Injuries continued in the NFL on Sunday to key players in fantasy football. The major one was to Green Bay Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers left the game after awkwardly landing on his throwing shoulder and was diagnosed with a broken collarbone. This is the second time Rodgers has broken his collarbone. The first time was back in 2013 on his left shoulder. Although the Packers haven’t given a timetable for him to return, there is a possibility he could miss the rest of the season. Brett Hundley is the next man up in Green Bay.
Passing Game Going Forward
Of course every fantasy owner of Rodgers is devastated. Most owners don’t have a backup because well, he’s Aaron Rodgers. Besides Rodgers owners, fantasy owners of Green Bay offensive players are also in a panic, especially owners of their receivers. If you had someone in the passing offense in Green Bay, you knew you would get a solid day with the best quarterback throwing them the ball. From this point forward, the expectations of the Packers’ passing game should be down.
With Hundley under center, it’s unlikely guys like Jordy Nelson and Devante Adams will have a 100-yard game or multiple touchdowns on a weekly basis. From this week on, they are more touchdown dependent. There will be that one receiver each week that will outperform the rest, but not have tremendous numbers. Players like Martellus Bennett and Randall Cobb should be on your bench.
The Run Game
The run game will be the go-to for the Packers to make Hundley more comfortable. While the running backs in Green Bay could be the fantasy go-to, don’t expect big numbers like some situations when starting quarterbacks go down.
Teams going forward against the Packers are going to dare Hundley to throw the ball and focus on stopping the run. The other thing to look at is the Packers’ running backs. Ty Montgomery had 10 carries on 20 snaps and Aaron Jones had 13 carries on 40 snaps. Jones looks to be the better of the two, but expect in the middle of the game that whoever has the hot hand will get the football.
How to view Hundley
Hundley looks to be the long-term replacement for Rodgers for the season. He completed 18 of 33 passes for a modest 157 yards with three interceptions and one touchdown to Adams. It’s not the best game, but for Hundley, this was all about keeping them in the game and keeping it close, which he did at some points. He has watched and learned from one of the best. Maybe once he get’s a practice in and develops chemistry with the offense, he could be ready and prepared going forward.
One could argue he could be a good game time manager. He nailed 63.2 percent of his preseason passes and hit on 67.4 percent of his passes over three seasons at UCLA. He does have ability, and with the talent around him, he should have success and have good outings going forward.
From this point, he will play the Saints, Lions, Bears, Ravens, Steelers and Buccaneers with a week 8 bye. It could be worse. Out of the six teams, only the Ravens and Steelers have top-10 defenses against receivers and quarterbacks.
But do we really think he’s the solution to replace Rodgers for the Packers and your fantasy team? Heck no. He’s a matchup guy in fantasy, or in some instances, just on the wavier wire till he proves himself. Unless you’re really desperate now, I would avoid Hundley in any format.
What to do with Rodgers
There’s no way to make this easy, but for all of us, you may have to cut him. This injury is worse then his previous one in 2013. He can’t be depended on at this point. With not many good quarterbacks in the wavier wire, it could be time to make a trade.
One good candidate is Matt Ryan. Fantasy owners are getting frustrated with him and you could get him for a good price if you have depth of players. If you can’t make a trade, then look at the streamable quarterbacks with good matchups.
The injuries in fantasy football continue, and this one might be the hardest to swallow. I don’t think he will be back anytime soon. My one piece of advice is to wait for any news in the coming days before making your move. At this point, it’s up to you whether to keep him or not.
Featured image from sbnation.com.
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