Week 16 NFL Injury Report: Fantasy Football Implications

We break down the final injury report for week 16 of the 2011 NFL season. For more on fantasy football, check out Fake Teams.

by David Fucillo

Dec 23, 2011, 10:28 PM UTC

CHICAGO, IL - DECEMBER 18: Marion Barber #24 of the Chicago Bears runs against the Seattle Seahawks at Soldier Field on December18, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Getty Images

The final injury reports are out for Week 16's Saturday games as the NFL gets ready for a full slate of Christmas Eve games. There are a variety of notable injuries that will impact your fantasy football decisions. Marion Barber is listed as doubtful, which means he is most likely not going to play. Kahlil Bell will get the start in his place and is a decent fantasy option.

Cowboys running back Felix Jones is questionable and a game-time decision. Even if he is active, Sammy Morris will likely get enough carries that Jones loses his fantasy effectiveness. Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger is listed as questionable, but the Steelers have indicated that Charlie Batch will get the start on Saturday.

For those wondering, the designations break down as follows:

Out: 0% change of playing
Doubtful: 25% chance of playing
Questionable: 50% chance of playing
Probable: 75% chance of playing

For fantasy purposes, you can almost always assume a probable player can be slotted into your lineup. I would be somewhat shocked if any of those Probable players ended up inactive this Sunday barring any news tonight or tomorrow. Questionable players on the other hand put you in a tough position. At least half if not more of these guys will play, but you will likely find yourself waiting on a “game-time decision” for most of them. It is not a problem for 1:00pm ET starts, but the 4:05 and 4:15pm ET starts, it can become a pain in the butt setting your lineup. For those I simply suggest trying to slot them into your flex position (if you have one) so you have some flexibility between running backs and wide receivers (and maybe even tight ends).

This Saturday we’ll have final updates for all of these players so check back then. And of course, feel free to tweet us @sbnationfantasy with any sit/start questions you might have.

OUT

QB Colt McCoy, Browns

RB Matt Forte, Bears
RB Darren McFadden, Raiders

WR Anquan Boldin, Ravens
WR Jacoby Ford, Raiders
WR Greg Jennings, Packers
WR Emmanuel Sanders, Steelers

TE Jake Ballard, Giants

DOUBTFUL

QB Sam Bradford, Rams

RB Marion Barber, Bears

WR Andre Caldwell, Bengals
WR Mario Manningham, Giants

K Billy Cundiff, Ravens

QUESTIONABLE

QB Kevin Kolb, Cardinals
QB Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers

RB Michael Bush, Raiders
RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Patriots
RB Montario Hardesty, Browns
RB Roy Helu, Redskins
RB Chris Johnson, Titans
RB Felix Jones, Cowboys
RB Taiwan Jones, Raiders
RB Beanie Wells, Cardinals