Week 5 Injury Recap & Fantasy Impact: Joe Burrow, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Travis Kelce
Sunday’s slate of games saw several notable stars leave their respective games with injuries. Some appeared severe, like JuJu Smith-Schuster’s, and others seemed to be relatively mild, like Tyreek Hill’s
Joe Burrow, QB, Bengals
Burrow was taken to a local hospital to be evaluated for a throat contusion following Cincinnati's overtime loss to the Packers, the team announced Sunday afternoon. There’s no further information on Burrow’s status moving forward. Burrow took a massive hit on a run during the game, but he was cleared soon after and quickly threw a deep touchdown strike.
Cincinnati only has one other quarterback on its active roster: Brandon Allen, who is in his third year out of Arkansas and has appeared in eight games in his career. Burrow supports a trio of talented receivers in Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd. They would all hurt if their quarterback were to miss any time.
Update: Burrow was released from the hospital last night. He should be fine, according to a report from NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
Daniel Jones, QB, Giants
Jones was carted off the field in a loss to the Cowboys after sustaining a helmet-to-helmet hit on a goal-line run. He was seen stumbling afterward, and then the medical cart came out to bring him to the locker room. Jones was ruled out of the game and replaced by Mike Glennon.
It will be a huge blow to New York's offense if the third-year signal-caller misses time. Jones is off to the best start of his career, quarterbacking a top-10 passing offense and limiting the turnovers that have plagued him. His potential absence would hurt receivers Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney, who broke out on Sunday. Jones is the newest addition to a long list of injured Giants, including star running back Saquon Barkley and receivers Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton.
Saquon Barkley, RB, Giants
Barkley injured his ankle on a freak play after a play was blown dead against the Cowboys. He stepped on a defender’s foot and rolled his ankle. An image from the broadcast showed Barkley's ankle severely swollen on the sideline, and he was later carted off. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Barkley is believed to have suffered a low-ankle sprain, which would keep him out of next week’s game against the Rams.
Since returning from his torn ACL that happened a season ago, Barkley has yet to return to his former dominance, but he was coming off of his best game of the season against the Saints. Now, he's in for additional recovery time, and New York is without its star running back and potentially its quarterback for at least one game. Devontae Booker scored two touchdowns in relief of Barkley and may be worth an add if you're hurting at the position.
Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports
Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB, Chiefs
Edwards-Helaire injured his left knee in Sunday night’s loss to the Bills. He left the game and was ruled out soon after. The second-year back was coming off back-to-back 100-yard rushing games but was off to a bad start against the Buffalo defense. The injury appeared to occur when a trio of Bills defenders tackled him.
When he exited, Darrel Williams, not Jerrick McKinnon, handled the bulk of the work for Kansas City. The Chiefs run their offense through the pass and Patrick Mahomes, but Williams could see enough work to rise to temporary fantasy relevance if Edwards-Helaire misses one or multiple weeks.
Update: Edwards-Helaire has an MCL sprain and will miss a few weeks, according to Rapoport.
Damien Harris, RB, Patriots
Harris left Sunday's win over the Texans twice with rib and chest injuries. He had a tough day overall, fumbling on the goal line and taking a beating from Houston's defense. Harris still led the team in rushing and finished with his best yardage total since Week 2. It was rookie Rhamondre Stevenson and Brandon Bolden who replaced Harris when he left but don't add those two just yet. Stevenson said “he’s going to be fine” of Harris after the game.
Tyreek Hill, WR, Chiefs
Kansas City coach Andy Reid said that Hill hurt his knee “a little bit” following the team’s loss to the Bills. The severity of the injury is currently unknown. Hill appeared to have finished the game, which is a good sign.
JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, Steelers
According to a report from Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster is expected to be placed on season-ending injury reserve. The fifth-year player sustained a shoulder injury in Sunday's win against the Broncos. Smith-Schuster exited the game and was helped off the field, grimacing in pain and was ruled out soon after.
He has not been able to return to the dominance of his 2018 campaign when he played alongside Antonio Brown. Still, he's a part of one of the better receiving trios in the league along with Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool, and his potential absence opens up more targets not only for them but also for running back Najee Harris. Smith-Schuster does most of his work near the line of scrimmage, which would funnel more targets to Harris.
Update: Smith-Schuster will miss the remainder of the season.
Travis Kelce, TE, Chiefs
Reid also said that Kelce had “a little bit of a stinger” after Sunday night’s game. A stinger is an injury to the nerve in the neck or shoulder, which usually occurs after a tackle. Kelce took a huge hit to the upper body on an incomplete pass in the fourth quarter. His Week 6 status is to be determined.
Other injuries
Lions receiver Quintez Cephus injured his shoulder in the first half against the Vikings. Coach Dan Campbell said it “doesn’t look good.” Cephus has emerged as a weapon for Jared Goff in recent weeks in a very shallow receiver room.
Saints quarterback Taysom Hill was carted off the field in a win over Washington after taking a helmet-to-helmet hit. He was ruled out with a concussion. New Orleans has utilized Hill more often in recent weeks, and now the status of their gadget player is in question.
Giants wideout Kenny Golladay hyperextended his knee. Considering his string of injuries and Kadarius Toney's monster performance in Week 5, Golladay's fantasy status continues to be in a freefall.
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