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Injuries are one of the biggest pitfalls to your fantasy football team. Unpredictable and quick to rear it's ugly head, the injury bug is most prevalent during this middle stretch of the season when everyone is tired and physically drained. If you stay on top of the injuries, though, you can make good decisions with fill-ins and replacements. Take a look at our Week 12 Waiver Wire Picks for more helpful advice.

Quarterback Injuries

It will be rough sledding for the Ravens with Flacco outJoe Flacco (QB, BAL) – Flacco is officially out for the season with a torn ACL and MCL. In what can only be described as a disaster of a season so far in 2015, the Ravens are losing weapons by the second. Matt Schaub will start immediately but is without fantasy value, and the Ravens picked up Jimmy Clausen – ex Chicago backup who was just waived – to hold the clipboard on the sideline.

Tyrod Taylor (QB, BUF) – Anyone who watched Monday Night Football (NE vs. BUF) could see that Taylor was obviously in pain at least during the last quarter of the game. Continually clutching at his shoulder/collarbone area after passing the football is never a good sign. Coach Rex Ryan said that he would be ok, but it’s something to keep an eye on if your intention is to start Taylor against the Chiefs.

Running Back Injuries

Justin Forsett (RB, BAL) – Forsett was not on track to match his impressive 2014 performance this year, but he was obviously the lead back on the Ravens. After breaking both bones in his forearm against the Rams in week 11, it looks like rookie Buck Allen will be filling in as the uncontested starter for now. He had 22 carries for 67 yards and caught 5 passes for 48. The Ravens did just recently acquire Terrance West, but it’s not likely that he gets meaningful playing time at this point.

Marshawn Lynch (RB, SEA) – Lynch has been battling injury all year, and it looks like that injury may end up being diagnosed as a sports hernia.. which will either continue to cause Lynch pain and missed games, or require possible [regular] season-ending surgery. In either case, Thomas Rawls is the man in Seattle until Lynch suits up again and that may not be for quite a while.

Charcandrick West (RB, KC) – Obviously Kansas City has a pretty killer offensive line and whoever their ‘RB of choice’ is will have some nice production. West was showcasing a lot of talent since he was called upon to fill in for Jamaal Charles at the position, but is having an issue with his hamstring. However long West is sidelined, Spencer Ware should be able to provide a big portion of that production. West may go ahead and play this week, though, which would make Ware’s week 11 performance nothing more than a blip on the fantasy radar.

Ryan Mathews (RB, PHI) – A concussion leading up to this short week for the Eagles will likely keep Mathews sidelined.

Devonta Freeman (RB, ATL) – Another concussion knocked Freeman out of the game, but it looks like he is on track to play.

Wide Receiver Injuries

Michael Floyd (WR, ARI) – Floyd put up some big numbers in his last two games, but has been nursing a hamstring injury recently and it doesn’t look like he’ll be hurried back. If that’s the case, we could see rookie J.J. Nelson who put up 142 yards and 1 TD on 4 receptions this past week continue to be a go-to target in the offense.

Danny Amendola (WR, NE) – Amendola went down on Monday night with a non-contact injury (the kind that doesn’t look bad but can turn out to be way more serious than initially thought). Thankfully it looks like the extent of the injury is just a sprain but we won’t know any more about his availability going forward until injury reports come out on Wednesday.

Aaron Dobson (WR, NE) – On a tough day for the Patriots, more wide receivers went down including Dobson. Looks like this injury is fairly serious, and so we may see more of Chris Harper and Scott Chandler. At this moment, the only healthy and experienced receivers that the Patriots have are Brandon LaFell and Rob Gronkowski.

Tight End Injuries

Zach Ertz (TE, PHI) – A concussion will probably keep Ertz from playing this Thursday, allowing Brent Celek to step into his role as a primary pass-catcher. Celek is no Greg Olsen, but he has brought down 11 receptions for over 200 yards in the past two weeks and a questionable passing offense will likely continue to look to Celek to produce.

Jordan Reed (TE, WAS) – MCL sprains can sideline players for weeks, but it looks like this injury may heal rather quickly and the team doctors and management are currently expecting Reed to play this weekend.

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.