Fantasy Football Week 5: Buying or Selling Top Injured Players

Don't look now, but the fantasy football world has made it a whopping two weeks without being decimated by injuries.

Sure, there are still the typical bumps and bruises and sprains and concussions that come with the nature of the game, but ever since a brutal Week 2 that saw approximately half the league go down with a significant injury, fantasy owners have escaped mostly unscathed (proceeds to find the biggest tree and knocks on it).

That said, while it has been mostly smooth sailing in the injury department as of late, this is still the NFL, and there are still some players dealing with various maladies. Let's take a look at whether or not you can trust the players on this week's injury report.

Note: These are relative to player values. "Buy" suggests a player will live up to his positional ranking, via FantasyPros.com's expert consensus rankings, in Week 5 (12-team leagues). "Sell" suggests he'll fall short of it. Long-term value is not taken into account.

Quarterback	Injury	Rank	Buy/Sell
Running Back	Injury	Rank	Buy/Sell
Wide Receiver	Injury	Rank	Buy/Sell
Tight End	Injury	Rank	Buy/Sell
Tony Romo, DAL	Back	QB2	Buy
Carson Palmer, ARI	Shoulder	QB2	Sell
Teddy Bridgewater, MIN	Ankle	QB2	Buy
Jake Locker, TEN	Wrist	QB2	Sell
Arian Foster, HOU	Hamstring	RB1	Sell
Ahmad Bradshaw, IND	Foot	RB2	Buy
Ben Tate, CLE	Knee	RB2	Sell
Joique Bell, DET	Concussion	RB2	Sell
Jonathan Stewart, CAR	Knee	RB4	Buy
Calvin Johnson, DET	Ankle	WR1	Buy
Brandon Marshall, CHI	Ankle	WR1	Buy
Andre Johnson, HOU	Ankle	WR2	Sell
Eric Decker, NYJ	Hamstring	WR3	Buy
Jordan Cameron, CLE	Shoulder	TE1	Buy
Vernon Davis, SF	Back	TE2	Sell
Niles Paul, WAS	Concussion	TE2	Sell
Jordan Reed, WAS	Hamstring	TE2	Sell

Brandon Marshall, Chicago Bears: Buy

Jeff Haynes/Associated Press

It's getting difficult to trust Brandon Marshall. Playing through an ankle injury the last three weeks, he has tallied a mediocre eight catches for 73 yards. Four touchdowns over that span have him ranked 13th among wide receivers in standard leagues, but chasing touchdowns is a risky game to play with someone averaging less than three catches per game since his injury.

Fortunately, as things were seemingly getting worse—Marc Trestman had some gloomy-sounding words on Monday—Marshall practiced in full Wednesday, per the Chicago Tribune's Rich Campbell:

It's a bit of a surprise, but it's a welcomed one. It's also a sign that Marshall is getting closer to 100 percent, and as long as he's continually improving, he's someone you have to keep starting despite the underwhelming yardage numbers.

Even in his hobbled state, he has been Jay Cutler's second-favorite target behind Martellus Bennett, receiving 32 looks through four games. With a full week of practice suggesting he's the healthiest he has been since Week 1, he's going to have a top-10 day against a Carolina Panthers secondary that has recently been torched by Steve Smith and Antonio Brown.

Ben Tate, Cleveland Browns: Sell

Don Wright/Associated Press

Ben Tate missed Weeks 2 and 3 before Cleveland's bye, but he practiced Tuesday and is expected to retake the starting job upon his return.

Running backs coach Wilbert Montgomery, via the Akron Beacon Journal's Nate Ulrich, confirmed as much:

"

That’s what we brought Tate here for, to be the starter. He’s the No. 1 running back in this offense. Right now, you can say we miss him. We miss his experience. We miss his leadership with the group. Speaking from that standpoint, we’ll be open arms and welcome to have Ben back into the fold.

"

Combine the coaching staff's confidence with how Tate looked before his injury (six carries for 41 yards) and it's not surprising that he is generally considered an RB2 in 12-team leagues.

But I'm holding off at least one week before putting him back in my lineup. We still don't know how healthy he truly is, and with talented rookies Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West, who thrived in his absence, the Browns have plenty of reasons to spread out the workload.

4for4.com's Josh Moore put it simply:

Tate is a solid flex option, but right now there's just too much uncertainty coming off the injury to rely on him as an RB2.