Fantasy Football Week 5 Injury Updates: Lamar Jackson Out, Jayden Daniels In

Two important pieces of quarterback news came down on Friday: Jayden Daniels will be back in the lineup for the Washington Commanders, and Lamar Jackson will be out for the Baltimore Ravens in Week 5. This affects both real and fantasy football a great deal.

Let's look at what this news means for the Commanders and Ravens and the fantasy football fallout for Week 5. Most stats are from NFL.com.

Check out FantasySP's injury report to keep up the players who might miss games each week.

Daniels Returns for Commanders

Daniels missed the past two games with a knee injury; his team split the contests 1-1. Marcus Mariota is a good backup QB, but he's not like the dynamic Daniels, who both runs and throws the ball with great acumen.

Mariota plays a similar style and runs the ball also, making him a perfect backup for Daniels, but the younger player does it at such a higher level that he raises the ceiling of the offense and the entire team. Having Daniels on the field is imperative if they want to make a real run this season.

This week is a tough game against the Chargers, who are one of the best teams in the league early in the season; Daniels' return couldn't have come soon enough. It's also on the road, with Vegas odds favoring LA by about three points. Washington is much better equipped to compete with their starting QB.

Fantasy Football Implications

Daniels is generally a must-start player, but there's at least a little doubt this week. Any player dealing with an injury has a chance at aggravating that malady. Injuries can happen any time, but a guy with an existing issue is just one wrong turn or hit away from going back to the sidelines hurt again.

The Chargers also present a tough matchup, allowing the second-fewest yards per pass attempt. They aren't as stingy in fantasy, as they have given up the 12th-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks.

That difference is because QBs have been able to run on Los Angeles. All four quarterbacks they faced reached 20 yards, and LA is allowing an average of 41 rushing yards to QBs per game. Daniels is such a great fantasy player because he runs the ball, so this matches up well for a decent game even if they don't have success throwing.

That's not as great for the pass catchers. Terry McLaurin has been ruled out for the second straight week, leaving Deebo Samuel Sr. leading the receiving group. Samuel caught six passes for 72 yards and a touchdown last week, while no other Commander had more than two receptions or 21 yards. Samuel is likely to see a lot more action.

Chris Moore played the most snaps otherwise, but he didn't catch any of his three targets; Moore is a low-level player. Luke McCaffrey and Jaylin Lane otherwise saw notable snaps, with both players catching two passes for around 20 yards. Samuel is the only receiver worthy of fantasy consideration, though with a tough matchup, he might be suited for the bench.

Tight end Zach Ertz gets a little boost from Daniels' return, as his best two games were with the starting quarterback. The Chargers are right at the edge of the top 10 in best defenses against TEs in fantasy, so Ertz is probably another player better left on the bench this week.

Jackson Out for Ravens

Jackson exited Baltimore's Week 4 loss in the second half with a reported hamstring injury, and he is now going to miss at least one game in Week 5 against Houston. It's been a rough start for the Ravens, who have been ravaged by injury on both sides of the ball. They are 1-3 and now without their best player.

If Jackson misses a long stretch of time, this team is screwed. The offense driven by Jackson is the only thing holding the team together right now, and without him, they will be below average in about every facet.

Houston is also 1-3, but they were a playoff team last year and have a good defense. After the Texans come a mix of tougher and softer teams, with the Rams, Bears, and Dolphins before November hits. No matter the opponent, this team doesn't want to see Jackson on the sideline.

Fantasy Football Implications

Jackson owners are obviously scrambling. This was a possibility, so hopefully you planned ahead, but there are surely a lot of fantasy players hearing about Jackson's absence for the first time and looking for anyone who can fill in.

Cooper Rush, the player who will start on Sunday, isn't a fantasy option. Backups are always tough to trust, and Rush won't get the same running that Jackson does; no one does. Rush has only rushed (no pun intended) for 20 yards in his career.

Owners who need a late fill-in might be able to pick up Jaxson Dart, Bryce Young, Jared Goff, or Justin Fields, all of whom have good matchups (the first two in particular have a lot more availability, while the last two are more for shallow leagues).

Elsewhere for the Ravens, the pass catchers see an obvious downgrade. On top of dropping from Jackson to Rush, this is also a tough matchup against the Texans, as they have allowed the fifth-fewest yards per pass attempt and the eighth-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks.

Zay Flowers leads the way, topping the team in targets (31), receptions (23), and yards (305). No other wide receiver has more than 17, 10, or 112 in any other those categories. Rashod Bateman represents each of those numbers; he is the second receiver, but there's not enough volume in this passing game to make him a regular fantasy option.

DeAndre Hopkins and Devontez Walker have both showed a few flashes, but there aren't enough chances for either to be anything more than a super-deep-league option. Flowers is the only wide receiver with real fantasy value.

He's close to a weekly starter, but I have to recommend sitting him if you have other options this week because he doesn't have his quarterback and the matchup is a really tough one. The Texans have allowed the ninth-fewest fantasy points to wide receivers, and it's going to be hard to move the ball without Jackson.

Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely are the other pass catchers affected. Likely missed the first three games and returned without a single target in Week 4 despite playing 25 snaps to Andrews' 30. Andrews was anonymous in the first two games, had a big Week 3, then caught seven passes for just 30 yards last week.

I don't like the idea of trusting either Ravens tight end. The Chargers have allowed the 10th-fewest fantasy points to tight ends, and with a backup quarterback, there's a very low floor. Bench both Andrews and Likely if you can.