Christian McCaffrey, Josh Allen, NFL Injury Statuses and Fantasy Impact for Week 7
October 20, 2023
Christian McCaffrey will have fantasy football players on edge until the final kickoff of Week 7.
The San Francisco 49ers running back is dealing with an oblique injury that he suffered in the Week 6 loss to the Cleveland Browns.
San Francisco plays the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night, so McCaffrey has an extra day to heal, but that hurts what fantasy players can do off the waiver wire.
McCaffrey did not practice on Thursday and was doing work on the side at the start of Friday's practice. He will not have an official injury designation until Saturday.
There is better news involving Josh Allen, who is cleared to go against the New England Patriots despite dealing with a shoulder injury.
Allen's health is a welcome sight to fantasy players who have had to navigate an injury-riddled quarterback landscape in the last few weeks.
Below is a look at all of the significant injuries that could affect Week 7 fantasy football matchups.
- Christian McCaffrey, RB, SF: Did not practice Friday (oblique), per team injury report.
- Deebo Samuel, WR, SF: Did not practice Friday (shoulder), per team injury report.
- Josh Allen, QB, BUF: Off injury report (shoulder), per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.
- Saquon Barkley, RB, NYG: Off injury report (ankle), per Rotoworld.
- Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, DET: Expected to play Sunday (hamstring), per The Athletic's Colton Pouncy.
- David Montgomery, RB, DET: Out (ribs), per MLIve's Kyle Meinke.
- Deshaun Watson, QB, CLE: Expected to start (shoulder), per AP's Tom Withers.
- Daniel Jones, QB, NYG: Questionable (neck), per NFL Network's Mike Garafolo.
- Justin Fields, QB, CHI: Out (thumb), per The Athletic's Adam Jahns.
- Pat Freiermuth, TE, PIT: Expected to miss Sunday's game (hamstring), per Pelissero.
- Aaron Jones, RB, GB: Questionable (hamstring), per ESPN's Rob Demovsky.
- DeVonta Smith, WR, PHI: Off injury report (hamstring), per team injury report.
- Kyler Murray, QB, ARI: Out (knee), per team injury report.
All Eyes on Christian McCaffrey's Status
McCaffrey started Friday's practice doing work on the side as he tries to play against Minnesota on Monday, per ESPN's Nick Wagoner.
Nick Wagoner @nwagonerDuring open portion of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/49ers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#49ers</a> practice, did not see WR Deebo Samuel (shoulder) or LT Trent Williams (ankle).<br><br>RB Christian McCaffrey (oblique) was doing some work on the side with training staff.<br><br>G Aaron Banks (ankle) and LB Dre Greenlaw (hamstring) were participating.
San Francisco's extra day of preparation is a blessing for the team, but a disaster in waiting for fantasy football players who need McCaffrey to win their respective matchups.
McCaffrey will not receive an official injury designation until Saturday, so it is important to prepare for a potential absence, or limited work load.
Jordan Mason and Elijah Mitchell are the obvious replacements from the San Francisco roster. They would be in line for the most carries if McCaffrey is unable to play.
The waiver wire could be hard to navigate otherwise because Joe Mixon, Tony Pollard, Derrick Henry, Breece Hall and Dameon Pierce are all on bye weeks.
The Green Bay Packers have the best matchup for running backs in Week 7 against the Denver Broncos' league worst rushing defense. If A.J. Dillon is available, he could be worth the pickup, even with Aaron Jones on track to return.
Craig Reynolds of the Detroit Lions is the most obvious pickup outside of any Green Bay or San Francisco backs. He will earn some carries alongside Jahymr Gibbs in David Montgomery's absence.
Any of the Los Angeles Rams running backs appear to be good pickups as well. The issue with Darrell Henderson, Zach Evans and Royce Freeman is they could split the workload in place of the injured Kyren Williams. There is also the risk that you pick the wrong running back of the trio. Henderson seems like the best of three options because of his previous history in the Rams offense.
Josh Allen Clear To Play On Sunday
Fantasy players do not have to worry about Allen's status, which is a relief given the state of the quarterbacks across the NFL.
Jimmy Garoppolo and Justin Fields are out, Daniel Jones is questionable and Deshaun Watson is expected to play after a few weeks off.
Brian Hoyer, Tyson Bagent, Gardner Minshew and Tyrod Taylor are not exactly fantasy studs, so it is best to stay away from them at all costs if you can.
Allen has the potential to put up some of the best fantasy numbers at quarterback in Week 7.
The Buffalo Bills quarterback has three straight multi-touchdown regular-season games through the air against the Patriots, and he has thrown for at least 250 yards in three of his last five meetings with his AFC East rival. He also threw five passing touchdowns against the Patriots in one playoff meeting.
Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis should have better numbers than last week's stalemate against the New York Giants. Both wide receivers could have strong days if Allen continues his terrific recent form against New England.