NFL Week 1 injury report: What to know about Christian McCaffrey’s calf, troubling forecast for Tee Higgins and more

Inside Injuries’ Greg Scholz runs through some of the most pressing injury concerns for Week 1 of 2024 fantasy football.

Before we dive in, here’s a quick glossary of terms commonly used by Inside Injuries:

• IRC = Injury Risk Category (three names: “Low”, “Elevated”, “High”) – the overall likelihood that a player will get injured
• HPF = Healthy Performance Factor (Peak, Above Average, Below Average, Poor) – our metric for predicting player performance
• ORT = Optima Recovery Time — the amount of time a player needs to fully recover from an injury (not the same as how much time they will actually miss).

Christian McCaffrey, RB, SF

For McCaffrey, the redefinition of the calf strain to include his Achilles does raise some questions, though it’s not entirely surprising. Whenever we look at calf strain in an athlete, we always consider the proximity to the Achilles and assume that the tendon can be compromised, no matter how small the injury. McCaffrey suffered a calf strain in Week 17 of last season, sitting out the following week, but he hasn’t been overly affected by postseason performance. The big question is whether the 49ers are simply being more specific about the injury to appease the NFL, or if more testing has revealed additional damage to the Achilles. Currently, his Injury Risk remains on the edge of High and Elevated, while his Health Performance Factor is Upper Average.

Keenan Allen, WR, CHI

Allen was a full participant in Friday’s practice, but his status for Sunday remains questionable due to a heel injury. While his metrics are in a good place – Elevated Injury Risk and Peak Health Performance Factor – heel injuries can remain. It’s not as much as something like a hamstring injury, but the reason they linger is similar in the sense that it can be difficult to adequately rest the heel. It’s a toss-up whether he plays or not, but given his practice status, we imagine he’ll be fit on Sunday.

Tee Higgins, WR, CIN

Speaking of hamstring injuries, Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins is dealing with a Grade 1 hamstring strain and we predict he won’t play in Week 1. His Injury Risk is High and his Health Performance Factor is Below Average. This is the kind of thing that will stick around for the majority of the season if the Bengals don’t give it time to heal (we have his Optimal Recovery time around Week 4).

Jordan Addison, WR, MIN

Addison was forced out of practice back on August 14 with a left high-ankle sprain. He returned to practice this week in a limited capacity, but managed to be a full participant in Friday’s practice. He is expected to play Sunday against Tampa Bay. This is a faster turnaround than we usually see with minor high-ankle sprains, but only by about 10 days. As a result, his Injury Risk will remain High but his Health Performance Factor will be Above Average. Expect limited snaps and limited route play, but he should be able to put up some decent numbers.

Russell Wilson, QB, PIT

Things could be looking up in Pittsburgh, as projected starter Russell Wilson is still dealing with the calf/soreness he battled for much of the preseason. He is questionable to start on Sunday, and tends to be a game-time decision. That said, we expect him to play. His metrics aren’t great — Elevated Injury Risk and Below Average Health Performance Factor — but the Steelers named him QB1 and will likely trot him out. The biggest impact will be on his mobility, but there could also be some accuracy struggles. Pittsburgh should tread carefully here, or this could end up being a similar situation to what Cincinnati dealt with last season with Joe Burrow.

Brock Bowers, TE, LV

Rookie tight end Brock Bowers should make his NFL debut in Week 1 after a foot injury raised some concerns during training camp. There were no specific structures reported during the time he was dealing with the injury, which can sometimes be a bad thing (teams hiding the injury specifics), but is more often a good sign that the injury is minor. His metrics are also pointed in the right direction, with his Injury Risk Elevated and his Health Performance Factor Peak.

DeAndre Hopkins, WR, TEN

It looks like a 50-50 shot if Hopkins plays in Week 1. We’re taking a more cautious approach and don’t expect him to. Hopkins has been dealing with a knee strain for the past five weeks and, while Tennessee originally said they expected him to be ready for Week 1, he hasn’t progressed enough to guarantee his availability. His metrics aren’t ideal, with a High Injury Risk and a Below-Average Health Performance Factor, and getting back before Week 1 was optimistic regardless of how you swing it. His Optimal Recovery Time is still 10 days away, so a Week 2 debut makes more sense now.

(Top photo by Christian McCaffrey: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)