Ballard: Keenan Allen will play in Week 1

He did upgrade to a full practice today so he’s at least likely on the optimistic side of questionable. Still, we were hoping he’d be cleared off the line entirely today, so it does give us a little hesitation that he could practice all three times this week, including one full, and still be questionable. The Colts don’t really have much else behind him.

Two straight practices, albeit limited ones, should put Allen on the right side of questionable on Friday barring something new popping up. Allen will be an unexciting FLEX play against the Steelers in Week 5 if active.

Allen suffered a groin injury in practice last week and was unable to play in Week 4 against the Commanders. His early-week return puts him on track to play in Week 5 against the Steelers, but he can likely only be viewed as a touchdown-dependent FLEX at this time.

Allen was limited in practice throughout the week and listed as questionable. Now he’s been ruled out for Week 4 against the Commanders. Josh Downs is locked in as the Colts top wide receiver this week and Tyler Warren should also see a boost in value with Allen sidelined.

This one went under the radar. Allen was limited on Wednesday with a “rest” designation. He remained limited on Thursday, but the Colts tacked a groin injury next to his name while maintaining the “rest” designation and hope for a Week 4 appearance along the way. Allen was downgraded on Friday, unable to practice, and should be considered truly questionable to face the Commanders this week. Were he to sit, No. 1 wide receiver Josh Downs would get a helpful target share boost.

His touchdown was the kind of touchdown Allen has been making for years, creating just enough space in front of a zone linebacker in the red zone for the catch-and-run score. Nine targets will play in a Shane Steichen offense, even if we don’t think there’s a lot left in the Allen reserve tanks at this stage of his career. Allen is on the FLEX radar against the Commanders in Week 4.

The most notable aspect to come from Allen’s modest performance was the fact that he really didn’t see an increase in emphasis in the offense following the departure of Alec Pierce at the end of the first quarter. Pierce’s initial X-rays came back negative on the same heel he had surgery on this offseason, but will get further testing Monday to diagnose the severity of the injury. Either way, Allen can safely be returned to the waiver wire in most fantasy formats.

This stems from Allen’s pair of misdemeanor charges related to a drunk driving arrest that occurred in August. A three-game suspension is the minimum allowed for a DUI or similar arrest under the current collective bargaining agreement. As Schefter notes, the league can make the suspension longer, and Allen’s blood-alcohol content was three times the legal limit. The NFL will wait for the legal process to play out before stepping in with a suspension of its own. That could take several months depending on how things unfold in court.

Allen was arrested for DWI in late August and could face a suspension from the NFL. When that suspension could come down is anyone’s guess. For now Allen will continue playing significant snaps for the Colts. In Week 1 against the Ravens, Allen caught all six of his targets for 32 yards while running a route on 73 percent of the team’s drop backs.

Allen did all of his damage in the short area of the field, as the veteran receiver never totaled more than nine yards on any of his six catches. Allen averaged fewer than four air yards per target on the day. It’s far too early to say Allen can be dropped from fantasy rosters, even if this was just a PPR scam, but there’s no need to jam him into your lineups in Week 2 against the Chiefs.