Well this isn’t the kind of news you want to get during the bye weeks for two of your top offensive players, but such is life for the Indianapolis Colts and for fantasy owners of Dallas Clark and Joseph Addai.
Yesterday, Adam Schefter tweeted that Colts TE Dallas Clark would be out indefinitely after suffering a hand/wrist injury during the team’s Week 6 victory over the Redskins. He said that Clark was seeking additional opinions and that the length of his absence was not yet known.
In other less serious – but still important – Colts injury news, RB Joseph Addai said that his left shoulder is a problem. There is apparently nothing torn, but it’s still never a good thing when a player says that “It’s just the nerve…it could come back any time between now and four or five weeks.”
Uncertainty, as we know, is the bane of the fantasy owners’ existence.
Fantasy Impact of Dallas Clark Injury
The Colts have three tight ends listed on their depth chart: Jacob Tamme; Brody Eldridge; and Gijon Robinson. Combined, these three guys have 37 career catches and no touchdowns. While I’m sure that Peyton Manning will continue to involve the tight end in the passing game – he always does – none of these three guys can replace Dallas Clark, one of the best receiving tight ends in the league history.
If you own Dallas Clark don’t drop him (certainly not until we know the results of his additional opinions), but you absolutely have to pick up a backup tight end and do so now. When you see the words “possible injured reserve” in any injury report, as I’ve seen with Clark, there is the potential for devastation. See if guys like Jermaine Gresham, Brandon Pettigrew, Jeremy Shockey, or Tony Moeaki are out there. All four are solid options moving forward, though obviously with far less potential than Clark.
I don’t think you’ll see this impact Peyton Manning’s numbers too much. It won’t help, clearly, but Manning still has Reggie Wayne, Austin Collie, and Pierre Garcon to throw to, and the value of each probably goes up a tick with more Peyton dropbacks now potentially turning into targets. I’d say Collie’s value increases the most because of his ability to replace Clark’s presence in the slot.
Fantasy Impact of Joseph Addai Injury
The impact of Addai’s injury is a little less clear. Because the Colts are on a bye in Week 7, there is a chance that Addai could be healed up and ready to go when the team faces the Texans next week. However, he also could not be ready, and could be out for an extended period of time.
One thing we know about the Colts is that we won’t get much information out of them regarding these injuries. Thus, your best bet if you own Addai is to keep him, obviously, but also run out and grab Donald Brown right now. He, not Mike Hart, will be the guy the Colts will count on if both are healthy and Addai is out. In Week 2, Brown ran 16 times for 69 yards and a TD against the Giants. So he can produce we given an opportunity. Unfortunately, he’s only gotten 7 carries since because of injury.
Keep an eye on Brown though. He’s expected to play next week against Houston, but he didn’t practice yesterday. That means that little Mike Hart does still have some value. He’s not explosive, but he is productive when given an opportunity. If you have room on your bench to stash him, I’d try to do it. Neither Addai nor Brown has proven to be very durable in 2010. If you or I were playing running back in the Colts offense, we’d have value. So obviously having Hart could still pay dividends down the line.