Fantasy Football Today: Are Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Miles Sanders in? Week 11 injuries, questions

Week 11 is shaping up to be a pretty weird one. How weird? Well, I think you can make a case that running back has more reliable options available than wide receiver. Yeah, that kind of weird.

That's because we have the likes of DeAndre Hopkins, Marquise Brown, Amari Cooper, Antonio Brown, Allen Robinson, and Sterling Shepard all out, along with the Broncos and Rams on a bye. Some of those situations have ready-made replacements in-house -- Rashod Bateman WR2 SZN activated -- but most of them are pretty cloudy. That's how you get to a point where I feel better about starting RB27 (Zack Moss) ahead of WR24 (Hunter Renfrow). That usually doesn't happen.

You're going to have a lot of questions about your lineups this week, I know. Adam Aizer and Heath Cummings updated you on the latest news and answered some start/sit questions on this morning's FFT podcast, and Jamey Eisenberg, Dave Richard, and Heath are on CBS Sports HQ from 10 a.m. ET to kickoff of the 1 p.m. games to answer your questions and keep you updated on all of the news you need to know on the FFT live show.

Make sure you check both out, but if you want more direct answers to your questions and other news updates, I have two more ways for you to win: Go to Twitter and use the hashtag "#AskFFT", where our whole team will be answering questions all morning; and go to the FFT YouTube channel to chat with Adam and I from 11:30 until kickoff. We'll be there right up until kickoff answering as many questions as we can, so make sure you're in the chat early to get your questions in.

Here's the rest of our preview content to get you ready, and check out my updated position rankings at the bottom of the newsletter to help with any early lineup dilemmas you may have:

Week 11 Start 'Em & Sit 'Em: QB | RB | WR
Starts, sits and sleepers for every game
Cheat Sheets: PPR | Non-PPR
Week 11 Position Previews: QB | RB | WR | TE
My Week 11 Rankings: Flex Top 150 | QB | RB | WR | TE

Week 11 Injury Report

Quarterbacks

Out: Jared Goff (oblique), Zach Wilson (knee)
Expected to play: Ben Roethlisberger (COVID-19),
Questionable: Kyler Murray (ankle) Lamar Jackson (illness), Taysom Hill (foot), Colt McCoy (pectoral)

Murray and Jackson are both legitimately questionable for Sunday. According to Sunday morning reports, Murray's chances of playing are looking somewhat slim, pointing to a third straight absence. With the Cardinals on a bye in Week 12, getting an extra week of rest makes sense. Jackson was added back to the injury report Saturday after missing multiple days of practice with a non-COVID illness, and there is a real chance he won't be cleared to play. I'm still starting Jackson if he's active, while Tyler Huntley would be just a 2QB-league candidate.

Running backs

Out: Alvin Kamara (knee), Aaron Jones (knee), Elijah Mitchell (finger), JaMycal Hasty (ankle), Jermar Jefferson (ankle), Jeremy McNichols (concussion)

Jones' absence has been expected all week, and it puts AJ Dillon in position to have a big role against the Vikings. I'm expecting at least 15 carries and three targets, and that's the floor for Dillon, who is a top-10 RB for me. I expect similar production from Mark Ingram in Kamara's absence, as well; he had 14 carries and seven targets in Week 10 with Kamara out, racking up 20.8 PPR points. He's a top-15 RB.

Mitchell's absence makes Jeff Wilson one of the better plug-and-play options for this week against the Jaguars. He'll likely see 15-plus carries, and though Jacksonville has been surprisingly stingy against the run this season, he's an RB2 for this week.

And, with McNichols out, D'Onta Foreman is in the RB2 discussion. He'll likely split work with Adrian Peterson, but I think Foreman is the better play of the two -- he's more likely to take on some of McNichols' passing game role.

Legitimately questionable: Saquon Barkley (ankle), Jamaal Williams (thigh), Latavius Murray (ankle), Justin Jackson (quad), Clyde Edwards-Helaire (knee)

Barkley is the most important name here, and unfortunately he doesn't play until Monday night, so he's the hardest to make a call on. Barkley has huge upside if he plays, obviously, but if you have to choose between him and someone playing Sunday, your best bet is to go with the sure thing. And that's probably true even if you have Devontae Booker, who is in some question himself with a hip injury of his own. You might be able to just roll with both Barkley and Booker, but there's a risk that neither plays and you're stuck. It's not an ideal situation.

Edwards-Helaire is also questionable for Sunday's game after being activated from IR. You would think since they elevated him to the active roster when they didn't have to, that would probably mean Edwards-Helaire is going to play, but there's no guarantee of that -- and he'll likely have a limited role if he does play. I would try to avoid him and hope he's ready to make a big impact in Week 13 after the bye. Darrel Williams is tough to trust as a fringe RB2 with Edwards-Helaire's status up in the air.

Likely in: James Robinson (knee/heel), Miles Sanders (knee), Nick Chubb (COVID-19)

Chubb was activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list Friday and is expected to start Sunday. He should be a great option against the Lions, and backup D'Ernest Johnson is also a decent play, though he'll likely need a touchdown for you to feel good about starting him. Robinson is expected to play something like his normal role despite the knee scare, and he's a high-end RB2.

Sanders is more of an RB3 in his expected return. The Eagles are much more run-heavy than they were when Sanders last played, but we just don't know how much he'll play or what kind of role Jordan Howard or Boston Scott might have with Sanders back. Plus, the matchup against the Saints is a really tough one.

Wide receivers

Out: DeAndre Hopkins (hamstring), Marquise Brown (thigh), Amari Cooper (COVID-19), Antonio Brown (ankle), Allen Robinson (hamstring), Sterling Shepard (quad), Allen Lazard (shoulder), Anthony Schwartz (concussion)
Legitimately questionable: Donovan Peoples-Jones (groin), Curtis Samuel (groin), Devin Duvernay (knee),
Expected to play: Chase Claypool (toe)

Well, I guess the good news is, we really don't have any question marks that really matter this week. With Marquise Brown out, I expect Rashod Bateman to have a solid game against the Ravens, and he's in the WR2 discussion for me. He's been really solid through his first four games (18 catches, 241 yards), and he's got the potential to have a real breakout here.

Michael Gallup is also in the WR3 discussion with Cooper sidelined for Sunday's game as well as Thursday's Thanksgiving day matchup in Week 12. Darnell Mooney could be in line for a heavy target share against the Ravens and is also in that WR3 discussion.

The most interesting questions are probably with Claypool and the Giants WRs. Claypool has shown flashes this season, including a pretty healthy role when JuJu Smith-Schuster went down, but he hasn't been consistently productive. There's been weekly upside there, but he's more of a boom-or-bust WR3. And that's probably the same range I would put Kadarius Toney and Kenny Golladay with Shepard out. It's a great matchup against the Buccaneers, but we just haven't seen enough consistent production from either to be too confident in them. There are a lot of WR3s with upside this week.

Tight ends

Out: Ricky Seals-Jones (hip), Logan Thomas (hamstring), Geoff Swaim (concussion)
Expected to play: Rob Gronkowski (back)

Hopefully Gronkowski is fully healthy for Monday's game, because it is a great matchup. He practiced in full Thursday and Friday but was unable to go Saturday, so it's hard to know what to expect here. I would try to avoid the situation if I can, but we know how much upside Gronkowski has as one of Tom Brady's top red zone targets, so if you can get Evan Engram as an insurance policy in case Gronkowski is ruled out Monday, I don't mind that approach.