Injury, Waiver-Wire and Trade Notes

On the injury and waiver wire fronts:

After sitting out two weeks, Houston rookie Wali Lundy was activated before the Jacksonville game and went on to post 93 rushing yards and a touchdown while adding 15 receiving yards. He is certainly worth grabbing off waiver wires. It was the Texans’ highest rushing total this season and could be a sign of good things to come, plus opportunities to find a decent running back on the waiver wire are few and far between.

Matt Hasselbeck will likely miss two to four weeks after suffering an MCL injury. Seneca Wallace is not an ideal replacement for the Seahawks or a fantasy owner. With only 134 passing yards and three turnovers, he registered negative fantasy points on Sunday. Darrell Jackson and Deion Branch will also lose value with Hass out, but Shaun Alexander may come back sooner rather than later to help out his team.

With Andrew Walter suffering a hamstring injury against the Cardinals, Aaron Brooks may be pressed back into service sooner rather than later. But will his return help or hurt the Raiders? Oakland finally notched its first win of the season despite missing three of its top skill players—Brooks, LaMont Jordan and Jerry Porter.

Speaking of Jordan, his owners should add Justin Fargas for insurance. While Jordan did suit up Sunday, he didn’t play a down and the Raiders are keeping a tight lid on his injury status.

Ben Roethlisberger owners should grab Charlie Batch off waivers. The Steelers may finally give Big Ben adequate time to recover from an injury—his latest being an apparent concussion-especially with Batch playing so effectively in his stead.

Following a bye, Baltimore may be more forthcoming about the status of Steve McNair. Kyle Boller was very strong filling in for McNair in week 6 but should only be used if desperate for a bye-week replacement.

Trade Talk

Jon Kitna, Quarterback, Detroit—It may be easier to trade for the hot quarterback with Detroit on bye this week. His next three games come against the soft pass defenses of Atlanta, Arizona and San Francisco.

Leon Washington, Running Back, N.Y. Jets—The rookie has been very impressive and should be added in all leagues. If you’ve got him, hold on for one more week to take advantage of his match-up against the lowly Browns. Then consider trading Washington, who has a week-nine bye followed by games against the top-10 run defenses of New England and Chicago.

Reggie Brown, Wide Receiver, Philadelphia—While it may be tempting to try to unload Brown with his value rising, the Eagles’ on bye in week nine bye and Donte’ Stallworth’s imminent return, the talented second-year wideout will return from the bye to face Washington, Tennessee, Indianapolis and Carolina, all of whom have allowed eight or more passing touchdowns this season. Also, imagine what Brown can do for you when he his teammate draws the best coverage.