. I promise I'll spare you the Paul Harvey treatment on Monday.
Oh, and with a little luck, Week 2 will be a light week for new injuries.
1225 ET: ETA: Lovie Smith was optimistic about Martin this week, but what may be a bone bruise looks likely to keep Martin out after all today.
The feeling I'm getting is that #Bucs RB Doug Martin is UNLIKELY to play today. Regardless, expect to see a lot of Bobby Rainey
— Tom Krasniqi (@TKras) September 14, 2014
ALSHON JEFFERY | HAMSTRING | QUESTIONABLE
BRANDON MARSHALL | ANKLE | QUESTIONABLE
I've shared my skepticism about Jeffery's availability all week, going so far as to flatly state that I didn't think he'd play on our live Thursday night Google hangout. Jeffery was able to get back to a limited practice on Friday, spoke with the media after practice and got on the team flight to San Francisco. All three are positive signs. They show that Jeffery is clearly trying to play tonight.
This, from former Chargers' head team physician, Dr. David Chao is also reassuring:
@JeneBramel He will definitely fly to SF. Also believe he will play barring setback. Minor hamstring. We will see with time.
— David J. Chao, MD (@ProFootballDoc) September 13, 2014
But call me stubborn. I'm sticking to my guns here. Jeffery told reporters, "I felt pretty good out there. But...it ain't a game. A game and practice is different." That's not exactly the tone of a player who feels he's 100% ready to play. I think the Bears will test Jeffery out before gametime. And it's possible he'll be recovered enough to play. But if you believe this injury was minor and the Bears were extra cautious with him in the late stages of a close loss last week at home, why would you believe they'll be less cautious with a key offensive player who will have a little less time to recover next week?
And then there's this from Adam Schefter early this morning:
Major questions about Bears WRs, Marshall and Jeffery. One source said "75 percent" sure neither plays tonight. Bears signed two PS WRs Sat.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 14, 2014
At minimum, that implies Jeffery is well on the doubtful side of questionable.
That brings me to Marshall. I wasn't very concerned about the mechanism of Marshall's injury and I was reassured by his return to last week's game and the tone of his Wednesday comments to reporters. But he was never able to return to practice this week and Schefter's tweet is just as ominous for Marshall as it is for Jeffery.
Fantasy recommendation: I don't see any way you can leave Marshall and Jeffery in your lineups today and hope that (a) they're active for the late game tonight and (b) they remain effective all game against a San Francisco defense that should play well at home. At minimum, you have to have a very strong hedge on your roster. I'm not sure Santonio Holmes is that hedge, but it's a reasonable approach if you don't like your other options for the early games.
ANDRE ELLINGTON | FOOT | QUESTIONABLE
Ellington is expected to play today. But it's no stretch to say he's still much less than 100%.
He was in a walking boot until Wednesday. Alone, that's not a major concern. Lots of players leave the locker room in a boot early in the week. Teams will risk some stiffness in a joint, particularly an ankle, to combat the inflammation that can stick around with the movement and added weight bearing that walking without a boot adds.
But Bruce Arians told reporters that Ellington's injury needed to be cooled off. Maybe that's a throwaway line, but I'm still hung up on Jay Glazer's report last Sunday that Ellngton has a small tear in his peroneus tendon. I hear Arians say doctors told Ellington he can't do any additional damage to the tendon and have trouble reconciling that with Glazer's report.
It feels strongly like the Cardinals are trying to manage Ellington until their Week 4 bye and hope that those two weeks off gets him as close to 100% as possible.
Regardless, all signs point to Ellington playing today.
Fantasy recommendation: The Cardinals are on the road in New York. The Giants' offense is a mess right now, but the defense is solid. I thought Ellington ran and changed direction well enough last week and he was trusted with 18 touches. That feels about right for today's matchup, with the potential floor being a lot lower, especially if Carson Palmer doesn't play and the Cardinals are down big early, and the potential ceiling not much higher. I think Ellington is a boom-bust RB2 today.
CARSON PALMER | SHOULDER | QUESTIONABLE
I've been out of the loop for about 36 hours, working a wild and wooly high school game on Friday night and a thankfully lighter than expected urgent care shift yesterday. During that time, nearly every email and tweet I was sent from readers had to do with what Arians called a "nerve issue" in Palmer's shoulder.
I wasn't in a place to look into this deeper until last night, but I spent those 36 hours thinking, "Huh?" When I hear "nerve issue" I hear pain and/or weakness. When I hear nerve issue around the shoulder, I think stinger, herniated disc with nerve root inflammation or some sort of soft tissue injury between the neck and upper arm causing inflammation around a nerve around the arm. Players might play through some of those conditions, and the Cardinals were reportedly optimistic late last week.
But any ongoing pain or weakness (or both) is a major red flag. So is the fact that Palmer wasn't cleared to throw at any point in practice this week. Players with pain or weakness that persists for 5-7 days are rarely cleared to play. I'm not certain what Palmer's specific injury is and how likely it is that another 48 hours of treatment between Friday and today will settle the symptoms. But I'm much less optimistic about his Sunday status than the team let on in the Friday press conference.
