Fantasy football aftermath: The injuries of Week 5

As a fantasy player, though, the last two weeks of Calvin Johnson have been awful. Someone as good as Johnson has to be in your lineup if he's on the field. You can't risk a healthy (or close to) Calvin Johnson putting up huge numbers if he's on your bench.

• Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater missed the Thursday-night game with an ankle injury he suffered in Week 4. It sounded like Bridgewater was close to playing the game, even on the short week, and with an extra few days to prepare for Week 6, and Christian Ponder looking like Christian Ponder in that Thursday game, expect Bridgewater back for the Vikings' next game.
• The Tennessee Titans lost Jake Locker in the second quarter Sunday, right after getting him back from injury. It was a right thumb injury for Locker, and while Sunday X-rays came back clean, he is going for a MRI Monday to learn more. It remains to be seen if Locker can play in the Titans' Week 6 game against the Jaguars. If he plays, he'd be a nice start because of the matchup, but he's not someone you can afford to rely on for the season, with his injury history.
• The Arizona Cardinals almost got Carson Palmer back for Sunday's game, but the starter was inactive one more time. Most signs point to him being back for Week 6, which is good news, because the Cardinals lost backup Drew Stanton to a concussion in Sunday's game. We'll see who is the team's quarterback next week. Palmer, Stanton and even rookie Logan Thomas could be in play.

• The Denver Broncos lost Montee Ball to a groin injury in Sunday's game. Early indications on the injury are Ball will be out for a little while, which might be for the best for the Broncos as Ball has been terrible so far this season. Ronnie Hillman and C.J. Anderson become much more interesting in Ball's absence - we'll need to see something out of them before we rely on them on a weekly basis, but in that offense, they're interesting.
• In a similar vein, San Diego Chargers' running back Donald Brown left Sunday's game early with a concussion, but it's not like he's been good for the team as the starter. In his absence, Branden Oliver had a huge game. There's no way to know yet if and how long Brown will be out, but even if he's healthy for Week 6, the team might just go to Oliver to carry the load.
• Reggie Bush left the Lions' game with an ankle injury. The team was already without Joique Bell and Theo Riddick. Calvin Johnson left early as well, really limiting what the Lions were able to do. Bush said after the game that his ankle was fine, but we'll see what more reports have to say in the next couple days.
• Fantasy owners had to be really disappointed with the game put up by Rashad Jennings in what looked like a great matchup. Jennings averaged 5.5 yards per carry on 10 carries before injuring his knee Sunday in the Giants' win over the Falcons. He's scheduled for a Monday MRI on his left knee. Jenningssaid he thinks he'll be okay. In his absence, Andre Williams has now looked good two weeks in a row, but the job will be Jennings' when he's back.
• The Rams lost Zac Stacy in the third quarter with a calf injury. Soon thereafter, No. 2 back Benny Cunningham ran for a touchdown, which made Stacy's injury even more frustrating. As the game was a late-afternoon one, Stacy's prognosis is unknown yet, but if he misses extended time, Cunningham could be an interesting fill-in.

• And here we are, back at Calvin Johnson. He aggravated his right ankle injury early in Sunday's game, forcing him out of the game. As I noted above, Johnson's injury is especially frustrating, as it's not so brutal that he can't play, but it's brutal enough that it saps him of his dominance. It would almost be better if Johnson sat out Week 6 to get fully healthy, and it's starting to sound like that might happen.

• New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham left the game Sunday with a right shoulder injury, not even making it to halftime before getting hurt. Early reports about the injury indicate it isn't serious. With the Saints already on a Week 6 bye, it doesn't seem very likely Graham misses any more game time with the injury.