NFL Injury Report Friday Updates: Purdy Out, Worthy Doubtful, Jennings Questionable

Week 1 was incredibly low-scoring by modern standards, but offenses may get some help this weekend from an unusual quantity of injuries to high-profile cornerbacks. Patrick Surtain and Derek Stingley are healthy, but a slew of the second-tier guys have either been ruled out or listed as questionable.

With that in mind, injury hotspots for Week 2 include: 

Patriots CBs, Dolphins CBs, Steelers DBs, Seahawks DBs, Colts CBs, Bills CBs 

Bucs OTs, Saints OL, Texans WRs, 49ers offense

Below you'll find four different categories, with our lists including key offensive linemen and defensive players whose absences might impact fantasy decisions. The bottom section, for potential game-day decisions, is sorted by kickoff times. It can be used as a checklist/cheatsheet for Sunday morning and afternoon when inactives come out and we need to adjust lineups. Before we get to the 'questionable' players, let's see who's definitely in and who's definitely out...

Good to Go 💯

• RB Roschon Johnson (foot)
• WRs Drake London & Darnell Mooney (shoulders)
• WR Jaylen Waddle (shoulder)
• WR Kayshon Boutte (shoulder)
• WRs Malik Nabers (back) & Darius Slayton (groin)
• TE Evan Engram (calf)

Ruled Out/Doubtful 🚑 

Out/Doubtful/IR

• QB Brock Purdy (toe)
• RB Will Shipley (oblique)
• RB Jaylen Wright (ankle)
• RB Kalel Mullings (ankle)
• WRs Xavier Worthy (D - shoulder) & Jalen Royals (knee)
• WR Josh Reynolds (hamstring)
• WRs Christian Kirk & Braxton Berrios (D - hamstring)
• WR Chris Godwin (D - foot)
• WRs Casey Washington (concussion) & Jamal Agnew (groin)
• TE Dallas Goedert (knee)
• TE Isaiah Likely (foot)
• TE Darren Waller (hip)
• TE Tip Reiman (foot)

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Potential Workload Beneficiaries (From Injuries Above)

• QB Mac Jones
• RB Ollie Gordon 
• WRs Hollywood Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster & Tyquan Thornton
• WRs Tyler Johnson & Allen Lazard
• WRs Xavier Hutchinson, Jayden Higgins, Jaylin Noel & Justin Watson
• TEs Grant Calcaterra & Kylen Granson
• TE Mark Andrews & WR DeAndre Hopkins
• TE Julian Hill
• TE Elijah Higgins

Not exactly a thrilling list here, apart from the Kansas City wide receivers, an undermanned unit that draws a tough matchup against Philadelphia's secondary. Still, the Chiefs will throw plenty no matter what, and someone besides Travis Kelce has to get the ball. I have a feeling it'll be more JuJu and less Hollywood than most people want/expect, but you've obviously got to start Brown over Smith-Schuster after what happened last week (rather than relying on my gut).

Key Defensive Players + Offensive Linemen

• CB Christian Gonzalez (hamstring)
• CB Kyler Gordon (knee)
• CBs Charvarius Ward (head) & Jaylon Jones (hamstring)
• CB Devon Witherspoon (D - knee)
• CB DaRon Bland (foot)
• CB Joey Porter (hamstring), S DeShon Elliott (knee) & DE Derrick Harmon (knee)
• CBs Storm Duck (ankle) & Ethan Bonner (hamstring)
• OLB Andrew Van Ginkel (concussion)
• DT Ed Oliver (ankle)
• LB Dre Greenlaw (quad)
• G Trevor Penning (toe) + DE Chase Young (calf)
• RT JC Latham (hip) + DT T'Vondre Sweat (ankle)
•   G Steve Avila (D - ankle)
• LT Christian Darrisaw (knee)
• LT Andrew Thomas (D - foot)
• RT Austin Jackson (toe)

Potential matchup upgrades due to the injuries listed above include Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill, Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, Broncos WR Courtland Sutton, Steelers WR Calvin Austin, Giants WR Wan'Dale Robinson (Q - ankle), Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Patriots WR Kayshon Boutte, Falcons QB Michael Penix, Jets QB Justin Fields, Jets RB Breece Hall

Potential downgrades include Giants QB Russell Wilson, Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy and Saints QB Spencer Rattler.

Listed as Questionable - Should Play 👍

• TE Mason Taylor (ankle)

Taylor is listed as questionable despite upgrading to full practice participation Friday. He'll likely play, but the combination of a minor injury and quiet Week 1 makes him a sketchy lineup option for Week 2, even if his playing time and route share in the season opener hint at some breakout potential ahead.

Truly Questionable / Game-Time Decisions 🤔

Early Games

• RB Quinshon Judkins (non-injury)
• WR Wan'Dale Robinson (ankle)
• WR Jauan Jennings (shoulder)

Jennings may be a game-time decision, and the same goes for 49ers left tackle Trent Williams, who is nursing a knee injury. Jennings returned to practice Friday as a limited participant, and he might be more inclined to push things in light of his recent contract adjustment (though he still wasn't thrilled) and now San Francisco's various injury issues. Any intrigue surrounding the pairing of Kyle Shanahan and Mac Jones kind of dies out if Jones ends up playing without Kittle, Aiyuk, Jennings and Williams. At least they're facing the Saints.

For Judkins, we should get an update before Sunday morning, given that the issue at hand is mental and physical readiness, not an injury. I'd be shocked if this actually ends up coming down to a game-time decision or anything like that. The big-name reporters will help us out by Saturday night when it comes to Judkins' availability, but I wouldn't trust anything they say when it comes to speculation about role/workload. Every Cleveland back comes with downside that's disproportionate to the upside this week. Judkins and/or Sampson should have stretches of fantasy relevance, but this isn't the week to test the theory unless you're laughably desperate.

Late-Afternoon Games

• RB Tyler Goodson (elbow)

Jonathan Taylor played every single snap before halftime last week, in any case.

Primetime Games

• TE Brock Bowers (knee)

With Chris Godwin and Christian Kirk presumably out again, there's only one key injury situation to watch at the fantasy positions for the two Monday games. It's a whopper, of course, with Bowers not practicing Thursday or Friday. The only good news for fantasy managers is that teammate Michael Mayer makes for a decent fill-in. The Raiders are playing in the last game of the week, and their opponent didn't have a tight end reach 50 percent route share in the season opener. (Will Dissly reached 49%, but with just one target on his 18 routes, while Tyler Conklin got two official targets on eight routes and also had an end-zone drop wiped out by a penalty.

Key Defensive Players + O-Linemen

• CBs Taron Johnson (quad) & Tre'Davious White (groin)
• RT Jack Conklin (eye/elbow)
• LT Taylor Decker (shoulder) & S Kerby Joseph (knee)
• RT Taliese Fuaga (knee)
• DE Laiatu Latu (hamstring)
• G Will Hernandez (ACL)
• S Harrison Smith (conditioning)
• DT Grady Jarrett (knee)
• LB Elandon Roberts (elbow)
• LB Denzel Perryman (ankle)
• LT Tristan Wirfs (knee) & RT Luke Goedeke (foot)