DeForest Buckner Might Miss Week 3

What They're Saying

James Boyd of The Athletic: "Buckner was limping very badly afterward. X-rays were negative. Now, we await the MRI results."

Rapoport: "The belief is the sprain is not a severe one."

2024 Fantasy Football Impact

Buckner has at times played through injuries that seemed sure to cost him games, so we'll see how he progresses through this week -- and what else we learn about his return timeline.

I'd be wary of using Buckner in an IDP lineup if he does try to play in Week 3.

The Colts' D gets a lot less interesting without Buckner in the lineup, as you might have assumed from the performance at Green Bay. With Buckner basically missing the whole game, Indy logged no QB hits among 17 Malik Willis dropbacks.

Willis entered the game with an 18% career sack rate. That's nearly 4 percentage points higher than the Giants' league-worst 2023 sack rate -- which sat 2.6 percentage points higher than any other 2023 team.

Indy gets a Week 3 matchup with Chicago, which has been a nice matchup for opponent defenses through two weeks. But Buckner's injury figures to lower the Colts in our Week 3 DST rankings.

We'll see how Buckner and the defense on whole look for a Week 4 home date with the Steelers.

Other Winners & Losers

Bears RB D'Andre Swift could be a Week 3 winner if Buckner indeed sits.

Green Bay racked up 261 yards in Sunday's victory, the second straight game in which the Colts have allowed more than 200 rushing yards to open this season.

Swift could use the help after rushing for just 48 yards on 24 attempts through Chicago's first two games.