Fantasy Impact of Jermichael Finley's injury
Reports are circulating today that Jermichael Finley is likely done for the season with his knee injury. What does this mean for the Packers? Andrew Quarless is the sole healthy TE on the roster with Donald Lee also out for four weeks. Is Quarless a fantasy worthy tight end? I think he's worth a flier if you've got a roster spot, especially because Rodgers has not been clicking with Greg Jennings this season.
Although news of a potential season ending injury is never good, it may be good news for some fantasy owners who would have kept Finley on their roster for the 4-6 weeks he was out. This makes him droppable in all one year leagues and unless you can keep 6 or 7 guys in a keeper league he is droppable there as well.
Who can you replace Finley with? Here are the guys who are most likely available in a 10-12 team league.
1. Aaron Hernandez, Patriots (60% available ESPN, 45% Yahoo) - Randy Moss is gone and he was getting a lot of targets even when Moss was still there.
2. Tony Moeaki, Chiefs (81%, 72%)- We all know Dwayne Bowe can't catch and Moeaki is the leading receiver on the team.
3. Kellen Winslow, Bucs (17%, 31%)- He's been dropped in quite a few leagues and rightfully so, but if you're struggling to find a replacement, he's decent and a proven guy
4. John Carlson, Seahawks (77%, 50%)- The Seahawks are awful, but Carlson should get some extra looks with Deion Branch out of the picture.
5. Jeremy Shockey, Saints (41%, 50%)- Shockey has gotten more targets with Bush out, so as long as he's out Shockey can be a decent option
6. Brandon Pettigrew, Lions (92%, 68%)- He's been more involved in the offense with Shaun Hill in at QB.
7. Andrew Quarless, Packers (99.7%, 98%)- He's of similar size and stature of Finley, he's not Jermichael Finley, but he should see 4 or 5 targets a game and maybe some red zone targets as well.
If for some reason these guys are available in your league, they are all better options than the guys listed above:
Antonio Gates, Dustin Keller, Marcedes Lewis, Dallas Clark, Vernon Davis, Chris Cooley, Zach Miller, Tony Gonzalez, Brent Celek, Jason Witten, Visanthe Shiancoe