Damien Harris (concussion) has been a solid contributor to fantasy football rosters at an important position, but he missed last week because of a concussion. Ahead of the Patriots-Falcons Week 11 Thursday Night Football game, Harris’ availability is in question. Players are often ruled in or out quickly with concussions, but the Patriots are found of listing players as “questionable” on the injury report even if they’re in little danger of missing the game. Fantasy start ’em, sit ’em decisions surrounding Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson hang in the balance while we wait for the latest updates.
We’ll continue to update this article with news on Harris up until the official active/inactive report comes out on Thursday around 6:50 p.m. ET. For all the latest fantasy updates, follow us on Twitter @SN_Fantasy.
MORE TNF: FD lineup | DK lineup | Patterson update
Is Damien Harris playing on Thursday night?
Harris took the practice field Tuesday, but he remained in the league’s concussion protocol. Since concussions can be unique case by case, we can’t speculate whether he’ll clear protocols and be activated. It’s not as simple as looking up the average recovery time for a sprained ankle or bruised shin. However, even if he clears the protocol, he could still be listed as “questionable” given his lack of activity the past two weeks.
WEEK 11 STANDARD RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
We do know concussions are usually an all-or-nothing type of injury, though. He either clears protocols and gets a full complement of touches or he doesn’t play at all. That makes life easier for fantasy owners. If he’s in the lineup, he’s viewed as a must-start against the Falcons’ bottom-five defense against fantasy RBs. Harris doesn’t bring much to the passing game, but Antonio Gibson and Chuba Hubbard both produced RB2 weeks against the Falcons without catching more than two passes and accumulating more than 12 yards through the air. Put simply, backs have had plenty of success producing against Atlanta without impressive receiving work.
WEEK 11 PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
If Harris is out, Rhamondre Stevenson is pretty much in the same situation, but he does bring a little bit to the receiving game. In his first career start against Cleveland, Stevenson rushed 20 times for 100 yards and two touches and caught four passes for 14 yards. For those keeping track, that’s 22 fantasy points in standard leagues and 27.4 FP in PPR. You can never simply pencil in that kind of production beforehand, but against this Falcons’ D, it’s certainly a possibility.
WEEK 11 DFS: Best stacks | Best values | Lineup Builder
That was a long-winded way of saying Harris is a high-end RB2 if he plays, and Stevenson is a mid-tier RB2 if he doesn’t. Stevenson has potential flex value if Harris is active, too, as the Patriots to run the ball a ton and Stevenson produced well with Harris back in Week 9.
As a general reminder, be sure to play Harris or Stevenson in one of the RB slots of your lineup. That way, you’ll have flexibility in your flex spot if an unforeseen injury or COVID situation happens later in the week.