NFL Injury Update: Teddy Bridgewater Survives Week 4, Derek Carr Doesn’t

No NFL week will ever be injury-free. After the bloodbaths we saw in Weeks 2 and 3, though, Week 4 was a welcome sight for most fantasy owners.

The game’s marquee fantasy players more or less avoided injury — or didn’t play at all thanks to a bye week — on Sunday. There were certainly causes for concern, though, chief among them the status of wide receiver Calvin Johnson.

Johnson clearly was hampered by an ankle injury that limited him to just two catches for 12 yards. Fortunately, though, it appears that Megatron didn’t appear to suffer any major setbacks.

It was that kind of week across the NFL, as several other players got a little banged up, but didn’t suffer anything too serious.

Like we said, though, there will always be major injuries every week, and Sunday was still no exception. Here’s a look at the biggest casualties in Week 4, starting with the least serious and ending with the most serious.

Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Minnesota Vikings: Bridgewater was forced to leave his first NFL start with an ankle injury in the fourth quarter, but it doesn’t appear to be that bad. Postgame X-rays came back negative, and the Vikings are hopeful he’ll be good to go against the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night.

The Vikings dodged a major bullet here, as Bridgewater looked solid in the team’s win over the Atlanta Falcons. Besides, with Matt Cassel done for the year, they don’t really have anyone else.

Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The good news? Evans hauled in his first career touchdown pass in Tampa Bay’s shocking upset of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The bad news? He left the game with a groin injury and could miss up to four weeks, per the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud.

It’s pretty poor timing for the Bucs, who finally managed a win and need all the help they can get. Tampa Bay has a bye in Week 7, so don’t expect to see Evans before then.

Derek Carr, QB, Oakland Raiders: The Derek Carr era was fun while it lasted. The rookie left Sunday’s debacle in London with a high ankle sprain and a sprained MCL, according to CSN Bay Area’s Scott Bair. The Raiders have yet to give an update on Carr, but it should be at least a few weeks.

Things just keep getting worse for Oakland, as Matt McGloin is now the team’s starting quarterback for the team’s next two games against the 3-1 San Diego Chargers and undefeated Arizona Cardinals.

D’Angelo Williams, RB, Carolina Panthers: The already banged up running back went down yet again with a sprained ankle against the Baltimore Ravens. Head coach Ron Rivera said Williams is doubtful for Week 5.

The injury woes continue for the Panthers, as running backs Jonathan Stewart and Mike Tolbert are dealing with injuries of their own. Carolina’s ground game might come down to Fozzy Whittaker who, of course, is also not 100 percent.

Morris Claiborne, CB, Dallas Cowboys: After being informed he wouldn’t start against the New Orleans Saints, Claiborne started anyway but suffered a torn patellar tendon in his left knee in the first quarter that will cause him to miss the rest of the season.

Claiborne had been struggling a bit, but the Cowboys still didn’t need this. Former New England Patriot Sterling Moore replaced Claiborne after his injury and is one of just four healthy corners left on Dallas’ roster.

Photo via Brace Hemmelgarn/USA TODAY Sports Images