Week 5 Fantasy Football Injury Report: Lamar Jackson, Bucky Irving Ruled Out and More Updates

Not gonna sugar coat things, Week 4 was brutal on the injury front. Seeing premier talents like Malik Nabers and Tyreek Hill going out for the season each with torn ACLs was the type of gut punch that NFL fans and fantasy managers don't recover from easily. As Ian likes to say, "Why can't we have nice things?!" Add to it that Lamar Jackson suffered a hamstring injury that could sideline him multiple weeks and there are more injuries below.

Since this is publishing after Thursday Night Football, we won't have any analysis on 49ers Brock Purdy, Jauan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall, who were all ruled out for that game. What a rough start for San Francisco in that department. Please keep Christian McCaffrey safe and healthy.

OK, enough with the prelims. Here are the injuries facing fantasy football managers in Week 5. As always, this will be updated Friday and Saturday as new updates on these situations become available.

Week 5 Fantasy Football Injury Report

Quarterback

Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens)

Lamar Jackson is dealing with a hamstring injury and didn’t practice on Thursday. He’s trending toward not playing against the Texans and a report says he could miss next week before the Ravens’ bye week in Week 7. If Jackson is out, Cooper Rush will be the QB in a tough matchup against the Texans, who are the stingiest defense against quarterbacks (11.7 fantasy points per game). UPDATE: Jackson was ruled out on Friday. To say it's a major blow is an understatement. Zay Flowers and the other Ravens pass catchers are downgraded because the Texans D is allowing the fewest fantasy points to QBs and aren No. 11 against WRs. Derrick Henry could be the focal point of the Baltimore offense.

Baker Mayfield (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Baker Mayfield missed the Wednesday practice with a knee issue on top of a biceps injury that he played through last week. He said he feels good, but we’ll still be monitoring this situation as it further unfolds. As of now, do not downgrade Emeka Egbuka and Chris Godwin. UPDATE: Mayfield closed the week with two full practices. While it's a tough matchup with the Seahawks tied for the No. 6 defense with just 15.1 fantasy points per game allowed to quarterbacks, but Mayfield never met a defense he didn't think he could beat.

Running Back

Bucky Irving (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Bucky Irving has a foot injury and was at practice on Wednesday with crutches and a walking boot. Irving didn’t practice on Thursday and is unlikely to play this week against the Seahawks. Rachaad White will likely get most of the touches with Sean Tucker in the mix, too. White is the consensus RB24 in the early Fantasy Life rankings. UPDATE: Irving was ruled out Friday, so this is going to be a mix of mostly White with a little bit of Tucker. The Seahawks are seventh in the league with 71 rushing yards allowed per game.

Chuba Hubbard (Carolina Panthers)

Chuba Hubbard had a calf injury last week and played a season-low 51% of the snaps. Coach Dave Canales said the calf wasn’t the reason for it. Hubbard didn’t practice on Wednesday and Thursday. If Hubbard is out, Rico Dowdle would be in play against the Dolphins with Trevor Etienne being the backup. Add Dowdle if he’s still available. UPDATE: Hubbard was another player ruled out Friday. Please, make it stop. Dowdle will step into a larger role against a Miami D allowing 110 rushing yards per game to RBs (27th).

Wide Receiver

Nico Collins (Houston Texans)

Nico Collins set off some warning signals when he was limited in practice with an undisclosed injury on Wednesday, but he returned to full practice on Thursday. Unless there’s a setback on Friday, he’s the No. 11 play in the Xfinity Best Projections, with a ceiling of 30 fantasy points. UPDATE: Never mind, Collins practiced in full the last two days of the week. The Ravens are banged up defensively and giving up 154 receiving yards per game to WRs. This could be a big game for Collins and C.J. Stroud.

Terry McLaurin (Washington Commanders)

McLaurin missed last week with a quad injury and has already been ruled out for Sunday. There’s still no details on how long McLaurin could miss, but more on his teammate below. UPDATE: McLaurin is missing his second straight game. We'll just keep following this situation every week until he's healthy and returns.

Deebo Samuel (Washington Commanders)

Deebo Samuel missed the first two practices with a heel injury. There is no indication Samuel will be out and is a borderline WR1 with Terry McLaurin out. Since McLaurin was already ruled out, there is still hope that Samuel can play. UPDATE: Deebo returned to the practice field in full on Friday, so he should go into the WR1 role for Jayden Daniels in his own return to the starting lineup. The Chargers are dealing with injuries of their own, but are holding WRs to just 25.3 FPG, good for fourth fewest in the league.

Michael Pittman Jr. (Indianapolis Colts)

The USC product was added to the injury report on Thursday with a hamstring injury and being a limited participant in practice. It’s unclear how serious the injury is, but it’s not a good sign to be added to the injury report this late in the week, meaning it could have happened in practice and is one to watch. Have a backup plan in case Michael Pittman can’t go. UPDATE: Pittman practiced in full on Friday, so he should be good to go for a full-time role. Alec Pierce (concussion), was ruled out, though. Pierce and Pittman are different players, so hard to elevate the veteran after Pierce's designation. It could be another week where Adonai Mitchell sees some targets.

Mike Evans (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Mike Evans missed practice on Thursday with a hamstring injury. Evans was out last week and is expected to miss 2-3 weeks since he wasn’t placed on injured reserve. With Evans likely out Sunday, Chris Godwin and Emeka Egbuka will continue to get most of the targets. UPDATE: As expected, Evans is going to sit. We'll have to follow this situation week to week. Egbuka and Godwin should see a higher percentage of targets

Calvin Ridley (Tennessee Titans)

Ridley (knee/elbow) didn’t practice on Thursday for the second straight day and was working on the side. Ridley missed time last week and had a route rate of only 41%, which was fourth among wide receivers. The Friday practice will be important for Ridley. UPDATE: Ridley returned to a limited practice, but does not appear out of the woods. If you have a comparable alternative playing earlier than the 4 p.m. ET window for the Titans-Chargers, it may be best to go in that direction in your lineup.

Tight End

Brock Bowers (Las Vegas Raiders)

Brock Bowers has played through a knee injury he suffered in Week 1, and the only game he finished above double-digit fantasy points was in the opener. It’s tough with starting Bowers in fantasy because he’s so talented, but he’s clearly compromised. The likely play is to start him and hope this is the week he’s 100% healthy. UPDATE: After not appearing like himself since Week 1, Bowers is trending toward sitting. Keep an eye on early reports on Sunday, but he's playing in the 4 p.m. ET window. Have a backup plan.

Juwan Johnson (New Orleans Saints)

After missing practice Wednesday due to an ankle injury, Johnson was limited in practice on Thursday. It’s a good sign that Johnson will be able to play on Sunday against the Giants. Taysom Hill and Foster Moreau were limited in practice and could hurt Johnson when they return. UPDATE: Johnson's status was still considered limited after an LP on Friday. Hill and Moreau are expected to play Sunday, which could impact Johnson's targets. Keep an eye on Johnson's active status ahead of the 1 p.m. ET game. Hard to believe fantasy managers who have relied on Johnson early would turn away at this point, though we'll have to keep an eye on his snap share if it gets impacted by Hill and Moreau being active.

Ja’Tavion Sanders (Carolina Panthers)

Sanders missed the first two practices of the week, and after missing last week he appears headed toward another sit. Tommy Tremble would step in and start against Miami, which is third in most fantasy points allowed to tight ends at 16.4.