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Week 16 marks the semi-finals for a lot of fantasy football playoffs which makes injury news even more prevalent. One of those key injuries this week is the injury to James Conner's heel.
Is James Conner play this week? If not, is it Chase Edmonds' time to shine again? This is going to be an important item to get right when setting lineups, as both of these running backs have played big roles in getting most fantasy managers to this point in the season. Let's dive into it.
Is James Conner Playing This Week Against the Colts?
James Conner has been dealing with a heel injury all week, and was officially listed as questionable for the Week 16 game against the Colts. It was expected that he would be available to play on Saturday, but late in the afternoon it was announced that he has been ruled out for the game.
This is an update to the previous news and reports from earlier in the week which are below.
James Conner Injury Updates for Week 16
James Conner picked up a heel injury last week against the Lions, and there has been some questions flying around about his availability for Week 16 against the Colts. Fortunately, he had this to say earlier this week:
It should be noted that Conner has not practiced all week and is officially listed as questionable. On Thursday head coach Kliff Kingsbury also said that Conner will be a game-time decision:
Conner should be in a timeshare with Chase Edmonds even if he is healthy and there should be some anxiety about whether or not he will be able to properly manage that pain throughout Saturday's game. Yet, it seems that he will be active and available for Saturday.
Is Chase Edmonds Starting In Week 16 Against the Colts?
Given the news we have about James Conner, this is an interesting question. Conner has been the more successful running back for most of the season. However, Conner and Edmonds have remained in a timeshare whenever both players are healthy. Last week, when Conner picked up his ankle injury, Conner received eight carries compared to six for Edmonds. Meanwhile, Conner saw two targets to one for Edmonds.
If Conner does miss this game, Edmonds should see the majority of the workload. However, it seems like Connor is going to end up playing -- and if that's the case, then Canner and Edmonds would split the workload against the Colts in Week 16 which lowers the viability of both players.
Should I Start James Conner or Chase Edmonds?
Edmonds and Conner should eat into each other's workload this week which kills a lot of their expected fantasy value. Furthermore, they face an Indianapolis defense that is 3rd in run defense DVOA while their pass defense ranks 16th in DVOA. Attacking this Colts defense through the air is, by far, the path of least resistance. Expectations for both running backs should be lowered.
If both players are available, both are low-end RB2 options but Edmonds is a higher-risk FLEX option. If Conner misses the game, Edmonds would suddenly get bell-cow usage and would be a low-end RB1 considering the tough matchup. Be sure to check back for further updates on the injury news before game time, and make sure that Conner is actually playing this week.
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