Fantasy Injury Update: Quarterbacks Hoyer and EJ Manuel

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Rules were inputted to protect quarterbacks from getting drilled in the pocket. Injuries are going to occur. For the most part though pocket passers have remained absent of injury in 2013. It’s the scrambling quarterback that has seen the effect of unfortunate injuries. Terrelle Pryor took a lick a few weeks ago that cost him a week of action. Jake Locker wasn’t scrambling necessarily but is a threat with his legs.

Thursday EJ Manuel and Brian Hoyer fell to injuries. Both will miss time with Hoyer out for the season and Manuel out for a minimum of two games. Neither Manuel or Hoyer were fantasy football darlings but they were on the radar. It’s not necessarily what impact this has individually from a fantasy football standpoint, but rather the talent on their offenses.

For the Cleveland Browns they know what degree of change their offense is going to get from Brandon Weeden. Weeden lost his job to Hoyer because Hoyer made quicker decisions and made a difference in the win/loss column. Ups and downs by Weeden are something you can expect in a game and that’s impactful when every series matters. His strengths are his arm which can extend secondaries out to play the deep ball.

That was his main asset in a comeback win at home against Buffalo yesterday. But his inconsistencies to stay accurate for four quarters are going to be a burden for the Browns. Without the threat of a strong running game, Weeden’s going to have an uphill battle to climb. We already saw Thursday that he tends to hold onto the football too long waiting for an open target. The Browns organization has already offered enough hints to Weeden that they’ll likely go in another direction next season.

The remainder of this season is basically an audition for Weeden to get reevaluated by other NFL teams. From a fantasy standpoint he will keep the talent of Greg Little, Jordan Cameron, and Josh Gordon effective. For his sake though Weeden is not a viable fantasy football talent until he proves he can play for four quarters without the hiccups of turnovers.

The effect of a quarterback injury is much more drastic for Buffalo. Jeff Tuel showed Thursday that he cannot be an adequate fill in for a length of time as a starter. He may be a practice type capable backup quarterback, but he does not have the talent to win with his arm as a starter. Evidenced by his slow reads and pick six sealer in defeat to the Browns yesterday.

Bills head coach Doug Marrone hinted that the Bills will look to sign a free agent. In all likelihood that quarterback will get reps as the Bills fill in starter until Manuel clears. With Stevie Johnson nursing a sore back, the weapons at receiver are going to be a daunting task for any quarterback to succeed with.

The Bills strength is going to reside at running back. CJ Spiller, Fred Jackson, and even Tashard Choice will likely see an increase in their work load over the next two to three games. Continue to play Jackson and Spiller. At receiver the only Bill worthy of fantasy consideration besides Stevie Johnson was Robert Woods. I’d keep Woods out of deeper league lineups for a stretch of games until we see Manuel get back on the field healthy.