The Training Room: 10 Injuries You Need to Know for Your Fantasy Football Drafts

Aug 06, 2025

The Training Room: 10 Injuries You Need to Know for Your Drafts

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Injuries can make or break your season in fantasy football. It is important to be aware of various injuries as you enter into draft season. This will be the first part of a series of four articles discussing certain players who are dealing with injuries, including sections discussing which players to buy and which players to fade due to injury.

Matthew Stafford, QB LAR

Injury: Back Discomfort

One of the first key injuries to be aware of involves a potentially downward spiraling situation for the Rams QB1. He has missed close to three weeks of key practice time with no timetable to return and will miss joint practices this week, which are typically key practices for install of the offense. The only information that we know is that he has back discomfort and has been consulting with renowned spine specialist Dr. Robert Watkins twice in the last two weeks. Dr. Watkins is known for minimally invasive spine procedures, which leads me to believe that Stafford is likely dealing with an underlying disc pathology that is causing his back discomfort.

My best guess in this situation is that they are attempting to treat with biologics first in order to reduce inflammation and expedite healing. The difficult discussion for fantasy football purposes is that this really could go one of two ways: 1) Stafford heals well with the treatment that he is currently receiving and simply needs more time in order to heal, or 2) Stafford does not heal well with the current treatment. If the latter scenario, he could wind up attempting to play through the pathology, but it would place him in a high-risk bucket for in-season aggravation and eventual surgery, leading to complications for managers drafting Puka Nacua and Davante Adams as high as they are going. Worst case scenario, his back pain lingers or even worsens with contact during play, and he winds up opting for spine surgery.

This situation warrants close monitoring for updates. I am typically optimistic in certain timeframes, but the current track on the Stafford news is enough for me to start fading both Nacua and Adams at their current cost to prepare for if Jimmy Garoppolo winds up starting for the Rams this season.