Injury Report

By Will Carroll, Special to SI.com

Camps are open, the heat and humidity are turned to high, and the preseason games are about to start. A good fantasy player knows that there is something to be learned from these seemingly meaningless games. You see schemes, depth and the sheer physicality of players. An unfortunate consequence of all this activity is the injuries. We've seen far too many already, and there will surely be more, and the effects can be long-lasting. You have to know what to watch for, and I'm here to help, so let's get to it:

• You're not drafting linemen, are you? (I have gotten some e-mails with some really weird rule sets.) You have to know that those big guys have to be upright and healthy to knock holes open for your running backs and to keep your quarterback upright long enough to throw the ball to your wideouts and tight ends. They can't do that with busted knees.

• Jammal Brown protects Drew Brees' backside, and his loss could have been devastating, but an MRI came back negative for ligament damage. The Saints medical staff believes that he bent, but nothing broke, leaving him with nothing worse than a bone bruise. While he's doubtful for this weekend, there's no reason to think that he can't recover by the first real game, meaning you can keep Brees and his receivers up on your boards.

• The news isn't so good in Kansas City, where a rebuilding O-line will be without Damien McIntosh for the next six weeks. A Grade II knee sprain means that he'll miss the entire preseason and perhaps the first couple weeks of the regular season, but he should be able to help when it counts. Wearing the bulky brace that McIntosh will need isn't a significant negative for tackles unless they're facing speed rushers. Playing at Houston and Chicago, then home against the Vikings and Chargers, McIntosh is going to face just that. To protect him, K.C. will likely need to keep in the fullback or rush at his side. This could get ugly early for the Chiefs.

• Brian Westbrook was one of the big success stories for any medical staff last year. The Eagles struggled to keep him on the field in the first few games, but by sitting him for a week early on, they were able to get him back to the place where they could keep the knee from needing more than a week to recover. It was a great move and a great game plan for Rick Burkholder and his staff. They'll need to do it again as Westbrook's knee has proven problematic in camp. It's once again swelling up with activity, exactly as it did last year, but until we see the Eagles get more on a "normal" schedule, it will be nearly impossible to gauge if Westbrook is back at the stage he was at early last season. Even when injured, Westbrook was productive, so I'm reluctant to say he should be dropping on your draft boards. The worst case scenario currently appears to be the same as last year -- he could miss some games, but score some points before and after. Have a good backup and push Ryan Moats up a bit if you're in a deep league.

• Don't mistake what Kevin Jones had -- a Lisfranc fracture -- with what Westbrook or Michael Strahan had -- a Lisfranc sprain. This is one case where you'd actually rather have the sprain than the fracture, in large part because of the stress placed on the foot during the normal course of running. Jones is already running and cutting, but it's that shiftiness and burst that's the biggest question. He was seen doing drills that involved quick cuts and came out of it fine, so this is a big step. If he can be more of a third-down type with a breakaway game, he'll pair up well with Tatum Bell in the Lions offense. He's not a top rushing possibility anymore, but his recovery seems to be on track to be ready around the first real game. That's a plus for Jones and a negative for Bell.