RADIO
The injuries are growing as we near the mid-point of the NFL season. Two players universally owned in standard fantasy leagues are expected to miss a couple of games. San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates missed Sunday’s loss to the Oakland Raiders with a sprained MCL and may be forced to miss a few more games. Dallas Cowboys running back Joseph Randle is dealing with an oblique injury and is expected to sit out multiple games.
Gates made his season debut in Week 5 after serving a four-game suspension. Fantasy owners to luck into securing the tight end were ecstatic after his two-game stretch with nine catches and over ninety receiving yards in each game he started. Gates was questionable for Sunday’s delicious matchup against the Raiders but was ruled out about an hour before kickoff.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported it wouldn’t be surprising if Gates misses multiple weeks. Gates is an aging veteran and reportedly wasn’t close to suiting up this week. That isn’t very promising news as the Chargers will likely play it safe with Gates. San Diego luckily has another talented tight end as Ladarius Green has been fantasy relevant in games without Gates.
Fellow fantasy players struggling at the tight end position, I suggest you follow me in sprinting towards the waiver wire for Green. Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers is throwing it all over the field and Green will get many targets and scoring opportunities if Gates misses more time.
The Cowboys running back situation is a little more complicated. Randle has been the starter for the majority of the season but the team is entering a more traditional committee. The NFL Network's Rand Getlin expects Randle to miss some time as he deals with the oblique injury.
Darren McFadden clearly piqued our interest with a big game against the New York Giants. Playing most of the snaps due to Randle’s injury, McFadden compiled 162 total yards and scored a touchdown. McFadden will be splitting the time with Christine Michael, but Michael did not impress in limited action Sunday.
It seems like a no-brainer to start McFadden as he’ll be put in a great position to succeed, but nothing smacks us down to reality quite like the Seattle Seahawks defense. Dallas’ first game with McFadden as the expected starting running back will be against the tremendous Seahawks defense.
The Cowboys will be without quarterback Tony Romo. The game could easily turn into a blowout and Dallas may not be able to run the ball as much as they did last week. The optimistic news for McFadden is he may get a lot of receptions as the primary pass-catching back.
