The 2025 NFL Week 1 Injury Report contains several key players who could significantly impact each team and the betting market.
Our guy Juan Carlos Blanco analyzes the biggest names that will play a key cog in determining Week 1 outcomes.
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NFL Week 1 Injury Report: Key Players
In this article each week, we’ll highlight some noteworthy players who have opened the practice week with an injury designation of some sort and offer some quick hits on the expected impact of their absences, if those come to fruition.
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Running Back Injuries
De’Von Achane, Dolphins – QUESTIONABLE (calf):
Achane has opened the practice week with a limited Wednesday showing due to his calf strain, but reports out of both the player and his head coach indicate the Dolphins are simply taking things cautiously with the star running back.
Achane stated after Wednesday’s practice that he felt back to 100 percent, while head coach Mike McDaniel said he expected Achane to fill his usual lead role in Week 1 against the Colts.
However, considering how thin Miami’s backfield is due to the absences of Jaylen Wright (leg) and Alexander Mattison (IR-neck), rookie Ollie Gordon II is looking at a solid complementary role at minimum, and any in-game setbacks for Achane would leave the fifth-round pick in the No. 1 role.
The matchup against the Colts defense is a positive one based on last season’s numbers, considering Indy gave up 131.8 rushing yards per game and 1.20 second-level yards per carry, the latter particularly relevant considering Achane’s explosiveness and Gordon’s ability to bust through tackles at 6-foot-1, 226 pounds.
Wide Receiver Injuries
Justin Jefferson, Vikings – QUESTIONABLE (hamstring)
Jordan Addison, Vikings – OUT (suspension)
Jefferson’s injury designation seems like a formality at this point, as all indications are the star receiver will be ready to roll for Monday night’s Week 1 divisional showdown against the Bears.
Meanwhile, Addison’s forthcoming three-game absence has been common knowledge for some time, so the Vikings have had time to prepare.
Jefferson would naturally be poised to benefit from Addison’s absence, as that will likely bump up the former’s robust target share even further. During Addison’s Week 2-3 absence last season, Jefferson posted a 10-214-2 line on 15 targets against the 49ers and Texans.
However, it’s worth mentioning he was merely human in two games against Chicago, furnishing a combined nine catches for 101 yards and one TD on 18 targets.
Meanwhile, recent veteran returnee Adam Thielen will slot into Addison’s usual No. 2 role (assuming Jefferson plays as expected).
Thielen is familiar with Kevin O’Connell’s offense after having played in it during his most recent Vikings season in 2022, and he proved he had plenty left in the tank the last two seasons in Carolina by generating a 151-1,629-9 line in 27 regular-season contests over that span.
Tyreek Hill, Dolphins, – QUESTIONABLE (oblique):
Hill’s chances of playing in Sunday’s game against the Colts are reportedly on an upward trajectory, as he’s been ramping up his practice participation since last Thursday.
Assuming no setbacks, he should be healthy enough to handle a full workload versus an Indianapolis defense that allowed an AFC-high 243.5 passing yards per home game last season, as well as 13.0 yards per reception to wide receivers.
Naturally, were Hill to reverse course and sit, Jaylen Waddle would be in contention for the biggest beneficiary among Miami’s pass catchers.
Waddle averaged a modest 5.5 targets per game last season, but that figure was already projected to increase this season thanks to the departure of tight end Jonnu Smith via trade. Therefore, a Hill absence would very likely make Waddle an extremely busy player versus Indianapolis.
Beyond Waddle, the speedy Malik Washington and Nick Westbrooke-Ikhine would likely see more downfield opportunities in the event of a Hill absence while potentially sharing No. 2 receiver snaps.
Chris Godwin, Buccaneers – QUESTIONABLE (ankle):
Godwin’s questionable tag is deceiving, as it would be a surprise to see him take the field in Week 1 amidst the final stages of his recovery from last season’s dislocated ankle. We’ve anticipated him being listed on the NFL Week 1 Injury Report for a long time.
The talented veteran is expected to be available at some point over the first four games of the season, but for the opener against the Falcons, dynamic rookie Emeka Egbuka projects to line up opposite Mike Evans as the No. 2 receiver.
