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Monday Notes

Steven Jackson (quadriceps) is likely out for Week 2. Combined with the injuries to Sam Bradford (finger) and Danny Amendola (elbow), it's doubtful that any team had worse luck than the Rams on Sunday. Carnell Williams looked competent as Jackson's backup against the Eagles, but he can't mimic Jackson's effectiveness for long.

Eric Berry (ACL) and Jon Beason (Achilles') will miss the rest of the season.
Fair or not, the sense of loss inflicted by injuries generally correlates to the talent of the player in question. In that case, these two injuries really hurt the game. Beason has been one of the NFL's brightest stars at linebacker since 2007, while it's not difficult to argue that Berry was the best safety prospect in decades when he was drafted fifth overall out of Tennessee last year. Carolina coaches will correctly face scrutiny for letting Beason on the field after undergoing a procedure on his troublesome Achilles' on Aug. 23, but at least Dan Connor looks like a competent replacement for the team. Berry is more irreplaceable for Kansas City, where journeyman Jon McGraw steps in for now.

Houston Chronicle writer John McClain expects Arian Foster (hamstring) to practice Wednesday. Such a development would obviously be reassuring for Foster's owners. Meanwhile, Derrick Ward is day-to-day with an ankle issue, which means another big opportunity might await Ben Tate if Foster doesn't recover as expected.

Hakeem Nicks is dealing with a bone bruise in his knee. It's looking as if the injury won't threaten his Week 2 availability against the Rams, but it's another irritating reminder that Nicks might be the most injury prone among the league's elite receivers. He has shown ability to produce despite the various pains he plays through, however.

Mike Tolbert's knee injury from Sunday isn't a concern. Tolbert is unlikely to have any other three-touchdown games this year, but Sunday's showing did nothing to deter San Diego from sticking to the timeshare plan between Tolbert and Ryan Mathews. If the Week 1 arrangement endures, Tolbert may emerge as the better fantasy option between the two.

Sam Bradford's throwing-hand injury is a bruised index finger, and he's questionable for Week 2. Bradford apparently expects to play, which wouldn't be especially shocking. Still, the finger will presumably need to resist swelling if Bradford's going to be able to clutch and throw the football this weekend, which could imply very limited practice work this week for Bradford.

Danny Amendola's elbow injury might not be as bad as initially believed. While Amendola initially was expected to miss 8-to-10 weeks as the result of his nasty looking injury, ESPN's Adam Schefter suggested that he might be able to return as soon as Week 6.