Atlanta Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez will be active for the team's matchup versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.
Tony Gonzalez active for Atlanta Falcons, fantasy owners on Sunday
The Atlanta Falcons can ill-afford any more injuries on offense, but Tony Gonzalez will take the field on Sunday despite a toe injury. We break down the fantasy implications.
Streeter Lecka
The veteran tight end got only a limited session of practice in on Friday and sat out both Wednesday and Thursday with a toe injury, but Gonzalez will play despite that. The Falcons had remained mum on Gonzalez’ status throughout the week, and with a recent injury that sidelines a player for significant practice time, “no news is good news,” usually isn’t the case. This time, it was.
Fantasy Spin: Gonzalez managed only two catches for 30 yards versus the Buccaneers during the teams’ first meeting, but upside remains versus a team that has allowed 17 passing touchdowns on the season. There’s the likelihood that with so much time missed in practice that Gonzalez could see the bulk of his participation in red-zone situations, which is an area that the Buccaneers have been exploited in this season. With the uncertainty surrounding the tight end position this year, that’s enough to warrant high-end TE2 status with TE1 upside.
The bigger picture is that Gonzalez joins a laundry list of Falcons playmakers who have been limited this season due to injury. Julio Jones is gone for the year, Roddy White has dealt with ankle and hamstring injuries for the season's entirety, Harry Douglas popped up on the team's Thursday injury report, and Steven Jackson missed time with a hip injury earlier in the season. The Buccaneers defense is a sneaky start for fantasy owners who opted to stream defenses in Week 11, and quarterback Matt Ryan's fantasy outlook continues to look murky at best.
• Week 11 fantasy football position rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE | D/ST
• Week 11 fantasy football waiver advice: QB | RB | WR | TE | D/ST
