NFL Injury Report: The Key Week 4 Injuries That Could Cripple Your Fantasy Team

In a 16-game schedule, it is inevitable that every NFL fantasy owner will be faced with some injuries throughout the season. Some injuries are the one-week variety, while others are more like Peyton Manning, where you know that they will be gone for at least a couple weeks, but you don't really know how many more weeks after that he will be out of commission.

Some injuries fantasy owners are able to absorb because they were able to handcuff a backup player to the starter, so they haven't lost that much in the grand scheme of things. But there are some players that are just so vital to your team that any week they are missing, your team is fighting an uphill battle.

Today we are covering the Top 12 injuries that will have an impact on your Week 5 fantasy roster. If the player in question has already been placed on season-ending I.R. since Week 3, there is no reason to include them in this list, since that is old news and would be redundant. This article is to bring you up to speed on the injury activity from Week 4 to make sure you are up to speed. We went to publication prior to the Monday Football Game of Week 4 between Tampa Bay and Indianapolis.

Teams on Bye in Week 5

Before we even think about talking injuries, make sure you have checked to know which teams are starting their bye weeks this week, as Week 5 represents the first week that a bunch of teams have a week off.

The bye teams for Week 5 are: Cleveland, Dallas, St. Louis, Miami, Washington and Baltimore. If any players from the bye teams of Week 5 were injured during Week 4, we will omit those from the list, since their health status could be very different by the time their next game in Week 6 rolls around.

If you don't have a starter that is scheduled to play this week due to the bye, that is one of the reasons we are publishing this on Monday morning, so you have time to pick someone up with your waiver wire claims or free-agent moves coming up later this week.

In fact, all of your free-agent or waiver wire moves should be done with an eye ahead towards the bye weeks of the players on your team, making sure that you have adequate coverage for every roster position while keeping your team strong.

Houston Texans WR Andre Johnson

One of the biggest fantasy football injuries from Week 4 that will have a big impact on teams is the potential loss of Houston Texans WR Andre Johnson.

Johnson had caught a pass Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers and was running without contact when he went down into a curl on the field. It turns out that Johnson pulled a hamstring muscle on the play. He will have a MRI on Monday to determine the extent of the injury.

Check back throughout the week for a further update on his health status, but I would not be surprised to see him sitting out some games based on the amount of pain he was in.

Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger

Houston Texans defensive lineman J.J. Watt landed on the back of Ben Roethlisberger's left foot during the game on Sunday, and Big Ben is hurt as a result of the play. Roethlisberger left on the team plane with a walking boot on his left foot and on crutches.

Roethlisberger hopes to be able to play through the pain, but his fantasy owners may be wise to have a backup or contingency plan in place, just in case he can't go next week.

This is not the same foot he hurt last year, for whatever that is worth.

New York Jets C Nick Mangold

The New York Jets are having a lot of difficulty replacing center Nick Mangold, and as long as he is out of the starting lineup, you might want to consider benching all of your New York Jets starters on offense. They couldn't have scored many points for you on Sunday night against the Ravens, unless you started the defense.

Consider benching all Jets players on offense until Mangold is healthy and back in the lineup.

Houston Texans RB Ben Tate

Houston Texans RB Ben Tate has done an admirable job filling in for Arian Foster. But in the Week 4 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tate was injured, and the Texans are referring to it as a groin injury.

Foster returned to play a key role in the Texans' win today, so if Foster is considered to be all the way back now, you probably would be considering benching Tate anyway. The smart play is to monitor Tate's health during the week and see if he is practicing or not later in the week.

Assuming you have a bench, go ahead and put Tate on your bench, but with the way that he rushed with Foster on the sidelines, I don't think you want to release him just yet.

Pittsburgh Steelers RB Rashard Mendenhall

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall scored a touchdown Sunday against the Houston Texans, but he hurt his hamstring during the game.

As we advised about Ben Tate, it is a smart play to monitor the health of Mendenhall and see what is happening with his injury this week and if he is practicing with the team or not.

If you have a good backup, you might want to consider benching him for Week 5.

Oakland Raiders RB Michael Bush

The Oakland Raiders running back was able to convert a goal line opportunity into a rushing touchdown on Sunday, but he is another running back that left a little banged up this weekend.

Bush suffered an ankle sprain on Sunday and is going to be re-evaluated throughout the early part of next week. As we recommended with the other running backs in the presentation, monitor his health and ability to make practices this week before you decide to start him, if you usually do.

San Diego Chargers Wide Receiver Malcolm Floyd

San Diego Chargers wide receiver Malcolm Floyd had a rough game Sunday, as he not only came up with one injury, but two on Sunday.

Floyd hurt his shoulder at one point in the game, and then came up with a groin injury later in the contest.

Check his availability during the week to see if it makes sense to start him in Week 5.

San Diego Chargers WR Vincent Jackson

Vincent Jackson has come up with some big fantasy points already this year, but in Week 4, he came up with a strained muscle in his leg that could impact his effectiveness in the near term.

The Chargers will have their trainers working on him during this next week to try to get him back to health, but depending on what grade the strain is, you might want to have a fallback plan ready, just in case.

New England Patriots RB Danny Woodhead

During the New England Patriots' win over the Oakland Raiders, running back Danny Woodhead hurt his ankle during the game.

No word yet on the severity of the ankle injury, but at least his owners are now aware of checking back this week to see what is happening with him.

Seattle Seahawks Wide Receiver Mike Williams

During the Seattle Seahawks game on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons, wide receiver Mike Williams suffered a concussion.

Williams suffered the injury towards the end of the third quarter.

Based on the way the NFL is now handling concussions, he will have to gain medical clearance before he will be allowed to suit up again.

Green Bay Packers WR Donald Driver

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Donald Driver hurt his knee against the Denver Broncos on Sunday and needed medical attention to come off the field.

Driver is not the fantasy factor these days that he was in the past, but if you are playing with Driver in your lineup, you would be well advised to check back this week to see what news is surrounding his knee injury.

Tennessee Titans TE Craig Stevens

OK, I understand that a small percentage of fantasy football owners might be using this guy, but Tennessee Titans tight end Craig Stevens suffered a rib injury on Sunday.

Stevens did score a touchdown in the Titans win on Sunday, so at least he scored more points than quite a few other better-known names that I am aware of.

That appears to be it for the new injuries that would impact your Week 5 fantasy team.