A.J. Brown, Christian McCaffrey, NFL Injury Statuses and Fantasy Impact for Week 9

The New England Patriots will once again be without A.J. Brown.

Brown was ruled out of Week 9's clash with the Green Bay Packers due to his knee injury.

The news is more promising with Christian McCaffrey, who practiced on Friday afternoon.

McCaffrey's status hasn't been confirmed yet, but things appear to be trending in the right direction for the San Francisco 49ers running back.

Below is a look at all of the significant injury news affecting fantasy football matchups in Week 9.

1 p.m. ET Games

Deshaun Watson	Questionable
Saquon Barkley	Limited Participant In Friday Practice
DeVonta Smith	Out
Dontayvion Wicks	Out
Breece Hall	Full Participant In Friday Practice
Alvin Kamara	Full Participant In Friday Practice
Cam Skattebo	Doubtful
Amon-Ra St. Brown	Questionable
George Pickens	Questionable
Malik Nabers	"Full Go" in Week 9
Garrett Wilson	Out
Jordyn Tyson	Questionable
Jake Ferguson	Questionable
Harold Fannin Jr.	Will Play
Terrance Ferguson	Expected to Play

4 p.m. ET Games

Sam Darnold	Out
Christian McCaffrey	Practiced Friday
TreVeyon Henderson	Out
A.J. Brown	Out
Christian Watson	Not On Injury Report
David Njoku	Doubtful

Sunday Night

Emeka Egbuka	Questionable
Michael Wilson	Not On Injury Report
Mike Evans	Out
Deebo Samuel	Out

Monday Night

Dalton Kincaid	Full Participant In Friday Practice
D.J. Moore	Limited Participant In Friday Practice
Keon Coleman	Limited Participant In Friday Practice

A.J. Brown Out for Week 9

New England's prized offseason acquisition will once again be out on Sunday.

A.J. Brown's knee injury kept him out of practice all week and will make him miss the clash with the Green Bay Packers.

The good news for the Patriots is that they've been used to Brown's injury situation. He has 101 yards on nine catches in three appearances in 2026.

Demario Douglas and Hunter Henry have been popular waiver-wire pickups throughout the regular season because of their increased roles in the passing game.

Efton Chism, who had five receptions last week, and big-play threat Kyle Williams are the other pass-catching options, but they don't carry much fantasy football value with them.

Rhamondre Stevenson could be in for an uptick in catches on Sunday. He's caught all eight of his targets in the last two weeks.

The New York Giants have the best matchup on paper for wide receivers among the teams playing on Sunday. Darnell Mooney or Malachi Fields are intriguing sleeper options off the waiver wire to replace Brown because of the matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Cooper Kupp fits into the deep sleeper category as well because the Seattle Seahawks face an Arizona Cardinals defense that is tied with the Buffalo Bills for the most touchdowns conceded to wide receivers.

Dallas' Ryan Flournoy and Adonai Mitchell of the New York Jets are worth looks because of their increased roles in their respective offenses.

Christian McCaffrey Practices Friday

Christian McCaffrey was present at Friday's 49ers practice.

That's a positive sign for the running back, who missed practice on Wednesday and was limited on Thursday due to a hamstring issue.

McCaffrey and the 49ers have an ideal matchup on their hands in Week 9 against a Raiders defense that allowed 30 points or more in each of the last five games.

McCaffrey is already among the top scorers each week, but he could take the throne of top point scorer in fantasy football if he plays and dominates the Las Vegas defense.

Kaelon Black is worth rostering just in case McCaffrey isn't 100 percent, or the game turns into a blowout.

The rookie running back from Indiana had 63 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries in the 49ers' loss to the Atlanta Falcons two weeks ago.