Jermichael Finley Injury: What Packers Fans, Fantasy Owners Need to Know

For the second straight week, a prominent member of the Green Bay Packers offense has been felled by a shot to the head. Last week, it was rookie tailback Eddie Lacy. This week, it's tight end Jermichael Finley, who went down in Sunday's Week 3 matchup after taking a shot from Cincinnati Bengals safety George Iloka.

Finley attempted to make a make a catch over the middle, and as soon as the sixth-year veteran got up, it was plainly evident something wasn't right.

He was eventually helped from the field, helmet in hand. To the surprise of absolutely no one, Michael Fabiano of NFL.com reported shortly thereafter that Finley's day was done:

Finley's fantasy owners are no doubt unhappy about the big fat zero next to his name in the box score, but injuries are a fact of life in the National Football League.

The bigger question now is what effect this injury will have on Finley moving forward.

Were the Packers playing next week, Finley's status for Week 4 would likely be iffy at best, as he will have to pass the NFL's concussion protocol before he's cleared to practice, much less play. However, it would seem that the Packers have caught a bit of a break in that regard.

Generally speaking, NFL teams don't like to have their bye week early in the year, as it makes the second half of the season more of a grind than it already is. For the Packers, however, their Week 4 bye may well be a blessing. It will afford players like Finley, Lacy and free safety Morgan Burnett an opportunity to get healthy in advance of the team's Week 5 matchup with the Detroit Lions.

That bye isn't going to help Finley's fantasy owners, but they knew they would be without his services in Week 4 anyway.

Injuries are never a good thing, but the timing of Finley's concussion at least minimizes the negative impact it will have on both the Packers and fantasy football rosters.