For the first time in the 2023 campaign, we seem to have escaped mostly injury-free.

There were a handful of players to get hurt – some that we will touch on now – but for the most part, the week was a resounding success on that front. It is especially important for players to stay healthy in terms of fantasy football, given that we are in the midst of the NFL bye weeks.

Hopefully, this trend can repeat itself in Week 11 and beyond.

• Waiver Wire Picks
• Weekly Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
• Fantasy Football Start/Sit Advice
• Fantasy Football Trade Tools

NFL Injury Updates & Fantasy Football Impact

Derek Carr (QB – NO)

Derek Carr exited in Week 11 against the Vikings after suffering both a concussion and a shoulder injury and did not return. Backup QB Jameis Winston entered and promptly sparked the offense, hurling two touchdown passes across his 25 attempts.

Fantasy Impact: The loss of Carr, per usual, should be considered a positive for the Saints’ offense, as Winston offers a lot more upside in fantasy terms (maybe real life, as well). Carr has proven to be an inefficient underachiever, a true game manager at his core. The Saints are on bye in Week 11, which certainly could give Carr enough time to recover and be back for their matchup with Atlanta. Though Winston would almost certainly be the preferred option regardless. Carr’s status should be monitored leading up to that Week 12 affair.

Alexander Mattison (RB – MIN)

On the opposite side of the ball from Carr was Vikings’ RB Alexander Mattison who suffered a concussion late in the game and was quickly ruled out. His status is now seemingly in flux for Week 12 against the Broncos.

Fantasy Impact: The Vikings’ running back room will be in total disarray if Mattison cannot get cleared before next week, as they also just lost their backup Cam Akers to an Achilles tear last week. This would point to preseason darling Ty Chandler being the next man up. He becomes an immediate priority add in fantasy leagues everywhere. Minnesota will almost surely add some depth if Mattison were to miss time, but Chandler should still be the preferred option as a familiar face on the depth chart. He could carve out RB2 numbers next week against a shoddy Denver run defense.

Deshaun Watson (QB – CLE)

Here we go again. Seemingly (and all of a sudden) never-healthy, Deshaun Watson suffered an ankle injury after getting rolled up on against Baltimore, forcing him to exit the game temporarily. He did end up returning later in the game, which the Browns went on to win late.

Fantasy Impact: Watson’s practice status needs to be closely watched ahead of Cleveland’s Week 12 matchup with Pittsburgh. We have already seen instances of him sitting out games this season with lingering issues, so we may have another one of those here. That said, Watson should be good to go if he is logging practices this week, which will keep his pass-catchers viable for starting fantasy positions.

Keenan Allen (WR – LAC)

Keenan Allen decimated the Lions on Sunday to the tune of an 11-175-2 line on 14 targets. Unfortunately, he did seem to suffer a shoulder injury during the bout, yet he did gut it out for the duration.

Fantasy Impact: Allen seemed no worse for the wear while playing and on camera following the game. Still, he will need to be closely observed at practice this week. Shoulder injuries can be highly problematic for wide receivers, so it will be a sigh of relief for his managers to witness him practice ahead of Week 12. If the 31-year-old is forced to miss the Chargers’ next game, Quentin Johnston and Jalen Guyton would have to step up as the top receiver options while Austin Ekeler would likely handle in excess of 30 touches.

Additional Notes:

• Cardinals’ QB Kyler Murray returned and started for the first time since last season. He looked solid overall and even led 1-8 Arizona to a late victory over the Atlanta Falcons and their second win of the campaign.
• Jets’ veteran QB Aaron Rodgers is reportedly pushing for a mid-late December return following the Achilles tear he suffered on opening night. While that seems very overly optimistic, and that we’ll “believe it when we see it,” a return from Rodgers would change the entire trajectory of the Jets’ offense.