MMRThe injury bug came back in full force this weekend.

A slew of minor and major injuries hit fantasy owners like a mid-summer’s heatwave. From illness to gruesome lower leg injuries and everything in between, no one was safe from the injury epidemic in week 9.

Even those players who managed to escape the inactive list after battling injuries throughout the week were severely hampered on Sunday. Baltimore’s Willis McGahee was active and with helmet on the sidelines, but never set foot on the field against Cleveland. He watched as Ray Rice and Le’Ron McClain dominated the Browns’ defense on the ground.

Dallas tight end Jason Witten suited up despite the broken rib he suffered last weekend. But that did not mean too much because neither of Dallas’ quarterbacks — Brad Johnson and Brooks Bollinger — could get him the ball. And he did not look all too comfortable out there in the first place.

Hit the jump for the rest of the weekend’s casualties.

Kyle Orton [QB, Bears]

From the Chicago Tribune:

Bears quarterback Kyle Orton could be out a month with a high right ankle sprain, a source told the Tribune.

He is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Monday. He suffered the injury at the end of the first half of Sunday’s 27-23 win over the Detroit Lions.

Orton writhed around on the ground for several moments after the hit. It looked much worse than a high ankle sprain on the instant replay, but this is as good of news as one can expect after witnessing Orton’s pain.

It could have been much worse. It looked like a break or fracture of some kind on the instant replay, and Orton was unable to put any weight on the leg after the injury. It would be best to remain cautiously optimistic until the results of the MRI are released by the team.

Fantasy owners should be prepared to be without Orton for at least a month, however.

Kolby Smith [RB, Chiefs]

From Yahoo! Sports:

Chiefs running back Kolby Smith was carted off the field with a sprained knee Sunday in the second quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

A four-word phrase no fantasy owner ever wants to hear: What is “carted off the field,” Alex? And it turns out that Smith, in fact, will be out for the rest of the season.

All kidding aside, Smith had a serviceable day for fantasy owners who took a leap of faith on him against the Bucs before leaving with the injury. Blaine wisely advised you guys to add Jamaal Charles, who filled in nicely after Smith left the game, this week in the Grab Bag. Hope you heeded that advice.

And if you did not add him last week, good luck getting him this week.

Marshawn Lynch [RB, Bills]

From Deadspin:

In other news, Marshawn Lynch is sick on the sideline with a towel over his head.

Not the most enlightening of updates.

Lynch did miss a good chunk of the game due to illness. He returned in the second half but underperformed by his standards. This should be nothing and likely will not inhibit his participation in practice this week or next weekend’s game at New England.

Matt Schaub [QB, Texans]

From ProFootballTalk:

Schaub suffered a knee injury on a low hit from Vikings defensive end Jared Allen during the first half.  Schaub was hobbling thereafter, but played until intermission.

The Texans are calling it a knee sprain, but plan to perform more tests later today.

The guy seems brittle. He keeps giving Sage Rosenfels opportunities to steal his job. Luckily for Schaub, though, Rosenfels keeps giving the ball to opposing defenses.

The Texans should update Schaub’s status at some point today after some examination. Regardless, the Houston passing game should not suffer too terribly with the capabale, albeit generous, Rosenfels at the helm.

Darren McFadden [RB, Raiders]

From NFL Juice:

McFadden will get another week off as they continue to hope his turf toe will heal and they can judge what they’ve got for the future in the second half.

DMc was an early scratch and it probably was for the best. The Raiders were uber pwned by the Falcons’ defense.

It has been a mostly frustrating season for McFadden, his fantasy owners and the Raiders. It looked to be a promising season for McFadden early on, but he now has been derailed by injuries to both legs.

Hopefully the Raiders can get him healthy enough to play again this year. If not, they should protect their investment in the future by putting him on ice.

Steven Jackson [RB, Rams]

From NFL.com:

Jackson attempted to return from a thigh injury against the Cardinals, but was less than 100 percent and was in and out of the game throughout the day. He finished with 17 yards on seven rushes.

It was an unimpressive return for SJax. After blowing up against Dallas a few weeks ago, Jackson has all but disappeared for his owners due to his bum thigh.

Although he claimed to be 100 percent prior to the game yesterday, his performance suggests he was far less than that. He likely will be limited in practice again this week and should be monitored closely for next weekend’s contest.

The MMR will continue to run every Monday morning as scheduled during the regular season. To stay updated on current NFL injuries later in the week keep an eye on Football Jabber’s injury column, The Bedpan.

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