Hammer Wednesday - Week 17 NFL - Injury Reports, Circa Million Superteam Results and Unique Data

Circa Million Superteam Update



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Injury Reports for Week 17 as of Wednesday Evening

***We avoid posting players who logged a full practice (Unless working back from injury), or missed due to illness. We also focus on players who regularly play and rotate in. We won't post a back-up's status unless part of a cluster of injuries including the starters. The Monday Night Football game won't have a practice report as those aren't due until Thursday. We will however reiterate the players who either didn't play last week or got injured in the game.

Dallas at Washington (Thursday)
Dallas - WR Ryan Flournoy Questionable/2x DNP, OG Tyler Booker Questionable, DT Quinnen Williams Questionable, LB DeMarvion Overshown Out, CB Caelen Carson Questionable
Washington - QB Marcus Mariota Out, OT Laremy Tunsil Out, DT Daron Payne Out

Detroit at Minnesota (Thursday)
Detroit - RB David Montgomery Questionable, WR Amon-Ra St. Brown Questionable, OT Taylor Decker Questionable, OG Christian Mahogany Questionable, OG Trystan Colon Questionable, EDGE Marcus Davenport Questionable, EDGE Al-Quadin Muhammad Questionable, DT Alim McNeill Questionable, CB Amik Robertson Questionable, CB/S Avonte Maddox Out, OT Giovanni Manu (Working back from I.R.)
Minnesota - QB J.J. McCarthy Out, RB Jordan Mason Out, TE T.J. Hockenson Out, OT Brian O'Neill Questionable, C Ryan Kelly Out

Denver at Kansas City (Thursday Nighter)
Denver - WR Pat Bryant Out, C Luke Wattenberg Out, LB Dre Greenlaw Out
Kansas City - OT Jaylon Moore Questionable/Full EDGE George Karlaftis Questionable DT Derrick Nnadi Questionable LB Nick Bolton Questionable

Houston at L.A. Chargers (Saturday)
Houston - OT Trent Brown DNP, OT Aireontae Ersery DNP, DT Sheldon Rankins Limited, DT Denico Autry DNP, LB Azeez Al-Shaair Limited, CB Derek Stingley Jr. Limited, CB Kamari Lassiter Limited
L.A. Chargers - RB Kimani Vidal DNP, WR Derius Davis DNP, OT Trey Pipkins Full, OT Jamaree Salyer DNP, OG Mekhi Becton Sr. Limited, EDGE Bud Dupree Limited, DT Teair Tart Limited, LB Denzel Perryman (Suspension 2 Weeks), CB Benjamin St-Juste DNP, S R.J. Mickens DNP

Baltimore at Green Bay (Saturday Nighter)
Baltimore - QB Lamar Jackson DNP, OG Andrew Vorhees Limited, CB Chidobe Awuzie Limited
Green Bay - QB Jordan Love Limited, QB Malik Willis DNP, RB Josh Jacobs Limited, TE Josh Whyle Limited, OT Zach Tom DNP, OG Aaron Banks Limited, OG Sean Rhyan Limited, S Evan Williams Limited

Tampa Bay at Miami
Tampa Bay - WR Chris Godwin Jr. Limited, OT Tristan Wirfs DNP, OT Luke Goedeke Limited, EDGE Anthony Nelson DNP, DT Calijah Kancey Limited (Working back from I.R.)
Miami - C Aaron Brewer DNP, DT Benito Jones Limited, LB Tyrel Dodson DNP, S Minkah Fitzpatrick DNP

New England at New York Jets
New England - RB TreVeyon Henderson Limited, WR Kayshon Boutte DNP, WR Mack Hollins DNP, WR DeMario Douglas Limited, OT Morgan Moses Limited, OT Thayer Munford Jr. Limited, OG Jared Wilson DNP, EDGE Harold Landry DNP, EDGE Anfernee Jennings Limited, NT Khyiris Tonga Out, LB Robert Spillane DNP, DT Milton Williams Limited (Working back from I.R.)
New York Jets - QB Tyrod Taylor Limited, TE Mason Taylor DNP, EDGE Will McDonald V DNP, DT Harrison Phillips Limited, DT Jay Tufele DNP, LB Francisco Mauigoa DNP

