The Fantasy Football injury report heading into Thursday in Week 4 has Calvin Johnson, Jamaal Charles, Arian Foster, DeAngelo Williams, Doug Martin and Alfred Morris as risky start options, as those names are dealing with injuries from last week or lingering issues that kept them out of action and fantasy owners should be ready with backups just in case.
Calvin Johnson comes into the weekend banged up with an ankle injury and he was held out of practice to rest up and he could be a game time decision against the Jets on Sunday. Johnson is obviously a key player for the Lions and he said he expects to play despite missing practice this week. Johnson added that he was not concerned about the ankle and for fantasy owners if Johnson is playing, he is a strong START option no matter how hobbled he is.
Arian Foster and Jamaal Charles were both out last week and they are expected to be back in action, with Charles more likely to play than Foster. Vernon Davis is questionable after missing time during the week and if he is active, he should be starting, because fantasy owners would be pissed if he plays well despite coming in injured. The Panthers have a tough spot with DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart and the injury report before the weekend should tell what happens there.
Doug Martin practiced all week with no issues and he should be back in the lineup, but after dealing with a knee injury, he is a risky start. Anyone who has Martin would be wise to grab Bobby Rainey just in case he goes down again. Martin dealt with injuries last season and he missed 10 games and that followed his stellar rookie year and now fantasy owners are looking for him to get back to that. Martin had 1454 yards that season with 11 touchdowns and also added 49 catches, but this year he has just nine yards in one game after missing time with the knee issue.
Jamaal Charles is tough for fantasy owners because he plays on Monday night football, but so far it looks like he will be starting against the Patriots. Having Knile Davis on your team or Joe McKnight for that matter is a good move in case he can't go. Charles had a high ankle sprain and it was not called serious by Andy Reid, but he missed out last week and while he looks ready to go, having a backup is a good option. McKnight was solid last week and got into the end zone, while Davis has been very consistent in his time coming in for Charles.
The fantasy football week got started on Thursday night and that game saw Niles Paul get injured and that means the Redskins could be without Paul and Jordan Reed. Fantasy owners with either of those players should go look at Logan Paulsen, as he could end up stepping in as the starter until those players can come back healthy.