Following speculation that Baldwin would miss extended time, John Boyle of the team’s official website offered a big update, confirming that the Seattle Seahawks wideout will miss Sunday’s game. He’s been officially ruled out on the latest injury report.
#Seahawks injury report for Saturday. Wagner, Wright and Baldwin out, Flowers and Fluker doubtful:
In turn, fantasy owners may want to consider either Brandon Marshall or Tyler Lockett if either is still available on their waiver wire. We previously broke down both options as potential replacements for Baldwin.
Original Doug Baldwin Injury News
The Seattle Seahawks offense looked solid early against a strong Denver Broncos defensive unit but received some bad news shortly after halftime. As the team revealed, No. 1 wide receiver Doug Baldwin was ruled out for the remainder of the game due to a knee injury.
WR Doug Baldwin (knee), will not return. #SEAvsDEN
Gregg Bell of The News Tribune followed up on the news by pointing out that it was Baldwin’s right knee and the injury actually came at some point during the first half. It’s also worth noting that this is the opposite one which was banged up last month.
Doug Baldwin looked like he hurt his right knee in the first half. Opposite the one that kept him out all August. No bueno for #Seahawks to have that be their leading receiver in Week 1, out of the offense for at least rest of today
Baldwin, who unquestionably is one of Russell Wilson’s go-to targets through the air, was quiet through the first half of Week 1. He saw just one target come his way and didn’t have a single catch. It was tight end Will Dissly who impressed in a big way, as the rookie out of Washington totaled three receptions for 105 yards and one touchdown.
Impact & Potential Replacements for Doug Baldwin
While a tight end typically isn’t a direct replacement for a wideout from a fantasy perspective, if you have a flex spot or are in need of a tight end, Dissly looks like a solid waiver wire target. He received five targets from Wilson and is a free agent in the bulk of fantasy leagues.
Beyond that, the Seahawks wide receivers struggled early against a talented Broncos defense in this matchup. Offseason free-agent signing Brandon Marshall hauled in a 20-yard touchdown catch during the third quarter, but it was his first catch of the game. He managed to wrap up the game with three catches for 46 yards. Tyler Lockett has also caught 3-of-4 targets for 59 yards and one touchdown, but 51 of his yards came on the lone score. His low number of targets with Baldwin sidelined is slightly concerning.
Marshall makes sense as the player most likely to replace Baldwin’s role in the offense, although Lockett has more upside. Based on the former stepping in after the injury and almost immediately finding the end zone, he’s worth considering using a waiver on.
UPDATE
As ESPN’s Brady Henderson revealed, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll stated Baldwin could be out “a couple weeks.”
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll does not sound like he’s expecting to have wide receiver Doug Baldwin available for Seattle’s game against the Bears on Monday night, or perhaps the following week against Dallas either. Carroll said Baldwin could be out “a couple weeks” after suffering what ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported to be a Grade 2 partial MCL tear in his right knee Sunday. “He’s really gonna go a few days at a time here,” Carroll said. “Let’s see what happens. We’ll wait and see. We don’t know yet. It could be a couple weeks. It could be a couple weeks, and we’ll find out. He’s as tough as you get. We’ll need to wait.” Henderson wrote.
Fantasy owners will now need to jump at the waiver wire in an attempt to find a replacement for Baldwin.
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Doug Baldwin Ruled Out in Week 2: Fantasy Football Impact the Injury