Pittsburgh at Cleveland
Pittsburgh - RB Jaylen Warren Limited, WR D.K. Metcalf (Suspension 2 Weeks), WR Calvin Austin III DNP, OG Isaac Seumalo Limited, EDGE T.J. Watt Limited, EDGE Nick Herbig Limited, CB James Pierre Limited, CB Brandin Echols DNP
Cleveland - RB Dylan Sampson Limited, TE David Njoku DNP, OG Wyatt Teller Limited, OG Teven Jenkins Limited, DT Mason Graham Limited, LB Carson Schwesinger Limited, CB Denzel Ward Limited, CB Tyson Campbell Limited, CB Myles Harden Limited

Arizona at Cincinnati
Arizona - WR Marvin Harrison Jr. Limited, OT Paris Johnson Jr. DNP, OG Evan Brown Personal DNP, C Hjalte Froholdt Limited, EDGE Josh Sweat DNP, CB Will Johnson Limited, CB Kei'Trel Clark DNP, CB Max Melton Limited, CB Darreb Hall Limited, S Budda Baker DNP, S Jalen Thompson Limited
Cincinnati - TE Noah Fant Limited, EDGE Joseph Ossai DNP, DT B.J. Hill DNP

New Orleans at Tennessee
New Orleans - RB Alvin Kamara DNP, OG Cesar Ruiz DNP, OL Asim Richards Full, DT Bryan Bresee Out
Tennessee - OG Kevin Zeitler Limited, DT Sebastian Joseph-Day Limited, LB Cedric Gray Full, CB Jalyn Armour-Davis Limited, EDGE Oluwafemi Oladejo Limited (Working back from I.R.)

Jacksonville at Indianapolis
Jacksonville - RB Bhayshul Tuten Limited, OG Patrick Mekari DNP, OG Ezra Cleveland Limited, C Robert Hainsey DNP, CB Greg Newsome DNP, CB Jourdan Lewis DNP, CB Montaric Brown Limited
Indianapolis - OT Bernhard Raimann Limited, C Tanner Bortolini DNP, TE Drew Ogletree DNP, DT DeForest Buckner DNP, CB Sauce Gardner DNP, QB Anthony Richardson Sr. Limited (Working back from I.R.) 

Seattle at Carolina
Seattle - OT Charles Cross DNP, EDGE Derick Hall (Suspension 1 Week), S Coby Bryant Out 
Carolina - OT Ikem Ekwonu Full, DT Turk Wharton DNP, LB Trevin Wallace DNP, OG Robert Hunt Limited (Working back from I.R.)

New York Giants at Las Vegas
New York Giants - OT Andrew Thomas DNP, C John Michael Schmitz DNP, DT D.J. Davidson DNP, DT Rakeem Nunez-Roches Limited, CB Cor’Dale Flott Limited, CB Deonte Banks Limited, S Tyler Nubin DNP
Las Vegas - OG Caleb Rogers Limited, EDGE Maxx Crosby DNP, OT Kolton Miller Limited (Working back from I.R.)

Philadelphia at Buffalo
Philadelphia - OT Lane Johnson DNP, DT Jalen Carter Full, LB Nakobe Dean DNP
Buffalo - QB Josh Allen Limited, TE Dalton Kincaid DNP, TE Dawson Knox DNP, EDGE Joey Bosa DNP, DT DaQuan Jones DNP, DT Jordan Phillips DNP, LB Shaq Thompson Limited, CB Taron Johnson Limited, S Jordan Poyer DNP, K Matt Prater DNP 

Chicago at San Francisco (Sunday Nighter)
Chicago - WR Rome Odunze DNP, WR Luther Burden III Limited, C Drew Dalman Limited, LB T.J. Edwards DNP, CB/S C.J. Gardner-Johnson Limited, S Kevin Byard III Limited
San Francisco - WR Ricky Pearsall Limited, TE George Kittle DNP, EDGE Yetur Gross-Matos DNP, CB Renardo Green Limited

L.A. Rams at Atlanta (Monday Nighter)
L.A. Rams - WR Davante Adams, OG Kevin Dotson
Atlanta - CB Mike Hughes 
 

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Expected Goals, Actual Opinions: Thoughts from around the NHL
By: Alex Moretto, Director of Content at the Hammer Betting Network

1.) I like Canada to win the World Juniors at anything +money. This is shaping up to be their best roster in over a decade, with as many as eight top-10 picks. Every skater on the team except for one or two (depending on final roster) is a first-round pick. The vast majority were taken in the top 20. They have guys who will be left off the roster or play fourth-line minutes that would walk into the top-six for any other team at this tournament, and the same goes for the back end. They also have the right guy in charge to put it all together, in coach Dale Hunter. He’s a massive reason why I have so much confidence in this elite group realizing its potential.

