Aaron Hernandez Injury: Assessing Week 4 Fantasy Stock of Patriots TE

New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez has been out since suffering an MCL sprain in his knee against the San Diego Chargers in Week 2. He missed the Patriots' 34-31 loss to the Buffalo Bills this past weekend, as a result.

The second-year man out of Florida says he is hoping to play this Sunday against the Oakland Raiders, despite initial reports that he could miss up to a month. Hernandez didn't go into specifics. In fact, he didn't even say if he expected to be ready to go.

If that isn't vague enough, last week he was walking around the Patriots locker room claiming he felt great.

This is obviously a situation that fantasy owners need to monitor closely. Hernandez is a legit No. 1 tight end if he's on the field, as Patriots quarterback Tom Brady clearly trusts him.

Last season, in 14 games as a rookie, Hernandez caught 45 passes for 563 yards and six touchdowns. In the two games he's played this season, he already has 14 catches for 165 yards and two touchdowns.

Brady has turned Hernandez and the Patriots' other, second-year tight end Rob Gronkowski into integral parts of their offense.

While Mr. Gisele Bundchen loves him some Wes Welker, Deion Branch isn't getting any younger and Chad Ochocinco hasn't yet played up to par. Brady knows he has to feed his young tight ends to keep the offense moving.

If you have Hernandez in your team, you might need to sit him as it's uncertain that he'll play. However, there is obviously no reason to panic. Once he's back and in the lineup, he should continue to be a consistent source of points.

I don't expect him to be out much longer, but personally I'm not optimistic that he'll play against the Oakland Raiders.