And there's this from Adam Schefter this morning:
AZ not sure about Carson Palmer (shoulder), who has not thrown a pass since Mon. One source said "50-50 at best" that Palmer plays vs NYG.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 14, 2014
Fantasy recommendation: I don't think Palmer will be active today. If he is active, it suggests the team feels he's in good enough condition to make the throws he needs to make against a solid Giants' secondary. He's probably safe to start in 2 QB leagues. But if you haven't made alternate arrangements already, get a hedge on your roster now if possible.
900 ET: Ian Rapoport's take on Palmer's availability today:
#Cardinals expect QB Carson Palmer (shoulder) to play today, assuming his arm feels good pregame. He’s performed without practicing before
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 14, 2014
When asked about Schefter's report that Palmer was 50-50 at best, Rapoport replied:
On Palmer >> RT @RapSheet: @evansilva Interesting. All I know is he hasn’t been ruled out by the trainer, all signs point to him going.
— Jene Bramel (@JeneBramel) September 14, 2014
More to come here as it develops...
1105 ET: Final answer!
Source: #Cardinals QB Carson Palmer will not play today. He tested his shoulder out and couldn’t go. It’s Drew Stanton.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 14, 2014
JORDAN CAMERON | SHOULDER | QUESTIONABLE
Cameron didn't practice all week and multiple reporters are saying he's unlikely to play today. It'll be a major surprise if he's active today. If he is, I'll add a more detailed fantasy expectation for him. Check tomorrow's injury rounds feature for my thoughts on his potential to play in Week 3.
Fantasy expectation: You'll need another tight end in your lineup this week.
TOBY GERHART | ANKLE | PROBABLE
I still believe that Gerhart suffered a high ankle sprain last week. The video evidence is compelling. There are grades of injury, however, and not every high ankle injury keeps a skill position player out 3-4 weeks. We've seen the rare instance -- Andre Johnson some years ago comes to mind -- where players play the week after such an injury and do well.
Gerhart's status was very much up in the air on Tuesday and Wednesday, but he's increased his practice participation all week and his ankle responded well enough in Friday's full practice that he's listed probable today.
That's a reassuring sign that Gerhart's injury is of a low enough grade that he will play through his injury much better than C.J. Spiller or Roddy White did last year. But it's difficult to tape these injuries up and running backs get their legs bent awkwardly and feet twisted during tackles on a nearly every-play basis. Gerhart is definitely at risk of an aggravation this week.
Fantasy recommendation: It's hard to knock a running back who fully practices on Friday and is listed as probable. There's risk here, but I think Gerhart can be trusted as a low ceiling RB2.
RODDY WHITE | KNEE | PROBABLE
White gave us the key to unlocking his health last year. While fighting through a painful high ankle sprain, White told us the Friday injury report was all-important. Essentially, he told reporters, "If I'm practicing fully by Friday, I'm good to go."
So often last year, White would make it through only a limited late week practice and he'd play on Sunday but clearly not be himself. Though White played all but five snaps last week, there was cause for concern when he revealed that he aggravated a knee that had been drained early this year. But, not only was White more positive in his media interviews this week, he fully practiced on Friday.
Fantasy recommendation: White's full practice is enough for me to trust him in lineups today. There will be a risk of another in-game aggravation, but White comes into the game healthy enough to risk as your WR3+ today.
CAM NEWTON | RIBS | PROBABLE
So...less than 24 hours after being deemed unable to play, the Panthers confirmed that Newton would be the starter in Week 2. 72 hours after being deemed not able to play, Newton had his first of three consecutive full practices. There's been nothing of note on Newton this week -- other than his possibly ill-advised haranguing of Ndamukong Suh. There's no question he'll play today.
But don't be fooled into thinking Newton has fully recovered here. Without question, he's better off than had he played last week. But his ribs aren't yet fully healed. He'll still be wearing added protection and there's still a chance he'll consent to a pain-killing injection today.
I think Newton wasn't ready to play to his usual effectiveness last week. Having taken full practices without any midweek setbacks, it would seem he's ready to -- at least in a limited fashion -- run some read-option plays and be comfortable moving around in the pocket as needed. There's a small risk of an in-game setback, but it's there. And I also think Newton will show some rust in the early going.
Fantasy recommendation: Newton is going to be hit by the Detroit front four today. It's hard to think he'll get his usual rushing yards. Consider him a boom-bust QB today. I'd try to avoid him in single QB leagues where possible, unless my decision involved Carson Palmer.
DEANGELO WILLIAMS | THIGH | QUESTIONABLE
There isn't much speculation among local beat writers about Williams' thigh injury or his availability today. But when a running back is added to the injury report midweek with a muscle injury and doesn't practice again that week, it's highly unlikely he'll be ready by Sunday. That running back is also at increased risk of an in-game aggravation. If Williams is active, expect Jonathan Stewart to see a higher usage than usual.
Fantasy recommendation: Williams hasn't practiced, the Panthers have a capable replacement on the depth chart and the Detroit front is very solid against the run. Avoid Williams today, even if he is active.
Best of luck in your fantasy games this weekend. I'll be back on Monday morning to review all the Week 2 injuries in the Injury Rounds column. Follow me on Twitter @JeneBramel for breaking news and analysis during the games today.
