7 NFL injuries that matter the most for Week 8 and what to know

It’s still a weird time in the injury wing of the NFL world, and it’s going to stay that way until after the trade deadline. After that day (November 4), we’ll know that some questionable injuries are real. 

So let’s just focus on the real injuries (or at least the ones that are stemming from real injuries), and the guys who are coming back from real injuries. That’s good, right? Look at us, staying positive.

It might be time for Lamar Jackson to save the Ravens’ season

We’re looking at injuries that are still up in the air, and (mostly) with teams that matter. We know that Jayden Daniels is going to be out against the Chiefs on Monday night. We know Darren Waller just went on the IR. There’s no need to talk about that kind of stuff.

There is, however, a decent reason to talk about what’s going on with Minnesota, especially since that game kicks off in a few hours.

J.J. McCarthy, Vikings, Ankle(?):

On September 15, Adam Schefter tweeted: “ESPN sources: Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy is expected to be sidelined two-to-four weeks with a high ankle sprain. With McCarthy out, Vikings QB Carson Wentz is now in line to start.” September 15 was five and a half weeks ago. 

On October 19, Schefter tweeted: “When Vikings QB JJ McCarthy suffered a Week 2 high ankle sprain, doctors expected it to be a six-week injury. Nothing has changed. It still looks like a six-week injury, which means McCarthy would miss next week, and possibly be able to return in Week 9 at Detroit.”

From ‘a month, tops’ to ‘it was always going to be six weeks.’ Something funky is going on here, and it smells a lot like a team that’s soft-benching their first-round draft pick because he stinks… but on the other hand, Carson Wentz also stinks.

Do Kevin O’Connell and the powers that be really think that continuing to throw Wentz out there is better than potentially developing McCarthy? Or, did Adam Schefter, the most connected football guy in the world, get the wrong info initially?

Whatever the case, the Carson Wentz era trudges on. Take this time; cherish it. The man will eventually retire, and you’ll miss him… or it could end after three bad drives. If Wentz forces the Vikings to bench him, it might force Kevin O’Connell to play McCarthy. That is, if McCarthy isn’t inactive/the emergency quarterback for the fourth straight game. 

Lamar Jackson, Ravens, Hamstring:

One of the biggest injuries this season has been Lamar Jackson. He left the Week 4 game against the Chiefs with a hamstring thing and missed the two games after that. The Ravens had their bye week last week, which means he’s had three weeks of rest, and it’s looking like he’ll have a chance to play this week. 

The Ravens’ defense is getting healthier, but it’s still not going to be anywhere near 100%. If that team is going to get back on track, their offense is going to have to drive the train. The only way that’ll happen is if Jackson is playing. 

On Thursday, he had his second-straight limited practice, which is a big step in the right direction.

A.J. Brown, Eagles, Hamstring:

Things have been weird with the Eagles and A.J. Brown this season. For the first month of the season, he was rightfully upset (disgruntled?) with the way their offense was flowing, and he let that be known on social media.

Then the Eagles lost a couple of games, the offense had some meetings during a mini-bye, and they came out and laid a hammer down on the Vikings and Brian Flores with a real and explosive passing game. It all (except for the running game) looked good.

So after that game, he went on Instagram and posted another cryptic message:

On one hand: Yeah. I get it. It’s just one game where the offense has looked really good, and they have the capability of looking good every single game. It makes sense to not be happy until the Week 7 performance becomes the norm. 

On the other hand: Can we not? Like, what if we’re all just chill about it for a week?

The point of all of this is that this is the time of the season when fake injuries pop up. Those guys don’t play to make sure they don’t actually get injured; an injury would tank their trade value.

Like it or not, there are A.J. Brown trade rumors… but those are just rumors. Howie Roseman isn’t in the business of trading away elite players who are in their prime, and it would be criminal of him to trade away a gamebreaker in a season where the Eagles are ready to win a Super Bowl.

Brown’s dealt with hamstring stuff in the past, and as recently as the preseason. Hopefully, this whole thing is just an abundance of caution and not an actual hamstring thing… especially since he just had his most productive game of the season. 

I can’t imagine this is a ‘keep me out so I can stay healthy to get traded’ type of thing. Hell, I won’t even give that a second thought. 

Brian Burns, Giants, Foot:

When the Eagles played the Giants on Thursday night a couple of weeks ago, Brian Burns was an absolute game wrecker (to be fair, he has been all season). In that Week 6 game, he had seven tackles, two sacks, two tackles for a loss, and two quarterback hits. He was a monster.

Burns was listed as a DNP on the Giants’ practice report from Wednesday, and he wasn’t practicing on Thursday as well.

When the Giants’ defensive line had Burns, Abdul Carter, and Kayvon Thibodeaux on the field, it allowed them to do some crazy and super effective stunts. With it looking more and more like the Eagles’ center, Cam Jurgens missing this game, that means Brett Toth is going to be starting. Burns probably isn’t going to be lining up directly over Toth, but those stunts will definitely make his job harder. If Burns doesn’t play, it’s going to make that really good defensive line much more manageable for the Eagles’ banged-up unit. 

Deommodore Lenoir, 49ers, Quad:

For the sixth or seventh straight week, I ask: ‘How many more guys can the 49ers lose and still be competitive?’ And for the sixth or seventh straight week, they’ve answered, ‘I dunno. Let’s find out.’

Deommodore Lenoir, their only really good starting defensive back, was a DNP on Wednesday’s practice report. Maybe that won’t matter all that much because the Texans' offense is a hot mess and dealing with its own debilitating injuries… But it still feels important to acknowledge what San Francisco is dealing with. 

Dalton Kincaid, Bills, Oblique:

The Panthers let tight ends run wild more than almost any other team in the NFL. Per SumerSports, they’ve allowed 475 yards to tight ends (126.3 yards above league average), a catch percentage of 80% (6.7% above league average), and 11.88 yards per catch (2 yards above league average). 

The Bills are going to need Dalton Kincaid, who was listed as a limited participant on the Bills’ practice report on Wednesday. Not only is he a tight end, but he’s also the Bills’ leading pass catcher. 

This is a big game for Buffalo. They’re on a two-game skid, and they’re currently in second place (behind the Patriots in the AFC East). They need to pick up a win against a very beatable team.

The problem is that the Bills haven’t been able to stop the run at all. If the Panthers are smart, they’ll lean into that, big time… especially if they throw out a backup quarterback. If they’re shortening the game, the Bills are going to need to be mega-efficient on offense, and tight ends have proven to be mega-efficient against that defense. 

DeMarvion Overshown, Cowboys, Whole knee:

The Cowboys' defense needs all the help it can get, and it’s looking like they have some coming with linebacker DeMarvion Overshown.

The Cowboys picked him in the third round of the 2023 draft, but he missed the entire season because of a torn left ACL in the preseason. He came back in 2024 and was playing really well until his entire right knee got blown into a million billion pieces in the Week 14 game against the Bengals.

He’s a very good ball player. Is he good enough to mask every other problem that the Cowboys have on defense? Probably not. Will he be better than the combination of linebackers that they’ve been throwing out there? Definitely.