NFL Injury Update Heading into Week 17

It’s Week 17, and teams are getting set for the 16th game of the season and figuring out who exactly is still healthy enough to play in the final two games of the longest NFL season in history.

Jimmy Garoppolo – Thumb

Right now the 49ers have one of two playoff spots in the NFC that have yet to be claimed. They are in the sixth position, tied with the Eagles at 8-7, who currently occupy the seventh seed.

But holding onto that spot, and holding off the three teams sitting a game back at 7-8, may be harder than the 49ers thought it would a week ago.

Jimmy Garoppolo suffered both a chipped bone and torn ligament in his right thumb, and he is in doubt for San Francisco’s home game against the Houston Texans this Sunday. Garoppolo wants to play through the injury, but it was obvious during last Thursday’s game, when he injured it, that it was hard for him to grip the ball and throw it.

He will be re-evaluated on Wednesday, and if he can’t play, rookie Trey Lance will get his first action since Week 11. NFL point spread odds point to Garoppolo having an extra week’s rest, as the Niners are now only 13-point favorites against the Texans — down from over two touchdowns.

Darrell Henderson – MCL Sprain

The Rams will travel to Baltimore this week without running back Darrell Henderson. He has been placed on injured reserve because of an MCL sprain that will keep him out between three and five weeks. His regular season is over, but if the Rams can make it to the second week of the postseason, they could get Henderson back.

It’s not all bad news for the Rams backfield. It is possible that L.A. gets Cam Akers back at running back this week. He’s been out since an Achilles tendon tear in July, and head coach Sean McVay is optimistic that Akers will play at the Ravens.

Even if Akers is able to play, he will likely only see light work, with Sony Michel getting the bulk of the snaps at running back. The Rams are currently 3½-point road favorites over the Ravens at the BetUS Sportsbook.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire – Collarbone

Monday’s MRI on the injured collarbone of Clyde Edwards-Helaire showed no structural damage to the bone or shoulder joint, and the injury, which was feared at first to be season-ending, should only be an issue through the regular season.

Edwards-Helaire hasn’t been ruled out for the Kansas City Chiefs’ Sunday trip to Cincinnati, but he is said to be week-to-week, meaning that he is unlikely to play. The ideal scenario for Kansas City is to wrap up the number one seed this weekend, which would happen with a Chiefs win and a Titans loss, and then Edwards-Helaire could rest for a full three weeks.

Edwards-Helaire missed more than a month earlier in the season, and Darrel Williams and Derrick Gore led Kansas City to a 4-1 record over that stretch.

According to NFL odds, the Chiefs are still five-point chalk on the road against the Bengals this Sunday.

Anthony Averett – Fractured Ribs

Already short-handed in the secondary because of injuries to key players, the Ravens may be without cornerback Anthony Averett in this weekend’s critical game against the Rams.

He suffered fractured ribs early in Baltimore’s loss to the Bengals, and it’s unclear if he will be able to play in Week 17. Head coach John Harbaugh said in his Monday press conference that it will be a wait-and-see on Averett, and it will come down to how much he can move around, and how much pain he can tolerate.

The Ravens have lost four straight games, and have gone from one of the teams battling it out for the AFC’s top seed to currently sitting outside the postseason picture.

Miles Sanders – Broken Hand

The Eagles will be without running back Miles Sanders in their Week 17 game against Washington. He is out with a broken bone in his hand.

The team, however, will not place him on injured reserve in the hopes that he could return in Week 18, or for the postseason, should the Eagles hang on to a wild card spot.

Shaquille Barrett – Sprained ACL and MCL

The injuries are mounting for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with Shaq Barrett being the latest starter to go down. He has a sprained ACL and MCL and has been ruled out for the final two games of the regular season.

The team is hopeful that he can return at some point during the playoffs.