Egbuka has impressed from the moment he stepped on the field at the Buccaneers’ practice facility this offseason, and he flashed in preseason with two catches for 26 yards and a touchdown over a pair of games.
Evans is also likely to see some extra work due to Godwin’s absence. In the eight games Evans played without Godwin last season, including the wild-card loss to the Commanders, he averaged 6.9 receptions and 95.1 yards on 9.0 targets per contest.
Evans also recorded two touchdown receptions in the one game he played against the Falcons last season, but Atlanta finished the 2024 campaign allowing only 202.8 passing yards per home game, albeit at 10.9 yards per completion.
Brandon Aiyuk, 49ers – OUT (PUP-knee)
Jauan Jennings, 49ers – QUESTIONABLE (calf):
San Francisco is a key cog in our NFL Week 1 Injury Report.
The 49ers’ receiving corps will be short-handed beyond Aiyuk’s absence, and even if Jennings is able to play in Week 1 against the Seahawks.
Veteran offseason addition Demarcus Robinson is serving a three-game suspension to open the campaign.
Jennings is slated to serve as the No. 1 receiver if he’s able to play, and the veteran, who just received $3 million in play-time incentives in his contract Wednesday, could certainly be motivated to be out there against Seattle.
Jennings notably put up a 10-91-1 line against Seattle in Week 11 last season, with Aiyuk already sidelined by his season-ending knee injury, and a 52-571-3 tally overall on 77 targets in the nine games he played after Aiyuk’s injury.
The players who seem locked into at least slightly expanded pass-catching roles because of Aiyuk’s absence and irrespective of Jennings’ availability are Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, and second-year wideout Ricky Pearsall, who would also move into the No. 1 receiver role if Jennings sat and is thought to be poised for a breakout sophomore NFL season.
With Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Skyy Moore as his primary competition for WR targets (if Jennings misses), Pearsall would seemingly be poised for a very busy afternoon in such a scenario.
Tight End Injuries
Isaiah Likely, Ravens – QUESTIONABLE (foot):
Likely opened preparations for Sunday night’s Week 1 showdown against the Bills with a missed practice on Wednesday due to his ongoing recovery from the surgery he underwent earlier in the summer to address a small foot fracture.
If Likely ultimately sits out the opener, Mark Andrews is naturally poised to be a primary beneficiary. In Likely’s one absence last season in Week 10 against the Bengals, Andrews produced a 6-68-1 line on seven targets, with both the catches and yardage serving as co-season-high figures.
Andrews produced a 5-61 tally on seven targets in last January’s Divisional Round Game loss to the Bills, one that included his infamous drop of a would-be game-tying two-point conversion. Buffalo finished the 2024 regular season having allowed 92 receptions for 817 yards and five touchdowns to the tight end position.
Cade Otton, Buccaneers – QUESTIONABLE (groin/leg):
Otton logged a limited Wednesday practice ahead of Sunday’s Week 1 NFC South clash against the Falcons due to his lower-body issues.
The fourth-year tight end is officially dealing with a groin issue, but has also experienced some general leg soreness, and his status for the opener may come down to how he feels in pregame warmups.
If Otton is ultimately sidelined, Payne Durham is expected to draw the start, but it wouldn’t surprise to see athletic second-year pro Devin Culp log his fair share of snaps.
Durham started Otton’s Week 16-18 absence last season due to a leg injury as the primary pass-catching option at the position, and he finished that three-game span with a 9-81-2 line on 12 targets while playing between 10 and 31 snaps from scrimmage in those contests.
However, Culp came on over the last two games in the sample, putting up a 5-88 line on six targets while averaging an outstanding 3.7 yards on the 24 routes he ran.
Culp has the ability to get up the seam and has proven adept at contested-catch situations, and both he and Durham would be facing a Falcons defense that finished last season allowing 10.8 yards per reception to tight ends.
NFL Week 1 Injury Report: Others To Watch
Let’s round out our NFL Week 1 Injury report with other notable injuries to monitor: Jayden Reed, WR, Packers, QUESTIONABLE (foot); Darnell Mooney, WR, Falcons, QUESTIONABLE (shoulder); Keon Coleman, WR, Bills, QUESTIONABLE (groin)
