Fantasy Football 2025 Latest Injury News and Expert Reaction

Nothing can wreck a football season faster than injury issues.

And that's as just as true for your fantasy roster as it is for NFL franchises.

While injury problems are unavoidable in this sport, you can still work to mitigate the damage done both by beefing up your backups and staying on top of and reacting to the latest developments on the medical front.

We're here to help with the latter, as we're compiling and analyzing the latest injury news here.

Jalen McMillan, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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McMillan, who caught eight touchdown passes as a rookie last season, is set to miss a significant portion of time following a neck injury in Tampa Bay's second preseason game.

Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles described the injury as a "severely strained neck," while a source told ESPN's Jenna Laine that McMillian will be placed on injured reserve. Laine added hearing that McMillan could be sidelined until after the Week 9 bye.

While McMillan's fantasy prospects were murky this season, his injury combined with Chris Godwin's ongoing absence (active/PUP list following ankle surgery) could up the early usage of Mike Evans and put rookie first-rounder Emeka Egbuka on the fast track toward fantasy relevance.

Evans' stock probably doesn't change much—he sees a ton of targets regardless who's on the field—but this should be a big boost for Egbuka. He has a chance to step in as the team's WR2 right away, and with his talent, he could absolutely make the most of this opportunity.

Joe Mixon, RB, Houston Texans

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Mixon, who turned 29 in July, has been hampered by a nagging foot-ankle injury he suffered during an offseason workout. He's been stuck on the non-football injury list and unable to participate in the team's offseason program, training camp or preseason. It's unclear to all of us when he might be back, and it sounds like it's the same for those within the organization.

"No change. Joe's just kind of working through it," Texans general manager Nick Caserio said recently. "He's still on the NFI list...kind of take it one day at the time. Once we get a little bit closer, we'll probably have a little better idea of where he's going to be."

Considering opening kick of the NFL season isn't far away, Mixon is clearly up against the clock and appears at serious risk of missing regular-season action. Who knows how long his absence could be, or whether he might still be impacted upon his return.

Due to this uncertainty, some experts are advising to avoid Mixon at anything but a bargain-basement draft price.

"If he's dealing with a mid-foot/Lisfranc injury, it could be a months-long recovery. As it is, when/if Mixon returns, he'll be operating behind one of the worst offensive lines in the league," FantasyPros' Pat Fitzmaurice wrote. "Mixon currently has an early sixth-round ADP. I consider him completely untouchable at anything close to that price."

Matthew Stafford, QB, Los Angeles Rams

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Even with Stafford on the wrong side of his 37th birthday, he can be a fantasy asset—both for managers with him on the roster and those relying on his top pass-catchers, Puka Nacua and Davante Adams. That's why it's been discouraging to see Stafford unavailable to participate in training camp due to an aggravated disc in his back.

It was encouraging, then, to see the veteran signal-caller return to the practice field on Monday, although this hardly means it's all systems go.

"I thought he looked good, but I don't really have any updates," Rams coach Sean McVay told reporters. "We are gonna keep it a day and really a week at a time. But it was great to see him out there today."

Stafford will probably miss some time—he last played all 17 games in 2021—but the longer he's upright, the better it is for everyone involved in this passing game.