Even with the Thanksgiving holiday finally here, fantasy football still needs your attention because there are three Thursday games that can have a serious impact on your roster.
Week 12 is especially important because the fantasy postseason is right around the corner. Injuries have already impacted your team this season, and will continue to do so because that’s just how the NFL works.
The key to success is knowing when to remain high on ailing stars and when to cut the cord. Sometimes it’s obvious, like the marquee name who has a torn ACL, but there are always nagging problems that will linger for weeks.
Going over the Week 12 injury report while setting fantasy lineups, here are the biggest stars and advice on how to handle them.
Buy: QB Tyrod Taylor, Buffalo Bills (at Kansas City)
It’s been a rough season for fantasy quarterbacks. Andrew Luck, Peyton Manning, Joe Flacco, Ben Roethlisberger and Tony Romo are just some of the players who have missed at least one game, so having reinforcements has proved to be essential.
One of the year’s pleasant surprises has been Buffalo Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor. He’s also missed time in 2015 and is currently battling a shoulder injury that was obviously hindering him late in Week 11 against New England.
Bills head coach Rex Ryan told reporters (per Buffalo’s official Twitter) Wednesday that Taylor “feels better than he did” and believes his quarterback will play.
That’s good news for fantasy owners in need of an emergency starter at quarterback this week. While not a superstar, Taylor has been a solid fantasy option in 2015 with at least 15 points in five of his eight starts.
Kansas City’s four-game winning streak could turn owners off, but context also helps in this case. The Chiefs have beaten a Pittsburgh team that started Landry Jones at quarterback, two of the NFL’s worst teams (Detroit and San Diego) and a Denver team with an old, injured Peyton Manning.
There are moments Taylor can look like a potential fantasy star, as this play against the Patriots shows, per the NFL on Twitter:
While expectations should be reasonable for Taylor this week because of his injury, the fact he’s currently available in more than half of ESPN leagues seems suspect.
Buffalo wants to be a run-first team, which is fine because Taylor has mobility and can create plays with his legs. He’s going to be a valuable fantasy asset down the stretch for quarterback-needy owners, starting this Sunday.
Sell: RB Matt Forte, Chicago Bears (at Green Bay)
At first glance, Matt Forte’s matchup against Green Bay would seem to be a good opportunity to cash in on his value. His best game of the season came in Week 1 against these Packers with 141 rushing yards and 25 receiving yards.
However, Forte’s injury does present reasons to be cautious in Week 12. He has missed the last three games with a sprained MCL, but told reporters earlier this week (per ESPN.com’s Jeff Dickerson) that he could have returned sooner.
“I probably could have played last Sunday, but I might not have been able to play coming up this week if something would have happened,” Forte said. “Time heals and stuff. Just a couple of extra days will help.”
While that is encouraging, it doesn’t help Forte’s cause that Green Bay’s defense comes into Thursday’s game on a high note. The Packers ended their three-game losing streak in grand fashion, holding Adrian Peterson to his second-lowest yardage total (45) of the season.
Forte has been mostly good this season for fantasy owners, racking up at least 10 points in five of Chicago’s first six games before the bye in Week 7 and getting injured the following week.
The Packers have done well limiting elite running backs, at least in terms of yardage. Jamaal Charles only had 49 yards in Week 3, but his fantasy numbers look fantastic because of three rushing touchdowns. Jonathan Stewart had 66 yards on 20 carries against them.
Given the always-erratic play by Jay Cutler and short turnaround for the Bears traveling to Lambeau Field, Forte should spend one more week on your fantasy bench even though he will be healthy.
One More Week: WR Calvin Johnson (vs. Philadelphia)
The days of Calvin Johnson being a must-start player every week are long gone. Things have reached the point where releasing him wouldn’t be a bad move, but fantasy owners should factor in a matchup before making a rash decision.
Johnson has been limited at practice this week with an ankle injury that goes back to Week 8 against Kansas City. He hasn’t missed a game with the injury, and is starting to look more like the receiver everyone knows with at least eight fantasy points in his last five games.
If you have considered demoting Megatron, I will urge you to wait until after Week 12 to do so. Even though Detroit has been a mess this season, it looks almost sterling compared to what is percolating in Philadelphia.
One anonymous agent for an Eagles player told Matt Lombardo of NJ.com that head coach Chip Kelly “has lost the team.”
That report came one day after an anonymous Eagles player told Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer that running back DeMarco Murray quit on the team during a Week 11 loss against Tampa Bay.
“Well, when you see DeMarco sliding before getting hit, you tell me. Was that giving full effort?” said an Eagles player who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “You see that [stuff], and it makes you wonder.”
Speaking of the Eagles’ loss against the Buccaneers, they gave up 45 points and five touchdown receptions to five different receivers.
Philadelphia is tied for 28th with 20 touchdown passes allowed. Johnson hasn’t found the end zone since Week 7 against Minnesota, but if there is a game for him to end that drought, it will come Thursday afternoon against the Eagles.
Fantasy points and stats per ESPN.com standard-scoring leagues.
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