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Week 16 Injury Wrap: Julio Jones, A.J. Green, Tyler Eifert

Scott Pianowski
Fantasy analyst
A,J. Green is a major Week 16 wild card for fantasy survivors
A,J. Green is a major Week 16 wild card for fantasy survivors

No pressure, amigos. If you pick wrong, you lose. Here’s your injury and status check-in.

• Although the Cowboys wrapped up the NFC’s No. 1 seed after the Giants lost at Philadelphia on Thursday, I would be flabbergasted if Dallas made any major adjustments to personnel and usage for Monday’s game against Detroit. The first Cowboys playoff game is three weeks away; it’s too early to start pulling back on players. Perhaps a workload here or there could be modestly lessened, but I doubt it will be anything major, if anything at all. I’m not going to make notable adjustments to my Dallas players.

• The Falcons still have much to play for, and they’ll have Julio Jones (toe) at Carolina. Atlanta held Jones out the two previous weeks, feeling it could get past lesser competition (Los Angeles, San Francisco) without risking Jones. The star wideout is completely off the Week 16 injury report.

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The last time Atlanta met the Panthers, Jones rolled up 300 yards receiving, one of the best games in NFL history (meanwhile, Matt Ryan threw for 503 yards that day). The Falcons offense has been much more evenly distributed in recent weeks.

I don’t consider Jones an automatic fantasy starter in Week 16; it depends on the shape of your roster, your alternatives, and your favorite or underdog status. I’d try to make the call as late as is realistically possible.

• It will be interesting to see what A.J. Green is ready to do on game day. Green (hamstring) had a limited practice Thursday and signs point to him playing against Houston. Green would like to top 1000 yards for the sixth straight season; he’s currently 36 yards shy. Cincinnati is obviously out of the playoff picture. The Bengals play at Houston on Christmas Eve, the night game. Green last played in Week 11.

Tyler Eifert (back) was officially scratched Friday; pick up another tight end. Jeremy Hill (knee) had a limited practice Thursday and will carry the questionable tag into Saturday, though context clues point to him playing.

• Melvin Gordon (hip/knee) didn’t practice Thursday and seems like a longshot to play at Cleveland. With the Chargers out of the playoff hunt, why risk Gordon? Kenneth Farrow was ineffective as a stand-in last week, and Ronnie Hillman is also around.

• With Matt Forte (various) sitting out Thursday and listed as doubtful, prepare for the Bilal Powell show again. New England is allowing bushels of checkdowns to opposing running backs, and that’s an area where Powell excels.

The Jets expect to have Brandon Marshall (shoulder/back), though he had a limited session Thursday. If I play any New York wideout at New England, it will be Robby Anderson.

• Adrian Peterson (knee/groin) was officially ruled out Friday, which puts Jerick McKinnon into the Week 16 sleeper pile at Green Bay. Note that McKinnon is getting a lot of receiving work of late.

Stefon Diggs (hip) did some work Thursday after missing the previous day. He should be able to go, but the Packers are expected to control this game, as seven-point favorites. Adam Thielen (neck) is expected to play.

• Lamar Miller (ankle) didn’t practice Thursday and might be iffy for the weekend. Alfred Blue and Akeem Hunt are the fallbacks. The Texans will also start QB Tom Savage, with Brock Osweiler benched. It sounds like TE C.J. Fiedorowicz (post concussion) will return, which hurts the sleeper buzz on Ryan Griffin. Savage’s presence was a boost for Griffin and DeAndre Hopkins last week.

• Although the Lions have until Monday to get right, it doesn’t look great on Theo Riddick (wrist). He didn’t practice again on Thursday.

• Sammy Watkins (foot) was limited in practice all week but should take a reasonable complement of snaps against Miami. After playing in 94 percent of the plays two games back, he dropped to 63 percent last week, albeit a blowout over Cleveland might have played into that. Watkins has a pedestrian 11-182-1 line (22 targets) over his last four games.

• The Colts expect to have touchdown specialist Donte Moncrief (hamstring) on the field Saturday at Oakland. Moncrief’s efficiency has been in the toilet, but those six-point plays pay the bills — and he has five of them in his last six games. That said, he went catchless — four targets — in his last appearance, two weeks ago.

[Week 16 rankings: Overall | FLEX | QB | RB | WR | TE | DEF | K]

• Michael Crabtree (finger) should be able to go in a critical game against Indianapolis. Amari Cooper (shoulder) has also been limited, but likewise is fully expected to go. It’s been a slog for Cooper lately: 22-251-2 over his last six games, outside the Top 50 in PPR scoring.

• It’s hard to imagine Steve Smith (thigh) missing the critical Pittsburgh game, though he did miss part of Thursday’s workout.

• John Brown (illness) had a limited session Thursday and is difficult to trust at Seattle. He’s played an average of 47 percent of snaps in his last six games.

• Kenny Britt (shoulder) had a full workout Thursday and will play against San Francisco. Somehow, he sits No. 17 in receiver PPR scoring despite some awful quarterback play. QB Jared Goff (post concussion) is cleared to play.

• Terrelle Pryor (finger) should play in the home finale against San Diego, not that you want to link any receiver with Robert Griffin III.

• The Packers have been cautious with Randall Cobb (ankle), giving him a light session Thursday. He should go against Minnesota, but he’s behind a number of key contributors — Jordy Nelson, Davante Adams, Ty Montgomery and maybe even Jared Cook.

• Kelvin Benjamin (back) has fallen off the map the last two months; you need to do better. It does sound like he’ll play Saturday against Atlanta. Ted Ginn, bluntly, is a better play right now; Ginn has four scores in his last five games, while Benjamin has one touchdown since Week 4.

• A handful of big-name starting QBs are taking some time off, but no real risk to sit on the weekend: Matthew Stafford (finger), Andrew Luck (shoulder/thumb), Tom Brady (thigh), Cam Newton (shoulder), Aaron Rodgers (thumb). Meanwhile, Matt Moore is needed for Ryan Tannehill (knee) again.

• Jordan Reed (shoulder) is having another absent week, and there’s not a chance I’ll risk him Saturday at Chicago.

• Greg Olsen is expected to play through his elbow injury.

• Martellus Bennett (ankle/shoulder) should play through the aches and pains. If the game gets out of hand, perhaps Bennett could be rested a little bit.

• Austin Hooper (knee) is out for Week 16.

• Ladarius Green is in the concussion protocol, and might not be able to play against Baltimore. I’d be making alternative plans; he didn’t work the last two days. Jesse James might be worth a deeper-league sleeper play; if your league isn’t quite that deep, think about San Diego’s Hunter Henry. If you merely want a flex play, perhaps Steelers WR Eli Rogers will be relevant this week.