Fantasy Football: Conference Championship Injury Report

Injuries are an unfortunate part of football. It's one thing we hate having occur to not only the players we roster but within the game itself. With that said, this does create opportunities for teammates, opening up potential pickups in season-long leagues while also producing value plays in daily fantasy football.

Using the practice report, we can glean a lot of information based on who's available and what coaches are saying from press conferences. This knowledge can allow us to make emergency plans to pivot or change our lineups when inactives are announced.

Based on this week's practice reports, here are a few quick-hitters to give you a leg up on lineup decisions as crunch time approaches for lineup lock.

Who's Probable

Spencer Ware (hamstring) is trending up in terms of health this week after being a full participant on Thursday practice for the Kansas City Chiefs. It seems as if Ware has been relegated to a backup role to Damien Williams, who's been on a roll with the Chiefs. Ware has missed four straight games dating back to Week 13. Ware and Williams have only played two games together in which they split the running back touches, and Ware out-snapped Williams by 28 and out rushed him by 16. Passing game involvement was similar though, Ware ran only 9 more routes (per ProFootballFocus) with one fewer target. It's hard to imagine Ware re-gains his role with how well Williams has played in his absence, but you can certainly make a case for on a small slate, especially in single-game formats.

Who's Questionable

Keith Kirkwood (calf) has missed practice this week after playing 62% of snaps in the New Orleans Saints' Divisional round matchup. Kirkwood has been the third receiver in the offense, playing over 50% of the team's snaps in a majority of his appearances, but not receiving significant volume. He hasn't amassed more than five targets in a game this year and his fantasy output has been largely driven by the three touchdown catches. If Kirkwood can't play against the Los Angeles Rams, Tre'Quan Smith could step into his role. Smith would be the ultimate boom-or-bust player on the slate, with a high ceiling but also a great chance of posting a dud.

Benjamin Watson (illness) was another Saint to miss practice this week. Watson has been used as the Saints' second tight end in the offense, taking a back seat to Josh Hill. Watson hasn't eclipsed 17 routes run since Week 3. Hill doesn't fare much better in comparison to Watson, playing close to 70% of snaps in the Saint's games but still not running more routes or receiving targets. Dan Arnold, who was inactive last week, could be active if Watson sits this week. Arnold is better known for his receiving ability, so he seems the likely candidate to take Watson's snaps and routes then for Hill to add to his normal usage.

Final Reminder

As it is with all injuries, each individual situation is fluid. Make sure to keep tabs throughout the weekend and keep up with our numberFire player news feed for up-to-date reports prior to kickoff. Good luck this week!

Gabriel Garrido is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Gabriel Garrido also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username guhreedoe28. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel