2 min read • August 10, 2022
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As the NFL preseason approaches, there are a handful of key quarterbacks, wide receivers, and running backs still rehabbing from significant, season-ending injuries they suffered last season.
Below are seven players who will be unavailable or limited when the season kicks off the second weekend of September, but will gradually improve as we get deeper into the 17-game season.
Winston suffered a torn ACL with MCL damage last Halloween and is on track to potentially start Week 1 after being a near-full participant during Saints’ offseason programs.
The returning starter will initially suffer from limited mobility and could see an increase in sacks taken but will improve as the season progresses and he regains trust in his surgically-repaired knee, according to the Pro Football Doc.
The gunslinger will be working with a replenished receiving corps in the returning Michael Thomas, rookie Chris Olave, and veteran free agent Jarvis Landry to go along with perennial fantasy star Alvin Kamara.
Woods had to watch the Rams’ Super Bowl run from the sidelines after he tore his ACL in early November, and will now attempt his comeback season with the Titans after Los Angeles traded him in March.
While he is still limited as preseason approaches and has a chance to start the regular season on the PUP list, the Doc believes Woods is primed to have a solid second half as a top play-action weapon for Ryan Tannehill in the run-heavy Titans’ attack.
Through nine games in 2021, Woods brought in 45 receptions for 554 yards and four touchdowns and added 46 yards and one score on the ground.
When slot superstar Chris Godwin went down with a torn ACL in Week 13 it spelled the likely end to the Buccaneers’ hopes of repeating as Super Bowl champions.
Tampa Bay re-signed the 26-year-old wideout to a three-year deal and will have to rely on him down the stretch, when Pro Football Doc said Godwin will begin to approach his pre-injury form and will be a more reliable option for the boy wonder.
In the 26 games he’s played with Tom Brady, Godwin has 163 receptions for 1,943 yards and 12 touchdowns on a robust 77.3% catch rate and 889 yards after the catch.
The Jaguars lost both of their explosive young running backs in 2021, part of what was a disastrous season from beginning to end.
Both Robinson and Etienne Jr. avoided the training camp PUP list, and both project to get more durable and explosive every week, according to Pro Football Doc.
Etienne Jr., who will make his NFL debut in Week 1, will be the first to return to pre-injury form with Robinson close behind, although Robinson will likely still be limited by the late-December Achilles tendon rupture.
The unlucky 2021 Ravens lost their top two running backs to torn ACLs before the season began, and while both J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards are aiming to play Week 1, neither will be effective until the second half of the season, according to Pro Football Doc.
Dobbins is reportedly ahead of schedule in his recovery from a multi-ligament knee injury last August, but won’t be a reliable rushing or receiving threat early in the season because of the complicated nature of multi-ligament knee recoveries.
The bruising and efficient Edwards – who has rushed 137, 133, and 144 times for 718, 711, and 723 yards in his three seasons, respectively – should be a solid option in the opportunity-heavy attack led by Lamar Jackson in November and December.
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Robert Woods might be the most undervalued player in fantasy football right now.
