The Cincinnati Bengals may lose wide receiver Brandon LaFell for several weeks. FOX Sports’ Mike Garafolo reports that LaFell has a ligament tear in his hand with surgery being an option.
Brandon LaFell hand injury may destroy fantasy potential
Brandon LaFell’s hand injury and potential surgery will destroy his fantasy football prospects, but it does open the door for Tyler Boyd to emerge.
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Garafolo added that LaFell could try to rehab the injury and play through it without surgery. Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole reports that LaFell will wait a week before deciding what to do, and surgery would take about six weeks to return from.
LaFell missed the Bengals’ preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings with this injury. He’s also been in and out of practice during training camp. Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis has since told the media he does not think LaFell will miss the team’s regular-season opener against the New York Jets.
Fantasy Spin: This is bad news for LaFell’s fantasy prospects. He’s already trying to get the offense down and get in sync with Andy Dalton after joining the Bengals this offseason. That followed a stint with the New England Patriots, which ended after a foot injury limited LaFell for most of the 2015 season.
LaFell was not being drafted in most fantasy leagues before the injury. His ADP had him going around 200th overall. Take him off your board completely for now until there’s a more definitive word on his recovery and return.
LaFell was primed to be the starting boundary receiver next to A.J. Green with rookie Tyler Boyd in the slot. However, Boyd has been having a great training camp from both the slot and boundary. If he’s getting snaps at both spots, he’ll be an even better fantasy prospect than his current ADP suggests.
For now, look to grab Boyd with one of your final receiver draft picks.
