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The Week 5 Thursday night matchup saw significant injuries to star players. The Buffalo Bills will be without quarterback EJ Manuel for a few weeks. Wide receiver Stevie Johnson could miss some time. The Cleveland Browns No. 2 quarterback, Brian Hoyer, will be out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL. The quarterback injuries may not affect starting lineups, but it thins out the position for bye-week replacements.
Heading into Sunday, there are a lot of players recovering from injury that could be last-minute scratches from lineups. Some will be important to keep an eye on all the way up until kickoff. Others you won’t have to worry about.
With that being said, here is the Week 5 injury report update.
Calvin Johnson: Megatron has been dealing with a knee injury for the last two weeks. Nervousness began when he didn’t partake in practice on Sept. 25. He was limited the rest of the week and played in Week 4 against the Chicago Bears. He then missed practice this past Wednesday and Thursday. Johnson returned to practice Friday and should be active for Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers.
He is listed as questionable, but there doesn’t seem to be any panic coming from the Detroit Lions. Johnson has owned the Packers over the last couple of years and should have a big game.
Prognosis: Clean bill of health, start him
Danny Amendola: Amendola has missed the last three games with a groin injury. It could have been more, but he avoided sports hernia surgery. He was seen at practice over the past couple of weeks, but was very limited. He suited up in last Wednesday’s practice, but did not travel with the team to Atlantic.
He continued practice and reports said he looked to be running well. ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted that Amendola is traveling with the team, but is questionable. The New England Patriots could use him as Rob Gronkowski will miss another week.
Prognosis: Start if necessary, bench otherwise.
Julio Jones: The Atlanta Falcons No. 1 wideout has also been dealing with a knee injury for a few weeks. Despite being limited in most practices, Jones continues to not let Fantasy owners down. He’s averaging 14 points per game and could have the same on Monday night against the New York Jets.
Jones has been able to play through this injury for multiple weeks. I doubt that any owner has the receiver depth to bench Jones, so he’s a must-start regardless, but with Roddy White still dealing with ankle problems, Matt Ryan will need Jones.
Prognosis: Start with confidence
Andre Johnson: There always seems to be something wrong with Johnson. This time, he’s had some soreness in his shin. He was listed as questionable last week, but played through it and hauled in nine passes for 110 yards. He was limited for practices leading up to Week 5.
According to NFL.com, Houston Texans Head Coach Gary Kubiak said Johnson will be active against the San Francisco 49ers. With the number of receivers on a bye this week, Johnson should be in starting lineups. However, with the Texans playing at 8:30 p.m., be sure to keep up to date with any news.
Prognosis: Keep tabs on it, but start him.
Bill Pivetz is a Fantasy Football writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @Mr_Piv1127.
