Jahvid Best Injury: Updates on Lions Star's Week 12 Status and Fantasy Value

A concussion is keeping Detroit Lions running back, Jahvid Best, sidelined for the time being, but there is hope he will return before the season is over. 

The Lions' run game had been on a major decline after Best went down, but they were saved this past weekend by Kevin Smith, who had 140 rushing yards and three total touchdowns against the Carolina Panthers in Week 11. 

For Week 12, the status of Best will be monitored all week, but the chances of him playing are very slim. The Lions will be on a short week, as they hit the road to take on the undefeated Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving this Thursday.

Update: Friday, Nov. 25

The Lions are reporting on their official webpage that Best has been placed on Injured Reserved. This ends his 2011 season.

Update: Thursday, Nov. 24 at 12:20 p.m. ET

Best is not going to be back for a while according to Jay Glazer via Rotoworld.

Glazer said Best won't return "next week, or anytime soon."

This is terrible news as Glazer usually nails his reports. Fantasy owners need to get Kevin Smith to get them through the playoffs.  

Update: Monday, Nov. 22 at 12:55 p.m ET

Chris McCosky of the Detroit News reported on Twitter that Best was not practicing today as the Lions continued to prepare for their Thanksgiving Day game against the Packers. He's not looking like a go for Thursday's NFC North clash.

Detroit is obviously going to play it safe with the feature back. Concussions are no joke, so he'll be sidelined until he's back to 100 percent. Unfortunately, nobody knows exactly how long that will take, so it's just a waiting game.

Update: Monday, Nov. 21 at 2:35 p.m. ET 

There isn't any recent news to report on Best, but having missed four straight games, things don't look too good given the Lions will be playing on Thursday. Best did however tweet how he feels about watching the games instead of playing in them. 

It's a rough time for Best, but his health is the main concern. The Lions had been extremely one dimensional without him, but the emergence of Kevin Smith helps greatly.

If you're in need of a running back, Smith is the best guy to pick up right now. I would hold onto Best for another week or so, but if you're on the borderline of making it to the playoffs and you have to dump him then so be it. 

If you've got a playoff spot locked up then keep Best as he could make a return during fantasy football postseason play (also known as the final three or four weeks of the season, depending on the league). 

Stay tuned for more updates throughout the week to see if Best will be cleared to play against the Packers on Thursday afternoon.