If your player gets hurt in these critical final weeks, you'll want to know how serious it is, and how the player has reacted to injuries in the past.
You'll also want to check their team's record, because that could determine whether they gut it out for the final few games, or get put on injured reserve and say goodbye to 2019 a little early.
Fantasy owners starting Patrick Mahomes don't need to hear about hand injuries headed into week 15. But at 9-4 and a win against New England in hand, Kansas City is still in the hunt for a bye. I'm not a doctor, but I'm pretty confident that Mahomes will be out there on Sunday.
But suppose they were 4-9? Would they risk further injury to their franchise quarterback? Perhaps not. Fantasy teams will need to lower their expectations against Denver, but at least he should be playing.
On the other hand, the Buccaneers have all but said that Mike Evans is done for the year due to a hamstring injury. He's not technically on injured reserve (as I'm writing this, anyway), but what incentive do their have to trot him out in weeks 15, 16 or 17? If you were starting Evans, you're not starting Evans anymore. Simple as that.
There are exceptions, of course. A serious injury is a serious injury, regardless of record. The Seahawks would rather have Rashaad Penny available, but he isn't. And there's no reason for the Falcons to put Austin Hooper back in the lineup, but he was out there on Sunday. So nothing is set in stone.
But if a franchise is playing out the string, an injury is more likely to keep a guy out the last three weeks than the first three. The record matters. Does anyone expect to see A.J. Green on the field for the 1-11 Bengals this year? Will the 4-9 Jaguars start D.J. Chark again this season? How about T.Y. Hilton? Maybe it's a conspiracy against guys with initials instead of first names. Or maybe teams just don't want to take risks with their (and your) star players at the end of the year. The Bengals and Jaguars are out of it, and the Colts are slipping out of the playoff race. The more they stumble, the less likely Hilton sees the field. That's reality.
Of course, there are other issues at play. The Buccaneers aren't going to the playoffs, so you get why they won't rush their star receiver back. But Jameis Winston has millions of reasons why he wants to end the season on a high note. Evans won't play, but Jameis might. Is it the injury, or the contract?
This isn't a new development, of course. Aaron Rodgers has been shut down the last couple of seasons when the Packers couldn't keep up with the conference hopefuls. And you see guys go on IR every day who aren't fantasy-relevant players. Most of the time it doesn't affect you. But when it does, you'll have little time to react for the most important games of the season.
If you have injured players, you can't make any assumptions as to when or if they're coming back. Get your backups ready. See if there's anything serviceable on your waiver wire. Expect all your guys to be like Adam Thielen: Every week he might come back, and every week he sits. Guys can and will go on IR to either protect a major talent, let a younger player get some game action or to avoid looking like the dumbest coach on the planet if someone gets hurt in a meaningless game.
Star players are now more likely to take the rest of the year off, and they don't care about your playoff aspirations. Cross your fingers and plan accordingly. Good luck this week.
Are you losing a key player to injured reserve? Is a team's hopeless record hurting your chances at a title? What's your Plan B? Share your thoughts below.