Hunter’s resume speaks for itself. He’s coached Canada in this tournament once before, winning gold in 2020. In 14 seasons as London’s head coach he won five OHL championships and three Memorial Cups. He’s a massive upgrade on Dave Cameron who hasn’t had anywhere close to the same success in his long coaching career and who didn’t seem to have a clue at last year’s tournament. Hunter’s London teams are typically also loaded with talent, so this will be familiar territory for him. For Canada, the pieces to the puzzle are all there, it’s just about fitting them together properly. Hunter can do that. He’s got every tool he could want at his disposal, including the tournament’s best goalie tandem.

Goaltending has been a weak spot for Canada for close to a decade, but in Carter George and Jack Ivankovic it has become a strength for the team and gives them a huge edge over USA who will be without Trey Augustine for the first time in three years. Instead, the Americans will rely on 4th-round pick Nick Kempf (a sub-.900 SV% and 3.57 GAA for Notre Dame this season) and 7th-round pick Caleb Heil (struggling in the USHL), turning a strength into a weakness for the Americans.

That’s not all USA lost from last year’s gold-medal group. They will be without Zeev Buium, Ryan Leonard, Oliver Moore, and Gabe Perreault. All of those guys were top-25 picks, and some combination of that group had a hand in 12 of USA’s 15 goals in the knockout rounds last year. It’s a ton of talent to lose, especially when they’re not being adequately replaced. This year’s roster will include just one top-20 pick, leaving them dangerously short on high-end players as they host the tournament for the first time since 2018. The gap between Canada and USA is a lot bigger than that between USA and Sweden.

The Swedes are in the same group as the hosts and the two will play at 6pm ET on New Year’s Eve. I have a hard time imagining I won’t be backing Sweden in some capacity there. They are loaded up front with Anton Frondell (third overall), Viktor Eklund (16th overall), and Ivar Stenberg (2026 consensus top-three pick) leading a group that contains at least 10 top-60 picks. This is a strong, experienced group that will have its sights set on winning Group A and reaching the gold-medal game.

Finland’s hopes were dealt a blow when Buffalo decided not to let Konsta Helenius play, but they’re still a good team with an excellent goaltender in Petteri Rimpinen, who stole the show in 2025. Combine that with a lack of firepower, and I will be betting their unders at these high totals until they’re adjusted (if they ever are).

Slovakia could steal a spot on the podium on the back of their goaltending, as well, but they lack skill up front and return only six skaters from last year. They have no one who can replace Dalibor Dvorsky and Juraj Pekarcik, who combined for 16 points in 10 games at last year’s tournament.

Czech are without their would-be starting goalie Jakub Milota, leaving them vulnerable in goal. Combined with an exciting crop of forwards, and some strong play-drivers on the back end, there could be a lot of goals in this team.

Switzerland are built from the back with strong goaltending and a deep blue line, but there’s not a lot to love up front. Conversely, Germany should find success offensively and return two goalies (both NHL draft picks) from last year, but whoever starts in net will be busy as their defensive group leaves a lot to be desired.

Latvia have more high-end talent than ever before and should show respectably as a result, while Denmark are in tough and likely to be relegated.

Canada to win the tournament at + money is my favorite (favourite?) World Juniors bet, but here’s what I like from the first batch of games that’s been posted:

Sweden/Slovakia u7.5 +110
Denmark/Finland u7.5 -124
Germany/USA o7.5 -120
Czech/Canada o6.5 -105

2.) While we’re on the topic of international hockey, there’s no world in which Jordan Binnington should see the ice for Canada at the Olympics. Never mind whether or not he’s Canada’s best goalie… he’s not even the best Canadian goalie on his own team. Joel Hofer has slowly taken over as the Blues’ starter as Binnington continues to struggle immensely, ranking dead-last in the NHL in GSAA (-15.73) and GSAx (-13.12), and 38th out of 39 goalies (min. 14 starts) in both SV% (.870) and GAA (3.44). You know who the top-three goalies are in both SV% and GAA? I’ll give you a second to guess…

Scott Wedgewood, Logan Thompson, and Darcy Kuemper.

