Fantasy Football Week 11 Injury Report: Latest Updates on Every Major Injury

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Oakland Raiders wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey suffered a scary injury against the Minnesota Vikings that forced his neck to be immobilized as he was carted off. The news improved after the game as head coach Hue Jackson said Heyward-Bey should be able to fly home with the team.

It's great news that Heyward-Bey should be fine moving forward, but it's another injury at an inopportune time for the developing wideout.

The former first-round pick has struggled to make a big impact at the pro level. He caught just 35 passes in his first two seasons while playing in 26 of a possible 32 games.

He was starting to make strides in a positive direction this season, though. He made 22 grabs in four games prior to the team's bye week and was finally starting to look like the go-to receiver everybody in Oakland's front office was hoping for.

Even though his contributions had dropped off in recent weeks, he had four catches for 43 yards before leaving today's game. It's just another setback in his attempt to prove all the doubters wrong.

The Raiders will probably play it safe with Heyward-Bey because injuries that involve the neck need to be handled with care. There's no reason to rush him back as long as the offense continues to produce without him.

His potential is obvious even with the dropped passes that have plagued him since college. He has shown enough this season to warrant more looks before giving up on him, but the more often he's stuck on the sidelines, the less of an opportunity he'll have to impress.

Heyward-Bey could be the weapon that puts Oakland over the top in the AFC West, but he can only fill that void if he's healthy. Hopefully he can progress quickly and get back in the starting lineup before his stock falls off once again.

More about his status should be available one practice heats up during the week.

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The Buffalo Bills were one of the NFL's biggest surprises during the first month of the season. They are now 5-5 and are watching their playoff hopes slip away. Adding injury to insult is Fred Jackson, who left Sunday's game vs. Miami and did not return.

Any extended absence for Jackson would be the final straw for Buffalo.

The Coe College product was averaging nearly 150 all-purpose yards per game before today's injury-shortened performance. He's been the star of Buffalo's revamped offense and was a legitimate MVP candidate (well, in the group behind Aaron Rodgers) before the team fell apart.

C.J. Spiller, who the Bills took in the first round last year, will fill the void if Jackson misses time. Spiller has been a major disappointment so far, lacking the game-breaking explosiveness the front office was expecting.

It will be a good thing for the coaching staff to get a long look at Spiller. He's been working as a wide receiver a lot lately as way way to get him the ball in space, but nothing has materialized from the move.

Regardless of who the starting running back is next week, it's looking like another playoff-less season in Buffalo. It's been more than a decade since the Bills last made the postseason.

Jackson and Co. got off to a quick start, including a win over New England, but weren't able to adjust after defenses became more prepared for their quick, efficient offense.

As if they needed any more bad news, wide receivers Donald Jones and David Nelson also picked up injuries on Sunday. So nothing is falling their way right now.

Hopefully Jackson's injury isn't serious enough to derail his breakout season. He's one of the few remaining bright spots in an increasing gloomy season for the Bills. 

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Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick is battling a rib injury and won't play against the New York Giants on Sunday Night Football. Vick wouldn't be able to save Philadelphia's season even if he was healthy, so he shouldn't rush back into the lineup.

After taking the league by storm last season, the dynamic QB hasn't been nearly as effective in 2011. His quarterback rating has dropped more than 20 points from an elite level to a sub par level. He's already thrown 11 interceptions after just six all of last season.

And his struggles have had a major affect on the Eagles' downfall.

Philadelphia's lack of depth was hidden beneath all of the hype about the big additions it made during the offseason. Without Vick serving as a superhero, there hasn't been enough game-breaking plays to make up for it.

Although the playoffs aren't mathematically out of the question, it would take a miracle to qualify. That isn't worth risking a much bigger injury to Vick.

Especially since he hasn't throw a touchdown pass since before Halloween and just hasn't looked comfortable in the pocket. Perhaps a couple extra weeks on the sidelines will help him regain his mojo that made his a serious MVP candidate last season.

