NFL Injury Report Friday Updates: Christian McCaffrey Questionable

NFL injury reports are shortest at the start of the season, but there are still a few situations we should carefully monitor heading into the weekend, including a big update on Christian McCaffrey after he popped up Thursday as a limited participant (with another so-called calf injury, no less) on the Week 1 injury report. 

McCaffrey is one of the few fantasy-relevant players listed as questionable, perhaps overshadowing what was otherwise a favorable week on the injury front, with the likes of Justin Jefferson, Malik Nabers, Tyreek Hill and De'Von Achane all avoiding game designations.

Below you'll find three different categories, with our lists including key offensive linemen and defensive players whose absences might impact fantasy decisions. The bottom section, for potential game-day decisions, is sorted by kickoff times. It can be used as a checklist/cheatsheet for Sunday morning and afternoon when inactives come out and we need to adjust lineups. Before we get to the 'questionable' players, let's see who's definitely in and who's definitely out...

Good to Go 💯

• WR Tyreek Hill (oblique)
• WR Malik Nabers (back)
• WR Jauan Jennings (calf)
• WRs Justin Jefferson (hamstring) & Jalen Nailor (hand)
• WRs Keon Coleman (groin) & Khalil Shakir (ankle)
• WR Marvin Mims (thigh)
• WR Noah Brown (knee)
• WR Alec Pierce (groin)
• TE Cade Otton (groin)

Ruled Out/Doubtful 🚑 

Out/Doubtful/IR

• RB Tyjae Spears (IR - ankle)
• RB Joe Mixon (NFI - ankle) 
• RB Jaylen Wright (knee)
• RB Jordan James (D - finger)
• WR Christian Kirk (hamstring)
• WRs Chris Godwin (ankle) & Jalen McMillan (IR - neck)
• WRs Rashee Rice (suspension) & Jalen Royals (knee) 
• WRs Brandon Aiyuk (IR - knee) & Jordan Watkins (D - ankle)
• WR Jalen Coker (IR - quad)
• TE Isaiah Likely (ankle)
• TE Darren Waller (hip)

Potential Workload Beneficiaries (From Injuries Above)

• Titans RB Tony Pollard
• Dolphins RB Ollie Gordon
• Texans RBs Nick Chubb, Woody Marks and/or Dameon Pierce
• Texans WRs Jayden Higgins, Jaylin Noel and/or Xavier Hutchinson
• Bucs WRs Emeka Egbuka & Sterling Shepard
• Chiefs WRs Hollywood Brown, Tyquan Thornton and/or JuJu Smith-Schuster
• 49ers WRs Ricky Pearsall, Jauan Jennings & Russell Gage
• Panthers WR Hunter Renfrow
• Ravens TE Mark Andrews / WR DeAndre Hopkins (Likely and Ricard both out)
• Dolphins TE Julian Hill

Pollard, Egbuka, Pearsall, Jennings and Andrews can all be started in most fantasy leagues, although Pearsall and Jennings are far from must-starts, and Pollard has major matchup concerns that could end up outweighing his likely dominance of Tennessee's backfield workload. The excitement around Egbuka seems justified, and I even named him as one of the top 'Starts' in my Week 1 Start/Sit article.

Key Defensive Players + Offensive Linemen

• CB Christian Gonzalez (hamstring)
• DE Chase Young (calf) + G Trevor Penning (toe)
• G Alijah Vera-Tucker (triceps)
• DT Derrick Harmon (MCL)
• LB Dre Greenlaw (knee)
• FB Patrick Ricard (calf)

Questionable / Game-Time Decisions 🤔

Early Games

• WR Darnell Mooney (shoulder) - 1:00 ET
• RB Tyler Goodson (elbow) - 1:00 ET

Falcons coach Raheem Morris called Mooney a game-time decision after Atlanta listed the wideout as a limited participant all week. I lean toward Mooney playing, given that he also got some work in last week, after being out for slightly more than a month with an unspecified shoulder injury. If he doesn't play, KhaDarel Hodge and Casey Washington are the candidates to step in alongside Drake London and Ray-Ray McCloud in an offense where the starting WRs often play more than 90 percent of snaps.

Late-Afternoon Games

• RB Christian McCaffrey (calf) - 4:05 ET
• WRs Jayden Reed (foot) & Dontayvion Wicks (calf) - 4:25 ET

All eyes are on McCaffrey ahead of opening weekend for a second straight year. The 49ers added him to their injury report Thursday as a limited participant, followed by a downgrade to non-participation Friday (even though he was spotted in uniform going through warmups before practice). 

The 49ers listed him as questionable on their final injury report, with coach Kyle Shanahan mostly declining to say anything useful. Buckle up, and get ready to potentially see a lot of Brian Robinson, who was brought to San Francisco to be the No. 2 RB, per Shanahan. Isaac Guerendo will also get some touches, presumably, if McCaffrey doesn't end up playing. 

The Packers, meanwhile, have three WRs listed as questionable, although rookie third-round pick Savion Williams (hamstring) probably won't have much of a role in any case. Reed plans to play through a Jones fracture this year, but Green Bay's medical staff is known for caution, and the slot man won't necessarily have his usual effectiveness (or workload) if he suits up. 

Matthew Golden is the Packers wideout to play in fantasy this week, although Malik Heath could take a lot of Reed's slot snaps if Reed doesn't play. Romeo Doubs will play a lot of snaps, but he isn't explosive and thus isn't usually prioritized in Matt LaFleur's playcalling. I really think the Packers will try to run things through Josh Jacobs and Golden, with Tucker Kraft and Reed secondary considerations and Doubs' usage fluctuating based on matchups and the other guys' health.

Primetime Games

• RBs Roschon Johnson (foot) & Kyle Monangai (hamstring) - MNF

Johnson didn't practice Friday, while Monangai was a limited participant. Regardless of how this shakes out, D'Andre Swift should be busy. It does seem at least one of Johnson or Monangai is expected to play, considering Chicago is carrying just three RBs on the active roster and one (Brittain Brown) on the practice squad.

Key Defensive Players + O-Linemen

• DT Vita Vea (foot)
• OLB Micah Parsons (back) + CB Nate Hobbs (knee)
• CB L'Jarius Sneed (knee)
• G Ed Ingram (abdomen)
• LT Christian Darrisaw (ACL) + S Harrison Smith (conditioning)
• CB Jaylon Johnson (groin)

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