You know what all three of them have in common? They’re Canadian. So is Mackenzie Blackwood, who missed the start of the season with an injury and hasn’t reached the minimum 14 start cutoff as a result, but if we removed that he’d rank ahead of all three of those guys in SV% and second in GAA. Canada has options.

Binnington is currently -190 on Fanduel to start for Canada in their first game at the Olympics. He shouldn’t even be on the team, let alone see the ice. Logan Thompson is +145 and that’s a great bet (albeit the limits for this sort of market aren’t great). He’s the current Vezina frontrunner and has been Canada’s best goalie for close to two years now. Blackwood (35-1), Wedgewood (35-1), and Kuemper (75-1) are all decent bets as well. They’re miles better than laying -190 on a guy who almost certainly won’t see the ice in Milan and might not even make the team.

3.) Mentioned on Edge Work Overtime yesterday that I’d have thoughts on Craig Berube and the Leafs in the newsletter, but we ended up talking about it at length on the show, so I’ll keep this brief.

The fanbase is frustrated and divided over the Berube situation. Half of them blame Berube for the team’s miserable start and want him fired. The other half blame the players and don’t want to see them let off the hook. Well, both can be true, and in this case I think the right answer is somewhere in the middle. Berube isn’t a good coach, and he probably should be fired. This isn’t a great roster, but it’s not this bad either, and with a new voice they would be better. At the same time, this core has underachieved at every turn and consistently cowered in the face of adversity. It speaks volumes about the leadership group that they’ve completely checked out on Berube. Acting like it’s ok to quit on the coach because you don’t like him is crazy. We can’t normalize that, especially not for a group that has already done this before. There needs to be way more accountability in that room, and the players need to face the music. All of that remains true, but it also doesn’t negate the fact that Berube isn’t a good coach and the Leafs need to make a change behind the bench. They won’t, though, according to reports coming out of the organization, and it’s likely going to cost them their season. I don’t think this is a threatening team or even a particularly good one, but I do think they’d find a way into the playoffs in a congested Eastern Conference if Berube were fired tomorrow.

4.) I’ve said many times that I don’t believe the NHL market is truly efficient, and there’s been no shortage of examples to support that view this season. We got two great ones on Thursday (Dec 18) that I wanted to make a point of touching on here.

The Lightning hosted the Kings that night. Brandon Hagel was a game-time decision for Tampa, and we didn’t know who would start in net for Los Angeles on a back-to-back. Hagel was confirmed out by Cooper at 5:33pm. The market didn’t move. Forsberg was confirmed as the Kings’ starter over Copley at 6:34pm (a clear upgrade for them in net). The market didn’t move. About 10 minutes later, the Lightning got steamed to oblivion (-198 to -230 on Pinny) despite all the news breaking in favor of the Kings. The real kicker came a few minutes before puck drop when out of nowhere Nikita Kucherov was ruled out with an illness. There was NO buyback on the Kings. The market things nothing of Hagel, Kucherov, and the difference between Forsberg/Copley, apparently. I bet the Kings at +177 after the Hagel news, added more at virtually the same price after the Forsberg confirmation, and then… if you can believe it… added more at +205 after the Kucherov news. What are we even doing here?

On the same night, Artemi Panarin was a game-time decision for the Rangers. When the news broke in morning skate, the market didn’t budge. Despite the questionable tag, the Rangers took money throughout the afternoon. At 7:33pm, Panarin was ruled out. Guess what happened next? Nothing. The Blues finally took a little money before post, but not nearly enough.  

The. NHL. Market. Is. Not. Efficient.

