It’s the worst kind of scenario for fantasy football players.
Tyler Warren picked up an injury at practice on Friday, a groin problem, and it made him questionable on the Indianapolis Colts’ Week 6 injury report for their matchup with the Tennessee Titans.
Warren hadn’t previously been on the injury report. This was a new ailment, and so it makes it tough to know just how bad it might be for Warren.
Unlike an injury that happened in a game, and then had a whole week of practice reports to go on, this Warren injury comes out of nowhere and has no real insight to provide before Sunday.
That means that Warren’s status as a game-time decision, reported on Sunday morning, is really about the best anyone can know until the official injury report comes out 90 minutes before kickoff.
And if you’re counting on Warren as your fantasy football TE today, there are two ways this can go.
Tyler Warren Fantasy Outlook if he Plays
The reality is that if Warren is active, and you were planning to start him, you still have to start him.
The Colts’ passing attack is devoid of weapons, and so Warren is getting a lot of usage lately.
Indy wouldn’t play him if they doubted his ability to stay on the field, so an active status for Warren is certainly a good sign.
A groin injury does sound like something that could be reaggravated, but fantasy players with Warren on their roster pretty much have to trust the Colts if he’s active and roll with their usual tight end.
Fantasy Replacements for Tyler Warren
To find some potential replacements, we’ve looked at players who are roster in less than 50% of ESPN fantasy leagues.
Hunter Henry of the Patriots is a safe and reliable option who is rostered in only 41.6% of ESPN leagues.
Jets rookie tight end Kenyon Sadiq is riskier, but he appears to have cleared concussion protocol and has some explosiveness and touchdown potential.
Beyond those two, you’re mostly chasing a touchdown at the tight end spot. Tyler Higbee and Darren Waller are both tight ends who have shown they can find the end zone.
If you’re in a deeper league, our two favorite options rostered in less than 5% of leagues are Commanders TE Chig Okonkwo and Chargers TE Oronde Gadsden.
You could also take a flier on the massive Steelers tight end Darnell Washington, but with Pat Freiermuth also healthy, that’s not guaranteed to work out.
Obviously, it’s much more fun if Warren plays, but if he doesn’t, those are some of the options to choose from.
What to do in Fantasy if Tyler Warren is Out With Injury for Colts