Heading into Week 7 of the 2021 season, what information do we have on RB injuries, and how will they affect your fantasy football lineups? Which RBs do we expect to appear on the injury report this week? Check back all week for fantasy injury updates and reports on RB committees around the league.
Which running backs are dealing with injuries that may affect their game status?
Nick Chubb & Kareem Hunt, Cleveland Browns
On Monday, Kevin Stefanski left the door open for Nick Chubb to play Thursday. On Tuesday, he shut that door. Chubb is out this week.
The Browns also placed Kareem Hunt on injured reserve. He’s going to be out at least a month, likely more. D’Ernest Johnson and Demetric Felton are currently atop the Browns’ running back depth chart. The team also elevated John Kelly to the active roster as depth.
Melvin Gordon, Denver Broncos
Melvin Gordon practiced fully on Tuesday, which is a sign his hip injury is improving. Gordon will play Thursday.
Latavius Murray, Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens signed Le’Veon Bell to the 53-man roster on Tuesday. According to The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec, this move was due to the Ravens being out of free practice squad call-ups. Nevertheless, it raises questions about Latavius Murray’s availability for this week due to his ankle injury. We’ll get more news from Wednesday’s practice report.
Week 7 Fantasy RB Injury Update | NFC
Let’s look at several more running backs dealing with health question marks.
Saquon Barkley, New York Giants
I’ll keep Saquon Barkley on this list because he’s such a big name, but there are no new updates on Barkley’s status. He’s not going to play this week due to his sprained ankle, but he remains off IR, which leaves the door open for a Week 8 return.
Alex Collins & Rashaad Penny, Seattle Seahawks
Seattle’s backfield is shaping up to be a complete mess this week. Pete Carroll is hopeful that Alex Collins can play through his hip injury. With Rashaad Penny returning from IR this week, even if Collins plays, it’s anyone’s guess as to how much he will be used.
At the time of this writing, we do not yet know the results of Antonio Gibson’s MRI. He’s been playing through a stress fracture in his shin but may have aggravated it to the point where he needs to miss time. I would not expect him to practice Wednesday. Ron Rivera should have an update for us by Wednesday evening, though.
Sony Michel, Los Angeles Rams
Sean McVay expects Sony Michel to be able to play through his shoulder injury. The Rams sent Jake Funk to IR and activated Buddy Howell for some more running back depth.
Kene Nwangwu, Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings activated Kene Nwangwu from IR and cut Ameer Abdullah. Nwangwu will take over as the RB3 behind Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison. He would require injuries to both to be fantasy-relevant.
