Donald Driver Injury: Updates on Packers Star's Week 5 Status and Fantasy Value

Sometimes you can tell how well respected a player is based on the player and crowd reaction when they get injured.

When Denver Broncos safety Brian Dawkins collided into Driver’s leg in the second quarter of Sunday’s win over the Broncos, the Lambeau crowd fell silent. Driver was carted of the field and thought his season, and potentially career, was over.

Yet somehow he managed to come back into the game and even caught a touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers.

How does the leg feel this week? 

UPDATE: Saturday, Oct. 8 at 3:45 p.m. EDT by Donald Wood

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Donald Driver is one of the toughest guys in the NFL, and his injury to the shin will not keep him from the field on Sunday against the Falcons.

RotoWorld.com is reporting that Driver practiced with the team Friday and is probable for Sunday’s game:

As good as Driver is as a football player, there isn’t much left in his tank when it comes to fantasy football. While his hands are still sure, it’s the number of weapons the Packers have that will limit his looks.

UPDATE: Thursday, Oct. 6 at 2:00 p.m. EST by Brandon Galvin

Donald Driver (shin) returned to practice today, according to Green Bay Press-Gazette's Pete Dougherty. Expect him to play Sunday unless he suffers a setback tomorrow.

UPDATE: Wednesday, Oct. 5 at 6:33 p.m. EST by Brandon Galvin

Donald Driver is expected to play this Sunday against Atlanta. As expected, he still sat out practice today, according to KFFL.

Update: Tuesday, Oct 4 at 11:00 a.m. ET by Eric Bowman

Donald Driver played in Week 4 against the Denver Broncos, and his status for Week 5 against the Atlanta Falcons appears to look good. According to Rotoworld.com:

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'Donald Driver reported improvement in his injured left knee, and coach Mike McCarthy said that he doesn't "feel like he's in any danger of not playing" on Sunday.'

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I still wouldn't start Driver in any standard leagues, but if you're in a deep league with say 16-20 teams, then Driver is better than most options you'd have. 

The Falcons' secondary is very weak, and Aaron Rodgers should have no trouble torching them for big points. However, he has plenty of weapons to chose from, which is why I wouldn't start Driver unless in a deep league.   

Update Monday, Oct. 3^rd at 6:00 P.M. ET

Judging from this tweet by the Packers official website, it sounds like Driver won’t be missing any game action:

This is terrific news for the offense and they are going to need him between the hashes next week when they travel to the Georgia Dome to take on the Atlanta Falcons.

Fantasy-wise, Driver really isn’t a great option at this late juncture in his career. He’s still available in 75 percent of all ESPN leagues for a reason. With so many options for Rodgers to throw to, Driver is the odd man out.

Yet he is still a viable option to have if you are in an extremely deep league. Assuming all of his treatment this week goes to plan…expect Driver to suit up in Week 5.