A season that started with so much promise for Philadelphia has disintegrated before Thanksgiving. There is a strong base of talent to build from, but there needs to be a concerted effort in the draft to add more depth on defense.

With the top priority being linebacker. It's a position that had some red flags heading into the year and those have proven to be true.

Now that all of their flaws have been exposed, it will be up to the Eagles to fix them before next season. That includes Vick, who can't afford to have an even touchdown-to-interception ratio.

Getting healthy will help that cause.

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The New York Giants have been without starting running back Ahmad Bradshaw for the past two weeks and will be without him again tonight against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Despite the Eagles coming into the game with starting quarterback Michael Vick on the injury report this is still a heated division rivalry between teams that hate each other.

The Giants don't need Bradshaw to win this game though.

Not because Vick and Jeremy Maclin are the injury report. 

Not because the Giants are 6-3 and the Eagles are 3-6. But because the Giants have a running back they used to be able to count on.

Brandon Jacobs carried the ball 18 times last week against the league's No. 1 ranked rush defense.

He averaged only 3.8 yards per carry but the Giants were determined to keep using the running game.

That will be key in tonight's game with the Eagles.

Eli Manning threw four touchdown passes in the Giants' Week 3 win over Philadelphia. The Eagles' much ballyhooed secondary was shredded by Victor Cruz for two monster touchdowns.

The Giants cannot expect to replicate those types of plays in today's game, but they can expect Manning, Cruz and the rest of the Giants' receivers play well. They've been playing that way all season.

Big Blue can also expect the Eagles to be ready for that.

What will be key tonight is what Brandon Jacobs and the Giants running game puts together.

Offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride ran the ball 29 times against the league's top ranked rush defense.

What is he going to do against the league's 17th ranked run defense? Run it some more.

The Giants are determined to win football games their way.

That doesn't stop and disappear with Ahmad Bradshaw out of the lineup.

Bradshaw's absence wont stop the Giants from winning either.

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Wes Welker is having one of the best seasons in NFL history for a wide receiver and his latest injury won’t slow him down.

The Patriots star WR was limited in practice this week and was actually listed on the New England injury report for the first time all season.

Welker himself said he was not worried about the lingering injury and it should not effect his production in their game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football.

He told reporters,

"I feel all right. I think everybody goes through different things during the season and you have to manage them and get ready the best you can."

Welker has constantly dealt with minor injuries since suffering a torn ACL and MCL in week 17 of the 2009 season. He healed from that in time for the season opener in 2010 and proved that he can recover from injuries at an extremely fast rate.

So far this season nothing has been able to stop Welker, who has 72 catches for 1,006 yards and six touchdowns in just nine games.

The Patriots offense is a well-oiled machine and Wes is one of the key components to making it run.

Tom Brady often looks his way to move the chains and he is also capable of busting off big plays at any time, evidenced by his 99-yard TD score earlier in the season.

If you own Welker in fantasy, make sure you start him this week as he is one of the highest ranked receivers and will torch the KC secondary.

Don’t worry about injuries with this stud WR. 

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Beanie Wells has been quite the confusing fantasy running back this year.

He's flashed big talent, but has also been a liability as he continues to fight for his health.

More often than not he's one of the most heavily debated fantasy starters in the league on a weekly basis.

This week I can easily say that he belong no place else but the bench.

The Arizona Cardinals, winners of two straight games with John Skelton under center, are playing division rival San Francisco this week.

The 49ers aren't the team they used to be. For much of the 2000s the 49ers were one of the league's least imposing teams.

The exact opposite is true now.

Not only are they winning games, but they are doing so with a dominant defense.

They don't give up yards and they have yet to allow a rushing touchdown all year.

Needless to say, they are the league's No. 1 rush defense and absolute matchup nightmare for the Cardinals.

Wells has been slumping the past two weeks as well.

