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Last Minute Fantasy Football News and Notes

Sunday, 7 September, 2014

Follow@cimini

By the end of week two I will do a fantasy football video show before the games start. But for now I’ll go ahead and take care of fantasy football news and notes regarding injuries before you set that final fantasy football lineup at 12:59PMEST/9:59PST.

Andre Ellington
I tabbed Ellington in the offseason and preseason as a guy to downgrade. I wasn’t expecting an injury this early but his foot injury leaves him as a no-go for this week. There is no reason to await head coach Bruce Arians decision to play Ellington. Utilize the rest of your depth and bypass Ellington completely. It was first reported that Ellington would miss four to six weeks.

Sammy Watkins
I’m not as down on Watkins for his status week one against the Bears. He was good to go in practice and although getting hit in the rib area is never great, teams now have the gear to protect that area. We’ve seen quarterbacks play with rib injuries and still get hit hard in that area. Watkins isn’t going to catch the ball more than five or six times. He’ll protect his body and be fine against Chicago. If you’re light at the receiver position go ahead and insert him.

Kenny Stills
This injury to Stills regarding his quad will keep him out this week against Atlanta. Stills is still just a bench reserve until we see more consistency out of him. Last year he broke out in a string of games but that was it. Those thinking to start Brandin Cooks are probably getting giddy just a tad bit early. His role will be just like Stills a year ago. A speed decoy for Brees to find deep occasionally. Unless that home run ball hits your going to be stuck with a low amount of points from Stills.

Terrance Williams
Williams back injury should not keep him out against the 49ers. You never know how a back will respond until action takes place. It’s something Williams owners will have to watch week to week. But after time off Williams is young enough that his back should hold up. The question will be if he can for the entire season.

Cam Newton
Who knows what Ron Rivera and Cam Newton are discussing hours before kickoff. The point spread has not moved and is still stuck at 2.5. If Vegas isn’t reacting than why is the fantasy football world getting caught up in a stir. This is a rib injury that quarterbacks have played through countless times. I believe Newton will go and it’ll be up to the Panthers offensive line to dictate how long he stays in. If Tampa Bay is able to hit Newton early than we may see Derek Anderson. Either way Newton has always been a matchup starter. This week with his health a major question you have to sit him. Carolina will likely relegate his main asset of rushing the football to avoid his big frame being subjected to hits.

Rob Gronkowski
Is he ready for a full season in a Patriots uniform? We haven’t seen Gronkowski achieve that since that days of being paired up with Aaron Hernandez. Hernandez was one of the reasons why Gronkowski flourished the way he did, as he was a nightmare to cover himself. Now we have to see how fresh Gronkowski is after several injuries. It should be expected for Gronkowski to hold little value this week unless he gets into the end zone. But with Gronkowski expected to play 30-50% of snaps that will draw Miami’s attention. Sit Gronkowski this week.

Cecil Shorts
Jacksonville will rely on their young rookie receivers with Shorts out. Jacksonville has surprised before with emerging receivers but there is no reason to jump on the “could be” band wagon in week one for fantasy football. There aren’t enough injuries around the league to do so. No one should own any Jaguar currently beneath Shorts in fantasy leagues.