Danny Woodhead Injury: Updates on Patriots RB's Week 5 Status and Fantasy Value

New England Patriots "mighty mite" running back Danny Woodhead missed the second half of his team's 31-19 win over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday with a left ankle injury. Woodhead played just six snaps in the first half, garnering two carries for 13 yards without a single target in the passing game. Stevan Ridley and BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Woodhead's backfield mates, combined for 172 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries in the victory.

UPDATE: Sunday, Oct. 9 at 1:25 p.m. EDT by Donald Wood

The New England Patriots will have to go against the tough New York Jets team this week without their sneaky running back Danny Woodhead.

NFL Redzone channel is reporting about Danny Woodhead’s status for Sunday’s game:

Danny Woodhead is one of the biggest wildcards in the NFL, but he hasn’t performed up to the standards fantasy football owners have expected. With Woodhead out for a few weeks, it would be smart to get pick up Stevan Ridley.

UPDATE: Friday, Oct. 7 at 3:10 p.m. 

Ian Rapoport of The Boston Herald tweeted the Patriots latest injury news.

It's very unlikely Woodhead will play on Sunday versus the Jets. He's had good games against them in the past, but it's too risky to play him now. 

Plus, Stevan Ridley has been a nice surprise for New England, and he's going to steal minutes from Woodhead for the rest of the season. His fantasy value is only good in deep leagues, but he should be on your bench this week because of his ankle. 

UPDATE: Thursday, Oct. 6 at 7:24 p.m. EDT by Brandon Galvin

Danny Woodhead (ankle) sat out practice again today, according to Rotoworld's Staff. With the expected emergence of rookie RB Stevan Ridley, do not expect to see Woodhead play Sunday vs. the New York Jets.

UPDATE: Wednesday, Oct. 5 at 3:10 p.m. EDT by Donald Wood

The New England Patriots will be without one of the most versatile pieces in Danny Woodhead who looks to be out for this week and maybe more with an ankle injury.

RotoWorld.com is reporting about the status of Woodhead and his availability for Sunday’s game against the New York Jets:

There was already a chance that if you had Danny Woodhead on your fantasy team you were thinking of dropping him, but now you can officially cut ties with news that he could be out for an extended period of times.

Update: Tuesday, Oct. 4 at 2:30 p.m. EDT

The Boston Herald has quite an extensive write up on Woodhead's injury and the effect it will have on him. I still maintain he is a cut in a majority of leagues because of the talent in their crowded backfield.

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I’ve learned that Woodhead escaped major damage on his ankle, and there is no broken bone or torn ligament. It is a sprain. It’s just not clear how bad it is or whether he’ll miss Sunday’s game against the Jets.

The first day is always the worst, and I’m sure it’s swollen. But the plan is for the Patriots to see how it responds to treatment and see how much better it gets. That’s one reason why it has been so hard to pin down a timetable. It all depends on how the ankle reacts over the next few days.

From the sounds of it, it’s a week-to-week thing, not a month-to-month thing.

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Update: Tuesday, Oct. 4 at 9:40 a.m. EDT by -Alex Kay

Woodhead was nowhere to be found last night in the Patriots' locker room according to Dan Dugan. No word yet on his injury, but Stevan Ridley and BenJarvus Green-Ellis did a fine job shouldering the running load for the Patriots.

I would recommend dropping Woodhead in fantasy as he hasn't been a consistent performer in the high-powered Pats' offense. 

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