NFL injury report: James Cook is uncertain for Week 6 and beyond; Check in with CMC, Cooper Kupp

Inside Injuries’ Greg Scholz addresses some of the most pressing injury concerns heading into Week 6 of 2024 fantasy football.

Before we dive deeper, here is a quick glossary of terms commonly used by Inside Injuries:

• IRC = Injury Risk Category (three labels: “Low”, “High”, “High”) – the overall probability that a player will be injured
• HPF = Health Performance Factor (Highest, Above Average, Below Average, Poor) – our metric for predicting player performance
• LOCATION = Optimal recovery time – the time it takes for a player to fully recover from an injury (not the same as the time they will actually miss).

James Cook, RB, BUF (foot/toe)

Buffalo’s Week 5 didn’t go as planned. Quarterback Josh Allen underperformed, they lost the game, and their star running back James Cook was injured late in the fourth quarter.

The injury occurred when Cook landed while attempting to intercept a pass. His body twisted and his left leg whipped downward toward the grass. Upon impact, his toes came into contact and appeared to hyperextend.

There is a risk of a turf toe injury here. It’s not the type of thing that warrants a stint on IR, but he’ll likely miss some time. We categorized him as having a high risk of injury and an optimal recovery time of 21 days. When he returns, his risk of injury will still be high and will remain that way for a few weeks.

Nico Collins, WR, HOU (hamstring)

Collins, the NFL’s all-time leader in receiving yards, was placed on IR due to a hamstring strain he suffered in the first quarter of Houston’s Week 5 win over Buffalo.

The decision to place him on injured reserve is partly a surprise, but not necessarily so. Hamstring strains require much more attention than other soft tissue injuries, so IR movements are not uncommon. However, for many hamstring strains, it is not necessary to place a player on IR.

For a fast player like Collins, the hamstrings are crucial to success on the field. Therefore, it is in his best interest that his distress be treated slowly and methodically. If his rehab were to be rushed, Houston would risk a career filled with hamstring injuries. If rehab is slow, steady, and precise, it can significantly reduce future risk.

Collins’ injury risk will be high for much of the remainder of the season. Depending on the severity and how he responds to early treatments, it’s possible that Collins will be out until Houston’s bye in Week 14. We don’t think it’s that bad yet and assume a much more modest optimal recovery time of 42 days.

Michael Pittman Jr., WR, IND (back)

Pittman has been hit by the injury bug lately. He landed on the injured list in late September with a combination of calf and back injuries that sidelined him for a practice, but he didn’t miss a game. Then, due to his injuries, he didn’t start Week 5 – he still played.

Based on the reports, the back injury appears to be the biggest concern for Indianapolis. The details haven’t been clarified, but it’s serious enough that the team is considering putting him on IR. Historically, there are some common injuries that could be the cause here. A strain would be the most common. Other possibilities include a herniated disc or a fracture.

The possibility of landing on IR puts Pittman at high risk of injury and his optimal recovery time is 28 days.

Aaron Jones, RB, MIN (Hip)

The Vikings’ bye week came at a great time for Jones. After suffering a hip injury in the first quarter of the team’s Week 5 game in London, he will be able to rest without missing playing time in Week 6.

Head coach Kevin O’Connell told reporters that the team believes Jones has avoided a long-term injury, but they will be cautious going forward. As a result, Jones will be considered on a week-to-week basis.

For hip pointer injuries, recovery times vary based on a number of factors. Pain is a big factor. The area where these injuries occur is in a location known as the iliac crest. There isn’t much cushioning here in the event of a traumatic impact. This causes swelling and bruising, which limits mobility.

Jones is at high risk of injury in the next few weeks. His optimal recovery time is 21 days, but his health performance factor will be above average in week 7 if he manages to return.

Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, NE (leg)

Reports of the injury Stevenson is dealing with are mixed. Some reports say it was a calf injury, others suggest it was a foot injury. Regardless, it seems to be related to the lower body and we treat it as a combination of both.

Stevenson suffered a low blow to his calf in New England’s loss to Miami in Week 5 and missed several plays, but returned and finished the game. As for his foot injury, there is no play where we can identify a possible injury.

Without providing further information, both injuries appear to be minor. His injury risk is elevated – it rises to “High” if he is unable to train on Friday – and his health performance factor is above average.

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Aaron Rodgers, QB, NYJ (lower ankle sprain)

If you got up early to watch New York’s Week 5 loss in London, the injury Rodgers suffered looked much worse at the moment. After Rodgers was curled up in a mess of bodies behind the offensive line, he could be seen screaming in pain and clutching the back of his leg above the knee.

After the dust settled, Rodgers returned and was later diagnosed with a lower ankle sprain. Lower ankle sprains typically occur when the ankle “rolls” inward (medially) or outward (laterally). Lateral sprains are the most common and involve the anterior talofibular ligament, posterior talofibular ligament, and calcaneofibular ligament.

Initial tests have shown no tears in these ligaments and Rodgers is not known for his mobility at this point in his career. For this reason we give him an increased risk of injury and a maximum health factor. We expect him to play in Week 6.

Checking in with Christian McCaffrey (Achilles) and Cooper Kupp (ankle)

There are no major developments for these guys, but there have been some positive updates, so let’s take a look at it together.

McCaffrey returned to practice this week for the first time since mid-September. This happened just weeks after he visited a specialist in Germany. There he was treated similarly to PRP. PRP treatment involves taking a small amount of blood from the patient, isolating the platelet-rich plasma from the blood, and injecting this plasma back into the injured area. The platelets in the plasma help speed up the healing process.

For McCaffrey, returning to the field is a solid step in the right direction, but we still don’t expect him to return until Week 10 at the earliest. His risk of injury will be high for the rest of the season.

It continues with Kupp, he should return earlier. After missing the last three weeks with a high ankle sprain, we expect him to be back in Week 7 or Week 8. While Kupp has not yet returned to practice, Los Angeles will have to take a break this week, giving him more time to rest.

His risk of injury will be high upon his return, but it should decrease after a few weeks as long as it doesn’t re-aggravate. In addition, his health performance factor will be above average.

(Top photo by James Cook: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images)