Derrick Henry, James Robinson, Rob Gronkowski, and T.Y. Hilon all exited last week's games, though Henry was able to return and handle a normal workload. More developments have come out after the game, so this is a situation worth monitoring. Week 9 fantasy waiver pickups, rankings, and start 'em, sit 'em calls could be mightily affected by these ailments, so let's get into the latest injury updates.
For the latest on banged-up QBs Jameis Winston and Sam Darnold, click here; for updates on ailing RBs Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey, David Montgomery, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire, go here; for the latest on key pass-catchers Calvin Ridley, Julio Jones, Darren Waller, and more, click here; for more on injured QBs Dak Prescott and Tyrod Taylor, click here. For all the latest fantasy news, follow us on Twitter @SN_Fantasy.
MORE WEEK 9: Top waiver pickups | FAAB budget planner | Buy-Low, Sell-High
Derrick Henry injury update
UPDATE: NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Henry will have foot surgery on Tuesday and be out six-to-10 weeks, with eight being the most likely timeframe. That basically takes him to the end of the fantasy regular season, though he might make it back for the end of the fantasy playoffs.
We might have some earth-shattering news on our hands, as Henry reportedly suffered a potentially season-ending foot injury against Indianapolis. This is obviously big news in the scope of the NFL and in fantasy, as he's been the most dominant RB in both regards up to this point.
It seems as if Henry will at least miss a significant portion of time, but we don't know for sure it's season-ending yet. Stay tuned later in the week as he undergoes an MRI. If he's out, the Titans will likely trade for a veteran RB like Ronald Jones or Mike Davis, but until then, Jeremy McNichols will be penciled in as the in-house starter. This will have a big effect on the Week 9 waiver wire, and since the trade deadline is Tuesday afternoon, we'll all know who to target before waivers are cleared. (Update: The Titans signed veteran Adrian Peterson on Monday afternoon. He will likely receive the bulk of the carries and be a priority pickup ahead of McNichols, but McNichols could still have plenty of PPR value thanks to his expected role on passing downs.)
WEEK 9 PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
James Robinson injury update
UPDATE: Robinson is considered "day to day" is has a decent shot at playing in Week 9.
Robinson suffered a bruised heel against Seattle, and his timetable for return is unknown at this point in time. A bruised heel is an uncommon injury, so we'll let later reports speculate on how long he'll be out, but this is obviously a situation to this week.
If Robinson is fine and ready to go next week, we rank him as the RB14 in standard leagues and RB11 in PPR leagues. Buffalo's defense is one of the best in the league, but assuming Robinson is healthy, he should be in for a huge workload and get a ton of work through the air. If he's out, Carlos Hyde figures to be a low-end RB2, but touchdowns could propel him higher. Hyde is one of our top priority waiver adds.
WEEK 9 STANDARD RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
Rob Gronkowski injury update
After missing a month of the season with a ribs injury, Gronk reportedly suffered back spasms in Week 8 against New Orleans. Bruce Arians said Gronkowski "probably shouldn't have played."
We'll have to monitor his situation moving forward, but Tampa Bay is on a bye, so we may not have much information until next week. For fantasy purposes, you knew you couldn't start him next week anyway, so continue to look for a Week 9 streamer at tight end.
T.Y. Hilton injury update
UPDATE: Hilton has already been ruled out for Thursday night due to a concussion.
Hilton was sidelined following a brutal hit against Tennessee, which eventually led to him being evaluated for a concussion. We can't necessarily speculate on a head injury, but with the Colts having a quick turnaround to Thursday Night Football against the Jets, it's hard to think he'll be ready to go. That said, we don't know much yet about his situation, so stay tuned.
If he does play, we love the matchup against a struggling Jets secondary and rank him as the WR36 in PPR and WR33 in standard . If he's active, surely he won't be on a snap count as a concussion is an all-or-nothing injury.