He's hardly consistent and the Cardinals offense comes and goes with how their defense is playing because they're often playing from behind.

Under no circumstance other than not having another option Wells should be benched today.

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The Philadelphia Eagles don’t have a shot at beating the New York Giants today.

There is simply no way they get it done without Michael Vick and Jeremy Maclin on the field.

These teams met earlier in the season when the Giants were banged up and the Eagles were healthy and the G-Men still found a way to win big.

Vick was knocked out of that game with a broken hand and his backup, Mike Kafka, was intercepted twice as the Giants played mistake free football and torched the Philadelphia secondary for four touchdowns.

This second time around, the Giants won’t even have to waste time knocking Vick out as he will be sitting with broken ribs. Vince Young is the starter today and he isn’t looking too dangerous this season, throwing an interception on his only passing attempt of the season.

Jeremy Maclin and Mike Vick are a huge part of the Eagles’ offense and they will be simply lost without them. Maclin is a great compliment to the play-making abilities of DeSean Jackson and helps balance out the passing attack.

Vince Young will have to rely almost exclusively on Jackson to get things done today if he can even find him in the double-coverages he will be facing all game long.

Speaking of receivers…

New York will also have a healthy stable of them and that includes Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham and breakout star Victor Cruz, who had two touchdowns the last time these teams played.

The team has been dealing with nagging injuries throughout the year to Manningham and Nicks but will finally have all of their stud wide outs on the field together and healthy.

It will once again prove to be too much for the Eagles to handle.

With the Giants firepower at WR and the Eagles lack of it, the G-Men will handily win the battle in the air and with it, the game. 

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There have been times this season when Frank Gore has been the only offense that the San Francisco 49ers have, but this week against Arizona he will be a non-factor. That is why Kendall Hunter is the man for fantasy owners to start. 

Gore had by far his worst game of the season last week against the Giants. He had zero yards on six carries thanks to suffering a knee injury early. He is listed as questionable for today's game but insists that he will be able to go. 

According to Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area, the 49ers will not treat Gore any differently for this game just because they have to play at Baltimore on Thursday.

There is certainly no indication that the 49ers will shut down Gore for a game. That would be a difficult sell for the 49ers. If he's healthy and able to play, he will play. After all, the contract extension Gore signed before the start of the season is largely contingent on his playing a lot of football -- at a high level.

Even if Gore is able to play, don't expect him to be the player that he was when he was rushing for 100 yards in five consecutive games. He won't be as bad as he was last week, either. 

My expectation is that the 49ers will start Gore and give him a handful of carries early, then incorporate Hunter into the game plan in the second quarter. The two backs will split the carries the rest of the way, with Hunter getting more. 

The 49ers are so close to clinching the NFC West right now that they can afford to rest their best offensive weapon when they have a chance. 

Arizona's defense has been terrible all season, and Hunter proved what he is capable of against the Giants last week.

Plus, Alex Smith proved that he is capable of handling the offense last week, so the 49ers might not feature the run as much as we are accustomed to seeing. 

Still, when the game starts, Hunter is going to get the lion's share of the carries for the 49ers in this game.

Fantasy owners should take notice of Hunter as the season winds down because the 49ers are going to clinch the division soon and give Gore more rest than normal to keep him healthy for the postseason. That is going to leave a lot of carries on the table for Hunter and Anthony Dixon. 

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Baltimore Ravens star linebacker Ray Lewis is inactive for his team's important AFC North matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 11, but the Ravens defense will still play fantastic without their leader.

ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported about Lewis' status through his Twitter account.

Lewis does lead the team in tackles, but the Ravens are tied for third in the NFL in sacks and first in forced fumbles.

Against a rookie quarterback in Andy Dalton, the Ravens will be able to pressure him into making some poor throws like the Pittsburgh Steelers defense did last week.

Dalton threw two interceptions against the Steelers last week and against a better Ravens defense the rookie quarterback will struggle again.

