By Scott Kacsmar
Earlier this NFL season, we were getting one notable quarterback injury per week. But Week 13 was a real hazard zone with one probable season-ending injury to a contender, another potential long-term injury to a former MVP, and Trevor Lawrence somehow escaped a serious injury for Jacksonville to come back and finish the game.
Here are all the notable injuries from Week 13 that you should prepare for your fantasy teams, DFS lineups, Same Game Parlays, and other prop bets this week.
QB Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers
The story of the offseason in San Francisco was whether to give the starting quarterback job to Trey Lance or let Jimmy Garoppolo get one more shot at winning a Super Bowl, but injury has possibly taken away both options.
The 49ers lost Lance in Week 2 to a broken ankle, and now Garoppolo, who was having a solid season with 16 touchdown passes, is going on injured reserve with a broken foot. The team has optimism that Garoppolo avoided a dreaded Lisfranc injury, and he will not require surgery after all.
There is a chance Garoppolo could return in 7-to-8 weeks, which would put him in line to play during the divisional round or NFC Championship Game should the 49ers get that far. But there is a lot of work to be done first, and there is no guarantee he’ll be ready for action.
Before the weekend, San Francisco was +700 to win Super Bowl 57, the fourth-best odds in the NFL and the second-best odds in the NFC. Despite the big win over Miami, the quarterback injury has San Francisco at +1000 odds for the Super Bowl, trailing Philadelphia (+500) and now Dallas (+800) in the NFC.
The new starting quarterback is Brock Purdy, Mr. Irrelevant from this year’s draft out of Iowa State where he threw 81 touchdowns to 33 interceptions in the Big 12.
His first major bit of NFL action on Sunday was respectable as Purdy finished 25-of-37 for 210 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Not bad for coming off the bench against a team likely headed for the playoffs in Miami.
In his bid to become the first rookie quarterback to start a Super Bowl, Purdy is aided by the best defense in the league and arguably the best set of skill players. Kyle Shanahan has also gotten big production out of past quarterbacks like Brian Hoyer and Nick Mullens, but he will have to deal with the fact that he is 42-19 with Garoppolo as his starting quarterback and 9-29 with anyone else.
Objectively, Purdy is a less attractive option than Garoppolo, but it is the hand the 49ers have been dealt. They also signed Josh Johnson, but you can count out Baker Mayfield as an option. The Rams claimed him on Tuesday.
QB Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
Here we go again with Lamar Jackson in December. Last year, the Ravens were 8-4 when Jackson was injured in a game in Cleveland. Head coach John Harbaugh called it a day-by-day injury and believed Jackson had a shot to play in the next game. Jackson never played another down in 2021, the Ravens never won another game, and they missed the playoffs at 8-9.
Are we headed that way again? Harbaugh was already calling Jackson’s sprained PCL injury a “day-by-day” situation after the game before upgrading it to “week-by-week” on Monday. It sure sounds like Tyler Huntley is going to start in Pittsburgh this Sunday for Jackson.
Huntley has six games with the Ravens where he threw at least 30 passes. Those six games have been decided by a grand total of 11 points with the Ravens going 2-4. Expect more pass attempts in this offense with Huntley because he loves to take the short passes. He also has rushed for at least 40 yards in all six of his major appearances, so he has the mobility to get production on the ground.
But the Ravens are unlikely to score many points with Huntley at quarterback. This was already an issue with Jackson in recent weeks. The Ravens will just have to hope he can return soon and this won’t be a repeat of 2021.
QB Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins
A less severe situation than what is going on with Garoppolo and Lamar, there is some cause for concern after Tua Tagovailoa left the end of Sunday’s game with an ankle injury. After Nick Bosa’s strip-sack for a San Francisco touchdown made it 33-17 after the two-minute warning, putting Tua back in the game at that point would have been silly anyway.
So, this could have been a benching out of caution, but the way Tagovailoa looked throughout the game, including some first-half limping, has some worried about his health going forward. He was unusually inaccurate, though some of that may have been the pass rush from the 49ers. It is not explicitly clear the ankle injury happened on the strip-sack at the end of the game.
We’ll see how the week goes for Miami, but Tagovailoa is set to start against the Chargers on Sunday Night Football.
RB Kenneth Walker, Seattle Seahawks
An ankle strain knocked Walker out of Sunday’s game after 14 snaps and three carries. It was a disappointing day for the rookie who has been so good for the offense since he took over. He was trying to bust out of a two-game slump.
The Seahawks also lost backup runner Deejay Dallas to an ankle injury, and that one may be more of a sprain. It is unclear if either will be able to play in Week 14, though neither injury should be viewed as a season-ending one like what happened to Rashaad Penny earlier this year.
But this could leave the Seahawks very limited at running back during a crucial time of year with a very winnable game against Carolina before the big rematch in the NFC West with the 49ers in Week 15. Tony Jones is the only other back who played on Sunday and he had 7 carries for 14 yards.
The Seahawks may need to bring in a practice squad or street free agent at the position this week.
WR Treylon Burks, Tennessee Titans
Just as he caught the first receiving touchdown of his NFL career, Treylon Burks had to leave with a concussion. Under the new protocol, there is always a chance he misses the next game against Jacksonville, but there is a possibility that he could play too if he is cleared. Either way, it should be a one-game absence at most.
Burks has jumped to the team lead with 359 receiving yards, so he is becoming an important part of the offense as the team hoped when they used a first-round pick on him. Still, it sure would have been nice to have A.J. Brown again instead of facing him on Sunday when he had 119 yards and two touchdowns for the Eagles.
WR Courtland Sutton, Denver Broncos
The Denver offense has been the most embarrassing unit in the NFL this season, but health has certainly not been on their side. Just as wide receiver Jerry Jeudy returned from injury, Courtland Sutton had to leave Sunday’s 10-9 loss in Baltimore with a hamstring injury.
Sutton played 23 snaps but only had one target and zero catches. It is the first game in his NFL career without a catch.
Hamstring injuries can linger, so we could go a few games without seeing Sutton on the field. That would be good news for Jeudy, who played well with four catches for 65 yards despite being on a low snap count.
WR Quez Watkins, Philadelphia Eagles
Watkins left in the third quarter against Tennessee with a shoulder injury that is reportedly an AC joint issue. It is possible he could miss a game but playing in New York in a big game against the Giants is still a possibility.
Watkins is not a huge contributor to the Eagles, but he has three touchdowns, two in November, and he is fourth on the team with 296 receiving yards. He usually plays at least half the snaps too, and that number has gone up with tight end Dallas Goedert injured.
The Eagles could turn more to wide receiver Zach Pascal in case Watkins misses any time.
TE Hayden Hurst, Cincinnati Bengals
A calf injury limited Hurst to nine snaps against the Chiefs. He caught two passes for 12 yards before he left the game. It does not sound promising that he will be able to go against Cleveland, a team that Joe Burrow has yet to beat in his NFL career.
Mitchell Wilcox is the backup tight end and he has caught all seven of his targets for 60 yards this season. It is a downgrade, but the good news is the Bengals’ wide receiver trio is whole again after Ja’Marr Chase made his return and running back Samaje Perine has been shining in a bigger role while Joe Mixon has been out.
