Fantasy Football: Sunday Breakdown of NFL's Injury Report for Week 4

For most NFL Sundays, I'll provide an updated breakdown of the league's injury report, an official listing that undergoes substantial changes from Wednesday to Sunday.

In other words, always take Wednesday's listing with a grain of salt.

I'm not one to overreact to a star player listed as "questionable" prior to kickoff. My rationale: If a player can practice twice over the three-day period of Wednesday through Friday, I assume he'll play and garner roughly 70 percent of his standard touches, targets or pass attempts. 

New England vs. Buffalo (1 p.m. ET) 

 Patriots

RB Shane Vereen—Questionable (Foot)
WR Julian Edelman—Out (Hand)
TE Aaron Hernandez—Out (Ankle)
TE Rob Gronkowski—Questionable (Hip)
G Logan Mankins—Questionable (Hip) 

Bills

RB Fred Jackson—Questionable (Knee)
RB C.J. Spiller—Questionable (Shoulder) 

Breakdown

For Week 4, I'm putting all my fantasy trust into the highly capable hands of Bills running back Tashard Choice...while assuming that either Fred Jackson or C.J. Spiller won't dress for Sunday's clash against the Patriots. Maybe Jackson, maybe Spiller...but not both stars. 

Tennessee vs. Houston (1 p.m. ET) 

Titans

TE Jared Cook—Questionable (Shoulder)
WR Kenny Britt—Questionable (Ankle) 

Texans

RB Arian Foster—Probable (Knee)
WR Andre Johnson—Probable (Groin)
CB Johnathan Joseph—Probable (Groin)
WR Lestar Jean—Out (Knee) 

 Breakdown

Kenny Britt is a game-time decision against the Texans, despite not practicing for the entire week. In other words, be ready to promote Nate Washington or Kendall Wright as Britt replacements. QB Jake Locker could attempt 35 passes against Houston.  

San Diego vs. Kansas City (1 p.m. ET) 

Chargers

K Nate Kaeding—Questionable (Groin)
OT Jared Gaither—Questionable (Back) 

Chiefs

RB Peyton Hillis—Doubtful (Ankle)
TE Kevin Boss—Out (Head)
WR Dwayne Bowe—Questionable (Groin)
RB/WR Dexter McCluster—Questionable (Elbow)
WR Steve Breaston—Questionable (Knee)
WR Devon Wylie—Questionable (Hamstring) 

Minnesota vs. Detroit (1 p.m. ET) 

Vikings

QB Christian Ponder—Probable (Neck)
DE Jared Allen—Probable (Neck)
TE Kyle Rudolph—Probable (Quad) 

Lions

QB Matthew Stafford—Probable (Hip)
WR Calvin Johnson—Probable (Ankle)
WR Titus Young—Probable (Knee)
RB Mikel Leshoure—Questionable (Groin)
TE Tony Scheffler—Questionable (Calf)
G Rob Sims—Probable (Knee)
S Amari Spievey—Questionable (Groin)
|S Louis Delmas—Doubtful (Knee) 

 Breakdown

Personally, I thought the Lions would rest Matthew Stafford for this game, since the club's bye week comes next Sunday. But Stafford practiced twice, without incident, leading me to believe his leg strain (or whatever) was nothing more than a 72-hour annoyance.  

Carolina vs. Atlanta (1 p.m. ET) 

 Panthers

RB Jonathan Stewart—Probable (Toe
)LB Jon Beason—Questionable (Shoulder)
CB Chris Gamble—Probable (Shoulder) 

Falcons

CB Christopher Owens—Out (Head)
WR Julio Jones—Probable (Hand) 

Seattle vs. St. Louis (1 p.m. ET) 

Seahawks

WR Doug Baldwin—Probable (Shoulder) 

Rams

OT Rodger Saffold—Out (Knee)
RB Steven Jackson—Questionable (Groin) 
DT Michael Brockers—Questionable (Ankle) 

San Francisco vs. N.Y. Jets (1 p.m. ET) 

49ers

LB Patrick Willis—Probable (Ankle)
TE Vernon Davis—Probable (Back) 

Jets

WR Stephen Hill—Doubtful (Hamstring)
S LaRon Landry—Probable (Heel)
TE Dustin Keller—Questionable (Hamstring)

CB Darrelle Revis—Out (Knee) 

Breakdown

Darrelle Revis' absence hardly paves the way for 49ers QB Alex Smith racking up 300 yards and three touchdowns against the Jets. I hope people realize that he's still Alex Smith.  

Miami vs. Arizona (4:05 p.m. ET) 

Dolphins 

DT Randy Starks—Probable (Knee)
CB Richard Marshall—Questionable (Back)
RB Reggie Bush—Questionable (Knee) 

Cardinals

TE Todd Heap—Doubtful (Knee)
RB LaRod Stephens-Howling—Doubtful (Hip) 

Oakland vs. Denver (4:05 p.m. ET) 

Raiders

RB Darren McFadden—Probable (Shoulder)
K Sebastian Janikowski—Probable (Groin)
WR Rod Streater—Questionable (Eye)
WR Darrius Heyward-Bey—Doubtful (Concussion)
TE Brandon Myers—Questionable (Concussion)
DT Richard Seymour—Probable (Knee) 

 Broncos

RB Willis McGahee—Probable (Ribs)
CB Tracy Porter—Probable (Knee)
TE Jacob Tamme—Probable (Groin) 

Cincinnati vs. Jacksonville (4:05 p.m. ET) 

Bengals

RB Bernard Scott—Questionable (Ankle)
CB Dre Kirkpatrick—Out (Knee)
CB Leon Hall—Questionable (Hamstring) 

Jaguars

RB Rashad Jennings—Probable (Knee)
WR Laurent Robinson—Probable (Concussion) 

New Orleans vs. Green Bay (4:25 p.m. ET) 

Saints

LB David Hawthorne—Out (Hamstring) 

Packers

OT Bryan Bulaga—Probable (Knee)
RB James Starks—Probable (Toe)
WR Greg Jennings—Probable (Groin) 

Washington vs. Tampa Bay (4:25 p.m. ET) 

 Redskins

WR Pierre Garcon—Questionable (Foot)
OT Trent Williams—Questionable (Knee)
RB Evan Royster—Probable (Knee)
WR Leonard Hankerson—Probable (Back)

S Brandon Meriweather—Probable (Knee) 

Buccaneers

G Carl Nicks—Probable (Toe) 

Breakdown

I'm starting to get an uncomfortable feeling about Pierre Garcon's capacity for big numbers in 2012, even if he returns to the Redskins lineup this week or next. At this rate, he'll be on the short list of "tradable assets" the second he comes back and performs well in a game.  

New York Giants vs. Philadelphia (8:30 p.m. ET) 

Giants

WR Hakeem Nicks—Out (Foot)
WR Domenik Hixon—Probable (Concussion)
RB Ahmad Bradshaw—Probable (Neck)

OT David Diehl—Out (Knee) 

Eagles

RB LeSean McCoy—Probable (Ribs)
WR Rley Cooper—Questionable (Collarbone)
DE Trent Cole—Probable (Shoulder)
WR Jeremy Maclin—Probable (Hip) 

Breakdown

I hereby pledge to never take Hakeem Nicks at his word during midweek interviews. By extension, I won't list him as a "WR Lock" at any point, either...even if he partakes in three straight games.

Jay Clemons can be reached on Twitter, day or night, at @ATL_JayClemons.