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The injury carousel continues to spin round and round in the NFL, flinging people off without care for their superstar status. This week wasn’t quite as bad as week two, but let’s take a quick look at the newest injuries to hit the NFL.

Quarterbacks

Ben Roethlisberger (Replacement: Michael Vick) – Roethlisberger went down and you could hear a pin drop in downtown Pittsburg for a few moments. I know the majority Steelers crowd in St. Louis fell silent when Ben was grabbing his knee in the third quarter. Mike Vick will take over the team in the meantime, and just needs to find safe ways to get the ball to the many superstars that make up the supporting cast of the Steelers. Ben has an MCL sprain and bone bruise and the current, not at all official timeline, is looking like it will be 6 weeks before he can return. Hold on to him in redraft leagues if you can afford the bench spot.

Running Backs

Marshawn Lynch (Replacement: Thomas Rawls) – Lynch left the game after only 5 carries, but let’s be honest. The Seahawks practice squad might have been able to beat the Bears this past Sunday. Lynch’s status for Monday night’s game with the Lions will be updated later in the week (they have an extra day to tell us). If he doesn’t go, it looks like undrafted rookie Thomas Rawls will handle the bulk of the work. Rawls had 18 carries for 109 yards against the Bears, and the Lions aren’t much better. This is a situation to monitor, as the extent of Lynch’s injury is still unclear.

LeSean McCoy (Replacement: Karlos Williams) – McCoy still managed to score a touchdown, but reports out of Buffalo all continue to state that McCoy is not fully healthy. With their offense rolling, this is shaping up to be the week that they sit down McCoy so he can finally get as close to 100% as possible. Karlos Williams has been great in his place, averaging a whopping 7.8 yards per rush attempt over the first three games and scoring a TD in each of the three games so far this year. Williams is the clear replacement and can be slotted in as a starter on your team right away, as long as McCoy is out.

Chris Ivory (Replacement: Bilal Powell) – Ivory suited up for Sunday’s game, but didn’t see any action. His groin injury is not supposed to keep him out of the Week 4 matchup with the Dolphins, but him being a no-show in week 3 has me skeptical about starting him in week 4. Bilal Powell is a plodding replacement who hasn’t seen the end-zone yet, so leave him towards the bottom of your waiver list if you need to pick up a replacement RB this week. Ivory will probably be a game time decision – just remember that his game time is 3.5 hours earlier than normal!

Demarco Murray (Replacement: Ryan Mathews) – Murray surprised a lot of people by being inactive for Sunday’s game, and it almost seems like it helped the Eagles. Ryan Mathews finally got their running game going, and is clearly a better fit in their system, compared to the workload dependent Murray. It’s hard to say where this situation is headed. If Chip Kelly is smart, he will probably wind up splitting the carries between Murray and Mathews in an attempt to take some of the pressure away from Murray. If Murray is out again, Mathews is a high-end RB2. If they both play, they are probably both more like a higher end RB3.

Wide Receivers

Davante Adams (Replacements: James Jones, Ty Montgomery) – Adams gave it a go on Monday night and only lasted for two targets on the first drive before exiting the game. Ty Montgomery and James Jones both caught a TD in the game, and it doesn’t look like there is a reason to keep pushing Davante Adams if he is injured. The Packers would be making a mistake if they kept forcing Adams out there with two other players having so much success. Do not start Adams this week, even if he’s a go!

Sammy Watkins (Replacement: Percy Harvin) – Watkins has been hobbled with injury, but it hasn’t slowed the Bills down one bit. Watkins suffered a calf strain, and Coach Ryan has stated he might miss week 4’s game. Harvin has been productive and startable every week, and is still only owned in 55% of Yahoo leagues! Watkins owners shouldn’t panic yet, he’s had a history of injuries leaving him a bit banged up, but he should be back to himself in a week or two. Watkins is a dynamic receiver and will return to form later this year, but for now, look to Percy Harvin for your production from the Bills WR’s.

