Injuries are commonplace each week in the NFL, and some have more of a significant and lasting effect on teams than others. And even more on impact on fantasy teams everywhere.
Here are Week 13’s biggest impact injuries through Sunday’s early and late games.
Related: Week 13 NFL injury report
1. Tank Dell, Texans WR
Of all the impact injuries, Tank Dell, the Texans’ rookie receiver, suffered the most devastating with a broken fibula when he had his leg rolled up on during Dameon Pierce’s 3-yard touchdown run that gave Houston a 10-0 lead with 3:49 left in the first quarter.
Dell, who is headed to injured reserve and is lost for the season, had been C.J. Stroud’s go-to receiver during a breakout rookie season for both players. Stroud and Dell, who’s caught 47 passes for 709 yards, have connected for seven touchdowns during the season.
With Dell out Sunday, though, Nico Collins stepped up and had a huge game, with nine receptions for 191 yards and one touchdown in the Texans’ 22-17 victory over the Denver Broncos.
2. Kenny Pickett, Steelers QB
You can’t have a list of impact injuries without a few quarterbacks. Pickett went down with an ankle injury as he was stopped short of the goal line as he scrambled on a third-and-3 play with 5:32 left in the first half against the Arizona Cardinals and the score tied, 3-3.
Pickett is expected to miss “a couple of weeks,” according to a league source. Obviously, the injury comes at a bad time for the Steelers (7-5), who are currently the No. 5 team in the AFC with five more games to play.
Mitchell Trubisky replaced Pickett, the second-year pro who was 7-of-10 passing for 70 yards before the injury. Pickett missed the rest of the game.
Trubisky completed 11-of-17 for 117 yards and one touchdown, but the score came with the Steelers already down 24-3 and they went on to lose 24-10 to the Cardinals.
3. Derek Carr, Saints QB
Among the impact injuries, Pickett ranks higher because he’s on a team that is likely bound for the playoffs. As Carr was trying to lead the Saints back against the Detroit Lions, he got absolutely leveled by Lions linebacker Bruce Irvin while he was throwing a pass with 10:23 left in the fourth quarter and Detroit leading 33-21.
Irvin’s hit on Carr was rather dirty in that he drove Carr into the turf with his helmet, and Irvin subsequently was penalized for roughing the passer.
Jameis Winston replaced Carr, who was carted off the field, and he got New Orleans in position to close the gap as the Saints finished the drive with a 1-yard TD run from Alvin Kamara to make the score 33-28.
But that was as close as the Saints would get. Carr, who had been 17-of-22 passing for 226 yards with one touchdown and interception before getting hurt, suffered head, back and shoulder injuries on the play.
4. Rhamondre Stevenson, Patriots RB
Stevenson, who’s become the Patriots’ go-to running back, suffered an injured ankle on yet another questionable hip-drop tackle, this one coming from Chargers linebacker Tuli Tuipulotu with 4:25 left in the first quarter.
Stevenson fumbled on play, turning the ball over to the Chargers. To that point, Stevenson had been the best part of the Patriots’ struggling offense, carrying nine times for 39 yards.
Over the past three weeks Stevenson, a third-year player out of Oklahoma, had rushed for 80-plus yards for three straight weeks before Sunday’s game. Initial X-rays on Stevenson’s right ankle were negative.
5. Frank Ragnow, Lions C
The list of impact injuries includes Ragnow, who got hurt in the second quarter against the New Orleans Saints when he got leg-whipped.
Ragnow, a two-time Pro Bowl center, was able to walk off the field on his own power, but he later was carted to the locker room and never returned to the game.
After the game Lions coach Dan Campbell had an update on Ragnow’s condition.