Fantasy Football Injury Report: 10 Biggest Injuries for NFL Week 1

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With the 2011 fantasy football season officially kicking off tonight in Green Bay, I thought it would be a prudent time to take a look at 10 players who are headlining the injury report, and offer a little bit of advice.

There is still plenty of time to adjust your rosters to reflect the information in this slideshow, and hopefully many of you will find this useful.

When you're done, come check out all of our fantasy football player rankings and start/sit advice.

WR Rankings – RB Rankings – QB Rankings – TE Rankings - IDP Rankings

Peyton Manning: Colts

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Chris Mortensen on Twitter has confirmed that Peyton Manning did in fact have cervical fusion on his neck this morning and is currently out for an undetermined timetable.

The news is terrible for owners who took a chance and drafted him anyway, but it appears that there is also the risk of Manning being shut down for the season.

Manning will be out until AT LEAST Halloween, and perhaps longer.

It's time to find another QB for your roster, but don't drop him just yet unless you hear the words "Manning" and "I.R." in the same sentence.

Chris Cooley: Redskins

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The official injury report lists Cooley as questionable, but OC Kyle Shanahan considers Chris Cooley "day to day" with his knee.

The problem here is that the Redskins are walking on egg shells over this matter when it comes to reporting, but the truth is even if Cooley does start—unlikely—he won't be worth much to fantasy owners due to his limited mobility, and constant swelling in his knee.

At this point, Cooley is bench material. But if you're in a real pinch you can grab fellow tight end Fred Davis.

Michael Crabtree: 49ers

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Eric Branch on Twitter is reporting that Michael Crabtree expects to play on Sunday against Seattle.

Crabtree will wear a specially molded cleat to protect his foot which has already been fixed twice in his short career.

But the real damage here is that for yet another year, Crabtree is injured, and has missed camp. You would be wise to drop him and grab someone off the waiver wire, too much liability.

Sidney Rice: Seahawks

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Dave Mahler on Twitter reports that coach Carroll says : LG Robert Gallery (knee) has a better chance to play this week than Sidney Rice (shoulder).

Nothing to see here people! With Tarvaris Jackson at the helm, the Seattle receivers are fantasy garbage in Week 1, especially against the 49ers.

Patrick Crayton: Chargers

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Kevin Acee on Twitter is reporting that Chargers WR Patrick Crayton has missed a second day of practice, leaving his Week 1 start in jeopardy.

Crayton's absence will open the door for fellow receiver Bryan Walters who will offer very little for fantasy owners so early in the season, but it is worth noting to keep an eye on him and it can't hurt to put any receiver from San Diego on your watch list.

Keep Crayton benched.

Daniel Thomas: Dolphins

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Daniel Thomas tweaked his hamstring in practice yesterday and is officially listed as "day-to-day."

The Dolphins' initial plan was to ease Thomas into a possible starting role anyway, so his early fantasy value was limited.

Now that Thomas has suffered another injury set-back, fantasy owners who did pick him up as an insurance back, should drop him altogether and consider grabbing Larry Johnson, or another quality back off the waiver wire.

Deji Karim (Jacksonville) and Donald Brown (Indianapolis) are the first players who come to mind.

Matt Cassel: Chiefs

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Matt Cassel is listed as "probable" as he continues to deal with his fractured ribs, and he was a full participant in practice today.

Cassel is likely to be limited in his range and mobility which will hurt his fantasy value, but with Cassel on the field, the Bills will have to cover the pass as originally planned, meaning owners of RB Jamaal Charles are due for a big day.

Arian Foster: Texans

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Foster is currently listed as "day-to-day" but he could be headed towards a game-time decision, reports houstontexans.com.

"His workouts continue to get better, but he did not practice," Texans coach Gary Kubiak said. "Everything’s still progressing the same way, but obviously we’re getting close to game time. We’ll see where he’s at tomorrow, but he was unable to practice today.”

Unfortunately, the game-time decision is always the hardest to read, but all signs really do point toward the coaches erring on the side of caution here, with Foster's likelihood of starting in Week 1 pretty high.

I say—tentative—give him the nod.

Lance Moore: Saints

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Lance Moore has been ruled out of tonight's game with a groin injury.

This is set in stone with zero chance of Moore seeing the field which only raises TE Jimmy Graham's value in standard leagues.

Wes Welker: Patriots

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Wes Welker is listed as "day-to-day" with a neck injury, but he did participate in full drills yesterday, suggesting his injury isn't serious enough to put his Week 1 start in question.

A big sigh of relief here for those who drafted Welker already.

Barring any set-backs, Welker is good to go for his Week 1 match against Miami.