JaxsonDart

Tom Christ·Sep 27

Injury: Right shoulder dislocation Expected Time Missed: Expected to play Week 3.

This is another difficult situation for fantasy managers. Nabers is an elite talent, but he has only 70 receiving yards through two games as he continues working his way back from last season's ACL reconstruction and meniscus repair. The more immediate concern, however, is his shoulder. Nabers confirmed that his right shoulder dislocated during Week 2 and that he popped it back into place himself before returning to the game. Nabers is going to play, and his progression from limited Wednesday to full participation Thursday is encouraging from a performance standpoint. The problem is re-injury risk. An NFL study of in-season shoulder instability found that players who returned without surgical stabilization had a 55% recurrence rate. Players with shoulder dislocations who avoided surgery returned in a median of only three weeks, showing that athletes can play through these injuries relatively quickly, but recurrent instability remains a major concern. Eventually, recurrent shoulder instability often requires surgical stabilization, which would end Nabers' season if performed now. Most NFL players in this situation will attempt to manage the instability and delay surgery until the offseason when possible. The problem for fantasy managers is that another dislocation can occur suddenly, meaning Nabers carries an elevated risk of leaving essentially any game early even if he enters it feeling close to 100%. Nabers will also now be catching passes from Jameis Winston after Jaxson Dart suffered a season-ending knee injury. From a fantasy standpoint, I don't necessarily view Winston as a downgrade for Nabers. The bigger concern is the shoulder: Nabers can still produce at a high level when he's on the field, but his risk of another instability event is extremely high.

Sep 25

The New York Giants gave Jameis Winston a two-year, $13 million extension two weeks ago. That makes him the fourth-highest-paid veteran backup quarterback in the league. They made that investment so they’d have a reliable option to take over if starter Jaxson Dart missed time. It seems self-explanatory, but the concept is lost on those calling for the Giants to make a trade now that Dart is out for the regular season with a knee injury. It’s fair to be spooked by Winston’s dreadful performance in relief of Dart during Monday’s 28-6 loss to the Rams. But that’s not the type of play Winston has demonstrated during his two years in New York or his 10 previous seasons in the NFL. Winston is erratic. He’ll throw interceptions. He’ll make dumbfounding decisions. But he is also a talented passer who threw for 366 yards in his last start in Week 12 of last season. So the notion that the Giants should make a trade for a quarterback in the wake of Dart’s injury is foolish.