Pass rushers Terrell Suggs and Haloti Ngata will be the leaders on the defense this week with Lewis missing the game, and both will have little trouble in causing problems for the Bengals offensive line. Between the two stars, they have nine sacks.

Baltimore allows only 90.3 rushing yards per game and 194.3 passing yards per game.

In the most important game of his young career, Dalton will be confused by the Ravens defensive schemes and is doomed to fail, and it does not matter of Lewis is on the field or not.

The Ravens defense is deep enough and talented enough to do very well without their all-pro linebacker.

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With Week 11 getting ready to kick-off, panic is starting to set in. You are wondering if you have made the right moves, put the best players in the starting lineup and kept the others that are going to disappoint on the bench. 

But this is fantasy football we are talking about, and you are going to make 100 more lineup changes by the time that the 1:00 games get underway. 

The good news is that after you read this you will not have to worry about any problems because the answers that you seek lie within. 

The position that we are going to focus on is wide receiver because there seem to be a lot of questions surrounding some fantasy studs at that position. 

Here are three stars that you need to keep in your lineup. 

Wes Welker, New England Patriots

With Welker, the anticipation is killing you because you have to wait an extra day to see whether or not he will play. Calm down and keep him your lineup. He is going to play, and he will play well. 

The Chiefs have a middle-of-the-road pass defense, and going up against Tom Brady isn't going to help them improve. 

Welker is going to command a lot of coverage, like he always does, but he will break through the defense and have at least 100 yards and at least one touchdown. 

Steve Johnson, Buffalo Bills

Johnson has had a difficult time finding himself the last six weeks, and a shoulder injury is not going to make things easier on him.

But with the Bills taking on the punchless Dolphins, Johnson and the rest of the offense should be able to get back on track. 

The star wide receiver has yet to break 100 yards in any game this season and hasn't caught a touchdown since October 16. Look for him to break out of his funk in a big way this week as the Bills finally right the ship. 

Sidney Rice, Seattle Seahawks

Rice has been cleared to play despite battling a concussion and he has a great matchup against St. Louis to get his season back on track. 

Rice's production, much like Seattle's offense, has been spotty this season. His last five games have seen him post yardage totals of 38, 38, 102, 69 and 14 with no touchdowns in that time. 

Look for Tarvaris Jackson to hook up with Rice early and often in this game to set the tone and force the Rams to throw the ball. 

I won't go so far as to call for a 100-yard game from Rice, but I do think he will come close and get back in the end zone for the first time since Week 4. 

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If you haven’t dropped Montario Hardesty yet, feel free to remove that scrub off your fantasy football roster.

His production this season has been awful and he never had one good game for the Cleveland Browns.

Even in his best performance, Hardesty only gained 95 yards on the ground and it took him 33 rushing attempts to get there.

He did not take advantage of the opportunity afforded to him by Peyton Hillis’ injury. As a second-round pick in 2010, there were much higher expectations for this Tennessee Volunteer.

Now that he is injured and missing his third-straight game, there is no excuse to still have Hardesty lingering on your roster for fantasy.

Even Chris Ogbonnaya, a practice squad bum that the Browns picked up a few weeks ago, is a better option than Hardesty.

At least it only took him 19 carries to put together a 90-yard performance.

With the Browns having no real solid solution at quarterback right now, they are going to pound the ball with whoever is healthy and productive in the backfield.

They know that Colt McCoy isn’t going to win them games by himself and that they need to establish a presence on the ground to grind games out this season. How did Hardesty not take advantage of this?

He needs to man up and return from his injury and produce sooner  than later otherwise risk losing his roster spot for good as the Browns’ owners and fantasy owners get fed up with his awful production. 

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The San Fransisco 49ers star running back, Frank Gore, will not be a factor even if he does return to action after hyperextending his knee last week.

