Welcome back to the Fantasy Alarm Early Week NFL Injury Report for Week 12! We highlight some of the biggest statuses that need to be monitored heading into the Week 12 slate of games!

Christian McCaffrey RB, CAR (Shoulder) – 

McCaffrey is being listed as “not likely to suit up” for the Panther’s upcoming Week 12 match against the Vikings on Sunday. Head Coach is labeling CMC “week-to-week” in reports, but the optimism about his availability for this week is most definitely not there. We will continue to monitor his status for any improvements, but likely look for CMC to sit yet another week with the shoulder injury.

Adam Thielen WR, MIN (Covid) – 

The Vikings placed a few Viking’s players on the Covid-19 list on Monday, including Adam Theilen, after these players either tested positive for the virus, or were in close contact with someone who did test positive. Whether they are dealing with the virus itself, or just having to quarantine, this presents great danger for them heading into Week 12 in terms of their availability. This has yet to be made official that these Vikings players will miss their upcoming game against the Panthers on Sunday, but if they are not able to test positive a few times before, they could sit it out. We will keep an eye on the situation and hope to have a better report on Friday.

Julio Jones WR, ATL (Hamstring) – 

Julio is yet again dealing with injury and this time it seems it is yet again the hamstring that has bothered him most of the season. Jones looks to be approaching the “game-time decision” status for the Falcon’s Week 12 home host of the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, so we will need to see if there is any improvement during the week, or if we will be waiting until game-time. The good news here is that this game is the early start on Sunday so we will know his status before the first kick on Sunday at least.

Austin Ekeler RB, LAC (Hamstring) – 

All signs are pointing to a Week 12 return for Ekeler here as he was designated to return from the IR list on Monday of this week. This is great news for the Chargers who have been without Ekeler since Week four of the season. With this said, we can look for Ekeler to make his return to the field on Sunday with the Chargers travel into Buffalo to take on the Bills. 

Chris Carson RB, SEA (Foot) – 

Another up-lifting status is the one for Chris Carson this week as Head Coach Pete Carroll told reporters that Carson is going to suit up for the Seahawk’s Week 12 tilt against the Eagles on Monday Night Football as long as there are no “set-backs.” This is great news for the Hawks, who have been without Carson since Week seven of the season. Hopefully all goes well, and we won’t have to report once again on Carson on Friday, but if there does happen to come any set-backs, we will be sure to inform on Friday’s report.

JuJu Smith-Schuster WR, PITT (Foot) –

It seems like JuJu is dealing with a foot injury of some extent and the injury also held him out for the first practice session in preparation for Week 12 on Monday for the Steelers. The foot injury was apparently sustained when Smith-Schuster tripped over a flag in Sunday’s win over the Jags, in which he was not able to return to the game afterwards. We have yet to see any reports of how serious the foot ailment is, but we will continue to monitor his status over the duration of the week and report back on Friday.

J.K. Dobbins RB, BAL (Covid) – 

Another Covid-19 issue is with Dobbins as well. Dobbins tested positive, for the virus on Monday and now will have to wait the quarantine time in which it will take for him to be cleared to resume play.  Fellow teammate Mark Ingram also tested positive for the virus and will also have to await the time to be cleared. This does not bode well for either, as the Raven’s play on Thursday of this week, and this is not near enough time to be cleared. We will likely see both Gus Edwards and Justice Hill man this backfield in their absence.

Deebo Samuel WR, SF (Hamstring) –

It seems as if Deebo may finally be ready for another return to the playing field. The last time Samuel took the field in Week seven, he was dampered with a hamstring injury that has not allowed him to see the field since. With the Niners being on Bye in Week 11, this hopefully provided Samuel with extra time to recover and Head Coach Kyle Shanahan is “hopeful” Deebo will be able to take the field once again. We hope to have a clearer status report on Samuel by Friday.

Mark Andrews TE, BAL (Thigh) – 

It appears that Andrews may have taken a shot to the thigh or injured his thigh in some fashion in the Raven’s Week 11 match against the Titans this past weekend. Andrews was a limited participant in the Raven’s first practice session in preparation for Week 12. This could easily just mean more off-time for Andrews as he heals as the Ravens once again play the quick turn-around Thursday game this week, so easily just could be the Ravens taking it precautionary with Andrews. Either way, we should know by the first game of Week 12 if he will play or not.

John Brown WR, BUF (Ankle) –

Brown must have sustained an ankle injury before the Bill’s Week 11 bye and it has obviously carried over into Week 12 now. Brown was not spotted doing practice drills with his teammates in Tuesday’s practice session and this does not seem like great news. The practice on Tuesday wasn’t an “official” practice, so the earliest we can look to get a more defined report on Brown will be Wednesday, so we will hopefully have a clearer stance on Brown’s availability for the Bill’s Week 12 match against the Chargers by Friday.

Kyle Murray QB, AZ (Shoulder) –

It doesn’t seem to be serious at all, but Murray is still dealing with an AC joint injury that he sustained in the Cardinal’s Week 11 match against the Seahawks. Murray was spotted doing sideline work for the Cardinal’s first practice session for Week 12 on Tuesday, but again, isn’t expected to be serious nor have any danger of missing time per reports.