What a wild weekend! In case you missed it, one of the most shocking stories to come out of the NFL in years went down late Saturday evening as Colts QB Andrew Luck shockingly announced his retirement less than two weeks before the regular season begins. For more on our view of Luck’s announcement and how it will impact WR T.Y. Hilton and other members of the Colts’ offense, check out the Fantasy Fallout from Josh Norris.
While the Luck storyline dominated the weekend and will ultimately be one of the biggest stories of the 2019 season, there was other impactful news this weekend.
Miller Tears ACL
Texans starting RB Lamar Miller suffered a gruesome knee injury against the Cowboys Saturday evening and needed to be carted off the field. The Texans staff and all who saw the injury immediately feared the worst and, in this case, that was came true. An MRI revealed Miller had torn both his ACL and MCL and would miss the entire 2019 season. Miller has long been a frustrating player for the fantasy community as he does just enough to keep his job but has seemingly never lived up to expectations. With that said, most fantasy players were viewing him as a potential RB2 this season, so the injury will be felt by many.
Obviously, the Texans, viewed as strong contenders in the AFC South, will be forced to react to the injury. Houston had just traded for RB Duke Johnson earlier in the month. There had been some debate about his upside and potential usage in the offense but no longer. Until they make a move, Johnson should be viewed as the lead back in the strong Texans Offense. Johnson’s ADP already spiked as much as six rounds after he was dealt from Cleveland to the Texans and there is still room to grow as late fantasy drafts get underway. Longtime Texans beat writer John McClain suggested Johnson would “get all the playing time he can handle.”
The depth chart behind Johnson is very uninspiring, another signal the team will be closely monitoring the moves made on cut down day. Taiwan Jones, Damarea Crockett and Karan Higdon are among the backs currently on the Texans roster. Crockett and Higdon are undrafted rookies and Jones has 44 career carries in eight seasons in the league.
Preseason Game Notes
Finding fantasy football sleepers is hard to do in the age of social media, but the Bengals might just have one. Undrafted rookie WR Damion Willis, the 6’3", 200-pounder from Troy, caught three balls for 55 yards and a touchdown in the team’s latest game and was named as a starting receiver opposite Tyler Boyd. Willis has a chance to prove himself before WR A.J. Green returns from his injury. …Rookie TE T.J. Hockenson tied for the Lions team-lead in targets, catching three of four looks for 52 yards against the Bills. …QB Jameis Winston played the full first-half for the Buccaneers and while his stat line was unimpressive, the major concern that came from the game was Winston’s lack of protection. The Browns Defense got to Winston quickly and regularly and the Browns D finished with even total sacks on the night. Cleveland’s defensive line should be among the best in the league but this was still a scary reminder of how the Bucs’ offense could go wrong at times this year. …Bills veteran RB LeSean McCoy saw most of the work with the first team and turned that into 37 yards on just six carries. RB Frank Gore also played well, rushing for 57 yards on eight carries. This is heading for a full-blown committee. …RB Derrius Guice made his long-awaited return to the field for the Redskins, rushing for 44 yards on 11 carries, impressing HC Jay Gruden…Cardinals rookie WR KeeSean Johnson continues to impress, catching seven passes for 85 yards in the latest game. He did most of that damage with the second team, though he is reportedly still in the running to earn a starting role. …49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo finally put things together after recent struggles. Facing the Chiefs, Jimmy G passed for 188 yards and a touchdown. …San Francisco RBs Tevin Coleman and Matt Breida continue to share first-team work. Coleman totaled 21 yards on 10 touches while Breida used nine touches to produce 75 yards and a touchdown.
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Injury Update
Panthers QB Cam Newton suffered a scary injury last Thursday but his injury was ultimately diagnosed as a mid-foot sprain and the team is cautiously optimistic he will be ready for Week One. …Seahawks WR David Moore suffered a shoulder injury during practice and is expected to be out “a while.” This leaves Seattle extremely short-handed at the receiver position with rookie DK Metcalf already missing time following a knee procedure and puts WR Jaron Brown in the starting lineup. …Packers WR Equanimeous St. Brown (ankle) is expected to miss up to six weeks. …Lions C Frank Ragnow suffered a leg injury and had to be carted off the field. What was initially feared to be a season-ending injury was eventually diagnosed as just a minor ankle sprain. ….Buccaneers backup QB Blaine Gabbert suffered a should injury and was forced from the game. QB Ryan Griffin is next in line. …Bengals WR John Ross (hamstring) returned to practice…The Cardinals placed rookie WR Hakeem Butler (finger) on the injured reserve list, most likely ending his season. …Giants WR Sterling Shepard (thumb) is expected to be healthy for Week One. [[ad:athena]]
Quick Hits
Chiefs rookie RB Darwin Thompson has overtaken veteran RB Carlos Hyde on the depth chart. Multiple reports suggest Hyde is in danger of not making the Chiefs’ final roster. …Titans LT Taylor Lewan’s appeal to his four-game suspension was denied and he will miss the first four games of the season. …A day after signing with the Ravens, LE Paul Worrilow announced his retirement, ending his six-year career. …The Falcons signed K Blair Walsh. …Patriots TE Lance Kendricks was suspended one game for violating the league substance abuse policy. …The Colts waived RB D’Onta Foreman and he later cleared waivers. Foreman began camp as a trendy fantasy sleeper and now just a few weeks later, he’s been dumped by a pair of teams and has a lengthy rehab process ahead of him. It is conceivable we’ve seen the last of Foreman in the league. …Green Bay waived S Josh Jones, a former second-round pick. …Jets beat writer Rich Cimini suggested RBs Ty Montgomery and Le’Veon Bell could share the backfield work early in the season. …Oakland released veteran RB Doug Martin…WR Antonio Brown lost his second helmet grievance. Hopefully, this is the end of this story. …Redskins HC Jay Gruden named veteran QB Case Keenum the team’s Week One starter. …The Patriots released WR Maurice Harris and activated WR Josh Gordon from the active/NFI list. Gordon should be ready to go for Week One. …Miami released S T.J. McDonald.
