Fantasy Football Injury Reports For NFL WRs: Week 9 Updates for Cooper Kupp, Ja'Marr Chase, Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Adam Thielen

The injuries continue to pile up for fantasy managers and unfortunately, it seems as though the names are getting bigger and bigger. In Week 8, superstar receiver Cooper Kupp tweaked his ankle, but it seems fantasy managers got lucky with him.

There are plenty of receivers fantasy managers are hoping to get back onto the field this week such as Keenan Allen and Michael Thomas, but right now, both players' statuses seem to be up in the air, especially Thomas. Although at this point, that shouldn't be a surprise.

Let's see what other receivers' injuries we should be tracking heading into Week 9.

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Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams

Fantasy managers across the world held their collective breath when Cooper Kupp went down and clutched his ankle late in the fourth quarter of the Rams' Week 8 loss to the 49ers. Trainers came out to tend to him. The video appeared to show an ankle injury.

Cooper Kupp —

Looked like a possible right ankle injury, hard to tell as he’s getting rolled up on.
But was talking with trainers with his right foot up on his helmet.
Walked off without assistance, just a slight limp. Probably minor. https://t.co/bqAJzS7RJZ

— Jeff Mueller, PT, DPT (@jmthrivept) October 30, 2022

After the game, Kupp gave fantasy managers a reason to be optimistic, indicating he believes he "dodged a bullet." That's certainly a good thing to hear for one of the league's best fantasy receivers, but at the same time, it indicates that, at least on some level, there were concerns regarding the injury initially. Luckily, it appears that Kupp managed to avoid any serious injury.

Rams said wide receiver Cooper Kupp is dealing with “tissue swelling in his ankle”, but he still is expected to play on Sunday vs. the Buccaneers.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 31, 2022

Head coach Sean McVay has also stated that he expects Kupp to be available this weekend. Fantasy managers shouldn't expect him to practice early this week, as the team will no doubt give the superstar receiver some extra recovery time, but signs are pointing up in regard to his availability. Fantasy managers will need to track his practice availability throughout the week just to be sure.

Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals

Ja'Marr Chase injured his hip in Week 7, although the injury mostly came out of nowhere. There had been no real indication that Chase had gotten hurt and fantasy managers were bombarded with reports that he could end up going on IR. It appears, at least as of right now, the team has opted to not put Chase on IR.

Ja’Marr Chase is week-to-week with a complex hip injury, but no IR gives him at least a chance to return before four weeks. https://t.co/1AiSqrLsoa

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 29, 2022

With Chase not going on IR, fantasy managers can at least be cautiously optimistic he'll be able to return within 3–4 weeks. However, initial reports were that the injury could keep him out for 4–6 weeks. He missed their Monday night game against Cleveland and there's no reason to expect him to be available in Week 9.

Keenan Allen, Los Angeles Chargers

Keenan Allen injured his hamstring in Week 1 and after sitting a few weeks out, Allen returned to practice and seemed to re-aggravate his injury, further complicating his recovery. At that time, Allen needed more time to recover and it wasn't until Week 7 that Allen finally returned to the lineup. However, he was clearly on a snap count, playing just 32%. It was slightly surprising to see Allen active in Week 7, considering the Chargers had their bye in Week 8 and if Monday's practice report was any indication, his playing in Week 7 may have been a mistake.

#Chargers WR Keenan Allen is not practicing today.

— Daniel Popper (@danielrpopper) October 31, 2022

He was not practicing as of Monday; however, fantasy managers shouldn't panic too much. With the bye week the week prior, the Chargers had a little extra preparation time. Still, it's not ideal that he's still not out there. With Mike Williams all but guaranteed to be out in Week 9, the Chargers' offense needs a healthy Keenan Allen. Fantasy managers will need to track his practice availability throughout the week. There were no reports of any injury reaggravation from their Week 7 game, so fantasy managers can be cautiously optimistic.

Mike Williams, Los Angeles Chargers

During the Week 7 game, Mike Williams suffered what appeared to be a significant high-ankle sprain. The following tests confirmed the severity of the injury.

