Week 13 Fantasy Football Takeaways: Big Injuries Abound, Including Tank Dell, Derek Carr and Kenny Pickett

Week 13 of the NFL season proved to be another brutal one, as many big-time players and fantasy stars left games with injuries.

Let’s discuss some of those injured players and briefly go into how fantasy outlooks change, or how you might need to proceed.

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Fantasy Quarterbacks

The biggest QB to go down in week 13 was New Orleans Saints Derek Carr. He left the team’s loss to the Lions - he was in the concussion protocol and also injured his shoulder and back.

Carr has been banged up on and off all season, and if he’s forced to miss time, Jameis Winston would likely be the team’s starter. With how the Saints’ offense looks with Taysom Hill running the show, I also wouldn’t be surprised to see Hill get plenty of extra playing time too.

Pittsburgh Steelers’ Kenny Pickett left the team’s loss to the Arizona Cardinals with an ankle injury. He is expected to miss at least one game, and maybe a few others with the injury.

Mitchell Trubisky will take over for Pickett until he is healthy. Expect the Steelers to lean on running backs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren to lessen the load on Trubisky. I don't think the Pickett to Trubisky switch changes the fantasy outlooks for any pass catchers all that much.

New York Jets’ Tom Boyle was benched in the fourth quarter of the team’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Trevor Siemian replaced him.

Neither quarterback looked good, and it might be a few days until a week 14 starter is announced for the Jets. Seeing as to how any Jets QBs have played this season, you don’t want them in your starting lineups anyways.

Fantasy Running Backs

Washington Commanders’ Brian Robinson left the team’s loss to the Miami Dolphins with a hamstring injury. Neither Robinson or backup Antonio Gibson did much on the ground as Washington was crushed by Miami.

If Robinson were to miss time, Gibson would take over as the lead back. Chris Rodriguez would likely be the top backup.

New England Patriots’ Rhamondre Stevenson left the team’s loss to the Los Angeles Chargers with an ankle injury. Ezekiel Elliott replaced him and turned in a pretty solid fantasy outing.

Elliott would be the lead back if Stevenson were to miss a game. The Patriots play on Thursday night in week 14, so it seems likely that Stevenson misses at least one contest.

Fantasy Wide Receivers

Houston Texans rookie Tank Dell fractured his fibula in the team’s win over the Denver Broncos, and he’s expected to miss the remainder of the season.

Nico Collins starred for Houston with Dell out. Robert Woods and Noah Brown are guys who could fill larger roles in the place of Dell the rest of the season.

Arizona’s Marquise Brown left the team’s win over the Steelers with a heel injury. 

Running back James Conner had a huge game for the Cardinals, and could be relied upon heavily if Brown were to miss any time. Tight end Trey McBride and receivers Rondale Moore, Greg Dortch and Michael Wilson are all options to replace Brown, if needed, in the passing game.

Cleveland Browns’ Amari Cooper left the team’s loss against the Los Angeles Rams with a head injury. 

Elijah Moore stepped up and had a solid game for Cleveland. He'll be WR1 if Cooper misses any games. 

Green Bay Packers’ Christian Watson suffered a hamstring injury late in the team’s win over the Kansas City Chiefs. He missed time at the start of the season with a similar injury.

Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks are wide receivers that would replace Watson if he misses additional time. Tight end Tucker Kraft might also see some more work in the passing game for the Packers.

Fantasy Tight Ends

Rams’ Tyler Higbee was the only big fantasy TE that was injured in week 13. He left the team’s win over the Browns with a concussion.

Brycen Hopkins is the TE behind Higbee on the depth chart. It’s more likely that the Rams lean on running back Kyren Williams and wide receivers Puka Nacua, Cooper Kupp and Tutu Atwell if Higbee were to miss a game.