Running back James Robinson (heel, knee) popped up on the mid-week injury report with a new ailment that could jeopardize his Week 11 availability.
James Robinson Injury Report
Robinson is becoming a permanent fixture on Jacksonville's injury report and this worry-o-meter. He had been battling a heel injury he suffered in the first quarter of the Jaguars’ Week 8 contest against the Seahawks. Although he escaped any serious injury, he was held out of the Jaguars' showdown against the Bills in a last-minute decision.
After missing Week 9, Robinson was a question mark heading into Week 10. He was declared active hours before game time and performed surprisingly well coming off of an injury and in a difficult road matchup against the Colts' shutdown run defense. He recorded 12 carries for 57 yards and a touchdown and caught four of five targets for 27 yards, finishing as RB12 in half PPR.
This week, Robinson did not practice on Wednesday, listed as a DNP with heel and knee injuries. The unknown knee injury is new and could jeopardize his Week 11 status. He did log a limited practice on Thursday, which is a good sign his health is progressing in the right direction.
Robinson was the fantasy Cinderella story of the season in 2020. The former undrafted free agent from Illinois State finished as RB7 in half PPR last season and once again won the role as the Jaguars’ workhorse back with 2021 first-rounder Travis Etienne Jr. suffering a season-ending Lisfranc fracture in the preseason. He has finished as a top-12 running back in half PPR in all but one of the last five games he has played. The one contest in which he fell shy was the game where he played just eight snaps and suffered the heel injury. He is currently RB13 in half PPR on a per-game basis this year.
Worry-o-meter: 3 out of 5.
James Robinson' Fantasy Outlook
If Active
Robinson is a must-start if active for Week 11. The matchup is average against the 49ers, who have been middle-of-the-road against fantasy running backs. San Francisco has given up the 14th-most fantasy points to the position this year, but Robinson’s workload and talent keep him comfortably inside the RB2 tier.
If Inactive
Backup Carlos Hyde would be next in line should Robinson suffer a setback and be inactive come Sunday. Hyde was fed almost all of the running back touches in Week 9 with Robinson sidelined. He logged 21 carries for 67 yards and caught one pass for six yards and finished as RB40 in half PPR. Dare Ogunbowale backed up Hyde in that matchup and had two touches for five yards.
Hyde would benefit the most from Robinson's hypothetical absence and would move into the RB3 conversation for the week.