Tight Ends

Andrew Quarless (Replacement: Richard Rodgers) – Quarless got his first two catches of the season on Monday night, and then promptly exited the game with a sprained MCL. Quarless will be out 4-6 weeks and was never a fantasy option in the first place, and neither is Rodgers. Go look elsewhere for tight end help.

Vernon Davis (Replacement: Vance McDonald) – Davis didn’t play much in the blowout loss against the Cardinals, but suffered a knee injury all the same. This isn’t likely a long-term injury, but it’s also not likely that he’ll be fantasy relevant any time soon. The 49ers are receiving favorable comparisons to dumpster fires and toxic waste dumps. This injury shouldn’t affect your team unless you’re in the deepest possible league.

We continue cruising through the NFL season, and here in week 4, it seems like the injuries have slowed down just a little. Let's hope you get a few more weeks before you need to worry about rebuilding your entire fantasy team. Week 4 also marks the beginning of the by weeks, with the New England Patriots and Tennessee Titans. Also, the Jets and Dolphins play at 8:30 CST on Sunday morning, live from London!

Tyrod Taylor has been lighting the world up over the first three weeks, and has made it up to #3 on our weekly rankings, mostly based on his matchup with the Giants average passing defense. In two QB leagues, watch out for Dave's long predicted fall of Ryan Fitzpatrick, now that he's completed three games this year. Karlos Williams finds himself in our top 10, mostly due to the fact that LeSean McCoy has been hobbled and may just sit out week 4. Devonta Freeman, while putting up a monster game in week 3, should come back down to earth against the Texans defense. Freeman got his production through sheer volume of touches, so don't expect lots of magic to happen unless the Texans defense falls apart like the Cowboys did last week.

Sticking with the Bills, we have a third guy from that team, Percy Harvin, who we really like this week. Harvin has 20 touches through three games, and they're well spread out. It seems like he will continue to get work all year, as long as he's healthy. Davante Adams, meanwhile, is a guy to just go ahead and avoid this week. (Yes, this sounds a whole lot like the advice from last week, but it wasn't bad, was it?) Adams basically missed the whole game on Monday night due to his ankle injury, and it's clear that he's taken a backseat to James Jones.

Ladarius Green did sit out week 3 with a concussion, but if he plays in week 4, he could be a decent bye week replacement. The Chargers play the Browns, who have given up the 10th most fantasy points to opposing TE's. On the flipside, Eric Ebron has been OK, but the ship appears to be sinking in Detroit, so don't jump on now. Two weeks in a row, we've heard reports of other teams calling out the Lions's plays before the snap. If that continues, their offense will struggle mightily.

Good luck in week 4, and don't forget to get your waiver wire claims in before the deadline!

Two weeks into the season and already the injury train is a-rollin'. Hopefully your team isn't too devastated, but I suppose there's the chance that you drafted Nelson, Benjamin and Desean Jackson. There's always next year for you. For the rest of us, check out the Week 3 rankings below.

We like Drew Brees more than most, and think you should be starting him if he plays this week. Ryan Tannehill, on the other hand, could definitely struggle in an offense that hasn't clicked yet, especially since he is going up against the Bills, one of the early season defensive beasts. Giovani Bernard is definitely a guy you need to get into your lineup this week. Jeremy Hill may very well be in the doghouse, and Bernard has been very productive over the first two games this season. I would recommend caution when starting Devonta Freeman this week. He hasn't put up great numbers in the opportunities he has had in his young career and I don't expect him to suddenly turn it all around with the starting job. There's a reason they went with rookie Tevin Coleman first.

We like Percy Harvin as a WR3 this week. He's gotten consistent looks in each of the first two weeks and appears to be a favored, if not favorite, target of Tyrod Taylor. Watch out with Davante Adams this week. He was banged up in week 2 and is losing touches to James Jones and possibly Ty Montgomery as well. Jared Cook is poised for a breakout game in a matchup that could result in the Rams scoring a bunch of garbage time points, like the 49ers did last week. Be wary of starting Jordan Cameron this week. He suffered a groin injury during week 2 and has a history of not performing well when injured. Add that to a matchup with the Bills and he's a sit in our book.

Good luck this week, and try to avoid last-minute lineup changes. Don't second guess yourself!