Fantasy owners across the country held their collective breaths on Sunday when Travis Kelce went down with a non-contact leg injury in the second quarter of the Chiefs’ game against the Vikings. But after throwing his helmet on the sideline, Kelce returned to record his third touchdown pass of the season. Here’s a look at this value for this week as he attempts to return from his injury.
Fantasy Football analysis: Chiefs TE Travis Kelce
Despite going down with that injury, Kelce still found a way to record a season-high 10 catches for 63 yards and a touchdown. After halftime he returned with his right ankle heavily wrapped and came back to play after sitting out the team’s first drive of the third quarter with a heavily wrapped right ankle. Per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, Kelce suffered a low-ankle sprain, which is better than a high-ankle sprain, which could have kept Kelce out for 4-to-6 weeks. Kelce practiced in a limited capacity on Tuesday and is day-to-day heading into the Chiefs’ Thursday night tilt against the Broncos.
Start or sit in Week 5 PPR leagues?
Start (if he’s healthy)
If Kelce is able to go then he should be starting in your lineup. While it normally isn’t the best practice to start a 34-year-old tight end who suffered a non-contact ankle injury, Kelce appears to be a different breed, as he suffered the injury last week and then was good to go in the second half. Still it’s worth monitoring his status ahead of Thursday’s game and making sure you have a good backup option, which brings us to….
What should I do if Kelce doesn’t play?
The Chiefs being on Thursday night doesn’t help fantasy players, so I’d start planning a backup plan now just to be safe. One option to consider if Chiefs tight end Noah Gray, who had three catches for 31 yards in Kelce’s absence in Week 1. While the weather isn’t going to be great for Thursday night’s game, Gray has already proven he can be an adequate Kelce clone when needed. If Gray (who is ranked as TE33 at FantastyPros) is unavailable, some other tight end options to consider are Noah Fant, Cade Otton or Donald Parham Jr. But again, Kelce should be in your lineup if he’s healthy.