Dez Bryant Injury: Why Cowboys' WR Is Fantasy Football Week 2's Riskiest Play

Questions abound this week about the health and playing status of Dallas Cowboys' wide receiver Dez Bryant.

Bryant injured his thigh in his team's Sunday night loss against the New York Jets, and while he played through it and participated in a full four quarters, he did not practice with the team today.

This is not a good sign for the Cowboys heading into their Week 2 matchup against San Francisco, and it's not a good sign for fantasy GMs with the receiver in their starting lineups.

Bryant is set to have a major breakout season this year, and has easily become a fantasy must-start every week. Without him on your roster, you will be missing a major offensive piece of the puzzle just as much as the Cowboys would suffer without him in the real world.

The real barometer of how serious Bryant's injury is will come tomorrow. If he does not practice with the team for a second straight day, it becomes less likely that he will be on the field in San Francisco on Sunday afternoon.

Chances are that whatever the issue is, the Cowboys will be keeping it close to the vest. This is a disadvantage to Bryant's fantasy owners should he become a game-time decision. If he is announced out, it won't likely come before the deadline for roster movements passes.

Thus, GMs have a lot to worry about. Do you risk replacing Bryant on your starting lineup with another, less productive, wide receiver in anticipation that he is not going to play? Or do you start him anyway and hope for the best?

Those are difficult questions to answer. The best advice I can offer at this time is to monitor what the Cowboys say to the press about Bryant in the coming days, and to pay attention to whether he practices tomorrow and how much of a workload he has if he does.

Fantasy football rosters thrive upon risk-and-reward judgment calls. With Bryant, this week, it's about risk-and-risk. Which weighs more: Benching Bryant to find out he's in on Sunday, or playing him and finding he's out?