The team is 9-1 and cannot risk further injury to their workhorse back as they inch closer to the playoffs, which they will certainly make in the weak NFC West this year.

Gore was also useless in his latest start with the team, getting just six carries for zero-yardage.

Teams are now keying in on Gore and forcing Alex Smith to beat them with his arm.

"The Giants took extreme measures, measures that I had rarely seen in the National Football League," 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman said. "... It was pretty much a numbers situation where they really (had) extremely loaded boxes. You've got to go to high school to find that loaded a box.”

With all of those factors in play, there isn’t a good reason to start Gore in fantasy today.

The Arizona Cardinals will be loading the box if they see him, they will bait Smith into throwing more, and he just cannot be trusted to stay healthy right now.

He also got in a fight with his running backs coach.

Gore was apparently ticked off that he wasn’t allowed to return to the game by RB’s coach Tom Rathman. He said he ignored his calls after the game and disagreed with his decision to not allow him to return and have a chance to produce.

He may have to deal with watching his backup, Kendall Hunter, steal the glory this Sunday.

Hunter is a solid rookie out of Oklahoma State and has been good in limited action for the 49ers thus far. He should excel in this new role as feature back if Gore cannot play.

If you need a RB to replace Gore with this week, look no further than Hunter, just like the 49ers will do. 

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New England Patriots receiver Wes Welker is questionable with a knee injury for Monday night's game against the Kansas City Chiefs, and this has opened the door for Chad Ochocinco to finally have a breakout game.

Ochocinco has been highly criticized during his first season with quarterback Tom Brady and the Patriots.

He has caught just 11 passes for 201 yards with no touchdowns this season. Those are terrible numbers for a player who caught 67 passes last season for the struggling Cincinnati Bengals.

With Welker hobbled, Ochocinco has an opportunity to show Patriots fans and his teammates that he was worth trading for.

The Chiefs defense allows about 230 passing yards per game, and are dead last in the NFL with just nine sacks.

Kansas City has a tough time getting to the quarterback which means Brady will have all day to sit in the pocket and find the open receiver.

If Ochocinco can get open, this would be the game that Brady could go out of his way to get Ochocinco involved.

Ochocinco has not complained about not getting a ton of targets each game, and has worked very hard in practice to get better and learn the offense.

His performance against the New York Jets last week had a few encouraging signs. Ochocinco looked more into the game and was running very good routes. He ended up with two catches for 65 yards, his highest yardage total of the season. 

The two receptions against the Jets snapped a three game streak in which Ochocinco did not have a single catch.

The Chiefs are a great matchup for the Patriots pass offense, and with Welker battling an injury, Ochocinco has never had a better chance to show the pro bowl caliber talent Patriots fans have waited to see from him.

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Star running back Frank Gore is questionable for Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals with a knee injury, but the San Francisco 49ers rushing attack will not struggle because backup Kendall Hunter is more than capable of being the No. 1 back in Gore's absence.

Hunter rushed for 40 yards and a touchdown last week against the talented New York Giants defense on just six carries.

For the season he is averaging 4.6 yards per carry.

Hunter is also a decent pass blocker, and does not need to come off the field when 49ers quarterback Alex Smith is in a groove passing the ball.

Hunter is a small guy but his work rate is tremendous. He hits the running holes with great speed and it is not easy for tackles to take him down.

Without Gore, Hunter would be good enough to carry the 49ers into the playoffs and perform well under pressure. 

If you have a fantasy football team, start Hunter today at running back or at a flex spot. It's very possible he will get a massive workload today.

The Cardinals run defense allows 123.1 rushing yards per game, and Hunter will have an easy time getting into the second level of the Arizona defense because they do not have a run stuffing nose tackle.

The 49ers will not have any problems beating the Cardinals in Week 11, and with that said there is no reason to play Gore and risk him bothering his injury and making his playoff status worse than it currently is.

If San Francisco wants to win the Super Bowl, they need a healthy Frank Gore for January.