NFL DFS Injury Report: Divisional Round
Joshua Slatky, PA-C, ATC is a physician assistant at Northwest Georgia Orthopedics and Sports Medicine and avid DFS player. In his work as a physician assistant and athletic trainer, he has worked with sports teams from high school to various college levels, to the NFL. He is currently involved in the regular care of high school and college athletes across northwest Georgia.
My favorite weekend of football, the divisional playoff round, is upon us. Honestly, it could not come soon enough. The wildcard weekend had some rough matchups and it was generally devoid of excitement with Houston’s 13-point win being the closest game of the weekend. Three of the four games this weekend feature a spread of five or less. Fortunately, we have DFS, which makes every football weekend an exciting one.
Most of the injury situations are fairly clear. As with last week, I will try to go into more detail on each team, touching on key defensive players as well. Ben Roethlistberger made a lot of news as he was in a walking boot following Sunday’s game, but as reported all along, he is expected to play this weekend. Jordy Nelson broke a couple of ribs Sunday. His status is a little more uncertain.
The league’s official injury report will be released Friday. As always, I will put in some updates after that comes out. Leave and questions or comments below or find me on twitter @slakdogg. It has been a great season. Enjoy the best weekend of the year and good luck in your contests.
Last Updated: Saturday AM
Color Coding
GREEN: Nearly certain to play. Unlikely to have an on-field limitations.
YELLOW: Likely to play. May have some snap count or mild on-field limitations.
ORANGE: Questionable to play. If able to play, likely to be significantly limited in snap count and/or on-field performance.
RED: Unlikely to play or already ruled out.
PURPLE: In concussion protocol. Play status unknown but if active, should play without restriction.
Dallas Cowboys
1.Ezekiel Elliott (RB) — GREEN – Elliott was involved in a minor car accident Wednesday evening. No focal injury has been disclosed and he has already turned to twitter to advise all of his followers that he would be ready for this weekend.
2. Morris Claibourne (DB) — GREEN / YELLOW – Claibourne is expected to return to the field Sunday. Claibourne has not played since Week 8 as he recovered from sports hernia surgery. His return strengthens a pass defense that ranks 18th DVOA.
3.DeMarcus Lawrence (DL) — YELLOW – Lawrence is expected to return for the playoffs from a back injury that has seriously limited him over the last quarter of the season. The nature of rotating defensive linemen should help Lawrence be a factor Sunday.
Green Bay Packers
1.Jordy Nelson (WR) — ORANGE / RED – Nelson suffered multiple rib fractures in the first playoff round and was knocked out of the game. Reports surfaced later that Nelson spent Sunday night in the hospital. He is expected to be very limited during the week, but the Packers are still hopeful he can play Sunday. All of these situations are different, but the Chiefs faced a similar situation two weeks ago when they were playing for a first round bye. They were forced to hold Spencer Ware out due to a rib injury.
UPDATE: Nelson has been ruled OUT for the divisional round.
2.James Starks (RB) — PURPLE / RED – Starks continues to be held out due to concussion. He is not expected to play this week.
3.Quinten Rollins (CB) — RED / ORANGE – After missing Sunday’s game with a neck injury, Rollins worked out with the rehab group Wednesday. I would be surprised if he plays this week, but if he were, it would be a boost for the Packers’ 22nd ranked DVOA pass defense.
Houston Texans
1.DeAndre Hopkins (WR) — GREEN – Hopkins surfaced on the injury report Wednesday with a knee injury. He was limited Wednesday, but is expected to progress through the week. At this point, I have no substantial reason to think he will have any limitation Saturday.
2.Tom Savage (QB) — GREEN – Savage has cleared concussion protocol and practiced full Wednesday. However, Brock Osweiler is expected to remain the starter after his solid, though not spectacular, start in the Wildcard round.
Kansas City Chiefs
1.Spencer Ware (RB) — GREEN – After missing Week 17 with a rib injury, Ware practiced full Wednesday and will be the starter Sunday.
New England Patriots
1.Legarrette Blount (RB) — GREEN – Blount was sick Wednesday and thus did not practice. He is expected to progress through the week with plans to play Saturday. The Patriots are likely to take it easy on Blount through the week, but this is solely to ensure that he is full speed Saturday.
UPDATE: Blount was removed from the injury report and is expected to play Saturday.
2. Malcolm Mitchell (WR) — RED — Mitchell progress through practice with knee injury and is listed as questionable on the game injury report. However, Adam Schefter is reporting that Mitchell is likely to be inactive Saturday versus the Texans.
Pittsburgh Steelers
1.Ben Roethlisberger (QB) — YELLOW – Big Ben suffered a slight ankle sprain during the 4th quarter of Sunday’s game. He was in a walking boot following the game which was big news coming out of the weekend. However, by Monday he had shed the boot and has returned to practice. While Roethlisberger has good in-pocket movement, he is not a running quarterback. He will probably be a little limited Sunday, but he is all but sure to play.
UPDATE: Roethlisberger has been removed from the injury report and will start Sunday at the Chiefs.
2.Ladarius Green (TE) — PURPLE / RED – Green suffered a setback late last week which caused him to miss the wildcard round. He remains in the league’s protocol and has yet to practice this week. At this point, the prognosis is poor, as most players that miss Wednesday practice do not play the following weekend. This is complicated even more by the fact he suffered a setback just last week.
UPDATE: Green is listed as doubtful on the injury report and is not expected to play Sunday night.
3.Fitzgerald Toussaint (RB) — PURPLE – Toussaint is in the league’s concussion protocol. His status is still unknown. Toussaint has a very limited role, so his status should not have a major impact.
Seattle Seahawks
1.C.J. Prosise (RB) — ORANGE – Prosise suffered a fractured scapula eight weeks ago. He has returned to limited practice this week, but head coach Pete Carroll has already tempered expectations. Despite a good outing by Thomas Rawls last week, the Seahawks have been handicapped by their backfield over the past few weeks. Getting their pass catching back would help balance their offense.
UPDATE: Prosise was able to practice full Thursday and is listed as questionable on the game injury report. The coaching staff continues to say he is a game time call, but with his progress through the week, I expect that he will play. His role is the real question mark. I am sure the plan is to limit his snaps, but if the Seahawks get behind, his role may be expanded due to game flow.