5.) Injury roundup…

New injuries this week:

Leo Carlsson, ANA (Dec 22, day-to-day); Seth Jarvis, CAR (Dec 19, week-to-week); Jaccob Slavin, CAR (Dec 19, week-to-week); Zach Werenski, CBJ (Dec 22, day-to-day); Frank Nazar, CHI (Dec 20, four weeks); Tristan Jarry, EDM (Dec 18, two weeks); Mackie Samoskevich, FLA (Dec 22, “hopeful” to return for first game after break); Jake Evans, MTL (Dec 20, still awaiting a timeline); Jonathan Marchessault, NSH (Dec 17, day-to-day); Ilya Sorokin, NYI (day-to-day); JT Miller, NYR (Dec 20, week-to-week); Tyler Kleven, OTT (Dec 20, day-to-day); Timothy Liljegren, SJS (Dec 18, day-to-day); Brandon Montour, SEA (four weeks as of Dec 22); Vince Dunn, SEA (Dec 22, day-to-day); Karel Vejmelka, UTA (Dec 23, day-to-day); Rasmus Sandin, WSH (Dec 23, day-to-day);

Previously injured, could be back this week:

Nick Foligno, CHI (Nov 15, returning shortly after Christmas); Mathieu Olivier, CBJ (Nov 24, back at skate and nearing return); Kasperi Kapanen, EDM (Nov 29, “back around Christmas time”); Jake Walman, EDM (Nov 20, should be back soon); Darcy Kuemper, LAK (Dec 15, “nearing return” per Hiller); Kirby Dach, MTL (Nov 15, back soon after Christmas); Simon Nemec, NJD (Dec 12, “perhaps by end of calendar year”); Bo Horvat, NYI (Dec 11, practicing in non-contact as he nears return); Adam Fox, NYR (Nov 29, back at skate and nearing return); Shane Pinto, OTT (Dec 5, skating and “getting closer”); Evgeni Malkin, PIT (Dec 8, week-to-week); Jared McCann, SEA (Dec 11, could be back this week if he initial  three-week timeline); Brandon Hagel, TBL (Dec 15, day-to-day and likely back first game after break); Elias Pettersson, VAN (Dec 5, back first or second game after break); Jack Eichel, VGK (Dec 13, still day-to-day).

Still out:

Jason Zucker, BUF (Dec 8, week-to-week); Connor Bedard, CHI (Dec 12, to be re-evaluated in new year); Lian Bischel, DAL (Dec 1, 6-8 weeks); Tyler Seguin, DAL (Dec 3, 6-8 months); Matthew Tkachuk, FLA (trying to make it back for Jan 2 Winter Classic); Aleksander Barkov, FLA (Sep 25, 7-9 months); Dmitry Kulikov, FLA (Oct 9, five months); Patrik Laine, MTL (Oct 16, 3-4 months); Kaiden Guhle, MTL (Nov 14, 8-10 weeks); Alex Newhook, MTL (Nov 14, four months); Jonathan Kovacevic, NJD (yet to play this season, finally back skating); Evgenii Dadonov, NJD (Nov 26, still “aways away” as of Dec 16); Kyle Palmieri, NYI (Nov 28, 6-8 months); Alex Romanov, NYI (Nov 22, 5-6 months); Lars Eller, OTT (Dec 11, four weeks); Tyson Foerster, PHI (Dec 2, five months); Will Smith, SJS (Dec 13, week-to-week); Philipp Kurashev, SJS (Dec 13, week-to-week); Jaden Schwartz, SEA (Nov 28, six weeks); Jimmy Snuggerud, STL (Dec 1, minimum six weeks); Jordan Kyrou, STL (Dec 7, week-to-week, still not skating); Dylan Holloway, STL (Dec 14, at least six weeks); Erik Cernak, TB (Nov 22, still week-to-week as of Dec 5); Victor Hedman, TB (Dec 9, back early February before Olympics); Emil Lilleberg, TB (Dec 13, out “a few weeks” at least); Anthony Stolarz, TOR (Nov 11, looking for second opinion as he’s still not skating or making progress); Brandon Carlo, TOR (Nov 13, latest update is “another month” as of Dec 11); Logan Cooley, UTA (Dec 8, at least eight weeks); Filip Chytil, VAN (Oct 11, continues to skate but no timeline); Derek Forbort, VAN (Oct 11, still no clear timeline); Adin Hill, VGK (Oct 20, out “a few months”, targeting mid to late-January as of Dec 15); William Karlsson, VGK (Nov 8, still week-to-week as of Dec 15); Shea Theodore, VGK (Dec 13, week-to-week but “not a long one”); Pierre-Luc Dubois, WSH (Oct 31, 3-4 months).

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