Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Week 3: Injuries Impacting Your Waiver Moves

Week 2 of the NFL season was marred by injury with some fantasy studs and early-round picks prepared to miss significant amounts of time after their initial prognosis.

This means that many unhappy fantasy players are going to have to hit the waiver wire and start digging around for value after the early-season surprises have already been taken.

Unless you get really lucky, there are backup-quality players, at best, in your free-agent pool.

Let’s take a look at some of the injuries this week that will most impact the fantasy football landscape.

WR Miles Austin

Austin had a huge game on Sunday afternoon, going for 143 yards and three touchdowns, but aggravated that hamstring which has been nagging him and his owners throughout the preseason and Week 1.

Early reports are that he will be out until after the Cowboys bye week, making a Week 6 return against New England the most likely scenario.

If you are looking to replace Austin, Jesse Holley, the kid who caught the 77-yard bomb in overtime and almost scored, seems like a solid week-to-week pickup.

RB Jamaal Charles

Many thought Charles would have his breakout year and become the No. 1 RB in the league this year.

Unfortunately, he suffered a season-ending ACL injury.

This is a huge blow to the Chiefs' anemic offense, and now it looks like Dexter McCluster and Thomas Jones will be getting the majority of carries. Pick one of both up if you are a Charles owner and can get them.

It’s going to be tough to do, but you need to drop Charles this week.

QB Michael Vick

Vick suffered a concussion in the Sunday night game against Atlanta. He is questionable to return in Week 4, so you need to monitor his progress all week.

As of right now, coach Andy Reid is saying that he hopes Vick can play but is ready to forge ahead with Vince Young and Mike Kafka.

If you can, snap up either Eagles backup if you don’t have a solid option on your roster already.

Keep it tuned to Bleacher Reports’ NFL Page for the latest fantasy football news

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