Trey Lance injury fallout, Week 3 early waiver targets, and more important injury reports

The first two weeks of the NFL season have been defined by injuries, and we received another serious one Sunday when 49ers QB Trey Lance sustained an ankle injury that will require season-ending surgery.

And, of course, he wasn’t the only player to leave Sunday’s games with injuries – in addition to the already-mentioned Jerry Jeudy, James Conner, Damien Harris, and Dalton Schultz, we saw Jerry Jeudy, James Conner, Damien Harris, and Dalton Schultz depart Sunday’s games.

You know how it goes: injuries are a part of life in the NFL, especially early in the season, but it’s still terrible every time one occurs. In Lance’s case, the injury occurred before we got a chance to evaluate what he could do as a full-time starter, and we won’t see him again until next season.

Lance’s injury isn’t likely to dominate Fantasy Football conversations in the same way that some other key injuries have, but it’s still a serious blow for those of us who were banking on him to be our starter.

And, of course, that has major implications for the 49er’s offense – fortunately, they were able to keep Jimmy Garoppolo in the end.

In tonight’s email, we’ll discuss Lance’s injury, what it means for the 49ers, and who you might be able to acquire to help replace him, as well as the rest of the Week 2 injuries you should be aware of, as well as an early look at my top waiver-wire targets for Week 3.

Week 2 Injury Recap

Lance’s injury appears to be a season-ending one, and it comes after he played in such bad conditions in Week 1 that we didn’t get to see what this offense would look like with him in charge. And we won’t know until next season, Lance’s third in the league.

That’s a significant disappointment for a guy as brilliant as Lance, and if you picked Lance to be your starter, it creates a clear void in your team – one that Jimmy Garoppolo can’t just cover.

Because, while Lance was unknown, expectations for Garoppolo were far greater than they had ever been. Garoppolo is a good quarterback, but Lance’s running potential makes him a Fantasy difference maker. Garoppolo will never be like that.

Tua Tagovailoa, on the other hand, maybe. The Dolphins have been pass-happy, and we witnessed the potential upside in Week 1 when he tied Dan Marino’s team record with six throwing touchdowns.

You might cringe at the mention of Tagovailoa in the same sentence as Marino, but with Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill among the league’s most electric playmakers, Tagovailoa doesn’t have to be spectacular to have a chance to engrave his name in the Dolphins record book a few times.

Tagovailoa, on the other hand, is only available in 20% of CBS Fantasy leagues, so he may not be an option. If he’s available, Justin Fields could be your best option, but he’s only available in 37% of leagues, so that may not help either. The fact is that in most leagues, there is no apparent must-starter available on waivers.

Marcus Mariota and Daniel Jones have the greatest upside among the quarterbacks available in more than half of CBS Fantasy teams due to their running potential, though neither has put together two excellent games yet.

As a result, your best bet may be to try to swing a deal. If Aaron Rodgers doesn’t put up big numbers this week, he’d be a great buy-low option, as would Dak Prescott, provided you can live without him for a few weeks. Maybe you can stream for a few weeks – Jared Goff against.

the Vikings or Ryan Tannehill vs. the Raiders in Week 3, Jones vs. the Bears or Mitchell Trubisky vs. the Jets in Week 4 – and Prescott will be back to right the ship by then.

But the point is that there is no apparent, generally available answer. Garoppolo might be as excellent as anyone else available in your league. We know he doesn’t have a lot of upsides, but he’s a reliable option with excellent playmakers.

And, if nothing else, the swap from Lance to Garoppolo makes it simpler to predict players like Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, and George Kittle, who should return next week.

Because Garoppolo isn’t going to run the ball as Lance did. That implies the 49ers should be more pass-happy with him at QB, but they’ll still be one of the league’s most run-heavy teams nonetheless.

We should expect the 49ers to have 30-35 pass attempts each week, compared to Lance’s 20-30 most weeks. With Garoppolo being a non-factor as a rusher in the red zone, it’s easier to see how all of Samuel, Aiyuk, and Kittle can prosper – albeit Samuel remains a conspicuous outlier in terms of Fantasy value among the three.

Overall, the ceiling for both your Fantasy squad and the 49ers is likely lower without Lance than it would have been otherwise. But the 49ers are aware of what they have in Garoppolo. You might not be that fortunate.

Other injuries to monitor for following Sunday’s games include:

Jerry Jeudy (shoulder) is out. After getting hit, Jeudy fell awkwardly, and it appears like this one might be a bad one; he was ruled out shortly after halftime after exiting the game in the first quarter.

That’s disappointing as his 2021 campaign was halted early on by a high-ankle injury, however, we don’t have any specifics at this time. Courtland Sutton came alive when Jeudy exited the game, ending with seven receptions for 122 yards on 11 targets, and that may be all he needed to live up to the high draught price he was commanding.

Sutton was not clearly the No. 1 option in the offense before Jeudy’s injury, but if Jeudy loses extensive time, there would be no other choice.

Conner (ankle) departed the game in the early third quarter and watched from the sidelines as the Cardinals rallied to win in overtime.

Before the injury, Eno Benjamin was the No. 2 back, but he shared time with Darrel Williams afterward; Williams ended with eight runs for 59 yards and a score, while Benjamin had eight for 31, plus three receptions for 20 yards (Williams had two for 3 yards).

If Conner is out, it appears that this will be a committee effort, with Williams getting the first go at goal-line work, which is crucial in this offense. In Fantasy, I prefer Benjamin, but both might be in the RB3 zone if Conner is out.

Damien Harris (knee) is out. Harris told reporters after the game, “I’m OK, dog!” It doesn’t appear to be a significant injury. He gripped his knee after a late carry, so we’ll simply keep an eye on him for the time being, with Rhamondre Stevenson presumably in line for a heavy workload if Harris is out.

Dalton Schultz (left leg) Schultz departed the game in the fourth quarter after collapsing awkwardly and maybe grabbing his knee.

We don’t have any other information, but it’s something to keep an eye on for an offense that is already missing Prescott. If Schultz is out, I wouldn’t expect much from Jake Ferguson, but it might make Michael Gallup’s approaching return even more essential for the Cowboy’s offense.

Early Week 3 Waiver Wire Targets 

Top targets:

• Garrett Wilson, WR, Jets 
• Chris Olave, WR, Saints
• Curtis Samuel, WR, Commanders
• Raheem Mostert, RB, Dolphins
• Eno Benjamin, RB, Cardinals