Fantasy Injury News

Roster cutdown day brought some clarity to a couple of lingering injury situations, with one veteran back officially sidelined for the start of the season and a star tight end trending in the right direction.

Running Backs

The Cardinals made it official: James Conner has been placed on injured reserve with a designation to return as he continues rehabbing the foot injury that ended his 2025 season early. The move guarantees he’ll miss at least the first four games, with Week 5 against Detroit on October 11 as his earliest possible return. Arizona restructured his contract this offseason to keep him in the fold despite the long recovery, but for Week 1 purposes he’s off the board. That leaves Jeremiyah Love, Tyler Allgeier and Bam Knight to sort out early-season touches in the Arizona backfield, though Love himself is still working back from the high-ankle sprain that’s clouded his own Week 1 outlook. If Love isn’t full-go either, Allgeier profiles as the best bet for early-down work, with Knight in change-of-pace range. Worth watching practice reports closely as the opener against the Chargers approaches.

Tight Ends

George Kittle’s Achilles recovery keeps trending positively. After being activated off the PUP list last week, reports now indicate he’s expected to practice this week and has what’s being described as a legitimate chance to play in San Francisco’s opener against the Rams on September 10 in Melbourne. Kyle Shanahan had noted a minor step back for Kittle earlier in camp, but nothing since suggests a real setback, and the tea leaves point toward him being active for Week 1 barring a late change. Still worth a final check on the Friday injury report before locking him into lineups.

Wide Receivers

A minor scare in Denver: Marvin Mims Jr. left a preseason game with a foot injury, but the Broncos have since described it as a bruise rather than anything structural, and he’s expected to avoid missing significant time. Not a situation that should affect his standing in Denver’s receiver room heading into the regular season.

We’ll keep tracking these situations, along with the rest of the league’s roster moves, as teams finalize their 53-man rosters and Week 1 injury designations start to roll in.