Matthew Stafford, broken blood vessel on non-throwing hand: Roll with him as you would. Besides some mild swelling that will subside in a few days, he won’t have any lingering effects into the season. He’s still a top 6 QB
Jahvid Best, concussion: Boy this has gotten real ugly. He was placed on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, so he’s definitely out the first 6 games of the season. He dealt with this all of last year as well and really didn’t contribute at all. Seems like a flier in the 10th or 11th rounds may be justified, but with the nature of concussions and Kevin Smith/Mikel Leshoure in front of him now, probably best to steer clear.
Andre Johnson, ribs: He sat out light practice today, which he probably would have anyways to rest his bum hamstring. Seems like just a minor bruise that won’t limit his ability to start the season. He’s dealt with so many injuries the last 3 years, who really knows how he’s going to hold up. But these recent injuries don’t seem to be so serious, so roll with him as a top 3-5 WR with relative confidence.
- Update 8/28/12 (8:55pm): Johnson missed practice today as a precautionary measure. He is still on pace to play in Week 1, but he may be dealing with post-bruise rib pain into the season. This should not affect his production.
Jason Witten, spleen: He participated in practice today, although it seems like he was more doing drills with the training staff than anything else. The fact that he doesn’t need surgery is a definite good sign and the fact that it was reported that his lab work came back clean also bodes well for Tony Romo’s top target. He’s the 4th best TE when healthy and I’ve seen him go as low as the the 7th round, which would be great value. I say roll with him (because I drafted him, I better say that)
- Update 8/28/12 (8:50pm): Witten had his spleen scanned today (not sure what type of image, assuming a CT scan) and will not get the results until possibly the AM. No word on his Week 1 status yet; however, things are starting to look like he may miss the first week of the season. Plan accordingly, consider a sleeper such as Jacob Tamme or Greg Olsen as a backup just in case you need a temp fill in.
Ryan Mathews, broken clavicle: He had surgery two weeks ago to repair the broken collarbone and recent reports say he’s doing well and that he still has Week 1 in his sights. Don’t be so optimistic. I say he misses at least 2 weeks, and if he comes back sooner, he won’t be the same. He may have improved shoulder range of motion, but it doesn’t mean he’s going to be excited about inside runs and that first big hit he takes. Be cautious with him and build some depth to get you through at least the 1st two weeks. He’ll be fine after that, but depending on the caution the Chargers take, don’t expect legit production worthy of his top 10 back status until week 3-4.
Hakeem Nicks, foot: All signs point to full production right off the bat in Week 1. He and Victor Cruz formed a spectacular 1-2 combo during the Giants super bowl run ( As a Patriots fan, that sentence just made me throw up) and things shouldn’t be any different this year. Draft with confidence, expect top 8-10 WR production from him.
Ziad Dahdul 