Editor’s update: Ian Rapoport is reporting that Brown is indeed expected to play, but is not at 100 percent. Rapoport tweeted to “[f]igure he’ll be on a pitch count until he’s back to himself.” He has a solid matchup against an up and down 49ers defense, but is not a great start for this first week back.
John Brown injury update: Cardinals WR questionable vs. 49ers
We break down the fantasy impact of Arizona possibly getting one of their top pass-catchers back in John Brown.
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The Arizona Cardinals are listing John Brown as questionable vs. the San Francisco 49ers in Week 4. However, head coach Bruce Arians said on Friday that Brown will play.
Brown is dealing with a quad injury that had him limited in practice this week and led to him missing the first three games. With Brown out, Jaron Brown and J.J. Nelson became featured receivers in Arizona’s passing game, enough that it’s hard to see John getting a big workload in his return.
He has battled this injury since training camp. Brown was hoping to bounce back from a forgettable 2016 season, where he caught just 39 balls for 517 yards and two scores. That came after his breakout 2015 season, where he caught 65 passes for 1,003 yards and seven scores.
In Week 1 vs. the Detroit Lions, Brown caught just four passes for 32 yards on nine targets.
Fantasy Impact: If Brown plays, he’ll face a 49ers defense that has allowed the 12th-most fantasy points to wide receivers this season. Keep Brown on the bench this week.