#Chargers are expecting Mike Williams to miss a minimum of four weeks.

— Daniel Popper (@danielrpopper) October 26, 2022

Fantasy managers should be expecting to be without Williams for the next 4–6 weeks. Luckily, the team's bye week fell in between that stretch, which should save him at least one missed game.

Allen Lazard, Green Bay Packers

Allen Lazard missed the Packers' Week 8 loss to the Buffalo Bills with a shoulder injury. The Packers didn't provide a lot of information regarding what his shoulder injury entailed and that creates a tough situation for fantasy managers.

#Saints Michael Thomas - Upper range for turf toe = 6 weeks. MT now at 5. Anticipate return ~Wk 10. Performance impact lingers ~2-3 wks post-return#Packers Allen Lazard - mechanism + comments suggest shoulder subluxation + labrum. WRs avg 2-3 wks. Likely Wk 9-10 return

6/7

— Deepak Chona, MD. SportsMedAnalytics (@SportMDAnalysis) October 29, 2022

Lazard himself indicated he did not believe it was a long-term injury, but that doesn't necessarily mean he'll be back in Week 9. As of right now, fantasy managers should be considering Lazard's availability for this weekend 50/50 largely because we just don't have enough information right now one way or the other. His practice availability will hopefully shed more light on his potential availability as the week moves along.

Adam Thielen, Minnesota Vikings

Adam Thielen seemed to suffer a knee injury during their Week 8 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. He left the game for a few snaps but was ultimately able to return to action. He finished playing 87% of the snaps.

Kevin O’Connell said that Adam Thielen and Za’Darius Smith both had knee contusions but are ok

— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) October 30, 2022

As of right now, there's nothing to indicate his injury is serious. He was able to return to the game and played the vast majority of their snaps. Fantasy managers should expect Thielen to be available this weekend.

Joshua Palmer, Los Angeles Chargers

Joshua Palmer missed the Week 7 contest due to a concussion. Prior to that contest, Palmer had not practiced in any capacity, indicating he was still in the early stages of the concussion protocol.

No Keenan Allen at today’s #Chargers practice, but Joshua Palmer is getting some work in.

Donald Parham has a helmet and is practicing in some capacity.

— Eric Smith (@Eric_L_Smith) October 31, 2022

Luckily for Palmer, the Chargers had their bye week in Week 8, which gave him an extra week to pass through the protocol. The extra time seems to have helped, as he was seen practicing in a limited capacity on Monday early. It's still too early to predict if Palmer will be available due to how different concussion recovery times can be, but his early practice availability bodes well. Fantasy managers will need to track his practice status throughout the week. If he passes through the protocol, he'll be on the WR3 radar with teammate Mike Williams not likely to play.

Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints

Michael Thomas has not played since Week 3. The team elected not to put him on IR, an indication they expected him back within four weeks. It's been five weeks now and we're still counting. The worst part is there doesn't seem to be any end in sight either. He has not practiced in any capacity whatsoever and there's been very little new information out regarding when he might return to action.

Until then, fantasy managers should expect to be without Thomas. As always, his practice availability will tell us whether or not we should be expecting him.

Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ers

Deebo Samuel missed Week 8 with a hamstring injury. That was the smart play by the 49ers with their bye this week, in Week 9. By holding him out in Week 8, the team has provided Samuel an extra week of recovery time for his hamstring injury. As we know, based on Keenan Allen's recovery time, hamstring injuries can be tricky.

The hope is that Samuel will be available in Week 10, but fantasy managers will need to wait until the 49ers return to practice next week.

Rashod Bateman, Baltimore Ravens

Rashod Bateman seemed to return from his foot injury too early and re-injured the foot during their Week 8 victory over Tampa Bay. Following the game, fantasy managers were not presented with positive news regarding the injury.

Ravens WR Rashod Bateman will miss a few weeks with his foot injury, per John Harbaugh, a disappointing development. It's "more than a tweak."

— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) October 31, 2022

Fantasy managers should expect to be without Bateman in Week 9, and as it sounds, Week 10 as well.

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